WHYDTYTT: What Have You Done To Your Truck Today?

[ArdWrknTrk]

While restoring Big Bro, I chose to keep the vintage original radio. I sent it to a specialized shop that took out its guts and replaced them with modern electronic components.

The radio came back with:

• USB plug for external source and charging capability

• Bluetooth

• Microphone, phone hands free

• And RCA plug for subwoofer.

Yesterday I finally installed a subwoofer under Big Brother's front seat.

Man, good beat, windows down and cranked volume, I suddenly felt as I was sixteen years old again!

Which sub woofer did you go with Jeff?

[BigBrother-84]

Which sub woofer did you go with Jeff?

Oh, nothing really big.

Just thin enough to fit under the bench seat.

EDIT:

And the modernizing radio kit is from Aurora Design.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Oh, nothing really big.

Just thin enough to fit under the bench seat.

EDIT:

And the modernizing radio kit is from Aurora Design.

50W RMS seems plenty for a regular cab, it seems it's enough for a crew cab as well!

[Gary Lewis]

While restoring Big Bro, I chose to keep the vintage original radio. I sent it to a specialized shop that took out its guts and replaced them with modern electronic components.

The radio came back with:

• USB plug for external source and charging capability

• Bluetooth

• Microphone, phone hands free

• And RCA plug for subwoofer.

Yesterday I finally installed a subwoofer under Big Brother's front seat.

Man, good beat, windows down and cranked volume, I suddenly felt as I was sixteen years old again!

That's funny, Jeff!!! I say that because I just drove Big Blue for the first time in a while and had the same experience - I had to turn the subwoofer down.

It is amazing how the bass differs from song to song on the same album. I was playing the Beach Boys Greatest Hits album and some cuts have serious bass and others don't. In fact, it varies so much that I'm going to install the level control that the sub came with so I can adjust it easily.

As for what I did with my truck today, I used it as a rescue vehicle for a Chevy pickup. Some friends at church have a '91 Chevy 1500 that won't quite run. It is a TBI system and if you pour some gas in the throttle body it'll run until that gas is gone.

The fuel pump is running but not enough gas is getting to the engine. It only needs 12 - 15 psi, but the pumps are known to get weak and the fuel pressure regulators are known to fail in full-return mode. So I'm going to order a gauge set and measure at the input and then the output of the filter and that will tell us which part is failing.

[grumpin]

That's funny, Jeff!!! I say that because I just drove Big Blue for the first time in a while and had the same experience - I had to turn the subwoofer down.

It is amazing how the bass differs from song to song on the same album. I was playing the Beach Boys Greatest Hits album and some cuts have serious bass and others don't. In fact, it varies so much that I'm going to install the level control that the sub came with so I can adjust it easily.

As for what I did with my truck today, I used it as a rescue vehicle for a Chevy pickup. Some friends at church have a '91 Chevy 1500 that won't quite run. It is a TBI system and if you pour some gas in the throttle body it'll run until that gas is gone.

The fuel pump is running but not enough gas is getting to the engine. It only needs 12 - 15 psi, but the pumps are known to get weak and the fuel pressure regulators are known to fail in full-return mode. So I'm going to order a gauge set and measure at the input and then the output of the filter and that will tell us which part is failing.

Gary, I would change the fuel filter.

They are pretty good filters and make it hard to pump through after many miles/years of use and will eat pumps.

A 92 Suburban I owned did that.

It's one of the first things I did when I bought a 98 Suburban and my 98 GMC.

Edit, reread your post, you are checking the pressure after the filter, good, I think I would replace the filter anyway.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, I would change the fuel filter.

They are pretty good filters and make it hard to pump through after many miles/years of use and will eat pumps.

A 92 Suburban I owned did that.

It's one of the first things I did when I bought a 98 Suburban and my 98 GMC.

Edit, reread your post, you are checking the pressure after the filter, good, I think I would replace the filter anyway.

Dane - We may do that. But this is a learning exercise for the young man who is going to drive the truck. His parents have asked that I teach him how to repair things, not just get the truck running. So we are going slowly and methodically.

For instance, they said it would click when you tried to start it. So they took the battery to the parts store and it tested good. But when I got there it wouldn't even click. So we put the meter on and had 12.45 volts, which I told him was adequate. But nothing worked at all and there was no voltage on any fuse in the main fuse compartment.

So we started checking the battery cables. The one to the alternator was good. The one to the starter was good. But there wasn't one to the cab on the battery. We found it dangling, apparently not having been reinstalled when the battery was removed.

We pulled all the positive cables and cleaned them with a wire brush, and reinstalled everything. Then it cranked and wanted to start but wouldn't. Gas gauge showed 1/2 a tank, but the gas had been put in back in January. So we pulled the air cleaner, put some new gas in, put the air cleaner on (with an explanation of why) and it started but died when that gas ran out.

Maybe the gas is bad or there isn't enough for the pump to pick it up? So we put ~3 gallons in the tank and the gauge read 1/4. Tried to start it and nada. Put gas in the engine and it ran until that ran out. Put another ~3 gallons in the tank and now it reads 1/8. And it still won't start w/o priming, and it then dies.

Watched a Youtube about low pressure and it explained where things are as well as that the pumps frequently fail. So we cracked the connection before and after the filter and got gas both places. Called DeWayne at the parts store and they don't have one, but he did said that the pressure regulator frequently fails and routes all the fuel back to the tank.

Then it was time to discuss this with he and his mother. I explained we could drag out the parts cannon and start firing or I'd be happy to buy a test kit and we go through the proper procedure to find the problem. The latter is what they want to do and they are buying the kit that will be mine when we are done.

Got the kit in this morning and it has soooooo many parts we should be able to make it work. But the instructions on the GM TBI are poor, so it is going to take some research to figure out where all we can test. Hopefully we can test before and after the fuel filter, which will determine if the pump is good and then if the filter is plugged. If both of those are good then it should be the regulator.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Dane - We may do that. But this is a learning exercise for the young man who is going to drive the truck. His parents have asked that I teach him how to repair things, not just get the truck running. So we are going slowly and methodically.

For instance, they said it would click when you tried to start it. So they took the battery to the parts store and it tested good. But when I got there it wouldn't even click. So we put the meter on and had 12.45 volts, which I told him was adequate. But nothing worked at all and there was no voltage on any fuse in the main fuse compartment.

So we started checking the battery cables. The one to the alternator was good. The one to the starter was good. But there wasn't one to the cab on the battery. We found it dangling, apparently not having been reinstalled when the battery was removed.

We pulled all the positive cables and cleaned them with a wire brush, and reinstalled everything. Then it cranked and wanted to start but wouldn't. Gas gauge showed 1/2 a tank, but the gas had been put in back in January. So we pulled the air cleaner, put some new gas in, put the air cleaner on (with an explanation of why) and it started but died when that gas ran out.

Maybe the gas is bad or there isn't enough for the pump to pick it up? So we put ~3 gallons in the tank and the gauge read 1/4. Tried to start it and nada. Put gas in the engine and it ran until that ran out. Put another ~3 gallons in the tank and now it reads 1/8. And it still won't start w/o priming, and it then dies.

Watched a Youtube about low pressure and it explained where things are as well as that the pumps frequently fail. So we cracked the connection before and after the filter and got gas both places. Called DeWayne at the parts store and they don't have one, but he did said that the pressure regulator frequently fails and routes all the fuel back to the tank.

Then it was time to discuss this with he and his mother. I explained we could drag out the parts cannon and start firing or I'd be happy to buy a test kit and we go through the proper procedure to find the problem. The latter is what they want to do and they are buying the kit that will be mine when we are done.

Got the kit in this morning and it has soooooo many parts we should be able to make it work. But the instructions on the GM TBI are poor, so it is going to take some research to figure out where all we can test. Hopefully we can test before and after the fuel filter, which will determine if the pump is good and then if the filter is plugged. If both of those are good then it should be the regulator.

If you're going TBI make sure the regulator is good.

They're kinda notorious for failing, and then fuel just circulates without any pressure for the injection.

[grumpin]

Dane - We may do that. But this is a learning exercise for the young man who is going to drive the truck. His parents have asked that I teach him how to repair things, not just get the truck running. So we are going slowly and methodically.

For instance, they said it would click when you tried to start it. So they took the battery to the parts store and it tested good. But when I got there it wouldn't even click. So we put the meter on and had 12.45 volts, which I told him was adequate. But nothing worked at all and there was no voltage on any fuse in the main fuse compartment.

So we started checking the battery cables. The one to the alternator was good. The one to the starter was good. But there wasn't one to the cab on the battery. We found it dangling, apparently not having been reinstalled when the battery was removed.

We pulled all the positive cables and cleaned them with a wire brush, and reinstalled everything. Then it cranked and wanted to start but wouldn't. Gas gauge showed 1/2 a tank, but the gas had been put in back in January. So we pulled the air cleaner, put some new gas in, put the air cleaner on (with an explanation of why) and it started but died when that gas ran out.

Maybe the gas is bad or there isn't enough for the pump to pick it up? So we put ~3 gallons in the tank and the gauge read 1/4. Tried to start it and nada. Put gas in the engine and it ran until that ran out. Put another ~3 gallons in the tank and now it reads 1/8. And it still won't start w/o priming, and it then dies.

Watched a Youtube about low pressure and it explained where things are as well as that the pumps frequently fail. So we cracked the connection before and after the filter and got gas both places. Called DeWayne at the parts store and they don't have one, but he did said that the pressure regulator frequently fails and routes all the fuel back to the tank.

Then it was time to discuss this with he and his mother. I explained we could drag out the parts cannon and start firing or I'd be happy to buy a test kit and we go through the proper procedure to find the problem. The latter is what they want to do and they are buying the kit that will be mine when we are done.

Got the kit in this morning and it has soooooo many parts we should be able to make it work. But the instructions on the GM TBI are poor, so it is going to take some research to figure out where all we can test. Hopefully we can test before and after the fuel filter, which will determine if the pump is good and then if the filter is plugged. If both of those are good then it should be the regulator.

You have a good plan.

Kudos to you for helping him learn!

[viven44]

You have a good plan.

Kudos to you for helping him learn!

I was playing with ported vacuum advance today after listening to what Gary and Jim had to say the other day when it comes to automatics.... I have always used manifold vacuum advance for the distributor per the factory vacuum diagrams.

As soon as I hooked up to the ported vacuum advance, I was like "hello there!"... I am seeing 2 benefits

-- Noticeable improvement in get up and go i.e. low-end torque

-- No more sudden burst of power when the secondaries open. I have a smooth power band now... my thought process is that on manifold vacuum I was not optimal on the low-end torque department so when the secondaries opened the increase was noticeable.

-- I am also noticing a reduction in tail pipe smoke on deceleration (probably just placebo effect.. ha ha)

I will keep an eye on my temperature gauge as I run this way for a bit. Also will listen for pinging.

[Danny G]

I was playing with ported vacuum advance today after listening to what Gary and Jim had to say the other day when it comes to automatics.... I have always used manifold vacuum advance for the distributor per the factory vacuum diagrams.

As soon as I hooked up to the ported vacuum advance, I was like "hello there!"... I am seeing 2 benefits

-- Noticeable improvement in get up and go i.e. low-end torque

-- No more sudden burst of power when the secondaries open. I have a smooth power band now... my thought process is that on manifold vacuum I was not optimal on the low-end torque department so when the secondaries opened the increase was noticeable.

-- I am also noticing a reduction in tail pipe smoke on deceleration (probably just placebo effect.. ha ha)

I will keep an eye on my temperature gauge as I run this way for a bit. Also will listen for pinging.

Doing a layout today for the laser for a door tag.