Los Angeles -Class Attack Sub(urban), Build / Collected Werks topic - '02 k1500 Z71

[rayra]

Fiddled around with vehicle solar today, still waiting on mailorder parts. Been using powerwerx.com for Anderson Power Pole (APP) connectors and other electrical connection tidbits.
I got this bargain used folding panel kit last year and have been (very slowly) working to integrate it with my Suburban. It already works as-is. I added a long power lead for the panel (~30') so the panel could be set on the ground in the sun while parking the vehicle in the shade. But am also working up a lockable metal frame on my roof deck where the panel can be mounted and connected all the time, feeding power to my cargo area power distribution module and backfeed / charge my Aux battery.
Today I disassembled the wiring setup as it came and dismounted the PWM-type charge controller (CC) from the tilting easel-bracket on the underside of the panel with the intention of mounting the charge controller inside my vehicle's power module. I added a lot of APP connections so I can swap connector cables on the wiring harness and easily change connections as configurations change. If needed I can readily dismount the CC and re-attach it to the panel kit for use somewhere else / away from the vehicle.
I intend to eventually get a better MPPT-style CC to mount in the vehicle and the PWM can be a spare or passed around with the panel kit if needed.

The back side of the panel kit, as it came to me. The bracketry is fairly crude and very sharp-edged. The .com vendor doesn't appear to be in business anymore but this sure seems like a progenitor of the Renology folding kit.

Pretty generic 100W solar panel

Not even a name-branding on the CC

Some of my wiring / connector changes. I have a mobile HAM kit bag that is set up in a similar fashion. Lots of varied power connections which can be swapped / reconfigured via use of APPs. The battery clamp set in this picture is from that other kit. And this way everything can be intermixed.

I mounted the CC inside the lid of my Suburban's power module. I still need to fabricate a battery lead with ring connectors to go from the CC to the post terminals inside the power module where the fat 1/0 cables from my Aux battery connect. For testing purposes I'm temporarily using the battery clamp cable end on the wiring leads I can readily reach inside the module (not pictured). I also cut some rubber hose down into 1/4" standoffs for the CC mounts. Thinking to provide an air gap at its back side.

This is a rudimentary bulkhead bracket which I'll be using on the roof, set into the plastic shoe / cover at the driver rear of my Z71 roof rack, passing the wiring down thru the big plastic substructure of the roof rack mount and on thru the vehicle roof and down the 'D' pillar at the driver rear and passing thru the pass-thru into the power module. The solar panel roof bracket will have a power lead to tie this bulkhead connection to the panels when they are roof mounted.

I also have two sets of APP connectors in both the rear- and front-facing panels of my power module. I'll probably be rewiring one of the connectors on the rear-facing panel so it ties directly to the CC. Would need to change the solar panel power in connection to an APP 'Y' connector. Or manually swap which cable is connected when connecting things. But would rather have it already wired so it isn't forgotten.
I COULD 'backfeed' the whole thing just leaving those rear panel APPs wired as they are. Juice goes both ways. But I'd lose the whole 'charge controller' aspect. So I'll go ahead and re-wire and mark one of the APP sets on the rear as dedicated solar panel 'IN'.

Right now, my CC seems to be happily topping off my Aux battery, with the panels sitting on the hood of my pickup, the cable running on the ground and to the CC mounted in the Sub.

Now I just have to finish the roof deck bracket / mount. I was hoping to cut down the aluminum channel frames of the panel kit, but the panels themselves have such a bulky wiring module glued to their backs that I can't drop the side height of the frames more than 1/4", so it's not worth the trouble. And as the frames are right now, they'll socket into a 2" C-channel fairly well. So 8' of that for my front and rear edges of the mount and 4' of L-angle for the sides and some other odds and ends and I can implement my lockable mount design.
And then add the vehicle wiring extensions and it will be done.

 

[rayra]

couple previous images for reference

The intended mounting location /arrangement. This was on the 'Mk1' roof deck. I've moved the rear crossbrace as much to the rear as I could, close to where the frame rails end / disappear into the rear boots. The panel mount will need to be forward of those deck mount bolts to fit.
And as the Mk2 deck is still in two long halves, I'm giving serious consideration to creating the panel mounting frame in matching halves. That way the empty frame can just be left attached to the deck whenever I need to dismount it. But the frame will only be attached to the deck with 10-12 fasteners. So it could be left whole, won't matter much.

And a design sketch of the mount. The panel will be slid into the forward c-channel then set down into the rear. The rear channel will be split with a piano hinge and use semi-flush hood locks / latches to clamp down and lock in the panel. The sides will be closed in with L-angle. From the ground all anyone will see is a flat black vertical face protruding about 3/4" above my roof rack rails.

And an earlier ground test when I first got the panel kit

still poking around for a better bulkhead connector, probably have to dig thru the marine / boating catalog. Want something that can take an automated car washing, preferably.

 

[E.J. Webb]

Very cool set up, keep it up.

 

[rayra]

Thanks.

Solar panel is working well. I had things cobbled together today, charging my Aux battery while I worked on changing my pickup's brake hoses.

Here's the panel in its intended install location. You can see the nuts and bolts of the rear cross brace in each lower corner of the image, near the corners of the panel. The yellow is where the bulkhead connector and wiring run will be to the mounting frame. That way all the panel wiring itself is safely tucked inside the frame.

From the ground you can hardly see it. The frame surrounding the panel will be no more than 1/4" taller.

 

[jgaz]

Stealth Solar!
Very nicely done.

 

[rayra]

I've been messing around with solar panel mounting frame layouts and debating materials. I wanted to use steel angle iron and wire-weld it myself, but my wire-welding is so far still ************. And doing the math a steel frame is ~35-lbs. Aluminum would be about 20. And with the aluminum angle I can basically pop-rivet things together, sort of like an erector set. And either way I'll be abusing my table and chop saws with metal-cutting blades to trim various pieces as needed.

Took another set of measurements of the folding panel, couldn't find my previous. The panel's corner plastic sheilds bring the panel thickness to exactly 1.5". But their hinges add about an 1/8". But that's no matter, the hinges are far enough in from the perimeter that they won't interfere with the frame of the mount.

Then it was examining the hood lock sets I've had laying around for many years. They were intended for the long-gone Firebird. They use a barrel key. Their top places are keyed washers 2-1/2" across, far larger than I need. The barrel of the lock itself is just shy of 7/8". So I think a 1-1/2" washer will do, so I'll modify some to fit.
Height-wise, the lock mechanism minimum height is just under 1.5" as-is, which works great. I'll be pop-riveting the frames together with the front and rear crosspieces flush to the roof deck and the side angles sitting on top of them. I'll use a forstner bit to mortise a hole in the roof deck to accommodate the threaded rod and nut at the bottom of the lock mechanisms.
The locks will sit back close to the piano hinge of the rear cross frame. The front frame will be a C shape. There'll be bumpers and nylon / rubber trim in them to grip the panel framing and things will be sized so those frames only overlap the solar panel by 1/2", so they don't overlap the cells.
The side angles of the frame won't overlap the top of the panel at all.
All the angle metal choices, aluminum or steel, 2" or 1-1/2 or 1-3/4, different thicknesses, any combination comes to around $75-100 for a piddly 20LF of metal.

 

[rayra]

Some stuff on my C-10, apparently it was cluttering up the other guy's K10 thread.

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Been doing a bunch of mechanical work on my '85 C10 lately, I actually managed to find a 'new old stock' RH exhaust manifold on eBay for $50, solved my ballooning / fissured manifold. If yours hasn't failed yet, you ought to remove the sheet metal shroud that's part of the heat riser setup. It seems to cook these cast iron manifolds until they literally flow and expand. Repeated hard driving results in fissures in the casting.
It took my 300k+ mi to ruin the first one. The second one pulled from a salvage yard didn't last very long. But I put the shroud on again now as I don't hardly drive the thing at all anymore. I should sell it. Been fixing a lot of long-standing items on it lately. Engine valve seals, the exhaust, new rubber brake lines and flush /
bleed, new tires, new hoses and coolant flush. Tuning it up this week. Been parked much of the last 4yrs, since i got my Suburban.

 

[rayra]

well I'm going to be looking at a similar view later this week, pulling the steering gear out of my '85 to try replacing leaking seals.
Just finished changing the u-joints in it, the last couple days. Discovered the lovely thermoplastic GM used to lock the u-joint caps into the yokes. Had to break out the fire wrench for that crap. They were the original u-joints, 33yrs, 365k mi and they were worn the f out nearly 18-20yrs ago when I bought the replacement u-joints from Trak Auto. I put 100k mi on it AFTER I bought the u-joints. That u-joint box(es) was shiny-new when I bought it. The thick bag inside was still doing its job, the new joints were like new still, despite getting shoved around the garage for so long.

 

[rayra]

btw, rear drum brake replacement piston kits are all of $6 per wheel complete, AC Delco part. Just changed those late last week, after replacing all the brake hoses and flushing the old fluid and finding the rear bleeders were corroded shut and I couldn't even get any fluid thru the rear cylinders even with the bleeder completely out.

I don't recall EVER having replaced all the fluid. It was nasty.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...1030969,brake+&+wheel+hub,wheel+cylinder,1952

 

[rayra]

...having some fun now...

 

[rayra]

I had some trouble with the steering box rebuild after inadvertently pulling the guts further apart than I'd intended. There's two large tabs / prongs inside on the worm gear portion which mates with the input shaft portion of the guts. I was getting them 'mostly' aligned on reassembly, but I wasn't able to fully seat the input shaft end cap / seals and after re-install on the vehicle the steering was dragging and power steering pump sounded like I was at steering lock despite everything being in a centered position.
De-installed and pulled it apart again to find there was a tiny key tab and matching notch on the two halves of the 'guts' that I wasn't getting aligned. So I did so and tapped things in a little more snug, before re-threading the end / seal cap back in place. And this time the end cap and lock ring fit like they originally did.
There was some more noise and stuttering in the steering when I fired it back up, but that settled down as I ran the vehicle and exercised the steering. I'd essentially drained the steering gear while working on it and it jus thad to get filled up again on the pressure side of things. And no more leaking input shaft seal. So that's a win, even doing it twice.

 

[rayra]

More mucking about with solar integration. My usual low-budget iterative process. More a 'proof of concept' sort of thing. Sometimes there's revisions / improvements, sometimes there's not.

In this case I was adding some of the infrastructure wiring to tie the solar charge controller (CC) to the Aux battery bus terminals. As mentioned earlier I'm using APP connectors to make things modular and swappable. And I'm modifying one set of APP connectors on the rear face of my Aux 'power module' in the back of my Suburban so it leads right to the panel-in on the CC. Previously when jacking my panel kit into that APP I was simply backfeeding the whole 'power module' setup and through it, the Aux battery, but without any charge controller controlling any charge. Risk of overcharging. Now, that rear port goes into the CC.

I also added an APP 'Y' connector setup in that circuit as I also plan a 'permanent' wire run to the roof mount bulkhead connector, which will run behind the headliner and cargo area trim panels and enter the 'power module' thru the same 3" dia hole that the big Aux bus cable connector passes thru. That wire will connect to the other leg of the 'Y'. That way whichever way I connect the panel kit, on roof or ground, I don't have to fiddle with internal wiring connections at the CC.

I also built a connection lead from the CC's battery charging connection to the 3/8" terminal bolts where all the various setups in my 'power module' are connected. Which is where the fat 1/0 cables to my front-mounted Aux battery are connected. This being the most direct route for charging the battery from the CC. That lead is a wimpy wire, but more than adequate for my single panel setup. I should have used a fatter wire, I will use a fatter wire, so the system can put more power thru the CC, if I were to add an additional panel kit. I could conceivably add two solid 100W panels on the roof, permanently mounted and still have the folding panel kit as a ground mount. But that much juice is currently overkill for my needs / desires. And wallet.

 

[rayra]

more on pickup steering and suburban solar


22:30 in that second steering rebuild vid posted earlier, tightened down then backed off about 1/8th turn, for his unit. I didn't mark mine when I started. So I'll start with an `1/8th and see how it goes...


eta a little more than an eighth. Steering wheel feel is pretty good, not draggy or stuttering. But the power steering pump itself is still intermittently squawking as I work the wheel thru it's 3-1/3 revolutions and back again. And full right lock is quiet, full left lock howls like a banshee.
Going to try one more adjustment on-vehicle, before I decide I don't know ****** I'm doing and leave it alone. I'm concerned that I've dislodged something inside the steering gear guts, a seal or bearing, which is now giving me the trouble I'm hearing. And don't see any point in pulling it completely apart to find out without first obtaining a complete rebuild kit. I'm even considering getting an intact unit from the auto wrecking yard and swapping it in just to see if my power steering pump behaves the same. It was a little noisy and often low on fluid before I took things apart, because of the leak I just repaired.


video clip after I get lunch.


meanwhile, solar panel charging setup is working, even managing to harvest some power in intermittent cloudy conditions. Supposed to rain pretty good here tomorrow. Still have to find a reasonable source for 20' of aluminum 2" angle, 1/8" thick, to make the panel frame on the roof deck.

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The cheap spanner / adjustable pin wrench I bought didn't have the reach, about a 1/4" shy.

Easy enough to tweak the input shaft seal / cap with it on the vehicle. Going to try one more adjustment this afternoon. And see if I can get both good steering feel AND get the pump to shut up.

I can get a new pump with reservoir for $52 + $15 core charge. It's a pain in the ass to pull the pulley. I've needed one for a long while anyway. The steering gear input seal wasn't the only fluid leak.


I was checking battery voltages on the Sub while I was messing with the solar panel, and I was jiggering the Aux battery hold-down block as the battery was somehow loose. And I found rat-sign. They like to climb up on top of the motor where things stay warmest the longest.

 

[rayra]

Got it done (enough). Couple adjustments and the steering movement felt much better and the pump settled to low whirring. Then I thought to check the fluid level and whoops, I could plainly see the pump guts when I pulled the dipstick cap. Who's the dipstick now? I was more clever about controlling the spillage when I pulled the steering box off the vehicle the second time, but I still poured ~~8oz out of the box when I had the guts apart the second time. And failed to top the system off when I got it back together at 10pm Sun nt.
So I put some fluid back in, the whir became intermittent and subdued and I'm done with it. At best I'll get a new/rebuilt pump soon as cheap insurance. Took it for a wander around the neighborhood and it's working well enough. But I'm putting a new pump on it before any of my infamous high speed freeway runs.
Pump, front tires, smog test and registration and it's out of here.

The three movements, loosening the seal cap on the input shaft

 

[rayra]

The pickup yesterday, after doing some detailing work on the marked up paint.

and the sunset shortly afterword

Got some work done on the solar panel mounting frame. But I think I cheaped out too much. thin metal, aluminum rivets. Might work as a proof of concept, but not sure I want to go 80mph down the highway with it up there. Have to see how it finishes.

Have a good bit more work to go on it. WIll probably cut some of the angle metal into corner braces and secure those steel rivets. And maybe drill out the others and replace them with steel too. And the thing will be screwed into the roof deck thru the frame's overlapping corners, anyway.

Going to paint the whole frame satin black when it's finished. It's going to have a 45deg sloped front panel as well.