[Jasen]

You have any pickNpulls over there, no one ever seems to take the panel and switch blanks, chance are pretty good you could find one.

 

[silentbravo]

No pickNpulls closeby, some day I'll have to go raid a big one for some various goodies lol. for now.... more mods to post!

Installed my Bilstein 5100s in the front 10/30/2016
Part number: Bilstein 24-186735 - These are the ones you use for a front end level, 0-2.5" lift

Installed the Bilstein 5100s in the rear 12/3/2016
Part number: Bilstein 24-186742 - These are the ones you use in the rear, 0-1" lift

Probably my favorite mod to date. Truck rode really horrible, and my road to town/work is really bad as well. Tons of potholes, woopty doos, a few new seams now that they "fixed" some spots...

My front driver side shock was completely shot and many times on the road the front suspension would bottom out and hit the metal stop, rough on everything including the back. I installed the fronts first since I found a good deal for them, and it was an amazing change. All but the very worst was tamed down incredibly. There was still one spot where they repaired half the road, seemed like a 2" dip across the road which I could feel pretty good but all the other bumps and jumps were toned down a lot.

After the fronts were installed, I did notice that while breaking the nose dipped a lot so that told me the rears were also likely to be trash. When I uninstalled the rears the top 4" of their compression was basically zero resistance, so they weren't doing much either with my stiff 3/4 ton suspension and nothing in the back. Installed the rears and noticed even more of a positive difference. Now I can go down my horrible road and not even notice it is horrible. That final seem that was still noticeable is basically an afterthought now at any speed.

Funny I had shocks pretty low on my mod list, but they shot to the top after a while... :lol: Now with the total package everything is firmed up, even heavy breaking the nose dips very little and control is better all around. These will be a top mod for a while to come, may be unseated by my custom tune but I love them for sure.

Installed new AC Delco battery 11/10/2016
Part number: 78DTPS - AC Delco Professional Dual post battery

Mine was getting a little weak. I was fighting some strange startup issues which I believe were actually a bad ground, but once the cold weather hit I was getting some slow cranking as well. Figured it was time to not get stranded and upgrade. About a month before this, I added a new ground cable to the block. It's not in it's permanent home, I actually plan to just eliminate the factory ground and use the new one. It is a 2 AWG wire, connected to the side of the block in an empty hole and to the battery with I believe it is a torque converter stud ground down a bit shorter to fit the terminal on the battery I had made this addition before I had the new battery so it had to go on the same bolt as the factory ground. The extra ground did seem to help with the crazy electrical issues too.

I have another mod to post, but will have to be another day.

 

[silentbravo]

Disabled Automatic Headlights 12/31/2016
Last mod of the year. I like my auto headlights about 90% of the time, but its a pain that I didn't have full control over them. Also the override (push cargo lamp button 4 times) doesn't work on my truck so I was really at the mercy of them. I followed a tutorial from another site, here DIY: Automatic Headlight Switch Install. Rather than just wire the 1.5k Ohm .5watt resistor in permanent I also decided to install a switch so I can retain the auto functions or change to manual at any time. So far its working great. This time of year it's dark when I leave work so starting up the truck the headlights would come on. It doesn't matter so much that I have a new battery but that extra few amps of draw from the lights when starting in the dark/cold later on could be the difference between a start or no-start. I'll describe my pictures as well so this should be like a tutorial if anyone else wants to do it.

Materials:
Simple on/off switch
Bit of wiring
1x 1.5k Ohm .5watt resistor

Tools
Electrical tape, utility knife, wire strippers, butt connectors/solder/soldering iron, heatshrink, flash light

Here is the pack of resistors I got at local Radio Shack

Here is a picture of the BCM from below the steering column under the dash. We will be working with the Purple connector, so you need to remove it. First you remove the blue keeper, and then the purple connector will come out. The blue keeper is already removed on this picture, but you can see them on the next 2 connectors to the right.

You will have to remove some electrical tape from around the wires, to give room to work with them. Here I have already spliced in the resistor and switch, soldered the connections.

Here are the wires we are connecting. First wire (White wire), skip the 2nd wire (Grey wire), and connect to 3rd wire (Grey wire).

I put the resistor inline with the Grey wire. Doesn't matter which direction resistor goes.

Here is the switch panel I made from some kydex, put a simple rocker switch I stole from a computer PSU. White and Grey wire (with inline resistor) go to the switch.

Liquid taped around the soldered connections.

Taped everything back up like it originally was.

Here is the switch plate installed.

Plugged the connector in and seems to be working great. This mod should apply to 99-02 trucks, maybe tahoe/yukon as well. Going to leave some search engine tags below here.

Tags: NBS, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 99, 00, 01, 02, silverado, sierra, chevy, chevrolet, gmc, headlight, head light, switch, disable, remove, off, automatic, auto, ambient, light sensor

 

[nelly78]

I would suggest checking these out for your exhaust manifold bolts... I have used them and it definitely will not take you three days. More like a couple hours, that is if you have more than one to fix. They are durable and solve the problem without all of the ugly work.
http://kralautoparts.com/

 

[OlWhiskey]

Hey, thanks for the write up on how to override the auto-on headlight feature, I will probably be doing that sometime in the future.

 

[MOFF214]

Tagging in for progress. Good work so far!

 

[MOFF214]

Subd for follow up. Great work man you've got some clever mods going

 

[ricka182]

I wonder if this would work for other NBS...like a 2006. I hate the auto-on function. It's killed one ballast on me already.

 

[silentbravo]

Bought a cheap ($20) ebay catch can and will mod the internals to actually work. Just a few pics of the can itself, you've seen them before nothing special.

I will say the tubing smells horrible. I was trying to figure out what smelled so bad downstairs where I had it the stuff laid out, and I knew the tubing smelled bad from the package but didn't realize at first it would stink up a whole room like that. I tossed it outside and the smell left pretty soon after that...

The can itself is fairly heavy duty, took the cap off to see what was going on inside. The bottom lid is glued on with a simple hole tapped in it with a stop. The top lid has the allen bolts around the rim that hold it and the lid actually has a rubber o-ring gasket on it that seals pretty tightly. I'll have more pics when I get around to modding it, so far I have a general shopping list made up but need to go to some stores to browse for some materials.

 

[silentbravo]

Catch can is about 80% complete, need to find a pipe tap to rethread the drain hole and get a drain valve for it. Was trying to keep this thing pretty cheap, not really wanting to spend a lot on a pipe tap that I'll only ever use once... so that project is on hold for a bit til I decide where to buy or borrow one.

Got rained out on Sunday when I was going to install speakers so I did them this morning..

Replaced front speakers with Polk DB+ 652 coaxial speakers 6/5/2017
Since I have owned the truck only the passenger speaker/tweeter worked, and driver side only the tweeter worked. I will put matching Polk DB+ 6.5" components in the front later but for now I have bought 6.5" coax speakers which I was going to put in the back doors anyway. I bought these from Crutchfield, they came with a Metra wiring harness that plugged straight into factory wiring so that was nice.

Polk DB+ 652 6.5" coaxial speakers box

Polk DB+ 652 6.5" coaxial speakers unboxed

Metra harness model 72-4568, for connecting from speakers (spade connector) to NBS front door factory speaker wire connector

Speaker close ups

On to the Install
Here is what factory passenger speaker looks like. Has a nifty plastic clip built into the speaker, just pops right in or out in this case.

Driver's door, removed the door panel and the speaker

I disassembled the factory speaker from the plastic ring and the fake mounting holes in the factory ring matched the Polk adapter/holes perfectly so I used it as template and drilled holes

Plugged everything together, ready to mount

Mounted.

If someone were doing this same thing, they should probably orient the adapter plate opposite of what I have. If you notice there are 3 large ears on the plate that stick out, one is vertical and the other 2 are pointing down to left/right. You might want to orient it with the long tab facing toward bottom of door instead. I didn't have any problems with the door panel on the driver's side but I think the passenger side was hanging up on that little ear pointing up. Either that or it just wasn't wanting to play along...

They sound pretty good, maybe a bit weak but that's to be expected as they are severely underpowered from stock HU. Have only listened to scratchy FM radio, which is all I listen to anyway but I may try a CD and see how they really sound. Amp and dynamat (or similar) treatment will hopefully be in the future, there is a long list of mods before that though. At least I will have more than 1 speaker to listen to until then

 

[silentbravo]

I replaced one of the rear door checks (need to do the other still) with a Dorman replacement (model 924-145). Not really impressed with the design, and almost tempted to see if I could refurbish the factory ones. I'll have to keep them around and see how these end up. It was actually worse than the factory one when I first installed it, some liberal use of lithium grease got it to work much smoother.

The GM/OEM branded replacements look the same as these, using the same type of mechanism at least so I don't know how much better they may be, if at all.

 

[silentbravo]

6/26/2017 Replaced Driver's Side Front Window Sweep/Scraper/Outer Belt (and rust repair).

This ended up quite the job with rust discovery. The driver's side scraper was 90% deteriorated on the outside, and the window would actually rattle when it was down, super annoying. I ordered the wrong Fairchild kit first on ebay, it ended up being the OBS style replacement. Luckily it was a good seller, returned no problem. Then I found the correct replacements which were cheaper anyway. Model is Fairchild KG2089 for the NBS front door outer window scraper/sweep/belt. The inner scraper/sweep/belt is actually built into the molding around the door.

So I figured this would be a nice and easy repair, pop off old, pop on new. I can whip off the door panels in no time now lol

When I finally got the driver's side off I found this.

So... without ever doing rust repair before, I did a little research, found some paint that looked like it would work and went to town.

Used these 2 paints, the Grey one as a primer/base and the White as top coat/finish.

Some of the tools used. Missing from here, is painters tape, some plastic sheet used as masking, various other hand tools

I started off with the air sander, it was taking a long time to take off material, probably spent about 1 and a half hours with it. Ended up with this

The air sander wasn't getting deep enough so I busted out the dremel which I had originally wanted to use but this is such a technical area to sand I didn't start with it. I put a die grinder on the dremel which let me work into the tight spots a lot better and came up with this.

Basically 95% of visible rust was knocked off, I think I went over a few more spots a little more after those pics but it was getting way to hot outside so I had to give up after 3-4 hrs of grinding/sanding.

On to paint, laid a base coat with the Epoxy Rust-Mate, 2-3 light coats of that which dried almost instantly, then let it sit for an hour and put 2-3 coats of the Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Gloss Protective Enamel. These are just what were in the garage.... and looked decent enough lol

Door masked off *

And finished painted product

Everything put back together here

* 2 small bits of grey overspray you can see but the paint has a million chips and missing spots, plus its dirty all the time... those are my excuses. Plus I don't know a safe way to remove it and not hurt the white :lol: There was actually some overspray on the window itself, since I had only covered it about halfway down into the door panel, but that cleaned off easy with mineral spirits. So if you do this, mask the whole window off.

Here is factory passenger side door belt for comparison. The scraper is quite a bit taller on the outside, almost all of that ripped off on my driver's side.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE (still reading this?)

Comparison between the factory trim piece and Fairchild KG2089 weather belt. This is driver's side only.

Review:
The Fairchild replacement is a lot lighter piece and has a matte colored plastic texture. The factory piece is definitely bulkier and the outer visible trim is more shiny. So if you are really OCD you will probably want to replace in pairs or all 4 if needed. I tried to take a comparison shot (front/rear doors) that day but it was to dark.

Both installed the same way, it just seems to be a simple clamp fit. I couldn't see any special lip or anything holding on the factory one, but it was really stuck on there, possibly because the rust had bulged out the metal. The replacement fits real snug and seems perfectly fine so far, and no more window rattling.

Now I have to decide if I dare replace the passenger side and discover another rust heaven. So far I'm thinking not since that one is in decent shape still...

Disclaimer: This was my first rust repair, and I'm sure something is wrong with it, but it has to be better than what was in there so go research your own methods I did notice some of the paint was trying to scrape off when installing it, hopefully it didn't take off to much if any paint. That's about my only concern with my job done.

 

[n8dh]

A claybar should take that overspray right off those doors. Idk how much I trust "rust stopping paint" but it looks like you did what you could.

 

[silentbravo]

Replaced rear brake pads 7/22/2017

I just used AC DELCO 17D785CH Professional Ceramic pads, OEM. Supposedly these pads last a really long time, and the truck has strong stopping power so I see no reason to upgrade at the moment.

The fluid is nasty and definitely needs to be changed though, that in itself would probably help a lot. Now I'm considering some speed bleeders, to go with the fluid change. Actually going to refocus on changing the rest of the fluids to get a good baseline. Front/Rear diffs, brakes and power steering should be about it, maybe transfer case too.

I do have my catch can ready to be assembled, and installed, whenever I get around to it... Probably the last mod for a while. Then one other maintenance item, broken manifold bolts on driver side need to be fixed.... when it gets cooler out lol.

 

[ricka182]

I can highly recco Russel Speed Bleeders. $12-$16 for each, front and back. I put 3/8" tubing over the whole thing right up to the caliper and it fit tight and made the pedal firm in 5 pumps.

 

[silentbravo]

I think I had read about your recommendation/experience with them the other day, which gave me the idea to get some.

 

[silentbravo]

Installed Custom Catch Can 8/5/2017

This took a long while to come together :lol: Bought the ebay can back in April, and just got it installed. But it was a mix of waiting for a tool to finish it and accumulating parts for it. This was supposed to be a cheap modded can.. ended up being a bit more than cheap which is partially why it took so long lol.

Here it is, the typical $20 ebay catch can (and included parts) in all its glory.

Here is where it gets interesting....
I based the inside design and mods from another design on this website, http://forum.grrrr8.net/showthread.php?t=38308 They provided a handy template for download that I used.

I cut out the paper template then transferred to card board for a stiffer design to test fit

This will create a baffle between the two ports up top, you can see the cardboard inside

Another "borrowed" design element, Filtrete Basic air cleaning filter. Recommended by BigBlueLB756 on this forum, found in his mega thread which inspired me Cheap Catch Can Option Bought this from Lowes, they started offering free shipping no minimum which is crazy (and awesome).

Needless to say I have a ton extra, only used about 6" x 2" worth of this stuff lol.

Here is where I started deviating from the original baffle mod I was copying. Adding a 2nd oil shield baffle to outgoing side, and also a shelf for 2nd layer of Filtrete filter on top of that.

Here is the rough cut of the new baffle. Some really thin Aluminum got from Home Depot for an exorbitant price as far as I'm concerned.. Wanted thicker aluminum but this actually turned out really nice, could bend it by hand to make adjustments and plenty sturdy.

This is how it went together, and shows the capacity of the can with baffle if I were to let it fill up.

Pics from top with baffle in place

With scrubber added to intake side

Stainless scrubber on intake side, Filtrete on exhaust side

Final Filtrete filter on both sides

On to the mounting bracket, this is thicker aluminum I had on hand.

My bracket in top middle, bottom left is the one that came with it. The right side is the bolt through side of my bracket.

Used some carriage bolts and smashed them into the aluminum plate so they "locked", this will pass through to my bracket as seen below

Looking around for a place to mount, I didn't want the can in the way of anything, found a nifty spot right next to ECM, so this is where it goes.. for now..

Carriage bolt bracket on inside of the ECM cover, covered it with some tape in case it could contact anything in there, but shouldn't.

Painted it up for final install

This part of the build was completed fairly quickly, and then I spent about 3 months waiting and deciding what to do about the drain valve. This can came with a standard bolt in the bottom, which no valve would go into easily, so I wanted to tap it out for NPT. Seems like this must be the only tool my dad doesn't have, a larger sized NPT tap so I was trying to figure out the cheapest way to buy the one I needed since this build was already adding up in the $$ department and didn't necessarily want to be spending a lot on a tool that won't be used much. Ended up getting the cheapo Harbor Freight set, 1/4" through 1/2" NPT taps and used 1/4"

So this is the result of chucking up tap in drill press (to use by hand to keep the hole straight).

Went a bit overkill on the actual valve, was planning to buy a cheaper one on ebay but splurged for the Stainless Steel :roll: to ward off galvanic corrosion, as if that could be a concern for this lol. At any rate if I don't even use this can I should be able to recover the valve for something else...

I sealed the edges of the baffle down the sides with RTV, and also applied some to keep the Filtrete in, as well as all along the top of the baffle so hopefully it ended up air tight to about halfway down the can.

Completed Can!

Install Pics

Secured with some zipties

A bit of wireloom and a ziptie on that back hose so it doesn't rub on the fuel line locks to badly

Synopsis...

I wouldn't build this can again, at least not the same way. A better candidate for a similar mod to this would probably be those square cans with the 2 ports on top. They don't have a hole on the bottom at all and you have more choice to drill and tap your own size. I was forced to go with 1/4" NPT or bigger which is a fine size but it was kind of a one shot deal and aluminum is soft so not super forgiving for errors.

Another downfall of the ebay can is the 2 holes that you use for mounting. They included tiny allen bolts, with about 1/4" of thread on them that thread into the can. I almost lost those bolts a couple times, which was super annoying. I wanted to use some thread locker on them since the road I drive is so bad I may as well be offroading out in the sticks with the way the pavement is on my way to work. I got them tight and marked with sharpie to see if they back out... will have to watch that. The large ports on the top are not using NPT style thread either, just straight threads so you have to use their fittings, which wasn't a problem just don't loose them.

I really like the mounting location but it may not work out. As soon as I had attached it and was pulling it around I noticed that the cover is fairly loose and allowed a lot of movement. Clearly it isn't meant to hang a few pounds of metal off the end of it, so I ended up adding another zip tie to the bottom of the cover which stiffened it up a lot. The actual bracket attachment is on their nicely though. So we'll see how this all works out. I haven't checked it to drain yet, but I do see the viewing pipe is yellowed so oil is going through it to some extent.

Also I was going to use hose clamps, it even came with them but they wouldn't fit on the 3/8" line, and I looked through a pile of clamps and didn't find any suitable so decided to leave it as is. The stock PCV system doesn't have any clamps either so I don't think they are in danger of blowing off. The hose to the barbs on the can are on their really tight, the hose to the other ends were on their tight as well. I have OEM hose in the truck just in case

Embarassing Parts List
Ebay can $19~
Stainless 1/4" NPT valve (ebay) $11.19
Gates 3/8 Fuel Hose, 8ft (only needed 6-7ft $14.33
Filtrete BASIC washable adjustable air filter (lowes) $6.33
Stainless Scotch Brite scrubber ~$2
1' x 1' Stainless 18 GA (I think, maybe 16GA) ~$12
Ultra Black RTV ~$6
Had these items:
Rivets, Scrap aluminum for bracket, Plumbers pipe thread tape, Zip ties...
Bonus item!
Harbor Freight 1/4" to 1/2" NPT pipe tap set, $15

 

[nealinator]

Nifty write-up. Love all the pictures and detail. Very helpful and informative.

What did you use to punch the holes in the SS plate?

 

[Jasen]

Wow, you get a little more involved with the filter, I've got the same can and I just jammed a coupe SS brillow pads in mine and added a tube to the inlet side.
Looks good though.

 

[silentbravo]

Nifty write-up. Love all the pictures and detail. Very helpful and informative.

What did you use to punch the holes in the SS plate?

SS as in stainless steel? Everything on the can is aluminum even the barbs I think, the only thing stainless is the valve and possibly the rivets. The bolts may be also but very doubtful. I used a drill press for all the holes in the baffle, mix of dremel work and tin snips for cutting the aluminum sheet out, and then a belt sander to sand the baffle pieces that fit the round shape of the can better.

Something like 50 pics for a little ol catch can, and about 2 hours to resize and create the post itself... just think if I do something interesting and document it (I did get a good laugh when I submitted the post, the scroll bar on the right side of the page just started shrinking down into the smallest size.)

Even if that scrubber loses some coils somehow, it shouldn't be able to make it through the can and into the intake, not through the upper oil baffle and the air filter media at least. Should be pretty safe that way.