Growing up doesn't have to suck

[Fless]

Anyone hit an eagle?

No, but I did get three pheasants in one shot in my Datsun 510. One went under, one hit the grill, and the third hit the windshield. My buddy Larry (RIP) was sitting in the passenger seat and just about had a heart attack! We laughed about that for a long time afterward.

 

[wjburken]

Anyone hit an eagle?

My wife took out a turkey once. Had feathers wedged under the trim above her windshield. Looked like a native american's headdress when she pulled into the drive. She was not sharing in my humor at the time.

I took out a group of turtle doves with my 2002 Silverado 5 days after I bought it. Busted some of the mounting clips on the grill. I took it to the dealer and the owner who is a family friend said "looks like a warranty issue" and got the grill replaced for free.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Anyone hit an eagle?

Hit a bat, got stuck in my grill. No damage tho.

 

[swathdiver]

Hit a bat, got stuck in my grill. No damage tho.

In 1990 we had a bat fly into the grill of our F-SuperDuty. We could hear him screaming for a while and when we got the truck stop he was dead. Still have his face seared into memory, scary! We have a lot of bats around the house but only see/hear them after dusk as they fly off to the bridges for the night.

We were in two vans heading down a two lane road north of Okeechobee city about 25 years ago doing 55 or whatever the speed limit was back then. Up ahead was a small dead gator in the middle of the road being feasted on by a couple of turkey vultures and this female eagle. As we approached, the vultures took off first and she was slow to alight and hit the windshield of the first van and flipped end over end and landed on the road as we came to a crash stop. We put some work gloves on and grabbed a sandbag and brought her into the truck and then back to camp. Someone went next door to a farm and called the Audubon Society. They came out with the game warden and took her to the hospital where she was euthanized because of internal injuries.

A few years later I was leaving a friends house late at night and came around a blind curve in my Buick at a good clip and took out a whole family of raccoons. They came right out in front, nothing I could do, felt really bad about that.

My wife took a rabbit right between the wheels on a road not far from the house one night. Every time we go down that road I yell out to the kids to be on the lookout for a rabbit with a reverse mowhawk!

 

[Tonyrodz]

In 1990 we had a bat fly into the grill of our F-SuperDuty. We could hear him screaming for a while and when we got the truck stop he was dead. Still have his face seared into memory, scary! We have a lot of bats around the house but only see/hear them after dusk as they fly off to the bridges for the night.

We were in two vans heading down a two lane road north of Okeechobee city about 25 years ago doing 55 or whatever the speed limit was back then. Up ahead was a small dead gator in the middle of the road being feasted on by a couple of turkey vultures and this female eagle. As we approached, the vultures took off first and she was slow to alight and hit the windshield of the first van and flipped end over end and landed on the road as we came to a crash stop. We put some work gloves on and grabbed a sandbag and brought her into the truck and then back to camp. Someone went next door to a farm and called the Audubon Society. They came out with the game warden and took her to the hospital where she was euthanized because of internal injuries.

A few years later I was leaving a friends house late at night and came around a blind curve in my Buick at a good clip and took out a whole family of raccoons. They came right out in front, nothing I could do, felt really bad about that.

My wife took a rabbit right between the wheels on a road not far from the house one night. Every time we go down that road I yell out to the kids to be on the lookout for a rabbit with a reverse mowhawk!

Since the eagle is federally protected, you could actually be charged with a crime for hitting an eagle. Accident or not. Not even allowed to possess a feather--unless your Native American and you're using it for a ceremony or part of traditional dress.

 

[RMBX]

Had a few hours to work on it today. First, I did some quick testing on the Air lift bags. I measured the amount of lift at certain air pressures, from floor to fender-

0psi: 33 3/8"

5psi: 33 1/2"

35psi: 34 1/4"

I tested both bags at the same time since one side would affect the other approximately 50% (tested and confirmed this). My Tahoe sits level, within 1/16" left-to-right so these measurements apply to both sides (also tested and confirmed).

Hey dub, Impressive build thread! I'm waiting for parts and was reading about your Auto Level mod with the Airlift 1000. Did the stock air compressor shut off before reaching the 35psi max? I'd like to copy your idea!

 

[swathdiver]

Since the eagle is federally protected, you could actually be charged with a crime for hitting an eagle. Accident or not. Not even allowed to possess a feather--unless your Native American and you're using it for a ceremony or part of traditional dress.

That's why the game warden came out. My boss at the time, when he found out the bird had to be euthanized, asked for the tail feathers and claws and they said no of course.

 

[wjburken]

In memory of your old signature photo.

 

[Tonyrodz]

In memory of your old signature photo.
View attachment 246445

Is that @iamdub's Hoe? Looks good I heard it's a real dumpster "Don'cha know"

 

[iamdub]

Hey dub, Impressive build thread!

Thank you!

I'm waiting for parts and was reading about your Auto Level mod with the Airlift 1000. Did the stock air compressor shut off before reaching the 35psi max?

No. AFAIK, it's controlled by the height sensors. It'll run to pump air into the sleeve bags on the shocks until the vehicle is level again. At 100+ psi, it should be able to lift the rear to level as long as it's not loaded beyond capacity. There may be a pressure switch that will shut it off at a preset max psi, but that pressure would still be about five times what the Airlift bags can hold. The Airlift bags aren't designed to "grow" much, at least nowhere near what the factory sleeve bags are. The sleeves are all about growth and can expand upward about 5-6 inches. What I'm trying to accomplish involves careful monitoring and experimenting with the very limited amount of growth from the Airlift bags. If it can be made to work, it would be under very tight tolerances. I'm not 100% ready to throw in the towel, but I can say for sure that if you're not lowered and are open to other options, consider those instead.

I'd like to copy your idea!

Ehh. I'd have to recommend otherwise. It was looking like a lost cause from the beginning but I already had the Airlift bags and saw a minuscule ray of light, so I had to at least investigate for myself.

 

[iamdub]

Is that @iamdub's Hoe? Looks good I heard it's a real dumpster "Don'cha know"

A dumpster gets more action in a week than my 'Hoe has gotten in two months and counting.

 

[iamdub]

Had 16 big black rods waiting for me on my doorstep last night:

Had to test fit one. Should be enough clearance. After all, the point of 3/8" pushrods is to reduce/eliminate flexing:

 

[RMBX]

Ehh. I'd have to recommend otherwise. It was looking like a lost cause from the beginning but I already had the Airlift bags and saw a minuscule ray of light, so I had to at least investigate for myself.

Thanks for your insight! Looking forward to seeing you finish your engine!

 

[pwtr02ss]

Current small update-

Took a closer look at the oil pump last night and marked some areas I want to improve:

View attachment 242730


Had a service call at an Autozone today so I grabbed a bolt (oil plug) to replace the AFM oil pressure relief valve in the oil pan:

View attachment 242731


I used an aluminum washer instead of the plastic one that came with it:

View attachment 242732


Torqued into place with red Loctite. Looks like it was made for this purpose:

View attachment 242733

What oil pump did you go with? I'm getting closer to pulling the motor on the avalanche. A buddy of mine has several parts thats he has left over from various builds

Lifters PN 12499225 (LS-7 I think)
Brian Tooley Trays PN BTR95365-4 (I think they are GM)
Timing Chain PN 12646386 (I hope its LS-2 but haven't been able to confirm)
Melling Oil Pump PN 10296 (I think I want a GM)

Also, did you tap the block and put the plugs in to avoid buying a new, non-DOD valley cover or is that required?

 

[iamdub]

What oil pump did you go with?

Melling M295HV. Also ported it. My oil pressure was fine and, as far as my research showed, the M295HV was the direct replacement for the pump used in the AFM engines, which used a high volume pump. There's no need to try to peg out the oil pressure gauge. It's just excess load on the engine and stress on the seals. ~40psi +/- 25% is fine.

A buddy of mine has several parts thats he has left over from various builds

Lifters PN 12499225 (LS-7 I think)
Brian Tooley Trays PN BTR95365-4 (I think they are GM)
Timing Chain PN 12646386 (I hope its LS-2 but haven't been able to confirm)
Melling Oil Pump PN 10296 (I think I want a GM)

That is the part number for GM "LS7" lifters and what I bought a year ago with GM lifter trays for $123. They're now $260 for just the lifters. If your buddy has some for a good price, SCORE.

I don't know where BT sources his lifters trays from, but I'd imagine he wouldn't hinge his reputation on sub-par items to save a buck when the legit GM ones are (or were?) relatively cheap to begin with.

That is the part number for the GM LS2 timing chain. I bought one on ebay but I'm not sure it's the LS2 one or even GM. I may be taking a gamble.

Last I knew, Melling supplied GM with oil pumps.

Also, did you tap the block and put the plugs in to avoid buying a new, non-DOD valley cover or is that required?

I tapped and plugged and have a non-DOD cover (12598832- LS3?) with the gasket that has O-rings to seal off each tower. I've heard of some of those O-ring gaskets leaking a little, causing a pressure drop. This may be on aged engines or something, but the cost to tap and plug was about $5 and it's a guaranteed seal. I already had the cover cuz I ordered all these parts over a year ago. At that time, I wasn't planning on tapping and plugging. If you're not pulling the engine, you're gonna have to block off the tower oil galley through the lifter bore when tapping to keep the shavings out of the engine. I used a donut magnet and had the engine sideways, used lots of thick grease on the tap and used 155 psi through a high volume blow gun to blow the galley clean from the inside-out. Had I not pulled the engine, I probably would've slid some cylindrical magnets hot-glued to a wooden dowel into the lifter bore to catch the tap shavings. Or I would've bought some of the special rivets and borrowed the Lingenfelter rivet tool from a buddy.


Pics and details of the oil pump porting, timing chain comparison and tower tapping are within the last few pages here.

 

[pwtr02ss]

Melling M295HV. Also ported it. My oil pressure was fine and, as far as my research showed, the M295HV was the direct replacement for the pump used in the AFM engines, which used a high volume pump. There's no need to try to peg out the oil pressure gauge. It's just excess load on the engine and stress on the seals. ~40psi +/- 25% is fine.





That is the part number for GM "LS7" lifters and what I bought a year ago with GM lifter trays for $123. They're now $260 for just the lifters. If your buddy has some for a good price, SCORE.

I don't know where BT sources his lifters trays from, but I'd imagine he wouldn't hinge his reputation on sub-par items to save a buck when the legit GM ones are (or were?) relatively cheap to begin with.

That is the part number for the GM LS2 timing chain. I bought one on ebay but I'm not sure it's the LS2 one or even GM. I may be taking a gamble.

Last I knew, Melling supplied GM with oil pumps.





I tapped and plugged and have a non-DOD cover (12598832- LS3?) with the gasket that has O-rings to seal off each tower. I've heard of some of those O-ring gaskets leaking a little, causing a pressure drop. This may be on aged engines or something, but the cost to tap and plug was about $5 and it's a guaranteed seal. I already had the cover cuz I ordered all these parts over a year ago. At that time, I wasn't planning on tapping and plugging. If you're not pulling the engine, you're gonna have to block off the tower oil galley through the lifter bore when tapping to keep the shavings out of the engine. I used a donut magnet and had the engine sideways, used lots of thick grease on the tap and used 155 psi through a high volume blow gun to blow the galley clean from the inside-out. Had I not pulled the engine, I probably would've slid some cylindrical magnets hot-glued to a wooden dowel into the lifter bore to catch the tap shavings. Or I would've bought some of the special rivets and borrowed the Lingenfelter rivet tool from a buddy.


Pics and details of the oil pump porting, timing chain comparison and tower tapping are within the last few pages here.

Thank you dub. I saw all the pics of the timing chain and stuff, I just wasn't sure of the part numbers and he couldn't remember. After I made that post, I start doing a little research (15 minutes worth, or so). GM parts direct list our trucks as having the same part number on the timing chain as a LS-2 GTO so it looks like they came with the heavy duty unity from the factory. The BT trays are GM units, just have his part number on the sticker as well. Brian ported the heads on my camaro back when he was TEA. They are badass.

Thanks for answering all those questions. I'm going to bite the bullet and pull the motor. May go ahead and go through the transmission as well., even if only to replace the drum, band, clutches, and billet accumulators. Maybe a corvette servo too. That will all depend on the help I can gather.

I'm wanting to do a little cam, no chop or anything, just something to help this pig at interstate speeds. I've been following your build and you've been a major help. Thanks for taking the time.

 

[iamdub]

...GM parts direct list our trucks as having the same part number on the timing chain as a LS-2 GTO so it looks like they came with the heavy duty unity from the factory.

This would make the most sense. Kinda like how they (supposedly?) are/were using the "LS7" lifters as the standard ones in all LS engines

...The BT trays are GM units, just have his part number on the sticker as well.

I figured as much.

I'm going to bite the bullet and pull the motor. May go ahead and go through the transmission as well., even if only to replace the drum, band, clutches, and billet accumulators. Maybe a corvette servo too. That will all depend on the help I can gather.

I'm wanting to do a little cam, no chop or anything, just something to help this pig at interstate speeds. I've been following your build and you've been a major help. Thanks for taking the time.

Since the heads have to come off to do everything else, and those top four bellhousing bolts are easily accessible with the heads off, you may as well pull the engine so you can replace the rear main and do whatever with the trans. It's only what- about 20 more bolts? Eight in the bellhousing, three on the torque converter, six on the mounts and a few 10mm with the plastic flexplate covers and wire harness and trans cooler line brackets.

I'm wanting to do a little cam, no chop or anything, just something to help this pig at interstate speeds. I've been following your build and you've been a major help. Thanks for taking the time.

Tough to beat a BTR or TSP Stage 1 for that. Just about anything over stock will induce at least a tiny bit of chop, but it's nothing some good tuning won't fix.

I'm glad my documenting could help! I'm beyond ready to get back at it. It's just been one thing after the other for weeks now- waiting on parts, working late during the week, weekends on call for work, family obligations, unexpected weekend out of town for a family death, etc. This past weekend I was out of town for Jenn's birthday. Will be out of town next weekend for a funeral then back on call for work the following weekend. Maybe I'll get back in the garage sometime in June?

 

[PG01]

Condolences Chris.

 

[pwtr02ss]

Sorry to hear about the death. Never anything good to say about that type of situation. Condolences.

 

[Sam Harris]

Condolences. We’ve had way too many of those ourselves this year. 2020 will not be remembered fondly.