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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / New welding truck....no seriously!
- - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 12-23-2011 05:57
So with several jobs lost this year to the ultra reliability of the Dodge I decided that perhaps it was time to pickup something else to spend my money on in maintenance! Found a '95 Chevy 2500 with a utility bed. Was skeptical at first from the pictures but when I drove up on it I about fell over! This thing is ultra clean! 266k on the ticker, 350 Cheby, 4 speed auto, utility bed is in excellent shape, all tool boxes are dry. Engine is clean as a whistle. Gonna need some tires but this truck is gonna be a "maintenance" type of truck when it comes to taxes. Only problem the guy told me was an engine miss. I drove it and sure enough, misses like crazy while in gear. Talked about plugs/wires, he said he had changed them recently. Paid him $2500 for it and drove it home missing. He's been driving it for weeks like this. Get home, pop the hood and pull the air cleaner. Check that he actually had the plug wires in the correct firing order, yep, grabbed a can of brake clean and sprayed the throttle body gasket, engine stumbles, hit it again and engine stumbles again. Ok, problem solved, $10 gasket and we're in business.

Going to set this one up with my ranger, wire feeder and handrail junk. It was kinda nice to ride in something that didn't try and beat your kidneys out of your body! Kinda excited to get the truck set up and start using it! Got a big job 1st of the year and think I'm going to use the cheby and let the dodge sit at home. Might get to pull the bed on the dodge and actually work on the new bed on weekends! Got to looking at the back of this truck and thinking how nice one of those Lincoln 305 G's back there to accompany my wire feeder! I'll add some more pictures tomorrow when the light is out.
Parent - - By TozziWelding (**) Date 12-23-2011 10:04
Your lucky it is a gasser, after going from my ultra reliable, never left me stranded, Ford with a 7.3 in it, to a GMC diesel, I will never buy another GM ever.
Parent - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 12-23-2011 11:45
That's why I bought it! The 350 is like our Continental engines! Been around forever and are dynamite engines! I've had a few Chevy's and worked on them for 4 years so having insider knowledge is another plus!
Parent - - By weldwade (***) Date 12-23-2011 19:39
Tozzi every auto manufacturer has their products that are junk! The 6.5 turbo diesel is at the top of gm's list imo. I am another unfortunate owner of one. I was also the unfortunate owner of a 2008 6.4 Ford diesel that was even a bigger pos than my old 93 6.5! I was never so happy to get rid of a vehicle in my life.

Shawn looks like a good truck. The last one I owned had almost 380K on the ticker when I got rid of it. Easy to work on and never let me down. What trans does it have?
Parent - - By Tommyjoking (****) Date 12-23-2011 21:43
I am more a Ford guy but you just cannot go wrong with a 350.  Most of the auto trans in the heavier trucks were good back then too.  My rig is an old beater GMC with a 350 + Auto, has not let me down yet, knock on wood.  Heck as long as it was not made on Monday or Friday it is probably a good vehicle. :grin:  The GM diesels I was never impressed with, always heard lots of complaints on them.  I talked to a few guys who are really impressed with the new 6.7 Powerstroke, but I reckon you need to wait till you see some running around with 250k on the clock before you know for sure.  Talk to hotshot guys, they are running there trucks harder/quicker then anybody else.

Shawn I think you are going to make good use out of that utility bed!  Nice to have plenty of storage ain't it?
Parent - - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 12-24-2011 00:31
Wade, I know it's a 3spd overdrive, 4 speed. Not sure on the type in these years. Built some turbo 350's and 400's back in the hay day! Got some oil, filter and apparently I'm going to need plugs and wires. Been chasing a miss and all plugs are black and sooty. The guy did plugs and wires and he said it has a miss. My first question was, "did you use AC Delco plugs? He said, I believe so. We tried looking in the dark but could not see. Tonight fixed my leaky gasket and a few vacuum hoses and then pulled the plugs and found Autolites......"Oh dear, no wonder the darn thing is missing and stinking." I've had several GM vehicles in this time frame and worked on others with the same issue. They buy the cheap Autolites for $1.29 each and it runs like heck. Tomorrow is finish oil change, plugs, wires, looks like intake is leaking so I might try and do intake gaskets, timing chain, gaskets, water pump, valve covers here in the next week. Pickin' up ol' Red on Tuesday so I'll be an official 2 truck business!!

GM diesels got a bad rap when they crammed them into a car. The 6.2/6.5 was a gutless wonder turd, they threw a turbo on it with the 6.5 and that thing was still useless. The 6.7 Powerstroke is something I'm gonna keep my eye on. In all my life Ford has had the single best built suspension, frame, drivetrain. When you wanted a heavy duty truck Ford did/does it.

Yeah Tommy the utility bed is going to be great! It even has a toolbox in the box behind the driver seat! So I can put vise grips, hand tools in an actual toolbox! Everything is dry in the boxes and it was raining on the way home when I bought it so it was a good test at least!
Parent - - By TozziWelding (**) Date 12-24-2011 01:05 Edited 12-24-2011 01:07
I have the 6.5 in a truck that scales 14,700 pounds everyday, not made for the application. If I had an old 292 straight 6 I would be tickled to death, they put them in C-70 dump trucks and never killed them. My 6.5 is a new motor for the chassis and only had 60k on it when I bought the truck and ate a lifter and bent 2 pushrods(replaced and running but a pain in my a$$). I am either swapping chassis or dropping a Cummins in the GMC. I will say having a utility bed is nice, everything seems to have a home till you get more stuff.
Parent - - By weldwade (***) Date 12-24-2011 01:41
Tozzi check the emissions regulations where you live to make sure you can do it. Here in AZ they have BS laws on vehicles 93 and newer. I don't live in an area where emissions is required so im doing what I want. If it tries to bite me I will move!
Parent - By TozziWelding (**) Date 12-24-2011 01:48
On a Diesel there is only a "snap test" to see if you blow black smoke on rapid acceleration. I am all set with a Diesel swap, if I put a 454 in her I would need to be OBD2 compliant as the truck is a 98'. The emissions laws here for gassers are for 95' and up, they plug in to OBD2 and check for codes.
Parent - - By Tommyjoking (****) Date 12-24-2011 17:01
Tozzi that's how I feel about a 300 and a four speed granny.  If I ever saw a 1 ton with a 300 and that granny trans that was not roached out I would have to buy it.  Not great on the highway but completely bulletproof and all the torque you need.  Three weber two barrel sidedrafts, a set of headers and a cam ...then you got one hoss of a six.  I shed a tear when they quit making that thing.  I have never seen one like that though, they always had 460's in em. Pass everything but a gas station.
Parent - By TozziWelding (**) Date 12-25-2011 00:33
Tommy, I am a Ford guy but the GMC had a crane and body for the right price. I had a 65' 4 wheel drive with the old 300 and a 4 speed and it was an unstoppable beast. People may say BMW perfected the inline 6 but Ford nailed it with the 300 back in the 60's.
Parent - - By weldwade (***) Date 12-24-2011 01:36
I can't remember what year the switch was from the 700R4 to the 4L60E. I have had both and the best advice I can give is the stock trans cooling is not enough for a work truck hauling heavy loads all the time. I added big plate style coolers and a deeper pan on both of mine. The last one I had that had almost 380K on it had the R4. I did have to rebuild the trans at around 250k but it was just clutches and seals. I did it myself for under a couple hundred bucks. And add a trans temp gauge. I am swapping the 6.5 in my 93 for a 454. When I get that done I am going to make it my new rig.
Parent - - By hillbilly (**) Date 12-24-2011 03:27
This isn't the gospel say take it for it's worth. Seems the 4l80E was also available in those years aswell. Shawn is it the 6 lug 2500 or the 8 lug version? If 8, full or semi floater? We ran these at the telephone factory and ran the dog snot out of them. The only issues we had were door handles, inside and out, parking brake release cables. Other than they were like any other vehicle. You'll love that service bed, before too long you'll be cleaning it out wondering were all[img][/img] the extra stuff came from. Lol.
Parent - By reitenger (*) Date 12-24-2011 05:33
Don't forget that there was a non electric version of the 4L80E available in a lot of fleet vehicles (4L80?) in that time frame.  I have one in a 3/4 ton suburban that I bought from the state of Arkansas a few years back.  It might be special because the suburban was ordered as a diesel with a 350 in it.  Meaning hydroboost brakes and monstrous fuel tank, full float corp 14 axle in the rear as well.

I have a 12v cummins sitting on the floor waiting to go into the suburban one of these days when money and time coincide.
Parent - - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 12-24-2011 10:26 Edited 12-24-2011 10:30
Actually, the guy I bought it from said the rear end went out in it. Oddly enough at the very same time my Dodge was being repaired for that very same issue, thought it must have been carma! Anyhow, guy said he could not find a 6 lug rear end so it has an 8 lug rear and 6 lug on the front. This truck will fit very nicely in my "Oddities" stable with my Dodge being a 2500 with a 3500 rear axle, springs, etc!! Thinking I want to see if the 6 and 8 lug hubs are the same bearing size on the front. If so I want to try and make it 8 lug all the way around, I might have some nice shiny aluminum wheels to fit it for free if I can!

Here's a better pic,
Parent - By Pickupman (***) Date 12-24-2011 13:42 Edited 12-24-2011 13:49
But Shawn, it has those cool retro black rockstar wheels already on it ! You'd ditch those for shiney aluneeum? GM must do some oddball stuff for fleet trucks because one company I worked for had a 3/4 ton chevy with a v6 in it and we needed to replace the front brake pads. We hunted all over for pads for it and they were all too big. Found out it had 1/2 ton brakes on a 3/4 ton front end.                   Added info.
Parent - - By Rafter_G_Weldin (***) Date 12-24-2011 14:10
When I broke out I had a 89good model single cab 6 lug 2500 also know as a heavy half. I had my rig on a chopped down 2 horse trailer and I drug it 4 hrs round trip for 3the years. I bought the truck from the power plant my mom works at for 500.00 and ran the he'll out of it til it died 1 day 5 miles from home figuerex it was the fuel pump so I parked it and bought another. 6 months later I sold it for 500 dropped 5 gallons of gas in it and it fired right off for the guy lol. It was caterpillar yellow with a white roof ugly as he'll no a/c and the heater always stayed on til I pulled the fuse. I made a ton of money with that truck. Got picked on about it and I just told everybody my stuff is paid for and you are paying 700 a month for yours and laughed eight back at them the 350I is hard to kill but not impossible to do so I killed a few in my time.
Parent - By JMCInc (**) Date 12-24-2011 18:08 Edited 12-24-2011 18:13
Hey Shawn,

The bearings are not the same...I had a '91 3/4t 6 lug. Had to do the same thing to mine that your new truck had done to it. The 6 lug 3/4t had a Dana 60 pumpkin with semi floating axles. They also made an 8 lug with semi floating axles too. Neither one of the two could pack any weight at all. I put a Dana 70 corporate with full floating axles, overloads and a heavy duty sway bar under it and proceeded to put 317,000 hard miles on it. In order to get an 8 lug hub assembly on the front you have to find a donor and swap the upper and lower control arms, hubs, calipers, and torsion bars. It is actually easier to find a front end from a Ford 3/4 ton with the pumpkin on the driver's side and throw all that IFS crap in the scrap heap. Check the internet, there are companies that make the conversion kits to pull it off, if you feel so inclined. I was all set to do that very swap then I did a brake job on a friends '97 Dodge diesel. The test drive produced perma-grin that lasted all night and into the next day. I own that truck now. Sold the chevy for $500 and three cords of wood.  Merry Christmas and congratulations on your expanding business! Pretty soon you'll be riding a desk and giving orders to your foreman!

oops.. I forgot to ask if it's 4X4 or not. If not it just might be a simple fix.
Parent - - By Chris2626 (***) Date 12-25-2011 01:37
Fastest on rolling down hill, F*** over rebuilt dodge, Found on the road DEAD
Parent - - By hillbilly (**) Date 12-25-2011 15:22
Shawn you can always redrill the hubs in the rear to match the front, or the opposite. We redrill those 14 bolt hubs to match 6 lug fronts often in the offroad world.
Parent - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 12-28-2011 11:47
Actually been thinking about this option. It's going to suck not being able to have a spare if needed.
Parent - - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 12-28-2011 01:53
How about Dang Ol' Dodge Gets Expensive

and

Cracked
Heads
Every
Valve
Rattles
Oil
Leaks
Every
Time
Parent - By Chris2626 (***) Date 12-28-2011 04:45
I like that
Parent - By HillbillyWelder (**) Date 12-28-2011 10:58
First On Race Day
Parent - - By Sourdough (****) Date 12-31-2011 04:31
If your strokin and cummin, then you must be hard as a rock....I'm in a 96 Silverado 4 door 3500. It aint like my Duramax was, but man it's cheap to fix when something needs replaced. And it rides like all Chevies do, like a cadillac.
Parent - - By rcwelding (***) Date 01-01-2012 03:12 Edited 01-01-2012 23:48
Sourdough... I haven't been a member of this forum long but the short time that I have and the few posts that I have seen of yours....  You  crack me up hand...

Where would a guy have to go to meet a crazy buzzard like you... I may have to take a trip in the next year or two just to meet you and shake your hand followed by a couple of cold ones of coarse..!!! :grin:
Parent - By Sourdough (****) Date 01-01-2012 04:18
Well hell, just follow the yellow brick road. Hey, I just aint a pro establishment kind of guy. I figure there oughta be more foks out there that are ready and willing to fight and take a beating for what they believe, and that are discerning enough to see the difference between folks that are good for the whole of us, and the ones that just suck air and encumber the rest of us that are tied to mother earth. I know I tick a lot of guys off with my arrogance, but hey baby, I do run with the big dogs cause i think outside the danged old box. those other peeps that want to talk smack all their lives until they actually believe it are an insult to humanity, and contribute to the flakey, phony, little country we have managed to survive in among them. I learned a little in prison about a thing called denial. I guess it would be a matter of opinion whether I am better or worse for the change, but I can tell you that I am sober, skilled, and tenacious in the endeavors I immerse myself in, thus creating an optimal margin for success. That chaps some a**es, it really does. Cause who really wants to hear the truth when they don't really live it. Not really.......

Whoa, don't get me on a roll fella, too many years behind the walls turns you into a misfit philosopher......:wink:
- - By Eric Carroll (**) Date 12-27-2011 01:29
COPYCAT! I guess we are going to have a White-Chevy-utility bed-Riglet race. Loser buys lunch.
Parent - - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 12-27-2011 12:12
Hahaha!! Mine don't have the cool places over the wheel wells for the wheel chocks though! Or the even cooler "orange cone storage" on the back!! Your truck might win, found out mine is a very rare GM 7 cylinder 350!!
Parent - - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 12-28-2011 02:01
Got my riglet or non rig or whatever it may be called all loaded up, ranger, ln25 and all the tools, wheel barrow, shovels. Going out on our first job finishing off a radius handrail job I started 6 months ago! Time for the 7 cylinder to make some money!! :lol:
Parent - By TozziWelding (**) Date 12-28-2011 02:08
That old 350 will run on 7 for a while, the cabbies in NY couldn't kill one I think you will be fine. Hell my Grandfather had an old M-37 Dodge with a bad cyl and he just pulled the plug wire off the bad cyl. That old beast pushed snow on 5 cyls till it rotted out.
Parent - - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 12-28-2011 02:08
One of My friends got a '67 Mustang, 8 cylinders & 7 pistons. Couldn't get rid of that miss...:confused:

Whoever broke that connecting rod removed the piston, upper half of the rod and the pushrods for that cylinder.
Didn't run all that bad, considering...:eek:
Parent - - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 12-28-2011 03:27
Funny thing is that crossed my mind except with the piston in there it will try and push the fuel out the exhaust instead of it going straight into the oil pan.

Tozzi,

We had a malibu back in the early 90's. Seems like it had a 231 V6 in it. That thing dropped a cylinder and we had our first Chevy 5 cylinder. We ran that sucker for a year or better like that then put in a straight 6(same tranny). Then I bought it from my Mom and put a 350 in it out of a '72 Impala(same tranny). One of the best cars I ever owned when it came to pure nutty power! It was a stock 350 but man alive!! At 30mph in third gear that car would light up both rear tires on a two barrel carb! Golly I miss that car!

My "business plan" drive it until it puts the rod out the side or whatever it plans to do. Tow it home and pick up a reman engine for $1500. I figure I need to work it for one month solid and it will have earned it's cost, a new engine and then a profit.
Parent - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 12-28-2011 05:12
This was an old 289 2V. With the pushrods removed, the valves stayed closed, so no mixture or fuel issues.
- By Dualie (***) Date 12-28-2011 03:30
took a ride home from the airport one day in an old crown vic police interceptor turned cabbie.     had the 4.6L V-8 in it with according to the ODO 372,000 miles on it.    it was running rough as all heck and you could actually HEAR it pumping air out of the cylinder after they removed the spark plug and unclipped the fuel injector.  

He didnt speak enough English for me to ask how long it had been like that though but being a gambling man i would be willing to be a while.
- - By Eric Carroll (**) Date 12-29-2011 03:52
You can copy my hi tech bottle rack if you want!!
Parent - - By Dualie (***) Date 12-29-2011 05:10
how big of a pain in the azz is it to get the bottles out of the rack?
Parent - By Eric Carroll (**) Date 12-29-2011 14:17
Not too bad, we have a loading dock at my shop, so you just have to pick them up about a foot and lower them down.
Parent - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 12-31-2011 01:44 Edited 12-31-2011 01:54
I see you still have that custom welder tie down in there as well!!! I can't use that idea, that toolbox on my truck is my whip and extension cord storage. Have to do a heater core on my truck(Dodge) tomorrow. Apparently I have not paid it enough attention lately! That's my plan in the morning, afternoon might be jerkin' the engine out of the GMC and finding out if it's a 4 bolt or 2 bolt main. OReilly's has a 3 year warranty, unlimited mileage for $1300. Tired of the rattle and shake!

I like your single lock setup better than mine. Pull into the home store or something and spend 10 minutes walking around locking toolboxes! :lol:

I have to say though, that GM is pretty nice as far as the ride goes. Get this engine swapped out and I can see driving it a bunch. Gonna have to black out the windows though and spend  some time painting the business name on the sides. I've got a set of little bottles, back toolbox on the passenger side don't lock so thinking I might try and put the tanks in there and a hose wrap in the bed. Main concern, get 8 cylinders back!
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / New welding truck....no seriously!

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