GMC / Chevy Project Dual Sport ; 1998 GMC Sierra
- Thread starter Greg
- Start date
-
- Tags
- build thread
Tacoma
Et incurventur ante non
- Location
- far enough away
Couple things:
1. I'm going to be talking to Stephen Watson on Monday, I will poke at him about that SAS kit. You know, for the intermountain west's best website, maybe they could hustle it up some.
2. If you're on the fence, just get a 60 and forget about it. I absolutely hate balljoints though, and unit bearings are just gay.
3. Proceed, I love the rest of it.
1. I'm going to be talking to Stephen Watson on Monday, I will poke at him about that SAS kit. You know, for the intermountain west's best website, maybe they could hustle it up some.
2. If you're on the fence, just get a 60 and forget about it. I absolutely hate balljoints though, and unit bearings are just gay.
3. Proceed, I love the rest of it.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I got the magazine too, uncanny timing!
Couple things:
1. I'm going to be talking to Stephen Watson on Monday, I will poke at him about that SAS kit. You know, for the intermountain west's best website, maybe they could hustle it up some.
2. If you're on the fence, just get a 60 and forget about it. I absolutely hate balljoints though, and unit bearings are just gay.
3. Proceed, I love the rest of it.
I haven't mentioned anything about RME, when I talked to Stephen up on Schofield Pass the only thing I mentioned was seeing him at the old UROC comps many years ago. They're 2 months out on the SAS kit for the later model axles (36" spring pad width), I have been thinking about trying to talking them into sending out a pre-production kit, if possible.
I'm not on the fence, I want a king pin Ford 60... no questions asked.
I have more minor updates to add later today, nothing crazy, but needed changes.
Tacoma
Et incurventur ante non
- Location
- far enough away
that's what I mean. They "may" be 2mos out officially... but...
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
that's what I mean. They "may" be 2mos out officially... but...
Yeah, you know what I'm getting at. Feel free to ask if you're going to talk to Stephen tomorrow, couldn't hurt!
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
The next round of mods were focused on some needed electrical updates to the truck.
First was the ScanGauge II, I had one in the FZJ80 and loved being able to keep tabs on exactly what the engine was doing, plus the ability to see codes if the check engine light came on, and finally the ability to clear the code in a matter of seconds! After installing the ScanGauge II, I noticed the factory tachometer was off by 400-800 RPM, depending on how fast the engine was turning! Additionally, the voltage wasn't reading where it needed to be. It's good to have a ScanGauge II...
Next up was addressing the poor lighting. I like being able to see while driving at night... it's kind of important. I bought this truck in Silverton, CO late in the day and had to drive 2.5 hours thru the mountains and desert, in the dark. It was quickly obvious that the old, discolored factory headlights needed some updates. I tried polishing the current headlights, but the improvement was minimal.
After pricing out replacement headlights and finding that they were pretty cheap, I ordered a pair. I also decided to upgrade the low beam bulbs to PIAA Intense White replacement bulbs. The final addition to the stock lighting was the Painless Wiring High Beam Headlight Relay kit. Stock, the truck's high beams come on and the low beams are turned off. With the Painless Wiring kit, the low beams are turned on with the high beams. Doesn't sound like a big change, but more light is always good.
Before installing the new headlights, I dropped the PIAA low beam bulbs in, then installed the new lights. It was quick & easy, buttoned it back up and went to work installing the Painless Wiring headlight relay kit. I realize the daylight pics of the headlights on don't show much, light wise, but you can see both the high & low beams on at the same time.
With the headlight upgrade completed, we headed up into the mountains to visit some friends. This was the perfect opportunity to test out the new lighting, as we ended up driving back well after 10 PM. The lighting changes were perfect, the low beams are better and a great improvement and the high beams were amazing! Tons of brilliant, white light, I was impressed. I need to lower the beams, they're a little high, but plenty usable as is. I'll try to get some night time lighting photos later on.
First was the ScanGauge II, I had one in the FZJ80 and loved being able to keep tabs on exactly what the engine was doing, plus the ability to see codes if the check engine light came on, and finally the ability to clear the code in a matter of seconds! After installing the ScanGauge II, I noticed the factory tachometer was off by 400-800 RPM, depending on how fast the engine was turning! Additionally, the voltage wasn't reading where it needed to be. It's good to have a ScanGauge II...
Next up was addressing the poor lighting. I like being able to see while driving at night... it's kind of important.
I bought this truck in Silverton, CO late in the day and had to drive 2.5 hours thru the mountains and desert, in the dark. It was quickly obvious that the old, discolored factory headlights needed some updates. I tried polishing the current headlights, but the improvement was minimal.
After pricing out replacement headlights and finding that they were pretty cheap, I ordered a pair. I also decided to upgrade the low beam bulbs to PIAA Intense White replacement bulbs. The final addition to the stock lighting was the Painless Wiring High Beam Headlight Relay kit. Stock, the truck's high beams come on and the low beams are turned off. With the Painless Wiring kit, the low beams are turned on with the high beams. Doesn't sound like a big change, but more light is always good.
Before installing the new headlights, I dropped the PIAA low beam bulbs in, then installed the new lights. It was quick & easy, buttoned it back up and went to work installing the Painless Wiring headlight relay kit. I realize the daylight pics of the headlights on don't show much, light wise, but you can see both the high & low beams on at the same time.
With the headlight upgrade completed, we headed up into the mountains to visit some friends. This was the perfect opportunity to test out the new lighting, as we ended up driving back well after 10 PM. The lighting changes were perfect, the low beams are better and a great improvement and the high beams were amazing! Tons of brilliant, white light, I was impressed. I need to lower the beams, they're a little high, but plenty usable as is. I'll try to get some night time lighting photos later on.
Tacoma
Et incurventur ante non
- Location
- far enough away
I knew about the headlight relay, but not about those bulbs... sweet!
TJDukit
I.Y.A.A.Y.A.S.
- Location
- Clearfield
Nice lights.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I've done that in a different vehicle as well!
Knowing is half the battle.
Replacing the lenses made a huge difference, the light is real crisp and clean.
Next? Hopefully the interior! :greg: I don't have any drivetrain parts yet, so I'll work on the inside for now.
It really would, you can pick & choose what you want to watch. In that pic, I'm watching instant MPG and average MPG... not super important in a buggy. The thing is, it has to be a OBDII engine with the diagnostic port.
Tacoma
Et incurventur ante non
- Location
- far enough away
Knowing is half the battle.
hahah GO JOE!! Out of all the crucial lessons GI Joe taught, that is the only one that stuck with me.
Question on that scangauge deal: I am assuming it does not engage the A & B pins at the same time? If I remember you're not supposed to drive around with those pins jumped... I'm sure whatever they did, it doesn't mess that up, I'm just curious.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
hahah GO JOE!! Out of all the crucial lessons GI Joe taught, that is the only one that stuck with me.
Question on that scangauge deal: I am assuming it does not engage the A & B pins at the same time? If I remember you're not supposed to drive around with those pins jumped... I'm sure whatever they did, it doesn't mess that up, I'm just curious.
I loved GI Joe, thought you'd get that one.
I have no idea about how the ScanGaugeII works, I just plugged it in. :greg:
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
- Location
- The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
You should probably pick up the latest copy of Petersons 4wd. It has about 3 articles on SASing your era truck
- Location
- West Jordan
Welcome to the thread Stratton.:chris:
- Location
- The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
Whaa? I thought I was bringing tech to one of these new popular "build-chat threads" that everyone has now... I feel left out.. maybe I'll start one
Edit: Bah just cause my mag came in the mail 3 days later....
Edit: Bah just cause my mag came in the mail 3 days later....
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