Free to me 1996 GMC

[OR VietVet]

yea gm engineers built the perfect vehicle 30 years ago, no improvements needed according to those clowns

As a member of the GMT400 forum, for my girl's 1990 K2500, I guess I am one of those clowns. Thick skinned though. I have owned 3 GMT400 trucks and also the GMT800's. Great trucks IMO.

 

[Dantheman1540]

yea gm engineers built the perfect vehicle 30 years ago, no improvements needed according to those clowns

I agree toilet bowl injection is best injection

Not so much for the stock 1/2 ton drum brake set up. The favorite swap is the 14 bolt semi float drum brake swap, like what comes stock on my girl's light duty K2500.

Who is heckling you at GMT400 forum? Decent members there.

You’re saying you like the big drum but not the little half ton drums?

No one specific and I get their reasoning drums can work well. Just not worth the hassle, and if I didn’t already have everything to swap them out I’d probably just have a shop fix them. But an electric locker and big modern disk brakes is too good to ignore, especially for free.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Axle is all welded up, I was originally going to wait until it had been rebuilt and actually weld everything once it was mocked up in the truck. But instead I just took a crap ton of measurements and used my digital angle finder a lot. I think it will work out.

Also maybe one of y’all know, but I’m struggling to find a driver seat that isn’t totally busted, and has the top handle on the side that folds the seat forward and slides its forward to access the back easier. Thing is my current seat only folds forward when that handle is grabbed. I’m not sure if that is just another thing that’s broken with this seat or if that is actually how it’s supposed to work. If all the handle ever does is fold the front forward and not move the base then I can move forward with the nice Tahoe seats I have.

 

[east302]

Also maybe one of y’all know, but I’m struggling to find a driver seat that isn’t totally busted, and has the top handle on the side that folds the seat forward and slides its forward to access the back easier. Thing is my current seat only folds forward when that handle is grabbed. I’m not sure if that is just another thing that’s broken with this seat or if that is actually how it’s supposed to work. If all the handle ever does is fold the front forward and not move the base then I can move forward with the nice Tahoe seats I have.

Nope, that’s how it is supposed to work. It’s probably something to do with the power seat base. My 98 truck and Tahoe (both power driver seats) are the same way.

Edit:

From the manual, power seats didn’t have the slide-forward feature like the manual seats.

 

[Dantheman1540]

I’m either getting good at axle swaps or this was just an easy one. Took about 3hours to get the old one out, and new one bolted in. It’s not done, still needs, shocks, brake lines, diff fluid, and a shock mount relocated because I’m an idiot and welded them both on the front of the axle.

But pretty happy with the progress and hopefully next weekend it will be moving and stopping under its own power again.

 

[Dantheman1540]

I finally finished this up last week, made brake lines, relocated a shock mount that I welded in the wrong side of the axle, and bled the brakes. The brakes are great, but I’m waiting on shocks to show up. I ordered 5165s from Wheel Every Weekend, which is the same people that specced my rangers 7100s and my goodness those things are amazing.

I did play around with wheel spacers once I got the truck rolling again and realized the H2 axle is about equal width to the front now so it doesn’t need spacers in the back where the old axle needed 3”. Since the back doesn’t need any to match the front I attempted to ditch the front 1.5” spacers and that ended poorly. I didn’t notice it when I bolted the wheels on but apparently the UCA touched the wheel lip and shaved me some pretty aluminum strips. Not major damage was done and I slapped the 1.5” spacers back on for now, I also have a set of 1” but I gotta grind the lug stud tips off for them to fit, not sure it’s worth it.

Anyway after the shocks are in the next priority is alignment which means I might as well do tierods and that means kryptonite.

 

[strutaeng]

I agree toilet bowl injection is best injection


You’re saying you like the big drum but not the little half ton drums?

No one specific and I get their reasoning drums can work well. Just not worth the hassle, and if I didn’t already have everything to swap them out I’d probably just have a shop fix them. But an electric locker and big modern disk brakes is too good to ignore, especially for free.

I was chatting with Shakenfake a few weeks ago and he said something like, "drum brakes are for losers" which I thought was LoL...too bad he's not here on this forum or I could rope him in

Anyways, your rear end swap is freaking bad ass! Rear discs FTW.

BTW, you should also tell the guys at the GMT400 forum you are also planning to LS swap your truck, just to stir $hit up, LoL. They hate LS swaps...

 

[Dantheman1540]

I was chatting with Shakenfake a few weeks ago and he said something like, "drum brakes are for losers" which I thought was LoL...too bad he's not here on this forum or I could rope him in

Anyways, your rear end swap is freaking bad ass! Rear discs FTW.

BTW, you should also tell the guys at the GMT400 forum you are also planning to LS swap your truck, just to stir $hit up, LoL. They hate LS swaps...

I do wish I had fixed the drums enough to do a good before test, to prove that disks are better. They even look great which is not the reason I did it but a great byproduct.

I can’t wait to get a few more things done on it and actually go test it off road. I’m curious if the locker is going to be noticeably better than the extra tight posi I have in my ranger. I know the truck won’t perform anywhere nearly as well as my ranger but I’m interested to see if I can tell a difference.

 

[th3 shifty]

I just did the drum brakes on my daughters 99 civic.. all drum brakes are pretty much the same… and I pretty much HATE all drum brakes.. I hate the stupid springs, the adjustment, how they brake… what a rotten set up.

 

[tom3]

Only problem with the GM rear discs is that garbage emergency brake. Here in the rust belt that almost disappears after a few years.