Overlandtowater’s solid axle suburban

[Overlandtowater]

I put the a can of seafoam in it 250 miles ago. I did use same viscosity on the synthetic. Ok I will get the oil and filter to change back to the regular high millage. there was a lot of crud on the valve cover when I changed the gaskets I have no idea what the previous owner used but it was not Valvoline.

 

[Overlandtowater]

still waiting on my shift/tow kit it was supposed to be in Monday and now is bumped back to tomorrow. that's ok I'm still on light duty for another week, after having a heart procedure I couldn't lift any more than 10lbs for three weeks. Hopefully stacking parts up so I can do it all at once. Still have not changed the oil I don't like working at 20F after having to work out in it all day.

I do have another question to ask though. When I test drove the truck from the PO it was in auto 4wd while test driving it I shifted into 4hi and it whined for a few minutes and went away. Now I keep the truck in 2wd and when I put it in auto or 4hi I get the same whine that starts about 20 mph only on acceleration and doesn't stop until I put it back in 2wd...What gives? Thanks agian

 

[Martinjmpr]

still waiting on my shift/tow kit it was supposed to be in Monday and now is bumped back to tomorrow. that's ok I'm still on light duty for another week, after having a heart procedure I couldn't lift any more than 10lbs for three weeks. Hopefully stacking parts up so I can do it all at once. Still have not changed the oil I don't like working at 20F after having to work out in it all day.

I do have another question to ask though. When I test drove the truck from the PO it was in auto 4wd while test driving it I shifted into 4hi and it whined for a few minutes and went away. Now I keep the truck in 2wd and when I put it in auto or 4hi I get the same whine that starts about 20 mph only on acceleration and doesn't stop until I put it back in 2wd...What gives? Thanks agian

Probably just the front axle spinning. If you aren't getting any error messages on the DIC you can probably ignore it.

 

[Overlandtowater]

but they spin when the truck is in 2wd correct?

 

[Overlandtowater]

Probably just the front axle spinning. If you aren't getting any error messages on the DIC you can probably ignore it.

LOL my DIC does not work.

 

[Martinjmpr]

but they spin when the truck is in 2wd correct?

IIRC the front axle should be disconnected in 2wd. In auto 4wd it's connected but the transfer case is still in 2wd. .

 

[Overlandtowater]

IIRC the front axle should be disconnected in 2wd. In auto 4wd it's connected but the transfer case is still in 2wd. .

if it had disconnecting hubs I would agree but at the hub its just a flange. Maybe we are talking about two different things...I'm talking about the CVS/axle maybe you are talking about the axle stubs in the housing? so what I'm getting at is the axle spins from the wheel all the way to the axe disconnect on one side and from axle all the way to the diff on the other side. So in my thinking every thing is spinning. Maybe I'm thinking about it wrong.

 

[rayra]

maybe the difference between that front drivetrain freewheeling and being driven / engaged. First thing I'd look at or do for baselining purposes is a proper fluid change on both the front diff and transfer case.

There's also a know issue with some rubbing wear of the drive chain against the interior of the transfer case. There's a thrust? plate for that, if you determine the noise is coming from the transfer case.

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You DIC is probably just a few surface mount resistors on the instrument cluster circuit board needing to be re-soldered. Details in the middle pages of my Vortec topic.

 

[lilkia]

but they spin when the truck is in 2wd correct?

Yes, the front axle (halfshafts/cv axle) spins when it is in two wheel drive. The hub assembly and front halfshafts are solid there is no freewheel in the hubs. The front driveshaft (propshaft] is disconnected from the axle in the differential in 2wd until the actuator is engaged.

 

[Overlandtowater]

Thanks Rayra I will look for it on your page, and Lilkia thanks that's what I was thinking.

 

[Martinjmpr]

WRT the DIC, if you don't want to do the electrical work yourself, there are a lot of places that specialize in rebuilding instrument panels for GM trucks. The whole thing is modular - it literally takes 5 minutes to remove the entire instrument cluster and the truck will drive fine without it.

I had mine rebuilt by Circuit Board Medics and while they had it I had them swap the factory incandescent bulbs for green LEDs. I also had them add a transmission temp gauge (here's the deal with that: All trucks with the 6.0 engine or bigger get the trans temp gauge from the factory. On the 5.3 and 4.8 trucks, everything is wired in for the trans temp gauge to include the sender and all the wiring - it's just the gauge itself that is deleted. So adding a trans temp gauge is simple.)

I just removed my instrument panel, boxed it up and mailed it to Circuit Board Medics. A week later they sent it back to me, all new stepper motors, green LEDs and the trans temp gauge. There are other places out there that will do things like put an "SS" instrument cluster, an Escalade cluster, etc, if you want. My total cost was around $300 which I consider to be very reasonable. It's also held up great since then and I really like the green LEDs - much easier on my eyes than the white incandescent lights that were there before.

Here's a pic of mine "after" (you can see the transmission temp gauge to the left of the tach):

 

[Overlandtowater]

that looks good. My PRND comes and goes, the odometer works but nothing else as far as the display. No change when punching any button on the wheel except the radio, so maybe something wrong with the wheel... I like the idea of putting in the trans temp.

 

[Overlandtowater]

Ok so on the instrument cluster the only thing that does not light up is the PRND. The Odometer, trip etc. works by pushing button on dash but the steering wheel controls for the fuel economy, etc. does not change anything no the panel.....where should I start?

Also I got the H2 springs, fuel pump, and Zone shocks ordered. My shift kit came in too. Today is my third week from having a heart procedure so now I can go back to lifting more than 10lbs so maybe I can start working on this thing.

I will run the lift with the stock tires for a while the AT3s have 50~% left but they are old enough they have gotten hard they do not have any dry rot so I cant just throw them out.

 

[rayra]

95% probability that the PRND display can be solved just by re-melting the solder of the two rows of tiny surface-mount resistors on the instrument cluster circuit board. Need a low watt solder pencil with a sharp point and a deft touch to not overheat and burn out the tiny resistors.

 

[rayra]

If you haven't already put the synthetic oil in your vehicle, DON'T. You'll spawn oil leaks you didn't already have. Stick with whatever type or oil was already in use. Unless you feel like changing a lot of gaskets.