Well..... shoot

[Stocker]

The more I looks, the more I finds.... K20 hasn't been tracking too well since I got the new wheels & tires (255/85-16s on 7" Ford steelies). Let's align it but first eyeball the hard parts. Hmm, just a wee bit of play in both ends of the drag link. Scrape off years of crud and break loose the nut on the easy end (front) but of course I can't get it separated from the pitman arm. Do I need a pickle fork for this?

While I'm under the front end, I see a drip drip drip. Coolant all along the bottom of the radiator. I've been chasing a slow coolant loss for a long time, no success. Took it to a local shop and they pressurized it. Nothing. Found a few possibles -- one end of a heater hose (replaced), coolant recovery tank (cleaned) and its hose (replaced) then thought I struck gold. Radiator cap had a rotten rubber seal. New cap, all seemed good. Maybe. But now the drip in my driveway.

I replaced the OEM radiator 12 years ago. *Should* still be good, and the last thing I want to do is replace it again. Sigh..... guess I will have to pull it out and see what I have. Might need new supports & pads this time, and I think I'm missing a shroud clip.

All this because I want the cooling system tight before I flush it and put in new Prestone. And because I need to replace the drag link.

Gotta love old trucks. Why else would I put up with this?

[truckster]

I sympathize. Still, there's nothing I'd rather drive.

[toolboxchev]

Driven mine everyday, 10 years now, 2 radiators, 2 sets of brakes, unlimited tune ups, rewiring, top end rebuild, much too much to list.

I still love passing those rice burners on my way to work!

[CG]

Maybe the Ford wheels are the problem?

[special-K]

You own something, and use it, long enough and you get to do some things you did over again. My '72 was nowhere near new when I bought it in '01, but that's 15 years I've had it now. I did work 10 or so years ago I still think of as newly replaced. It just keeps ticking. I've had the snowball effect hit me over the simplest things. I've had that on newer vehicles, too.

[Ol Blue K20]

If ya don't want it anymore, I'll drive up and pick it up. state of Jefferson ain't that far from me.

[LongBox]

This takes me back. For about 10 years, I drove a 1972 Buick as my DD. Because we had emissions testing, each year, I would buy a set of points, a rotor, maybe 8 new plugs, and spend a half-day tuning it up for the test.

One of those times, I crawled underneath to do something, and drip, drip, I was getting coolant in my face--a dripping water pump, Discouraging, because this was the second time I had to replace the pump.

So, I empathize with you, but it is worth it. I bet your old truck brings you more pleasure than a modern vehicle would ever do. And just think, you found the problem on your own, and it's actually a pretty simple, and not all that expensive, repair.

[jocko]

Mike, I feel your pain. Seems like it's always something. The worst is when you finally scrounge the time to work on something, and even if you do get it fixed, you find two other things in the process. The ONLY culprits I'd recommend taking a look at (or a second look) are the lower hose - even if a new one, they can be hard to get a good seal sometimes - I have had success in the past using two big hose clamps. Shouldn't be necessary, and I hated to do it - but it didn't leak anymore, so I learned to live with it. The other possibility is the water pump. It's worth looking up the front side of the block and see if you can find a faint trail that would be coming out of the wp weep hole. Very inconspicuous, but it can result in a recurring small coolant puddle and loss of coolant over time. Anyway, good luck! And I'd like to see a pic of your truck with the new tires - I like that size, gives a little more width to my 2nd favorite, 235/85/16s... Would like to see a side and/or front quarter shot that shows off the new rubber. Any lift on your truck?

[Stocker]

Thanks for the replies and kind thoughts. Well, maybe not you, Dale -- after 39+ years, I think I'll keep it.

No shop or garage so I'm waiting for better weather to tear into it. Gonna pull the radiator and try to figure out what's what, and worry about the drag link next.

[Stocker]

I type as slowly as I wrench so I was working on the above reply when you posted, Jocko. I'm retired so time is not a problem, just inspiration and a limited skillset. I gave all the hoses a really good inspection, and the water pump too. Dry as a bone. I suspect something has rubbed through the bottom of my 12-year-old 4-row. Upper hoses are new but I will replace the lower hose, and maybe double up on the clamps. Thanks for the idea!

Besides being a bit wider, the 255s are little taller than 235s. I have stock rear springs with Hellwig overloads, and 2.5" Softrides up front. Cameras don't like me and I have no side shots yet.... here's the bigger version of my avatar pic.

[72 Super]

Mike that is good looking truck! You will get it, it just a lot of patiences sometines

Ray

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Thanks for the replies and kind thoughts. Well, maybe not you, Dale -- after 39+ years, I think I'll keep it.

No shop or garage so I'm waiting for better weather to tear into it. Gonna pull the radiator and try to figure out what's what, and worry about the drag link next.

Shucks, you can't blame me for not trying . The tires and stance look great!

[jocko]

Originally Posted by Stocker

I type as slowly as I wrench so I was working on the above reply when you posted, Jocko. I'm retired so time is not a problem, just inspiration and a limited skillset. I gave all the hoses a really good inspection, and the water pump too. Dry as a bone. I suspect something has rubbed through the bottom of my 12-year-old 4-row. Upper hoses are new but I will replace the lower hose, and maybe double up on the clamps. Thanks for the idea!

Besides being a bit wider, the 255s are little taller than 235s. I have stock rear springs with Hellwig overloads, and 2.5" Softrides up front. Cameras don't like me and I have no side shots yet.... here's the bigger version of my avatar pic.

Thanks for posting the bigger avatar Pic Mike - that helps a lot. Looks great! I'm wondering how they'd work/look with a stock ride height truck (like mine!) Gotta keep these in mind when tire time rolls around. Get it, rolls around... Sorry, it's still early...

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by jocko

I'm wondering how they'd work/look with a stock ride height truck (like mine!) Gotta keep these in mind when tire time rolls around. Get it, rolls around...

They are only an inch taller than the OEM 7.50-16s that my truck came with, so no problem fitting a stock height truck.

[special-K]

I had the 255/85s, also on Accuride 7" wheels, on y '72 K2500 which had original springs.. They fit fine.

I had a snowball episode when doing my front brake hose connections at the frame. You remember all that. Well it's been great for four months now. Driving the wheels off of it...about 4k miles. Before all that and the year and a half it sat, maybe 2-2 1/2 years ago I finally fixed a no crank issue I was having intermittently for a while. Through that process the truck got a new starter, battery, cables, redid connectors at starter, all wiring gone over, and last but not least the culprit... neutral safety switch. So, all good in that dept once I got the truck going this year. That is until this morning when the starter just went clunk and didn't turn it over. Had plenty of juice, charged it anyway, redid battery connections (were clean), and being used to bad luck I even check to see if the engine turned. It turns out the stud the starter where the battery cable hooks up was loose. I was headed to the bank, post office, then run down the road to cut firewood. All at once plans changed. At least it was fixable...once I hopped in the Suburban to take care of chores in town. Those darned old trucks. Ya just never know.

EDIT: I dropped the starter, tightened everything up, put back in, same thing. Took it out again, tried it disengaged from the flex plate, same thing. Both screws that hold cap on the solenoid are gone! All that moving around I was seeing when it was in the truck was that. It's an Advance lifetime starter. Looking for the receipt now!

EDIT #2: Couldn't find the dang receipt, tried a starter from a '71 C/20 (that I knew had very little use since rebuild) and it wasn't a fit. So, I grabbed an OEM core from my "to be rebuilt" stash and just used it's screws. Sure turned into a project for some dumb stuff that should never have happened

[52napco]

Heres a pic of my 71 Cheyenne with an old school Rancho 4" and 255 85's on 7" e350
Wheels think im going to swap
It for a Skyjacker 2.5 softride

[Stocker]

Coolant leak update: Removed the radiator today, no clear indication of a leak anywhere. Gotta haul it an hour or so to the city and have a radiator shop pressure test it. In the meantime I'll get a new lower hose from NAPA. It looks OK but all things considered, I'd rather replace it while everything is apart.

[Ol Blue K20]

Was the drip falling from the radiator support?

[Stocker]

I guess that's what it is.... kinda like a crossmember running underneath the radiator.

When I pulled the radiator, the bottom of it was dry. And the support was still wet from last week. Only other thing I hadn't thought of before was the petcock, even though it showed no sign of leaking.

Of course while wrestling it out, I managed to splash a little coolant here & there so a good inspection became near impossible.

At this point I'm really banking on having it pressure tested.

[Ol Blue K20]

That's the radiator support. Is there any white or green staining in the fins or the bottom of the radiator?

[Stocker]

Unfortunately, no.

[b.sharp]

Do you have an overflow hose that is puking a little onto your support and then onto your driveway? Maybe you can put the hose into a catch and see if that stops it. I would replace the thermostat also if you have all the coolant drained. Just as a preventative thing. Easier to do when empty than full.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Unfortunately, no.

Huh....maybe the cap isn't holding pressure and letting it out the over flow as stated above .

[Stocker]

Well, a bit earlier in the process, I thought I had checked everything until I took a better look at the cap. Aha, the rubber seal was rotted, time for a new cap!

At least it was a few bucks well spent, but I still have the leak..... just occasionally.

[Stocker]

Good news / bad news? Not much of an update but here it is anyway. With fresh daylight and a completely dry radiator, I got a better look at it this afternoon. Three different areas of the core have very slight green residue. If it's leaking in three places, it will probably need to be replaced. Won't know until it's pressure tested, most likely next week.