someotherguy

I've found Haynes manuals below average at best, though I haven't looked at one for these trucks. Best bet would be factory manuals but they are pricey...and they're still often not 100% correct or useful, but better than anybody else's offerings. For 2003 Silverados, Helm has the manual set for $300. Bear in mind this is a monstrous stack of 5 books. You might be able to find used sets out there cheaper, but beware, sometimes the used ones are priced higher than new. Here's a listing for one of those, but it's also useful because it shows what's covered in each book. http://www.auto-repair-manuals.com/Chevrolet-GMC-2003-Silverado-Sierra-Sierra-Denali-Factory-Service-Manual.html Richard

Sets of 'em on ebay too, including OEM, brand new and fairly cheap. Or boneyard it...they're not specific to an SS. Richard

Cock stars, a lift kit, and street tires. Yup... Richard

There ya go, perfect. Good to know it works. I did experience the same thing with the hacked older-style flasher on my '94; it flashes a fairly normal rate, but still probably not quite as slow as an LED flasher. Richard

Very easy to tell by the pan shape and number of bolts. 700R4/4L60/4L60E/4L65E all from the same basic family; the pan is almost square and has 16 bolts. 4L80E is more obviously a rectangle with a rounded off rear corner, and 17 bolts. Pics etc.: http://www.maliburacing.com/auto_tranny_id.htm Richard

Always surprises me to see vehicles modded like this end up at used car lots, but then again I guess there's more than a few people don't want to hassle with un-modding before letting it go, or didn't keep stock parts to do so, etc. If it's set up right then those miles shouldn't be a worry, sure it's probably been driven a bit hard but that's true of probably any SS you'll find out there boosted or not. Richard

Holy crap! Yeah $45 is a bit much; I think I paid $32 shipped off Amazon, the guy here selling his for $30 was a good deal too. Keep in mind I have not tested my hacked duo-flasher yet, but again it does use the same IC that the older style flasher does. It's a very commonly-used chip for this application. If you look at the IC with the printing right-side up, start at the bottom left corner - that's pin 1, and you go counter-clockwise. That makes pin 7 the 2nd pin from top left corner. Blow this pic up full-size: http://www.someotherplace.com/temp/dual_flasher.jpg In my particular example, the top row of printing on the timer IC is a symbol that sort of looks like a "T" then the numbers "518". Pin 7, the one to cut, is just above the "5" in "518". Do so very carefully, with tiny side-cutters, or even an Xacto knife. I'd say until I get a chance to try mine, I would only suggest you do this if you don't care if you end up ruining your stock flasher - though I have probably 95% confidence it will work fine. Richard

Cool you were able to pick it up local. I checked a few of the store websites and didn't see it in stock, so I just got it off Amazon. I've also cut the pin on my stock one and have been meaning to try it just for the knowledge; probably be a while before I get around to it though. Another thing, got in some small 12V adjustable voltage regulators that I intend to use to get the switchbacks working on this truck, too. They work fine at 12V battery voltage while the truck is off, but crank it up and they eventually start flickering and turn off; I'm pretty sure the running voltage of 15V is a bit much for 'em. I think bringing it down to 12~13 right at the socket should work. Richard

Exactly...since '05 is AWD -or- RWD, that's why both are shown as available. AWD's got the 8.5" 10 bolt, RWD's got the 9.5" 14 bolt Be sure you read up on doing this job; setting the pinion nut correctly is important if you don't want to wipe out your bearings and gears. I'm no pro at it so I won't give you my opinions on how to do it, but I know enough to tell you that it's a critical thing to get right and you should research it heavily before ever turning a wrench on that pinion nut. Richard

This ^^^ One thing to remember is there are the little metal tabs that hold the ends of the bumper cover. Those are probably shot, too. They're something that you could make fairly easily out of scrap materials, though. Richard

Haha wow, for a split second I was wondering who snapped a pic of my truck, then I looked closer. Looking good. But I'm kinda biased! Looks like you went 24's? I stuck with 22's. I've jacked up too many 20's that even 22 seemed like a stretch, but what the hell... Drop kit sitting in boxes in the garage, waiting for me to have time and motivation... Richard

I've got a set in the garage off my truck that I could go compare to be sure but they're a little bit buried at the moment. Wasn't planning on dragging them back out until March when it's time to go in for paint; not gonna send it with the 22's on. Richard

Those are almost surely OEM wheels. GM doesn't make them, outside suppliers do, as with almost all their wheels, for many decades. The GM logo is a dead giveaway. Repro wheels couldn't get away without a lawsuit over that. Richard

Weldcraft is the company most people are using these days to widen the wheels. Will they still fit? Tough call. If you're dropped at all, probably not. What you'll need to watch is the area towards the back side of the wheel, because that's where they're going to add on. Richard

That TBI 350 can easily clock up 500K miles or more if you take care of it, so if you're gonna wait for it to explode...you could be waiting a while. Richard

When I was all about TBI trucks I resisted LS engines for years. Too complicated, too modern, too much hassle to swap in. What TBI's have going for them are they're dead simple and rock solid reliable. They're also a sonofabitch to build power with. So consider your goals. If you just want to bump the power a tiny bit, you'll be OK. If you want a really noticeable power increase you'll be chasing your tail with tuning and spend a lot of money that won't net you what a stock LS can dish out. My choice would be throw an LQ9 in there, even stock, and it'll roast the tires to your hearts' content. Edit - guess I should qualify that statement to include that these days LS swaps are WAY easier thanks to all the aftermarket support and forum knowledge/experience out there. My only GMT400-LS swap experience so far though was to buy a Suburban that had an LS1 put into it, and they did a horrible job, hacking the original harness together with the factory LS1 harness just enough to make it run. It ran like crazy though for such a big heavy truck. Richard

That appears to be a really old plate (truck sitting a long time) and is likely no longer on record. Privacy law issues aside, I'm not too sure anybody could run that plate for you. I checked a database I have access to just out of curiosity and it says no record found. Not to discourage you 100%, just helping set an appropriate expectation level from that angle of attack - may not yield any results. May need to do some more social engineering in the area the truck is located. Richard

I'm sure many have changed hands several times; the COA's get lost, or are still sitting in a frame on the original owner's garage wall. Richard

Matter of opinion for sure, but the main benefits of using LED's are lower current draw on the circuit, and far less heat than incandescent bulbs. With the resistors you lose both of those benefits, although you do move the heat out of the lens housing. You still have to watch out for where you put them. Doesn't matter what size you get, if they pull down enough current to mimic the load of an incandescent bulb and stop the hyperflash, they will get hot as hell in a hurry. Anyway no need to keep beating this dead horse, the easy solution of replacing the flasher is out there and IMO is the far better choice. EDIT - a little more dead horse; I just popped the cover off my original flasher and it indeed uses the same U6043B timing IC that the old style flashers use. A quick clip of the #7 pin should stop hyperflash. Costs nothing, and super easy to do. Richard

Resistors will fix it but they're a hack, vs. replacing the flasher. I've used them in applications where the flasher isn't an option. Gotta be really careful where you put them as they get very hot, very quick. Richard

Don't understand why someone would get rid of the lights when the fix is so simple. About $35 on Amazon and this is the correct one for our trucks: In the older truck days of GMT400's (88-98 body style) there's a very easy hack that costs nothing to modify the original flasher, but it's a different part and I don't know if it applies to the ones used in GMT800's. The timer IC on the circuit board has one pin you can cut loose and it kills the "bulb out warning" function, or in other words, hyperflash. Done it numerous times. The flasher used in the 800's probably has the same timer chip, just didn't take the time to pop the cover to investigate. Richard

My mistake, you're totally right (obviously, they're your wheels ..) I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the black factory coating is because they're spare tire wheels, no cladding. I'm about 99% sure the ones I posted are 16's, had a few come through my salvage yard mounted on older trucks (88-98 body style, swapped from newer trucks), but the spare on my SS is a 17" and black w/holes exactly like what you're running. Richard

The Intimidator badges are freaking expensive too, especially the tailgate one which is slightly smaller. Spoiler expensive as well, if you find an original vs. the fiberglass copies. Not too sure about his revised claim that only 343 of them were made vs. the 933 number that we're all familiar with... Richard

Yeah, I'd go with the +35 if they offer it. I've got Dub Baller 22x9.5 on my SS with +31 offset and I think that any less could be an issue with a drop. Haven't dropped it yet, no time to play in the garage...stuff just sitting there in boxes! Killing me because the truck looks stupid with the low profile rubber and stock height. Richard

Richard