Intro - Oregon guy

[Supurpan]

Thanks Robyn! I've been looking at a reman'd Racor 490R, still trying to determine what the actual fuel flow needs are for the 6.2. I've got a GM service manual coming for an '86 Suburban, but I'm not sure how much of the 6.2 it will cover.

My barn door seals and shocks arrived yesterday.

Just got a call from Les Schwab about the front end control arm bushings. The truck is an '86 2wd, and the ball joints he ordered are right, but the CAB's are too small. Is it possible the truck uses 1 ton bushings due to the heavier engine? Rockauto.com lists the same bushings for diesel and gas from about '76 to '90, but they are not right for this truck. Any ideas?

[Supurpan]

A few updates...

#1 Jiffy Lube put 15 quarts of oil in the engine and started it. Now the rear main is leaking, I'll have to pursue legal action here, I think.

#2 The new ball joints add to the confidence of driving the truck, but the CAB's are still shot. It's so badly out of alignment, the driver's front tire has worn into the steel bands and still has 11/32 of tread in the middle. Need to figure out what bushings I'll need. Doesn't seem like it should be that hard, it's a 2x.

#3 Torque converter bolts backed out and scared the heck out of me. I was able to have them tightened and lock-tited by O-F-I (Oregon Fuel Injection) and they gave the flywheel a clean bill of health when they fixed the loose bolts. Man, it sounded like the truck was going to come apart...

#4 Still on the quest for a cheap fuel filter. I plan to put another filter in line for now, the VW rabbit diesel can filter is 10 microns, and runs about $18, it also has a water drain.

Lovin' this truck more and more each time I drive it.

[Robyn]

A DS4 equipped truck with a 6.5 needs a flow of around 35 Gallon an hour.

The 6.2 with the DB2 will not need near that much flow.

20 GPH is likely fine

I am using a Racor 230R2 on the DaHooooley truck.

Not too big to be handy to fit in easy.

Robyn

[Supurpan]

I have a set of new seals for the rear doors, but I'm not sure I understand how to adjust the door in the opening. The driver's side door is definitely not in the opening 'squarely'. There is a much larger gap at the top than at the bottom.

I'll do a little searching here, but the only adjustment I see is front to back, not left to right...

[DmaxMaverick]

Sounds like time for hinge pins or hinges (yours are bolt-on). They wear out over time, and probably a long time ago in your case (and mine). Hinges, pins, striker bolts and latches are not uncommon items. LMC Truck should have them.

[Supurpan]

Been slowly correcting the little stuff wrong with this truck. Got all new dash bulbs in, and what a difference that makes. Ordered new door switches and strikers from RockAuto and now I've actually got a light that comes on when you open the door, and a door that doesn't constantly rattle when you're driving.

So, here's the issue I just found: There is water coming in the front section of the cab when the truck is parked. It usually sits in a level driveway a couple of days at a time. It hasn't rained hard here but the front floorboards, on the driver's side especially, are wet. It looks like it's dripping down about midway (front to back) on both kick panels ahead of the front doors. Is this a common problem? Is it just a poor seal/rusted lip on the windshield, or is there a vent or something that gets full of crud and rusts or overflows? The windshield is nearly new, but I know the lower flange corners were a GM problem area.

I am planning to reinstall the headliner, but as any PNW'r knows, if it's damp inside it'll just fall down again.

Thanks for any advice, I will eventually get some photos up

[Supurpan]

Still no pics, I know, that's lame.

Swapped in a new T-stat last week, and now the temp gauge is all over the place. The old thermostat was stuck open. It was running right around 190-200F when it was working properly.

So a couple of questions on what I might have done wrong. I drained the coolant from the petcock on the rad until is was below the level of the thermostat. Pulled the housing off, replaced the t-stat and gasket. Put it back together, and put the coolant I'd collected from the rad back in. I also added about 2 additional quarts of 50/50 to top off the radiator.

A couple of days ago, I noticed the burp tank was about 3/4 full (it had been just below the COLD line), so I drained that tank thinking I might have overfilled it on reassembly. I was thinking it was probably the 2 quarts extra I'd added.

Today, it ran up to nearly 260 before I could shut it down. Once I did, I checked the upper rad hose and it was only warm. Opened up the rad cap and the rad was 2 quarts low. The coolant level was just above the sensor, and the burp tank was almost full.

In the cab, the truck warms up to about 190, then over a bit and you can see the new thermostat open. From there it's all over the place. No heat in the cab unless the truck is moving, which makes me think the heater core has air in it...

So, maybe I've got a head gasket going, but it sure doesn't run like it has any compression issues. It has never blown any sort of white smoke, or smelled of coolant at the exhaust. No drippy water crap at the pipes either. I think I must have just forgotten to burp something and have an air pocket in there somewhere.

Today I put a new rad cap on after rechecking for any leaks (had a small drip at the T-stat housing and on one heater hose), my thinking being the old one might be sucking air. Didn't seem to make a difference, although the system is holding pressure better. It spews way better once it warms up and you pop the cap.

Advice? I know with other rigs, I've usually run the car up to operating temp with the rad cap off after a new T-stat. I think I forgot to do that this time. Is that all I need to do? I'd sure like my heater back.