Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Feel free to post about anything here, just keep it work safe.
heavywoody
Global Moderator
Posts: 1991
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 4:10 pm
Location: Concord, NC
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by heavywoody »

That's pretty trick - flash your PCM from your headunit! I dig it.


Geoff
95 Z26 Turbo 3400 5spd - R&D Project
Beretta Preservation Society - Director of Acquisitions
Image
User avatar
woody90gtz
Registered User
Posts: 4698
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:45 pm
Location: Walton, NY
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by woody90gtz »

So...I put in the Android unit I said I wasn't going to do yet. haha. It's kind of an ass ache because you have to replace the 99-02 dash bezel with an 03-06 to fit the double din...which means the HVAC doesn't fit and you have to relocate it, and cut the top of the ash tray off...but now I have a radio/mp3/bluetooth stereo with a backup camera and Google maps and OBD2 gauges. I also re-faced the HVAC panel to fit and let orange light shine through (the 03 bezel blocks the ends of it) and wired in some LED bulbs and resistors. I also ended up relocating the airbag switch to the glove box and adding a cubby hole there that fits my sunglasses perfect.
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

The backup camera is awesome. They sell one to fit the tailgate handle trim, but it's $130, so I bought a universal $15 jobby. I wired it in and couldn't find a mounting spot I liked where I could see behind me and my hitch ball. But I did find an empty tailgate trim with the camera hole molded in for just $30. So 10 seconds with a unibit and 5mins to index it later...I had exactly what I wanted. For 69% cheaper.
Image
Image

I also witnessed a minor miracle! Got my center caps back from the painter and slapped my custom discs on. Looks saweeeeet.
Image
Image

Got a spare 0411 PCM and connectors from my bro-in-law to build my bench harness and tune with. Test flashed it a few times successfully. Once to try a fake VIN and make sure a friend can LS swap his 96 truck with a 99-06 harness and still pass NY inspection. I flashed a new 8.1 tune and drove it to work today, but we had so much snow and nasty weather that I didn't get to test it out. I made a "control" datalog pass on the stock tune from 1900-5000rpm in 4th gear up the big mountain out of town (30-82mph). As long as my next pass takes less time I'll know the tune is helping. My bro-in-law has two Tahoes and one runs great and one is a slug. They are both 03 5.3/4l60e/3.73...so you'd think they'd be the same. I'm gonna read both and see if there's anything different in the tune or if it's a mechanical thing.
Image
Image
Image


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
heavywoody
Global Moderator
Posts: 1991
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 4:10 pm
Location: Concord, NC
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by heavywoody »

You have minivan buttons on your HVAC... lol


Geoff
95 Z26 Turbo 3400 5spd - R&D Project
Beretta Preservation Society - Director of Acquisitions
Image
User avatar
Rettax3
Registered User
Posts: 1805
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2012 3:34 pm

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by Rettax3 »

heavywoody wrote:You have minivan buttons on your HVAC... lol
:D That is pretty funny, who would have noticed? Of course, you have HVAC buttons in your minivan, so you shouldn't throw stones... :wink:

Seriously nice upgrades -professional quality work, super clean and the attention to details are amazing. And all while your whole world just got encompassed with "new baby.".. Impressive. Good way to keep the sanity though -we all have to maintain some sense of self, and setting aside a little time for our creative hobbies is about the best way to do that, I think. Thanks for sharing! :good:


1989 SuperCharged 3800 Srs-II (First)Six-Speed GTU
1990 Turbo 3.4 5-Speed T-Type
1990 4.0L 4-Cam 32-Valve V-8 5-Speed Indy GTi (Project)
1990 Stock(!) 3.1 MPFI Auto Indy
1995 LA1/L82 4T60E Z-26
1995 3.4 DOHC Turbo 5-Speed Z-26
User avatar
woody90gtz
Registered User
Posts: 4698
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:45 pm
Location: Walton, NY
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by woody90gtz »

Well, I do have a Beretta icon on my Beretta HVAC...you don't have that, Geoff!
Image

It's been a big change with the little one. She's a pretty cool little turd and she's getting to be more fun, but it's a whole new level of responsibility and loss of free time. The dogs didn't really care if I left them in the house and spent most of a weekend in the garage...not anymore! It's nice that Tiffany's odd schedule means we only need to pay a babysitter 2 days a week, but it also means I get lots of time watching her solo...when I used to be solo in the garage. I don't think I can tell you the last time I was home alone. haha


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
heavywoody
Global Moderator
Posts: 1991
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 4:10 pm
Location: Concord, NC
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by heavywoody »

Haha, you're both right...

It's funny how having a tiny human changes your priorities. Just wait until she's old enough to get upset because she can't help you in the garage because you're dealing with one of those jobs that requires all the swear words in the book and then have to come up with new ones...


Geoff
95 Z26 Turbo 3400 5spd - R&D Project
Beretta Preservation Society - Director of Acquisitions
Image
User avatar
woody90gtz
Registered User
Posts: 4698
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:45 pm
Location: Walton, NY
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by woody90gtz »

Yeah, I've been keeping my projects baby-friendly while she hangs out in the garage swing: relatively clean and quiet like electrical, etc. I've done a little bit of cutting/grinding/welding, but only after 10pm when she's down for the night. Haha

There's a ton of dirty work yet to do on the Camaro paint job. No idea when that's gonna get done...cause I think I'm doing it myself after all...


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
User avatar
woody90gtz
Registered User
Posts: 4698
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:45 pm
Location: Walton, NY
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by woody90gtz »

It bothered me more than it should that the stereo LEDs weren't matching orange...so now they are.
Image
Image

I also came to realization that most of the super annoying blind spots in this new extended cab vs my old regular cab was the head rests. So I took the rear head rests out and put them on the front, reducing the size of both. But in GM's infinite wisdom, the spacing was different by 1.25in. Nothing a welder can't fix! Much better visibility now.
Image
Image
Image

I've been datalogging via the Torque app on my phone, and it leaves a lot to be desired. I can export the file to CSV and open it in excel, but it sucks compared to TunerPro for my old OBD1 stuff. So I searched on gearhead-efi.com and found an ADX someone set up for OBD2. It only had a few PIDs, and I had to build conversion tables to make them SAE instead of metric, but I was able to connect via bluetooth to the laptop. So I built history tables for fuel and spark and already see something is screwy with the fueling.
Image
Image

So I also bought a wideband to put in it. Had to learn the PID structure for OBD2 and some hexadecimal conversion, but I checked the EGR on a datalog and it works perfect. And actually found out the wideband has a linear 0-1v option for datalogging, so I'm going to use the Bank1Sensor2 circuit (no post-cat o2s on a HD truck) rather than have to disable the EGR...I don't need to be giving away any more MPG on this thing. haha. I ran the wideband wire to the PCM, but haven't put it in yet. My elec fan harness will be here tmo anyway, so I'll do them both then. Crossing my fingers it all works like it should...hexadecimal isn't exactly my first language. If it's all good to go though, I'm excited to share it all with gearhead-efi. All the old OBD1 stuff is reverse engineered and decoded by DIY guys. The DIY OBD2 stuff has kinda just started recently...so I'll be happy to actually contribute instead of just using all the information out there.
Image
Image
Image
Image

And the weather was good this weekend, so it got a bath. The look is really growing on me.
Image


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
User avatar
woody90gtz
Registered User
Posts: 4698
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:45 pm
Location: Walton, NY
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by woody90gtz »

I got the e-fans in and wired. Had to trim the shroud and make an adapter bracket out of phenolic for the HD rad support. The 8.1 radiator is about 4in taller and 4in wider than the half ton radiator. With the bracket I made the shroud pulls from the whole height of the radiator, but not the extra width. I sealed the shroud to the rad with a gasket from the $40 air intake kit since I'm using the stock airbox with a drop in rather than the big cone filter that draws hot air. I ended up lengthening the harness, too, because I didn't like how it needed the relays mounted to the PCM cover (I gotta pull the PCM whenever I flash a tune). So I moved them to the spot where the 05 trucks have the OEM fan relays. Looks a lot cleaner, too since the cover hides them completely.
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

The first wideband turned out to be junk within 15minutes of run time. But AEM warrantied it and it's been good ever since. Some time in 2019 they started using generic sensors and the Amazon reviews show tons of people had the same issue I did. The warranty replacement was a genuine Bosch sensor, so it should be good to go for years now, like the 2009 AEM in the Beretta. I got the 0-1v output wired in to the PCM, but still having trouble logging it. Working with a guy on gearhead-efi to get that sorted out. The bluetooth adapter will only read the first 22 PIDs, so he's patching the OS to rearrange where the PIDs are sent from.

Also found out 8.1s don't enter Power Enrichment, ever. Even the HPTuners and EFIlive guys haven't figured it out yet. So I'm working with another guy on gearhead to see if we can fix that. He did figure out a workaround that's functional by changing the open loop table to a PE EQ ratio above 70kpa...so there's a way to get the A/F needed even if PE never gets figured out. And it's a beast with some more fuel at WOT! My logged "dyno" runs up the mountain out of town (2000-5000rpm in 4th @ 30-85mph) dropped from about 20sec stock at 14.7:1 to about 16sec at 12.5:1 with 6 degrees more timing. I'm pretty happy with that. Not bad for $50 and some research!

Remembered an old icy photo I had of the Z71 that I snapped a shot to recreate (kinda).
Image

Added a mirror on the back window to see my little turd while driving. She's usually out within a couple miles though, I think the rumble puts her to sleep. Did some social distancing out in the woods. Wanted to how the winch mount worked since I hadn't tried it out yet. Also cut myself some new "Shark Warrior" stickers for the back window. I put one on my old truck after the Australia trip and that's how the local cops remembered which truck was mine and to leave me alone. (Tiffany knows them well through working in the ER).
Image
Image
Image
Image


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
User avatar
woody90gtz
Registered User
Posts: 4698
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:45 pm
Location: Walton, NY
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by woody90gtz »

Popped my 5th wheel cherry moving my FIL's 38' 14,000lb camper from his winter storage to the lake. I wanted to see how it drove with something heavy. This truck is a champ! Handled it really well (it's rated for 15,600). It's a little jerky with the 6spd under hard acceleration with all that extra inertia, but 90% it's awesome. Just gotta ease off and on the throttle when giving it some power. The deep first gear is great to get it moving from a stop up hills. And 4L is really good for creeping it backwards.

I had bought a B&W 5th wheel that drops into the gooseneck mount on FB for $300 cause I knew it was a good deal...it's like $1000 new and in immaculate shape. I like the non-slider hitch even though I have a short bed cause there are still different adjustment positions and less moving parts means it rides better. Adjusted for the king pin directly over the rear axle, it gave me 54" of clearance to the corner of the bed, which ended up more than plenty for the camper.

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

I think this summer especially, that camper will be a nice plate to spend some time.
Image


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
User avatar
woody90gtz
Registered User
Posts: 4698
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:45 pm
Location: Walton, NY
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by woody90gtz »

Hoarded a spare ZF6 from WV for cheap. They usually go for $3k. I got it for half that with some other parts. Sucker is huge, even compared to my T56. I parked it next to my stash of Getrags. haha. Also picked up a metal fabricated clutch pedal from a guy doing a group buy on the ZF6 Dmax FB page. The stock pedal is plastic and they do break. This gives me insurance to keep the beast going. The manual stuff is already hard to find and it's only gonna get worse.
Image
Image
Image


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
User avatar
woody90gtz
Registered User
Posts: 4698
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:45 pm
Location: Walton, NY
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by woody90gtz »

A guy on the 8.1 facebook group was looking for muffler suggestions so I put together a little video. Hard to beat for stainless under a hundo. And i guess I never posted anything here either. Chopped off the stock huge DI/DO muffler and replaced it with Totalflow china stuff from Amazon. Now they even have a non-polished version that's cheaper.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BJMD7PP
Image

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs4VyEqIFkI

Image


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
User avatar
woody90gtz
Registered User
Posts: 4698
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:45 pm
Location: Walton, NY
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by woody90gtz »

Quick catch-up here...

I sold off the rusty HD hood for $75 shortly after I found a matching half ton hood for $50 on Facebook. A few weeks ago, I traded the 1500 hood and $20 for a matched HD hood. So technically I got paid $5 to go from a rusty to matching HD hood. I'll call that a score! And it does look a little meaner.
Image
Image

Tinted the signals and fogs up front just to give the truck a little more color. Looks kinda Chevy Express-y, but I like that it's different.
Image
Image

Fixed up the A/C and took my buddy on a long road trip to haul Lisa's new Audi from Ithaca to Albany. Then picked up a 74 Impala Wagon for my bro-in-law. He bought it with no engine/trans and it's getting a 6.0 with a T5...hopefully it lives.
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
User avatar
woody90gtz
Registered User
Posts: 4698
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:45 pm
Location: Walton, NY
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by woody90gtz »

Grille project is finally all done...lots of steps. I don't like how flat the front of the HD grille looks, so by cutting out the stock mesh and recessing it behind the frame gives it some dimension. I also enlarged the upper section by cutting out the bar that runs along the hood and running the mesh all the way to the top...similar to the 03-04 style. I had to plastic weld and add filler to the corners where I took out the top bar because it's hollow, but Raptor hides imperfect work really well.
Image
Image
Image
Image

I got some honeycomb plastic and made 4 plastic nuts that I plastic welded and hot stapled in place for the lower mount. The middle bar I actually used zipties and there are two bolts and nuts for the bowtie surround that also holds the grille bar.
Image
Image
Image

I got the grille frame sprayed with Raptor finally and assembled it all. The black bowtie outline is spaced the thickness of a washer between it and the grille bar, and the orange bowtie is spaced with a washer as well. (It actually broke taking it off the old bowtie outline piece, but the hot stapler came to the rescue.)
Image
Image

One nice bonus of the upper grille surround delete is the winch cables can fit back to the battery and still close the hood.
Image
Image
Image
Image

Hard to really get a good 2d picture of the 3d depth, but I like it.
Image
Image
Image


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
User avatar
woody90gtz
Registered User
Posts: 4698
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:45 pm
Location: Walton, NY
Contact:

Re: Silverado build 3.0...or should I say 8.1

Post by woody90gtz »

Wow this place is dead lately! No active threads for a week? So here's some more truck stuff for a Beretta forum...haha

Got some better beauty shots with the new grille. The harsh shadow from direct sunlight shows the depth a little better.
Image
Image
Image
Image

A short bed only has two tie downs each side? That's crazy! So I added more just like my last truck. 1.25 exhaust clamps work great and they're stupid cheap.
Image
Image

Found a used AAM TracRite helical LSD out of a Cummins truck for $200 and couldn't pass it up. It's a direct swap from Dodge to Chevy with zero modifications. I swapped the GM ring gear over and reused the Dodge bearings and races in the GM housing without even touching the pinion.

My first time setting up gears, but it went super easy with the lateral adjusters in the AAM housing (no shims) and the fact that I left the pinion alone. With 2 slots of bearing preload and .009 backlash I got acceptable pattern and there's no whining or any issues that I've found driving it.

This is the style: https://www.ebay.com/itm/40099548-GM-Do ... 2786403935
And this was a good youtube video I found: https://youtu.be/AfJI8cqxDm8

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image


91 "SS" - WOT 3400/5spd - 13.29@101.6 - World's fastest N/A FWD Beretta
96 "T56" LS/6spd/8.8 RWD swap - 13.45@104.7 lol
GEARHEAD dezign youtube
Post Reply