88GMCtruck's 98 Silverado Towpig Build: "Black Fox"
- Thread starter 88GMCtruck
- Start date
Mine has a "rear view" mode you can select on. It's super convenient.
Welcome to Washington traffic. Just before this it was stop and go......
Went down to the wreckers quick to see what they had, and to try and find a non-broken Escalade bezel to replace mine (it's cracked and missing a tab, although still works ok). Ended up finding this woodgrain steering wheel in a conversion van, matches the trim pretty well although it's a shade lighter. Not sure how long it'll stay but I think it helps tie the interior together a little bit.
After getting that in, I just couldn't stand not having the Escalade trim on the dash bezel. I originally didn't want to cut mine up for the double din so I used the OEM bezel first (since I have 3 of them floating around somehow)... well since I found one to modify for later I cut up the one with the crack for the time being. So much better.
That is about it for now. I have another box coming UPS with some more goodies for the dually soon.
After getting that in, I just couldn't stand not having the Escalade trim on the dash bezel. I originally didn't want to cut mine up for the double din so I used the OEM bezel first (since I have 3 of them floating around somehow)... well since I found one to modify for later I cut up the one with the crack for the time being. So much better.
That is about it for now. I have another box coming UPS with some more goodies for the dually soon.
Must be on your end because I can see them just fine still. Maybe Photobucket was down?
must have been its all good now.
looks good, have any connections on a 96+ red dash? the PO of mine cracked it and tried gluing it back together.
looks good, have any connections on a 96+ red dash? the PO of mine cracked it and tried gluing it back together.
I've seen them in the wreckers here and there, dashes don't usually go to hell here either - but pulling and shipping them might not be the most fun procedure.
----------------------
Well, I put this on earlier this week, but I got a heck of a deal on an exhaust kit - Brand new Gibson Side Swept cat-back for $240 shipped. It's not exactly what I was planning for exhaust but at that price I couldn't say no.
OEM vs Gibson
A much better flowing muffler, and larger mandrel bent tailpipe. It's just slightly louder than stock, with a good tone from 1,200-2,500 or so. I would have went a little louder but it's also nice having a truck that isn't like the gates of hell opening up, particularly since I tend to show up to camp spots late at night.
One day I'll end up with headers.... One day.
It's a 3.5" tip that came with it... I was thinking maybe a 4" but not sure it's worth the cost? :lol:
Wow it's been awhile! Had quite the busy holiday season, of course right in the middle of it I started hearing a whining sound while driving... A couple hundred miles later it was WAY louder than it should be. So, time to diagnose...
After all the transmission problems, I'm pretty in tune to figuring out sounds. So first was the easy test - is this trans, transfercase, driveline or rear end... Shift the transfercase in neutral and "drive" the trans. There is no other way to describe this other than watching the video.
So, very obvious that the transfercase has something wrong with it. Pulled the fill plug to check fluid, yup, plenty. Color though..... oh no.
Due to the holidays, the cold temps outside, I decided to just buy a transfercase.... That turned into a disaster in itself. My truck is a K3500. And for those who aren't familiar... K3500 trucks use a Borg Warner Transfercase with a PTO provision and fixed front and rear yolks. Sounds straight forward right? Nope.
GM used 3 BW cases in these trucks. BW1370, BW4401, and BW4470. My truck has a BW4401. It's a predecessor of a BW1370 (they actually share a ton of parts, and half of the case even says 1370 on it). They used the BW4470 in Chassis Cab trucks which were rated at 12,000 GVW. There is also a heavier version of the BW4401, for crewcab longbed trucks outfitted with RPO 9D6 (11,000 GVW). Both the BW4401 9D6 and the BW4470 use a 1.5" wide chain and gears as opposed to the 1.25", and the BW4470 has a fixed oil pump housing plate which the others do not have. To make it even more confusing up front there are flange (early) and fixed yolk (late) outputs, and in the rear there are slip yolk outputs for early regular cabs, and fixed yolks for the rest.
Oh, did I mention this transfercase has an electromagnetic front driveline synchronizer that is tied into the front actuator? Yup. And because of this it uses a different 4wd harness than the rest of the NP241 trucks and has a firewall mounted relay to control it.
Basically, this was 2 weeks worth of research, and a couple junkyard trips. The cases are like, $1,200 for a rebuilt one, and run $600 or so for a used one, if you can find one locally. They are just simply not common. I thought I had one at a junkyard locally, ended up spending about 4 hours looking through tons of transfercases only to find an early flange front output style, and they couldn't locate the correct one. Another yard had one, and my friend Devin went to look at it for me, but it turned out to be a BW4470 (at this time I didn't fully know the differences between them). The fixed oil pump plate added about 1" to the length, so with those measurements I determined I did have enough slip yolk useable to swap that larger case in my truck, so home it came.
BW4470 VS BW4401
I haven't gotten into it yet, but here is the case out of the truck, in neutral.... Something got fried in there.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, as much of a PITA it is to pull the transfercase in this (they are about 2x as heavy as a NP241), it was a bit of a blessing in disguise/potential nightmare. Upon myself inspecting things, I found the nut on 5th gear had backed off on my NV4500 and the gear was only 1/2 engaged... Mind you this only has 6,000 miles on it from brand new.......
I tapped the gear back on, installed the spacer, the OEM spring washer (which was not installed by the trans shop), and a replacement nut with loctite.
Been working fine since.
Another little upgrade, Devin gave me a front receiver he scored at the junkyard.
After all the transmission problems, I'm pretty in tune to figuring out sounds. So first was the easy test - is this trans, transfercase, driveline or rear end... Shift the transfercase in neutral and "drive" the trans. There is no other way to describe this other than watching the video.
So, very obvious that the transfercase has something wrong with it. Pulled the fill plug to check fluid, yup, plenty. Color though..... oh no.
Due to the holidays, the cold temps outside, I decided to just buy a transfercase.... That turned into a disaster in itself. My truck is a K3500. And for those who aren't familiar... K3500 trucks use a Borg Warner Transfercase with a PTO provision and fixed front and rear yolks. Sounds straight forward right? Nope.
GM used 3 BW cases in these trucks. BW1370, BW4401, and BW4470. My truck has a BW4401. It's a predecessor of a BW1370 (they actually share a ton of parts, and half of the case even says 1370 on it). They used the BW4470 in Chassis Cab trucks which were rated at 12,000 GVW. There is also a heavier version of the BW4401, for crewcab longbed trucks outfitted with RPO 9D6 (11,000 GVW). Both the BW4401 9D6 and the BW4470 use a 1.5" wide chain and gears as opposed to the 1.25", and the BW4470 has a fixed oil pump housing plate which the others do not have. To make it even more confusing up front there are flange (early) and fixed yolk (late) outputs, and in the rear there are slip yolk outputs for early regular cabs, and fixed yolks for the rest.
Oh, did I mention this transfercase has an electromagnetic front driveline synchronizer that is tied into the front actuator? Yup. And because of this it uses a different 4wd harness than the rest of the NP241 trucks and has a firewall mounted relay to control it.
Basically, this was 2 weeks worth of research, and a couple junkyard trips. The cases are like, $1,200 for a rebuilt one, and run $600 or so for a used one, if you can find one locally. They are just simply not common. I thought I had one at a junkyard locally, ended up spending about 4 hours looking through tons of transfercases only to find an early flange front output style, and they couldn't locate the correct one. Another yard had one, and my friend Devin went to look at it for me, but it turned out to be a BW4470 (at this time I didn't fully know the differences between them). The fixed oil pump plate added about 1" to the length, so with those measurements I determined I did have enough slip yolk useable to swap that larger case in my truck, so home it came.
BW4470 VS BW4401
I haven't gotten into it yet, but here is the case out of the truck, in neutral.... Something got fried in there.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, as much of a PITA it is to pull the transfercase in this (they are about 2x as heavy as a NP241), it was a bit of a blessing in disguise/potential nightmare. Upon myself inspecting things, I found the nut on 5th gear had backed off on my NV4500 and the gear was only 1/2 engaged... Mind you this only has 6,000 miles on it from brand new.......
I tapped the gear back on, installed the spacer, the OEM spring washer (which was not installed by the trans shop), and a replacement nut with loctite.
Been working fine since.
Another little upgrade, Devin gave me a front receiver he scored at the junkyard.
Time for an update!
After awhile of searching, I found another Lund Coldfront that fits this truck. I've had one on my 88 for years now, and it's great in the winter. Warms up faster. These have been discontinued awhile now, glad to have found it. new in box.
Also had a successful trip to the junkyard, found a set of 08+ Express/Savana HVAC knobs for my truck. I then picked up a 4th and modified it to fit on the headlamp switch which involved cutting the shaft down and dremeling the knob itself to fit. Really think it gives it a more modern look and ties together nicely with the stereo and the escalade handles.
We also had a good 8-10" of snow yesterday... first time I've had snow at my actual house in years. Couldn't resist taking the dually out in it to work, and later took the 88 out to play around.
Love this sight at home
Once it got later, I swapped over the driver's door from the suburban since it had better paint than mine; that was one of the reasons I bought a black parts truck.
Uh, something isn't right here: 2500 Dually?
Oh, on my last junkyard trip I scored these: GMT800 crewcab body trim. Have been looking for a set for a long while now.
With the door swapped and old body trim removed, I was able to install the new trim. Can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can wash it and get decent pictures with the new trim!
After awhile of searching, I found another Lund Coldfront that fits this truck. I've had one on my 88 for years now, and it's great in the winter. Warms up faster. These have been discontinued awhile now, glad to have found it. new in box.
Also had a successful trip to the junkyard, found a set of 08+ Express/Savana HVAC knobs for my truck. I then picked up a 4th and modified it to fit on the headlamp switch which involved cutting the shaft down and dremeling the knob itself to fit. Really think it gives it a more modern look and ties together nicely with the stereo and the escalade handles.
We also had a good 8-10" of snow yesterday... first time I've had snow at my actual house in years. Couldn't resist taking the dually out in it to work, and later took the 88 out to play around.
Love this sight at home
Once it got later, I swapped over the driver's door from the suburban since it had better paint than mine; that was one of the reasons I bought a black parts truck.
Uh, something isn't right here: 2500 Dually?
Oh, on my last junkyard trip I scored these: GMT800 crewcab body trim. Have been looking for a set for a long while now.
With the door swapped and old body trim removed, I was able to install the new trim. Can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can wash it and get decent pictures with the new trim!
Last edited:
im jelly of your door handles, i bought a set, but got pissed off trying to install them.
i know you played around with your 6.5l you used to have, any suggestions to help with towing?
i know you played around with your 6.5l you used to have, any suggestions to help with towing?
Removing the old handles is the worst part. It's easiest with the door card and glass removed. The kodiak handles are WAY easier to install. You have the correct rods right?
The 6.5L... I found the A Team Turbo a huge help, but an intercooler would be one of the best things for towing and keeping IATs/EGTs down... Or sell it.
it takes different rods with the kodiak handles right? if so, then i do not.
i have the special resistor for the PMD as well as located behind the bumper with a heat sink, and a turbo back exhaust.
just put a lift pump in because my gas cap vent failed and burned up the pump. seems to be running fairly decent at the moment.
i have the special resistor for the PMD as well as located behind the bumper with a heat sink, and a turbo back exhaust.
just put a lift pump in because my gas cap vent failed and burned up the pump. seems to be running fairly decent at the moment.
Yes, they have unique lock and handle rods. I don't think they are available through GM anymore unfortunately.