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All this talk about knocking noise etc upon startup got me thinking about a letter I received in the mail the other day from a law firm regarding a class action lawsuit against GM. Did anyone else get one? It is in regards to "Knock, ping, or piston-slap" noises at startup on GM 4.8, 5.3, and 6.0 truck engines, exactly what many of you are describing. GM knows about this problem, and has a "Secret Warrantee" that they have given to many cusomers if they complain about it. Anything from free or reduced cost extended warrantees, and other things I can't remember right now here at work. The lawsuit is because GM is not making the problem publicly known, and only taking care of people that complain even thought it could be a longer term issue.

I think headers are a good idea with f/i, since more air in equals more air out - and the stock manifolds look dinky sitting next to LT's. You could also do a CAI if you haven't already. As for pulley size and concerns about blowing up your engine; I've been runnning a 2.9 here in So Cal for over a year with no problem.

Keep an eye on ebay. I got my 90mm tb off a crate motor pretty cheap on there.

The Nelson harness gets the high speed trigger from a tap off the a/c compressor wire, so that the high speed comes on when the a/c compressor cycles. The regular speed is triggered from pin 41 like usual. Very easy install and works fine, no issues...

I noticed a strange belt slipping noise after doing my cam swap also, but it went away after a few days. Never had a long squeel though, just an occasional chirp. Maybe the belt(s) or pulleies got some coolant or oil somewhere and it took that long to dry...?

I don't think these trucks ride particularly great stock to begin with, especially on certain freeways (think Pogo stick), so for me lowering it was not much of a sacrafice in comfort. Sway bars make a huge difference, and keep the body flat going through curves instead of plowing through them. I can't believe GM doesn't put any swaybar in the rear from the factory on these pickups, but does on the Tahoe and other SUV's.

I've been trying to reach Bilstein to see if their new shock for the SSS will work on a lowered application, but haven't heard back. I currently have the Belltech Nitro Actives, which are ok, but would like to try the Bilsteins if they work. The Bell N-A's are made by KYB for Bell, and the new Street Performance shocks offered by Bell (which replace the NA's) finally have an SSS application and are supposed to be good. If the Bilsteins won't work, I'd try those.

I hate it when that happens.

I've never seen shocks sold like this without the bushings already pressed into the loop. Judging by the various mounts that came with them, these look like a universal application shock to work on anything type of mount. You are going to have to press those rubber bushings into the loop, using either a large C clamp, a press, sockets, etc, whatever works - maybe some silicone on the rubber will help the slip in. I would probably press the rubber in first, then press the metal tube that the bolt goes through into the rubber. Make sure you select the right metal tube that will fit the stock mounting bolt BEFORE pressing it in, sometimes they are too small.

None of them really apeal to me, but 3 is the only one that I even like a little. Look around Craigslist for a set of used Momos if that's what you want, as they do come up for sale once in a while. I listed my 22" Storms FS on here last year. Or better yet, find a used set of forged wheels that don't weigh 110 lbs each.

I bought my 05 e-fans brand new and already assembled, including a Nelson harness, from SDPC at a good price.

I'd be interested in going to something like this, sounds fun.

You need a longer bolt to press the balancer back on, then when it bottoms out you remove it and install a stock bolt. If you don't use a longer bolt, you risk stripping the first few threads on the crank.

Yeah, Momo's are expensive, and HEAVY - which is suprising because they try to convey such a racey image. For the money you are thinking about spending, you could easily get a nice set of IForged wheels with money left over to put towards tires.

I used a 3/4" impact gun to remove mine, and didn't even have to lock up the flywheel.

I've never seen wheels like that on an Escalade, and I used to own one. No idea who makes those, but I don't think they're GM.

On the east coast try TByrne. On the west coast try Brian at JPA.

There were between 70-80 Chargers just like that used (and destroyed) in the orignal series. A guy here at my job used to work at the studios doing the repairs/maint on the fleet of General Lees, and shared some interesting stories. He even has pics to prove it, showing a whole row of them. He said they would use the hemi cars for the big jumps, and 318 cars for everything else. Constantly breaking suspension components and buckling body panels was part of every day business on the set.

You'll need a couple more things in addition to the j tube, like a TAC module and harness adaptor...

The water leak is most likely coming in through the wire harness boot in the door jamb, and has nothing to do with your hood. Check to make sure the boot is completely seated against the body in the door jamb, as this was the cause of a water leak on an Escalade we used to own. It's a stiff rubber ring on the end of the accordion harness cover, and pops into place. As for what to expect from the dealer, I learned that GM has specific procedures for them to follow in such cases. If your carpet and padding are soaked like mine was, the first thing they'll do is lift the adges of the carpet and try to dry it with blowers. We raised a big fuss about this, because I was certain the truck would smell like mold after a while because it's nearly impossible to dry that jute backing on the carpet. Eventually I won and they replaced the carpet, but in doing so the idiots at the dealer scratched up a lot of the plastic trim pieces that had to be removed to replace the carpet - like they removed them with a f'in screwdriver. So I guess you could say I won the battle and lost the war, or something like that. Good luck!

Looks great, good job. I did this too, and think it looks remenicent of the old Chevelle/El Camino SS grilles being blacked out instead of gray like the regular models.

Solid.

The BMW RT's look like nice sport-touring bikes, I'm thinking about getting one to use as a commuter. I've already done the GSXR thing and the Harley thing, so I thought this might be a nice cross between the two.

I think that's a rivet, IIRC. When I painted those grilles black on mine, I masked the entire duct because I didn't want to drill them out.

Asides from what you seen in the pics, its got a GT2-3 cam, 90mm tb conversion, and 22" black center wheels IIRC. I've seen it before at JPA, those are the things I remembered.