New Truck!

I was debating on whether to put this here or in the equipment forum, but I think that one of my questions will become "off-topic".

Anyways, everyone's been upgrading trucks, it seems. I'm apparently trying to keep up with the Joneses, now. As many of you know, my main truck was a 1987 Chevrolet R10 (1/2 Ton) with a 305. It's nice... for a 28 year old truck. But, I needed something more. So, I bought this:




It's a 2000 Chevrolet K3500, with the Vortec 350, automatic transmission, and floor-shifting 4x4. My last large truck was this:


I figure that this one is at least 4-6 inches shorter!

Nothing is perfect, though, so I have a few questions:

1. I bought it with a shot engine. A new Vortec 350 is going in, so my first drive in it will be with the new engine. Does anybody have any break-in recommendations?



2. How does the Vortec 350 do? I've driven a 1989 Chevy 350, but no vortec ones. Is there a special trick to operating them (Such as the 5.4 Triton)?

3. Here's where we'll stray. It has a salvage title. My commercial vehicle insurance is with Allstate. Allstate will not, under any circumstances, touch a vehicle with a rebuilt title. I know that State Farm will. Do you have any recommendations on insuring this beast? My father loved State Farm, but he was with them in the 1980s. Times may have changed. I'm more than open to shopping around. I work in the same building as my Allstate agent, so this may get a little... interesting to say the least!

Oh sure, rain on my parade!

Most of the time, she won't be hooked to a trailer. I need the bed capacity, mostly, and room for three people. 1500# in the back of the 1987 is all that it's happy with. With this, I should be able to haul about 2500-3000# payload.

My towing will be 5000-7000# maximum, and not too frequently. If I get to the point where I'm doing that much weight (or more) frequently, I'll look into an MDT (Freightliner FL70 or International 4700), but I doubt I'll be that large anytime soon!

We used to do a lot of hay and straw hauling with a 1992 F250, with the 351. The 351 for that year was 210hp and 335 lb/ft of torque. This engine is 255hp, and 330 lb/ft of torque. The F250 was an ext. cab/long bed model. We would tow 120 bales behind it on a trailer, with another 30 on the bed. Each bale weighed about 50#, so you're looking at 7500# of straw, plus 2000# for the trailer (More or less). That truck moved the 9500# load acceptably. Granted, I think my father was above the GVW limits.

I'm not looking to go 65MPH up the mountains. The slow lane is fine with me.

I've also owned a 350 (1989 version). The TBI models are supposed to be less powerful than the Vortec ones. Yet, our 1989 scooted along at 55-60 all day.

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How much were you towing? What trailer did you have? I have a hunch that you were towing more than we will be??

Compared to the box truck, this can't really be much worse. The engine in there (5.4 Triton) was 230hp, and it did fine. I could go up hills at 55MPH. I really didn't like the power band of the engine, though. I always felt like I was beating the snot out of it. You really had to spool the 5.4 up a lot to get power.

If you don't mind elaborating on what you towed with your truck, it would be great!

I have the exact same truck, a 2000 that I ordered from the factory with a 454, 4x4 and an automatic. Loved it. Still have it but it needs some work so its been temporarily sidelined, with 300,000 km on it. Some of you may have noticed I'm now using a 2001 diesel Ford F350 with the same layout: crewcab, long box, 4x4.

The 454 is a better match to the truck than the 350. I've had just about the same issues as KZ: front brakes wear out quickly, intake manifold gasket had to be changed. I also had to replace the rear brake lines because of excessive rust. The front lines need changing, too. I've read on the 'net its a common problem with GM pickups of this era so you might check yours.

It'll pass everything but a gas station. If you notice it becoming hard starting and real hard on gas, change out the injectors... It also has some programming in the engine computer that limits it to 100mph...

Rides 'way nicer than the Ford. It'll handle whatever you cram into it...just make sure you got real good tires because they seem to be the limiting factor once the load puts the frame onto the rubber axle bumpers.

You'll also be learning this song: "give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around..." It's a big girl.

Jon.

I had that box truck above, so I'm used to the phrase "I'll keep circling!"

I wanted more than a regular cab, and my father (a "semi-retired" farmer) wanted an 8' bed. This was the best compromise.

How bad are the brakes to change? I've done them on a couple of cars before. If pads aren't that bad to change, that'll be fine.

I've noticed the ride thing on all of my Chevy's. I haven't driven this one, but I sat in it. It felt way more comfortable than any of the Fords that I've been around.

It has real nice tires on it now, and I plan to keep the best that I can on there. On the box truck, it came with some crummy non-branded P rated tires. I switched to GoodYear Unisteels on the back, and that completely changed the driving dynamics. The truck felt way more stable, and safer too. I just wish that I could have found more agressive Unisteels at the time. That truck spun out at every stop light when there was a light dusting of snow on the ground.

How are the back brakes on these? Are the fronts the only problem, or will the rears be going through shoes and drums?

Mat,

I have had trouble with the fronts only. I've only done the rear brakes once. They're pretty straightforward.

The fronts have been a royal pain in the pitoot. You need to pull off the whole wheel bearing to get the brake disk offa the hub.

I've had trouble with wobbly rotors. The OEM rotors would heat and go wavy and then the brakes would vibrate. It would "mostly" go away once they cooled off. I changed out the rotors with not a heck of a lot better results. I remachine my rotors to get more service life and it seems to help, but getting the rotor back onto the wheel hub and having it stay within runout limits is a test of patience. All it takes is a speck of rust or something to get between the rotor and hub when you are putting it back together and you're taking it apart again. And mating the rotor to the hub isn't easy--your're pulling the wheel studs through the rotor onto the hub, and it doesn't go easily...there's a chattergun involved so it is easy as heck to get a bit of dirt in the gap.

The service manual talks about a thou and a half maximum runout for the assembled rotor. That is HARD to do unless you are using all new parts. You need a dial indicator and a magnetic base to check that runout once you have everything assembled.

The parts aren't that much money so it isn't a huge deal. And you might luck out and not find any problems with rotors. Its the old YMMV routine.

The pads are no problem to change but as you can see my issue hasn't been the pads.

My wife likes the Chev better than the Ford, for the reason it's low. It doesn't seem to drag bottom on the rough any more than the Ford, though.

One other thing...Chev changed models half way through the year so you gotta be careful when ordering parts. Getting rear axle oil seals was fun because of this.

Jon.

I'm already dreading the inevitable use of parking lots. To the back!

We had a 2000 Impala that was that way with rotors. I eventually learned how to replace them, though. The pads were a piece of cake for me.

My two F-Series trucks have been of the 1992-1996 vintage. For some reason, I think they really flubbed something. They both rode awfully. Strangely, my box van was... dare I say it, comfortable?

I'm used to slower vehicles, and I'm pedantic, so I'll probably be fine there. If not, the money's been spent, so I'll have to learn to be fine!

Is there any "performance" rotor, or was it just worth it to replace or resurface with OEM parts?

I'm guessing your travel trailer was kind of high? At speed, I noticed a similar thing with my box van causing extreme wind resistance. I also used to have a tall box on a 1995 F150. With the 300, that box basically served as an air brake.

In Wyoming, salvage titled vehicles must be inspected when they are first issued a rebuilt title. After that, you just proceed as normal (Except, you'll always have a branded title). I was issued insurance for an unfinished project truck (My 1987) that still had an Illinois title (We never had it switched apparently- the truck sat for over 8 years). My box van was only given a VIN inspection (It was a Pennsylvania truck- hence the rust).

Allstate won't insure anything that's branded though (Both people in the office told me that), so I'll be moving my commercial insurance somewhere else. Probably to State Farm. For some reason, Allstate Commercial Auto Insurance has a clause that the vehicle can't be used "for agricultural purposes." State Farm doesn't, so that's a big thing to me.

Don't worry, she'll be working! Once the break in period (1000 miles) is over, I have a trailer of scrap ready to go! I just hope the prices hold out long enough.

I drive over 100 miles a day to work, so 1000 miles will come in no time!

Keep the thoughts coming! I've already learned a lot!

Thanks!

I think you might try performance rotors when you get to needing new ones. I just bought mid-quality Napa rotors but, looking at the Rock Auto offerings there are a bazillion and one choices if you want to get something where the manufacturer spent some time figuring out how heat would affect the rotors!!

I'll probably try that with my next set of rotors 'cause old Millie ain't going anywhere. She'll get run into the ground!

Jon.

What about a different size crate motor

Full disclaimer: I do not have the skills to swap an engine.

From what I've read, though, you'd need to swap the computer, wiring harness, and then you'd want to swap the transmission to a 4L80E. I was able to trade an Impala with head gasket problems for the engine install, so a 454 ould set me back a couple of grand.

My other thought on that was that I know a farmer who hauls hay a lot. He has a 1999 K3500 with a Vortec 350, and a 1998 K3500 Dually with the 454. He says that the 350 will keep pace with the 454 easily.

From what I've read, the Vortec 454 is a bit of a pig, while the Vortec 350 is a very good engine.

Plus, I've already ordered a Goodwrench 350.

We'll see how it does. Our Ford 351 was acceptable, and I know that the Vortec 350 will outpull it.

For technical swap details, though, I'm not your man!

At least someone likes it!

I need more than a regular cab, and the farming needs a long bed. What's left is really, really long.

We still have our DMI bumper (One of these) from our old 1992 F250. I'll have to get some brackets made- that was a nice bumper.


They have a spring in them, so trailer towing isn't as hard on the truck. I just wish ours had a license plate bracket. I know a welder, though.

From my limited experience with it, the truck seems comfortable. I hate the passenger interior with that "box" stuck on top of the dash. I didn't look close enough, but I hope that doesn't cause a visibilty problem. I don't think it will. The 95-96 dashboard looked much nicer, but visibility is the main thing for me.

I also have a cap that's been on about 5 trucks. I bolted 2x6s to it, and then bolted that whole thing directly to the truck. I've had it on everything from a Dakota to my 1987 Chevrolet. Maybe this is the truck it'll fit naturally- it's never been on a GMT400.

I think it'll be a good truck, though. I won't be towing a lot, but the payload capacity of a 1 ton is worth it to me. Laptops are heavy, but don't take up a lot of space.