The GMT400 thread (88-98 GM full-size trucks)

Perfect timing on this thread...

Any tips for someone currently looking to buy one? I want an extended cab and 4wd. Did the 3rd door start in 96? 97? 

thanks 

In reply to octavious :

It was 97 IIRC

I'm in need of a new radiator.

Original cracked an end tank 2 years ago, I replaced it with an all aluminum unit from Liland Global. That started leaking from the ends of the core 53 weeks from date of purchase (and only had 52 weeks of warranty). I replaced it with a junkyard unit, which is now leaking also.

I don't want to spend $300 (currency exchange and shipping to Canada) for another dud that will last just as long as a $50 used unit, but replacing them every year is getting old. 

Any recommendations?

There's a Denso reasonably priced on Rock Auto. Locally Spectra Premium are okay. Both are in the $250 range all said and done

I have NAPAs house brand in my blue truck. Good quality. Not sure who makes them. I'd think spectra or denso would be good quality. Local is easier?

I have a spectra in mine. The stamped nuts on the engine oil and transmission coolers in the end caps were loose and leaked when I put it in, but it's gone about 60k miles since tightening those up with no other issue.

https://youtu.be/R5NPYCrwYEM

I've got a 94 that I'm working on as money and the right parts present themselves. 

I guess I just inherited one - my oldest finished school, bought his own car and left me his loaded 99 Suburban 4x4.   A couple of questions: 

• Shocks - the online consensus is that Bilsteins are the best, but I'm not really looking to spend that much on this truck.  Are there any cheaper options worth considering?  
• I have heard the GMT800 master cylinder upgrade mentioned, do you just need the master itself or are there other parts involved?
• Finally, I read about GMT400 trucks getting harder to find and a lot more expensive.   Has any of this trickled down the SUV's?   This Suburban is in really nice shape and was only a $2k truck when we got it.  Would I be crazy to keep putting more money into it?   

1. Ive been pleased with monroes on the stock trucks that didn't get bilstiens from the junkyard. 

2. Theres a flare fitting adapter needed for one line to make it a bolt in, or just cut and reflare the line. There's a good howto on gmt400.com 

3. dunno. But id ASSUME theyre going up, at the very least because everything else is. 

Planning on fixing all of the oils leaks, getting the brakes right, tightening up the steering, and cleaning up the interior. Been working on it for a couple of months now and have made pretty good progress.

Anyone know of a dual side exit 2.5" cat back or just tailpipes? Like the stock earlier trucks.

Ahead of the rear wheels?   I think Gibson has a setup......

I found an 89 sport 350 with 5 speed I am so tempted to rat rod.

In reply to 759NRNG :

No. Stock location.

In reply to solfly :

Stainless mandrel bends, a magnaflow, and a guy like malibuguy?

solfly said:

Anyone know of a dual side exit 2.5" cat back or just tailpipes? Like the stock earlier trucks.

If you can live with 2.25 tailpipes, those are easy to find. Walker 45307 and 45308 are the part numbers for the two OEM type pipes.

Yeah 2.25 is whats on there now. Dynomax used to make a cat back that had 2.5 in that same location. Maybe I can track down those tailpipes somehow.

Magnaflow makes a one in two out muffler that seems to be a drop in for the vortec trucks and is just a little louder, I planned on running that and having an exhaust shop do the tail pipes

Anyone running the Gibson super truck side exit?

I've been doing a few little things to my 94 truck lately.

The first of which will likely be polarizing. I did a grille swap. After being frustrated with the composite headlights I decided to go old school and do an 88-89 grille conversion. So I grabbed some headlight units from PickNPull and restored them and got a brand new GM grille. Aftermarket grilles don't fit well enough to make me happy.

I started with this.

New genuine GM grille

The swap also required different bumper brackets, grille filler panels, lights and reflectors and some wiring. I'll paint the filler panel to match in a future phase of the project.  Other than the billet bowtie and corner lights it's all GM parts.

The next thing I'm doing is an engine swap. The truck has a V6 with a blown head gasket and I just don't feel like fixing it. So I put the word out to one of my buddies who is good at finding things. I wanted a complete LS drivetrain. It took him two days to find this truck. Northern guys will cringe, but it's a running, driving, cold air conditioning Texas truck. 1000 bucks. I honestly felt bad about parting it out. I could have driven it as a daily with zero work. An old man bought it new here in town and drove it for 20 years until he had to quit driving. It had obviously sat for a while but with a fresh battery it was a 100 percent driving truck.

So he pulled the drivetrain for me. He will be parting out the remainder of the truck to get his share of the deal.

My little Mazda wasn't too happy about having that much weight in the very back of the bed.

I currently have the transmission at my transmission shop getting freshened up and fortified and I have the engine apart doing a little maintenance and parts swapping along with clean and paint. I'm doing cam, lifters, springs, timing chain, oil pump, shallow oil pan (lowered truck) and all new gaskets and seals.

For a while there my extra bedroom looked like an auto parts warehouse.

That's sweet. Sometimes I wish my red one wasn't so nice and original so I could justify more mods.

The shop is unbearably hot right now so I have taken a summer break from the Fossil repower, and in the meantime I picked this up for one of my kids. I am shade tree mechanicing it to stay cool. Only problem is it is a cherry tree and I was lying in rotting cherries after a couple days.  I bought him out of a project truck we are building together (1970 F100 4x4 with a Mercedes diesel) and he asked me to find him a better daily driver than his terrible Mazda B3000, so this fit the bill. It is a one owner 1995 with a 6.5TD that I bought for $400.00. It had been sitting for 15 years after the old owner could no longer drive and arrived on a deck truck with four dry rotted flat tires and no batteries. 

Four new tires, two batteries, an exhaust and a new PMD and it is good as new. I dropped the fuel tank to clean the inlet screen because it ran a little ragged at first but the screen was clean and the truck smoothed right out after a few miles anyway. Four wheel drive is not engaging but I expect that is something sticking.  Drives really nice and I would kind of like to keep it but a deal is a deal. It's only got 175,000 miles on it. The only issue is that the speedometer reads double speed. Doesn't seem to affect any other gauges and the cruise works so it might need a new cluster. I am open to suggestions as to what to check.