M1010 fire rig to camper conversion

[cruzer747]

It sounds like your TV cable is not adjusted correctly.

I did mention I had not yet adjusted it. My question is if all that is supposed to be on the stud is the slotted end of the rod with nothing else retention wise.

Thankyou for the adjustment tips, I will o that tomorrow in the daylight and note all my pressures and be in touch with BO before they head out for the holidays. My focus now (in the dark) is to get the cooler installed. It is getting there, had to take the fan off to slide the pieced in behind the loose grille. It will fit in there just fine after I modify the brackets that it came with. Then to run a relay and circuit breaker for the fan power and move on to the tcc lockup wiring....

 

[cruzer747]

So today I went and finished the cooler fan wiring

(30 breaker->ignition driven 40a relay-> temp switch at fan->~20A fan)

Then I went to adjust the tv cable and no wonder it did not seem right, it seems for whatever reason I was sent the wrong cable from BO even though I had sepcifically used the part #25515599 what was stamped on the jacket was #25521268 I had to cut and reset the stop (brass holley carb jet worked perfect) 1.5 " higher up the cable to get the proper setting. I will ask about this tomorrow. I know I should have double checked them on this but after I specifically gave them the part number I thought I was done here. Kicking myself in the butt here.

EDIT- Interestingly enough here, the second part number is on my invoice as such, I have no idea where that part # came from, I will need to ask about that.
I have a feeling it is because the original part # is discontinued... https://www.gmpartscenter.net/oem-parts/gm-cable-asm-a-trns-t-v-25515599

almost 5 quarts in the tcase and 14 quarts in the transmission later I am all topped up and I have most of the pressure tests done. Tomorrow I will finish that part and confer with BO and do the final road tuning.

 

[cruzer747]

Ok, well sorry I have not been putting up any pics... the other day the camera on my phone died... I will have to take some when I get a chance but today I did the setup, break in/test drive and can say that it works well. I definately made some mistakes. the guide said to use a 300psi gauge if possible (my cheapo kit came with a 500psi kit soooo... I put the 300psi compression gauge on there. My pressure readings were all off, turns out "psi is psi" is not really true after all! Anyhow, once that was figured out I redid my readings and needed to slack my tv cable by about .25", and then I was able to test it.

1,2,3 were great but it was raining and I live in the curves so it was hard finding a spot to try and get into OD. At first I assumed the cable was still to tight so I loosened it just a touch (watching the gauge) to something still safe but it proved to be obviously too loose so I put it back where it was and went off in search of a straighter highway.

Finally hit some nice straights and OD was achieved, tested the lockup relay which worked fine (nice to be able to here the relay click every brake press as confirmation the relay is working.

Some things I have noticed, the transmission is nice, my motor is weak. O was able to hit OD on a slight incline on a straightaway and I was going about 60 at 2100ish rpms but that was about all my 6.2 could muster. Down the same straight away going at a slight decline I was at 65 at about 2400rpms which was great... that is as fast as I ever want to go in this thing. After this and coming home I was able to have it engage in OD at some lower speeds, 40 at 1400rpms on a downhill was amazing! This was not happening when I first tried it so I think really getting it up to speed and shifting was needed and I should have done that before resetting the TV cable. Chris at BO stayed in contact with me even though it is Xmas eve and all and gave me some pointers through this.

Trans temp gauge works as expected, I did see it warm up to 160 but have not heard the fan come on... yet, it is cold out and I am sure I will hear it when it needs it. Pics when I get back.

I filled up with fuel and will post mileage results when I return in a week or so. Thanks you guys for the advice on getting all the proper parts to do this!

Sharecropper I think you are going to utilize 4th a lot more than me with the more powerful motor. Will be interested to hear your experience when you get it all on the road.

 

[cruzer747]

Ok, So I have made it back from my trip, went from sea level to about 5500' and totaled about 600 miles since the install. I am glad that everything went really well. The transmission shifts assertively, will hold 2nd in both heel and toe better than the th400 as far as how I want it to behave (was nice on the windy hills) and overall I am just very pleased with how it all went. No leaks. I will inspect it today to see if anything is weeping but I think I even nailed that oil leak as well.

So here are some of the more interesting points I have to share. I am guessing that my weight was around #8000 or even a touch more. Going up hills for extended periods WILL heat up the trans past what is allowable (over 180) even with the fan cooler and the derale air cooling pan. On 3 occasions I had to pull over to let things cool down for a few minutes). One major problem behind this is that the thermal switch for the cooler is up at the front of the vehicle allowing it to not see the true temperature of the tranny. I have a Cat phone with the FLIR And saw 180 degrees at the pan and 125 at the cooler so obviously the fan would not turn on. Even though there was still passive cooling the fan would have helped a lot. Solution for this will be to relocate the temp switch to the junction where the fluid first enters the radiator which is behind the radiator and then probably go the extra step of insulating it so it will not be air cooled at all. In addition to this an override switch will be added and an led (I think a flashing red behind/inside the temp gauge will be great) that will be on while the fan is active.

The tranny did not come with the switch for manual lockup in third gear and I was warned that adding one could cause more harm than good. If done I will add a flashing switch with an intermittent audible chirp(will draw up a circuit later if I do this) but I will wait until summer and after my fan switch mods are done. On long steep grades the motor can not stay in fourth and kicks down to third which undoubtedly adds some heat to the system with the tc slippage.

I did note the mileage and it was all over the place due to climbing etc... did not really see a huge increase but I WAS able to travel the highways and make 3x the travel time as I would have to go backroads which is a bit more distance at a slower speed before. For the trip it was between 10-14.5 between fillups which I tried to do at different stages to feel it out, the latter would have been better as it was a lot of downhill freeway driving but the last gas station did not have diesel so I pushed it up and over a big hill. Would have seen over 15 for sure if not 16.

Here are some pics

Also since I have not yet invested in a diesel compression tester I am not too sure as to the wear and tear on the low mile motor in here but at night I sure can see my exhaust in the headlights behind me while going up hill. To some degree this is expected as there is no soot traps etc but it does make me wonder how much is normal. The last two pictures are a minute or three after startup at 5500'

 

[cruzer747]

Got some work done today, took of the brush gaurd and grill so I could route the ss trans cooler lines. All went well with that, I also took the opportunity to clean up the wiring while there was access.

I am changing how the fan is fed as pictured with the temp switch directly bolted to the sending unit at the pan.
-edit- I redesigned the circuit and it is pictured in a post a few below this-

I modified a pipe clamp, cut of the thread on the switch and it snugged up nicely. I will add a little goo and wrap it with some header wrap to keep it insulated.

 

[cruzer747]

So a question for anyone here more familiar with truck guts.... I am parting out a 2001 3500HD as an engine donor for my work truck, some things I do not want to go to waste and will consider putting the tall mirrors, maybe the fuel tank if it fits, as well as the nice floor mat, are there any mechanical things I should be aware of that may be of value for the m1010? I will be saving as much as I can for my 3500 non hd... but thought I would float the idea just to see your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[cruzer747]

I have gotten a bit of work done on three wiring projects. I have rewired the cooling system for the tranny and while I have not run it yet to check the temp switch, the manual switch activates it as well as the blinky red led in the gauge. Not sure how visible it will be along with the regular gauge light at night but I can see it okay otherwise, I could always mount it above the gauge pointing down in front of it if I need to see it better.

I also decided to change up the circuit and run the switches on the ground wire (the negative leg to the relay) which saved a little wire and fixed a potential short in case of damage.


Next was to address the cables that go to the winch. I had only ran the back feed and had my big disconnect cutting the hot while not in use.... this threw me for a loop as I went to start the truck soon after and found it to be very sluggish to crank. Well, my main ground disconnect had been switched but the truck was pulling ground through the frame from the winch I sourced a big two pole switch and installed it to solve this problem as well as got the run to the front done along with a blinky red led both at the switch and in the cab to remind me that winch switch is on. The switch and wires sit just under the battery tray leaving more room for when I get the second tray back in place. (thinking 2nd tray will be used for air bag air compressor and heat exchanger/water pump for hot water etc...)


Lastly I installed (almost done anyways) a strobe circuit that will be hooked to a "panic button" in the back. When on the aux leds will all strobe (whites a bit, reds a bit) along with the siren. It will tie in to the alarm as well so when the alarm is triggered it will use the strobe as well as the siren. Being that there will be food inside I started imagining a bear opening up the aluminum box like a big tuna can. Should help for the two legged varmints as well.

 

[cruzer747]

Trying to get out on another snow trip, after tidying up all my wiring projects and putting the dash back together I started it up and found my flare job was not sealing at the radiator. Called up the local hose shop and indeed they do make a flare bushing to help here. Both stainless and copper flavors so I will be putting in a copper one and hope I do not have to take it out and redo it. Just in case anyone tries doing their own SS lines...

Also went to inspect the brakes at the front, seems like my local tire shop put them on with a 3/4 impact or something as they are wayyyy overtorqued. As spec calls out for 140, my torque wrench says they are over 160... my dewalt 1/2" 18v 300lb rated impact only got 4 of 32 of them (probably overrated but still probably putting out over 200lbs) the only thing that gets em is a cheater bar or star tire iron. I am no expert here but does anyone think they could self tighten? Any warpage/fatigue I should worry about? They were mounted 8 months ago.

Will be interested to see and will report back with how the tranny keeps cool with the updated switch location and manual switch.

 

[chevymike]

Trying to get out on another snow trip, after tidying up all my wiring projects and putting the dash back together I started it up and found my flare job was not sealing at the radiator. Called up the local hose shop and indeed they do make a flare bushing to help here. Both stainless and copper flavors so I will be putting in a copper one and hope I do not have to take it out and redo it. Just in case anyone tries doing their own SS lines...

Also went to inspect the brakes at the front, seems like my local tire shop put them on with a 3/4 impact or something as they are wayyyy overtorqued. As spec calls out for 140, my torque wrench says they are over 160... my dewalt 1/2" 18v 300lb rated impact only got 4 of 32 of them (probably overrated but still probably putting out over 200lbs) the only thing that gets em is a cheater bar or star tire iron. I am no expert here but does anyone think they could self tighten? Any warpage/fatigue I should worry about? They were mounted 8 months ago.

Will be interested to see and will report back with how the tranny keeps cool with the updated switch location and manual switch.

No, lug nuts don't self tighten. My guess is the shop used an impact and just hammered them tight. Either lazy or didn't have a correct torque wrench. Overnighting can stretch the threads or fatigue the studs. I ended up replacing all of the lug nuts because a number of them felt tight. New ones threaded on smoothly and are torqued correctly.

 

[cruzer747]

No, lug nuts don't self tighten.

I guess I meant seize.... how much can you expect a properly torqued clean bolt to seize within 8 months? This is california, not on the coast and no salted roads.... I contacted my friend who manages the tire place and he was clear that all lugs are hand torqued (no torque stick or impact) and I do hazily remember seeing them hand do em with a clicker wrench.

I have never run into this on any other vehicle from my 1 ton dually to my smaller cars. Would love to find the culprit. Been researching the pros/cons of lubricating threads and would like to avoid that if possible. I will give the remainder a closer look tomorrow. All new nuts seems like the easiest direction to eliminate a potential culprit.

 

[chevymike]

When I had the new wheels installed I took a cleaning die with me and a cordless impact/socket. After they got all of the original, crappy lug nuts off, I ran my cleaning die (which does not remove metal, only cleans the threads) on every stud. It made it easy to install all the new lug nut, which are closed end style. The stock open end nuts can allow moisture into the threads, which can cause some rusting on the threads, which in turn can almost seize them. I recall the shop trying to get off the original nuts and they weren't sure they were going to get them all off. It was a real struggle and that was with spraying penetrating oil on each one.

If in the past the threads stretched on the nuts, it can cause them to almost lockup on the studs. I would say to get a new set of good quality nuts (closed end preferred) and clean the threads on the studs.

Hopefully that will take care of it.

 

[cruzer747]

When I had the new wheels installed I took a cleaning die with me and a cordless impact/socket. After they got all of the original, crappy lug nuts off, I ran my cleaning die (which does not remove metal, only cleans the threads) on every stud. It made it easy to install all the new lug nut, which are closed end style. The stock open end nuts can allow moisture into the threads, which can cause some rusting on the threads, which in turn can almost seize them. I recall the shop trying to get off the original nuts and they weren't sure they were going to get them all off. It was a real struggle and that was with spraying penetrating oil on each one.

If in the past the threads stretched on the nuts, it can cause them to almost lockup on the studs. I would say to get a new set of good quality nuts (closed end preferred) and clean the threads on the studs.

Hopefully that will take care of it.

This sounds like the way to go, thankyou

 

[cruzer747]

Made it back from about a 500 mile trip and I have some more feedback about the 700r4 now that the fan can be controlled manually and the temp switch is at the pan. My take at this point is that I am really worried about summer. The first night getting out there I needed to pull over to keep the tranny from getting too hot 3 times. It was near freezing out and this was including me switching the fan on in anticipation of the climbs.

I am not hotrodding it, in fact I had no one behind me so I was doing my best to crawl up slowly yet the cooling system could not keep up with the tranny/load and this is in near freezing temps with snow around. I am probably weighing around #8000, I am sure the answer will be add more coolers. I dont mind adding one more on the other side in front of the radiator but if I am forced to put even more cooling under the truck I will possibly need to put it where I would like my second fuel tank to go.

Temp-wise it does great on roads where the truck can maintain 35+mph but on steep slow climbs that avg around 15mph it is a lot of load and I guess not enough cooling. I have let it go a touch past 180 (while finding a spot to pull of and let it cool down and I can smell it so I know it either needs to cool better or I need to avoid summers and steep roads all together :/ I will be calling the shop for advice on the most effective route. Also while driving back on the freeways after a couple hours I pulled over for some coffee and checked fluids. I noticed some bubbles at the top on the dipstick when I pulled over to check on things, other than that the fluid is very bright pink and happy looking. It is Dex VI full synthetic. After checking again after being home an hour it is about 1/4 quart overfilled so I guess this could be the cause of the bubbles.

Other than that the flare washer sealed my leak (a dab of grease helped keep it in place while I screwed the line back on) and besides the temp issue the transmission worked great! I am going to measure the I.D. on the washer and drill my second one out to .25 if it is under as that might cause a flow restriction...did not consider that till now.

I foresee another flow test in my future. With external filter it was about 5 seconds to fill 8 ounces so 1 qt/20 seconds cold. So .75 gallon/min which at that temperature is probably good from doing a bit of reading. All in all I do like having overdrive but pulling over multiple times to climb a grade in winter is not acceptable.

While waiting for it to cool down I measured a 30 degree drop from before the radiator to after the cooler.Sorry if this post is a bit jumbled but it has been a lond drive and I thought I would type it out here while my experience was still fresh.

-edit- just in case the posts have been focusing too much on the problems, I wanted to be clear we had a blast going on a trail that I had never been on which was covered in snow(not the smartest but I went slow) and found a new great place that will be on my go to best spots for getting out, huge swimming hole thatand hard to get to will be great come summer I hope. There was a large pine down that took some winch work to clear and things worked flawlessly! One of the biggest stars of the trip has been the diesel heater sipping fuel and keeping the box ~78' every night.

 

[Sharecropper]

Darn I hate it that you are having overheating issues. Probably the next phone call should be to Chris at Bowtie to see what he thinks can be done to improve the issue. Also reach out to Glockfan in Utah. Joe Grant is a great guy with a great CUCV. If I remember correctly he just recently fabricated and installed a remote cooler for his tranny. And I believe I remember that he posted it in his “Overlander” thread in this forum.
I wish I could be more help. Thanks for posting and keep us informed of what happens next.

 

[cruzer747]

I am awaiting a call back from chris, the woman who fielded the call said it may be the right thing to add the manual lockup switch for the slow climbs, will keep you guys updated. Also I will be switching back to my 3500hd part-out project and am curious what size tranny cooler is in there and if I can add it inline as my budget is getting to be nonexistent at the moment.

 

[Sharecropper]

I am awaiting a call back from chris, the woman who fielded the call said it may be the right thing to add the manual lockup switch for the slow climbs, will keep you guys updated. Also I will be switching back to my 3500hd part-out project and am curious what size tranny cooler is in there and if I can add it inline as my budget is getting to be nonexistent at the moment.

Any update on this on the overheating 700R4?

 

[cruzer747]

Any update on this on the overheating 700R4?

Just talked to Chris earlier, I will be wiring in a manual lockup switch (will post details later) and I will be getting back out on another trip in a few weeks to try it out. Just that one condition having the heating issue so I think this will solve it but need to balance between having a visual and audible reminder that it is activated so I do not forget it and thrash the transmission yet not having the reminder so loud and in your face that it is a distraction. I have plenty of blinking LEDs to use and now I have to see if any of the random chirp speakers I have are intermittent and whether I should solder one up or just order a prewired one. Gunna be about a week but I will share my wiring diagram and parts list of what I come up with.

Also the blinking red behind the trans gauge is not visable enough so I will be changing that up as well when I do it (thinking solid orange pointed down from above in front of the gauge).

 

[cruzer747]

Thoughts on updating mirrors? pulled some nice ones of a donor and thought they would be a nice addon, stick out about another 3 inches but the tall mirrors are so much easier to see with!

Came off a later chevy so I will need to put some rivnuts in and slightly twist the upper arm mounts to fit the profile but before I went for the drill thought I would throw it up here. Truck is big enough it is not quite a Dumbo look I think... definately harder to fold in but I have not yet needed to with my old ones so I doubt I will ever NEED to.

 

[chevymike]

Thoughts on updating mirrors? pulled some nice ones of a donor and thought they would be a nice addon, stick out about another 3 inches but the tall mirrors are so much easier to see with!

Came off a later chevy so I will need to put some rivnuts in and slightly twist the upper arm mounts to fit the profile but before I went for the drill thought I would throw it up here. Truck is big enough it is not quite a Dumbo look I think... definately harder to fold in but I have not yet needed to with my old ones so I doubt I will ever NEED to.

View attachment 789530View attachment 789529

You definitely get better visability and not completely out of place since many times dually trucks would have those.

 

[Curtisje]

Thoughts on updating mirrors? pulled some nice ones of a donor and thought they would be a nice addon, stick out about another 3 inches but the tall mirrors are so much easier to see with!

Came off a later chevy so I will need to put some rivnuts in and slightly twist the upper arm mounts to fit the profile but before I went for the drill thought I would throw it up here. Truck is big enough it is not quite a Dumbo look I think... definately harder to fold in but I have not yet needed to with my old ones so I doubt I will ever NEED to.

View attachment 789530View attachment 789529

They look like the ones on mine.