Sealik Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 those brackets are stupid and a waste. they take away from the functionality of the brace. plus, that brace isnt even attached to anything but the cab, it has no mounts to the frame or crossmember. i suppose you could put something UNDER it between it and the cross member, but i would bolt it straight to the cab, and get rid of those 2 spacers. the problem i am seeing, is the surface that makes contact under the cab, versus the surface those brackets make. less than half, making them more likely to tip or bow outward. but thats just me... Those brackets drop the strap so it's functional....ties the cab to the frame. It is not a brace. Could be rigged to support the floor.....but... there are other issues making the floor flex.... more so than a 4"-5" slit in the floor and the MIA strap Quote Link to comment
Skulptr Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 look at my pics sealik, the strap attaches to nothing. Quote Link to comment
poopypants720 Posted April 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 Those brackets drop the strap so it's functional....ties the cab to the frame. It is not a brace. Could be rigged to support the floor.....but... there are other issues making the floor flex.... more so than a 4"-5" slit in the floor and the MIA strap I'm sure this is true.... But regardless I'm not reinstalling the strap in such a way that it's tying the cab down now but so it's pushing up the bottom of the cab by resting the strap on the top of the frame, not through it... Def know in the stock position the strap wouldn't do anything for me. Quote Link to comment
poopypants720 Posted April 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 those brackets are stupid and a waste. they take away from the functionality of the brace. plus, that brace isnt even attached to anything but the cab, it has no mounts to the frame or crossmember. i suppose you could put something UNDER it between it and the cross member, but i would bolt it straight to the cab, and get rid of those 2 spacers. the problem i am those brackets actually convert nea seeing, is the surface that makes contact under the cab, versus the surface those brackets make. less than half, making them more likely to tip or bow outward. but thats just me... Those brackets actually cover almost the exact same area, maybe the strap has at most an eighth of an inch hanging off on either side.... Also, the brackets were intended to push the strap lower for keeping it in the functional position of the strap, not supporting the cab like I'm doing. all the same, if you had seen these puppies installed and handled them, they are in no danger of bowing whatsoever and are VERY rigid, they could def be used to support the cab as well if absolutely necessary... This is all just a temp fix for now anyways guys, an easy make shift bolt on way to support the middle of my cab so I'm not bouncing around and leaning towards the passenger seat anymore... Much easier solution then then fabricating something else myself and cheaper then tearing up my floor and replacing sections or the whole cab....but in the distant future it will be an undoubted necessity Quote Link to comment
poor-mans-720 Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 definitely rip EVERYTHING outta the cab. Seats, seat belts, rubber floor, the padding... pull it all out. and then lets get some more pics. It looks like someone dropped a 100lb weight or something over your tunnel and pushed it WAY down. I took my strap off when i did a body lift. 3''... just got a welder so i am doing a new square tube under there, and just welding to the center hoop. let it rest on top, weld it to it, and then bolt the cab to it. Rigid. Its also just a safety thing. has no use in its stock position, other then to keep the cab from flying away if ALL the bolts sheer off. I guess could happen in a roll over? with those spacers, it'll do the same thing. just be a strap. To get it back up, jack up your truck, but some bricks or something under there, all the way up tight against it. and the lower your jack. let the weight of the truck push it up. prolly take some 2x4's or something and just stand them up. kinda like a spear. Quote Link to comment
poopypants720 Posted April 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 here you go skulptr... instead of adding 2 brackets to the top I can just do like you said and add something to the bottom... there is a hole already there after all... Heres something i just mocked up as I havent even tested the space I'll need just yet given its still wet on the ground and cold out... tomorrow will be the install... Just one on the bottom actually fits perfectly n should be more then rigid enough to hold... even if thats too much lift, I can even do a longer bolt with some double nut action one on top and one from the bottom... then I could even adjust the lift just by turning up the bottom nut with a washer in between. I'll take some pics tomorrow once its on... Poor mans 720,,,, I just recently installed these new seats and had everything out... there is minimal rust spots near the bottoms of the doors and up next to the wheel wells, nothing else much then that... I really dont want to have to go back through tearing everything out and putting it back in... I know my floor is basically trashed, just gotta figure out a way to make it work for now ;) Quote Link to comment
poopypants720 Posted April 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 So I got the strap on and it's working perfectly for what I need, already off road tested and everything and it didn't budge a bit. The 2 inch spacer bracket was going to be too much so I went the bolt through the hole route, works great. Here's some pics of the final set up. And here is a shot of the tunnel, you can see the whole floor has been squared back up much better...feels great inside too. Quote Link to comment
Skulptr Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 just putting that on squared it, or did you push on it with a jack? Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 Ah , I see now that the floor is splitting side to side well ahead of the rear of the cab. I guess that will work but it's not fixing the problem and the crack may keep growing anyway. Gotta ask yourself what's caused the crack in the first place???? Quote Link to comment
poopypants720 Posted April 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 just putting that on squared it, or did you push on it with a jack? lulz...I can bench press 315, so on my back under the truck I'm my own jack... But really, I pushed up the floor holding on to the strap then wedged a socket extension between the frame and bottom of the bracket while I fixed the bolt in place and cranked it up... You can see the scrape marks above the frame where it was supported by the extension. Quote Link to comment
poopypants720 Posted April 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 Ah , I see now that the floor is splitting side to side well ahead of the rear of the cab. I guess that will work but it's not fixing the problem and the crack may keep growing anyway. Gotta ask yourself what's caused the crack in the first place???? I'm not too sure what started the splitting... It's been sagging a bit since I bought the truck and only got worse as I off roaded it... My guess is it split it more with all the bouncing...this should stop it from getting worse at a decelerated rate until I can do some major work on the floor. Quote Link to comment
poor-mans-720 Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 yea, it looks way better now... get a welder and some sheet metal and try and weld some strips or patches over the crack. should stop the splitting. Quote Link to comment
poor-mans-720 Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 if you have a BL then you might be able to just weld the tunnel together from below. just act like a bunch of those straps. Quote Link to comment
poopypants720 Posted May 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2012 Bwahahahha I just had this truck in to be smogged over the weekend... luckily the small town I live in has a cool emissions guy and he tested it for me, saw it wasnt going to pass, and said, lets not run the test today, no charge for looking.... Well it just wasnt going to "not pass" but it was failing MISERABLY. The levels allowed in my county of Ca are like 200-250ppm HCO and less then %1.6-2 CO.... Well... at idle mine was fluctuating between 700-1000 HCO and like %10 CO.... it would drop a lil with throttle to 2500rpm but not much, around 360ppm HCO and like %6-7 CO WOW... Newly rebuilt motor... rebuilt carb brand new California Catalytic converter and every bit of emissions equipment necessary for Ca emissions hooked up and still putting out miserable numbers... Needless to say after all this money Ive put into the truck I was feeling a bit distraught. Well.... The smog guy said its likely running this way cause of a rich condition... So today I tear the carb off the intake for the hundreth time to give it another once over... sucky thing is I was under the impression that there was a NO SERVICE plug inserted into the idle mixture screw port to prevent owners from messing with their smog legal 32/34 DFT 9a so I didnt know how I was going to keep it from runnin rich without trying to find no longer available jets for rejetting my carb.... Then I found an exploded diagram of my carb.... found out my idle mixture screw wasnt plugged(prob from when I got it rebuilt years ago) and ALSO realized that the idle jet on my primary barrel was just sitting on the top of its seat, not even screwed in!!!! Think that would lead to running rich much? So I screwed in the jet. Bottomed out the idle mixture screw and backed out the idle screw, unscrewed Idle mixture screw 2 turns and just barely seated the idle speed screw on the choke cam then adjusted the idle mixture screw for best lean idle... cycled the throttle a couple times running, a couple times not running and then turned on my stereo, all my lights and my fan to put a load on it and it held FINE. Called up the smog guy and told him that I think I figured it out and he said just bring it by and he'll throw it on the machine to see if we are moving in the right direction.... Not only did it pass, it did so with flying colors! At idle it read 36ppm HCO and couldnt detect ANY CO% and at 2500rpm it was like 150-160ppm (and dropping as the cat heated up) and %0.7 CO.... Totally stoked I dont have to go chasing down any other problems to get it smogged and registered... Now Ive just got to replace my tie rod I bent while out wheeling and get the u joints on my drive shaft replaced to make the vbration and obvious safety issue go away and I can get this poor truck back into regular driver mode. Quote Link to comment
poor-mans-720 Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 do, awesomeness with the carb adj. that thing is borderline hybrid... Quote Link to comment
poopypants720 Posted May 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 do, awesomeness with the carb adj. that thing is borderline hybrid... ha! Let's just hope I'll be getting hybrid style gas mileage as well! Before the rebuild and tune I was prob getting 22-24mpg... Would love to improve on that if possible. Quote Link to comment
nissanprerunnerdavid Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 niiiiiice! goota love the accomplished feeling:) Quote Link to comment
poopypants720 Posted May 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 So just took it in for the official test today... everything went fine except my fuel tank wouldnt hold pressure... the breather tube on the fill spout was old and cracked... just ran to the auto shop got 2 feet of fuel line and wham, done and smogged. went to the DMV got my plates, got home, tore off the drive shaft took it to my machinist and got the new U joints pressed in. No more vibrating while driving over 30mph... just the nice sound of my tires on the road. Also, putting on the Cat actually quieted down my exhaust system to bearable levels for my wife... .I dont mind it either way... loud and ratty or muffled and lower... both suit the truck. But I have a quick question for everyone.... My truck, since it has oversized 32" tires, seems to show that Im going approx 10-15% slower then what Im really going... So when my speedo shows Im going 30mph, Im really going like 33-35mph.... when Im going 60mph Im really going like 66-70mph...(EDIT: just looked it up, stock 4x4 tires are 215/75R15, translates to 27.7 inch diameter, which is 13.5% smaller then my tires) So my question is, since this undoubtedly effects my odometer as well.... how do I figure out my gas mileage when it comes time???? should I add 10-15% of the miles to the reading and then do the math using that number or what???? Help me figure this one out please guys... I wanna really know what Im getting on the new rebuild. Quote Link to comment
poor-mans-720 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 mmm... never thought about that. That is a great question. Quote Link to comment
poor-mans-720 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 google gave me a Chevy thread that had this topic... Okay, I read it for a bit and tried to figure out the math... So here we go with a simplified version. (Your tire size now/stock tire size)odometer, mileage... That should give you the corrected distance traveled with different tire size. Quote Link to comment
poopypants720 Posted May 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 google gave me a Chevy thread that had this topic... Okay, I read it for a bit and tried to figure out the math... So here we go with a simplified version. (Your tire size now/stock tire size)odometer, mileage... That should give you the corrected distance traveled with different tire size. k.... thats basically what I figured, thanks for looking into it for me man! Just for the sake of it.... do you have a link for that conversation so I can read through it too? Quote Link to comment
poor-mans-720 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 so here is my math, for my tires... The mileage is just something I came up with. Something close to what I get per tank. (31/28.8)200=215.27 Is the actual mileage... Quote Link to comment
poor-mans-720 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 yea, had to find it in my history. But still got it... http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202409 Quote Link to comment
poopypants720 Posted January 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Just an update... Went another two years... smogged again... crushed the emissions levels for my year again... buuuut having an issue moving over a city with the smog guys being a Lil more picky at the bargain smog shops... they want to see an accurate smog diagram under my hood. The guy I took it to charged, full price($70) didn't care about missing diagrams and the fact that I passed with flying colors helped... but wouldn't mind any and all possible emissions diagrams for ALL '81 year models if you guys know where find em... I'm certain my stock exhaust manifold had no air tubes coming out the front and my air cleaner didn't have them either. I found an '82 in a local yard that shows this too... but the stupid book the smog guy had didn't show this for my year model...funny thing is, it doesn't show this on the'82 either. So I know his book is inaccurate/incomplete, but he won't take a picture of an '82 sticker for my '81... sucks, cause with a coupon from a local penny saver ad I can get smog got around $30 at that location and know that correctly tuned and with a cat installed, I'll pass anywhere.... Got a whole year to find it, don't smog until feb 2016... ...that's if smog is still required... I know it's hearsay, but was wheeling new years eve with a friend who's brother is a smog tech... said a referee was just in his shop recently and said that all old smog equipment is failing and needs updating by the state... So they are petitioning the gov to make everything pre 2000(pre electronic smog hookup) smog exempt OR update all equipment... considering the cost to update/replace failing equipment is going to be quite high, it's VERY likely we will see an update to smog laws that will soon exempt a LOT of cars/trucks... at least we can hope... If this is the case, I will be getting a whole new reason to dump money into my truck again and a motor swap will very likely be in my future. Other than that; -Trucks running good. -Body hasn't sagged any further and safety strap is working well for support. -Ball joint spacers poormans720 fabbed up for us allows me to still clear my tires(mostly) and allowed me to back off torsion, giving me back much of my ride and suspension and isn't so stiff that I bend tierrods on rocky paths/climbs. -also picked up new tires/wheels that I don't think I posted up... also very nice for rocky climbs/mud... better than the old bfg AT's I had on there before. Quote Link to comment
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