1994 K3500 extended cab dually

[ak diesel driver]

So your not using the factory bulk head connector at all? Also wondering where you got those crimpers? They look a little nicer than mine

 

[n8in8or]

So your not using the factory bulk head connector at all? Also wondering where you got those crimpers? They look a little nicer than mine

This bulkhead is in addition to the factory bulkhead. The reason I have so many extra wires to go through the firewall on this side is because of the addition of the mechanical cruise control and also from rerouting wires so I don’t have a large harness running across the firewall behind the engine.

These are the crimpers I bought:

12014254 Weatherpack Crimp Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BSYYV2?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[ak diesel driver]

Wow $130 no wonder they're nicer than mine

 

[n8in8or]

Wow $130 no wonder they're nicer than mine

Yeah not cheap, but I managed to get a set for $86. Seemed like a worthwhile investment. When trying something new I like to have good tools, that way if I’m struggling it’s more than likely my technique that sucks and not the tool, so it’s something in my control.

 

[MrMarty51]

I call that crimping tool a W crimp. Makes crimps just like from the factory.

 

[Husker6.5]

FAR superior to those crimper/stripper/screw cutter multitools that comes with those multiple crimp connector kits. I have a Klein Tools crimper/stripper that I bought years ago that does a nice job, but I always have wanted (but not necessarily needed) the type that rolls the crimp over on each side to double squeeze the wire like those do. I just can't justify dropping that kind of money ($80-130) on a crimper that I'd use once in a blue moon, if ever.

 

[EWC]

Nate , does that crimper do both sides at the same time ?

 

[n8in8or]

Nate , does that crimper do both sides at the same time ?

Yes, it crimps the terminal around the conductor and around the seal all in one squeeze of the tool. Now I have noticed that it doesn’t crimp around the seal quite as hard as I would like because you can pull the seal out of the terminal without too much effort - because of that I have been going back and squeezing the terminal just a little bit more with pliers to make sure it won’t come out. I’m not sure if it’s normal for it to have that level of crimp on the seal, if the terminals are slightly out of spec or if the seals are out of spec, but that is my only complaint. The tool has cavities for the terminal to sit in so there’s no trying to balance the terminal in the jaws and no guessing on aligning the terminal in the jaws, so that makes it super easy to work with. The tool also ratchets so it won’t open until you have squeezed the tool all the way, ensuring it has done a complete crimp, which is another nice feature that removes the guess work.

 

[n8in8or]

FAR superior to those crimper/stripper/screw cutter multitools that comes with those multiple crimp connector kits. I have a Klein Tools crimper/stripper that I bought years ago that does a nice job, but I always have wanted (but not necessarily needed) the type that rolls the crimp over on each side to double squeeze the wire like those do. I just can't justify dropping that kind of money ($80-130) on a crimper that I'd use once in a blue moon, if ever.

Totally get that. Plus this tool is only for Weather-Pack and Metri-Pack 280 series so it only works on a specific set of connectors. I know there are also Metri-Pack 150 connectors on our truck and I believe some others as well, so I’m going to have to decide what tool I buy if I need to rebuild any of those connectors.

 

[Husker6.5]

It doesn't happen to have interchangeable dies for the jaws available for the different size connectors, does it?

 

[n8in8or]

It doesn't happen to have interchangeable dies for the jaws available for the different size connectors, does it?

Nope, not this one. I saw a set that had interchangeable dies, but it wasn’t reviewed as well. However, I probably should look into those options further as I’m learning more about all the varieties. I started put just wanting to do Weather-Pack, but now I’d really like to be able to do most connector styles. I can’t afford to buy a whole variety of these dedicated crimpers though!

 

[Husker6.5]

You could if were Mr. Moneybags!

 

[n8in8or]

It was really nice out today so I took advantage of the warm temps to take care of a few things.

The wrap on the crossover got damaged when I was sandblasting the Hoe, so I removed the old wrap, wire wheeled it, repainted it and then wrapped it again. I didn’t have wrap on the downpipe before, but figured it would help to keep some heat out of that region so I also painted and wrapped it.



Then a couple coats of DEI paint to seal their wrap.



Then I moved on to cleaning the seats. They didn’t look terrible for light gray seats that are 26 years old and have 250,000 miles on them, but they were a bit dirty.



I soaked them with Folex and scrubbed them with a brush like I did with the carpet. Then I rinsed them off with the garden hose - the water that came off of them was nasty!! They turned out pretty nice, now they just need to dry.



The seat adjusters were hella crusty and I didn’t like the idea of them being in the interior like that with everything else looking good, even though they wouldn’t really be seen, so I removed them so I could wire wheel them and paint them. Here’s how they looked before.

 

[n8in8or]

A coat of Rustoleum gray primer and a couple coats of Rustoleum Thunder Cloud gray and they look much better. Please excuse the mess in the background - the barn is a disaster area with 3 trucks taken apart in here

 

[Husker6.5]

And a skid steer!

 

[Husker6.5]

Good to catch that seat frame rust now before they structurally corroded to swiss cheese and thin foil and launched you seat and all against the shoulder harness in a panic stop/crash.

 

[Twisted Steel Performance]

What mess, looks normal to me....

 

[Husker6.5]

Makes one wonder how much of that nasty water that rinsed off of those seats was made up of old burrito and beer farts and ground in dropped fast food spills, huh @n8in8or Nate?

 

[n8in8or]

I have most of the engine wiring to my liking. The main thing left is wiring up the lift pump circuit, once that’s done I can terminate wires in the bulkhead and feed through the firewall.....cover it all in loom and then it’s on to the dash side.

 

[Duvall]

Nice work Nate!

Those seats look awesome. I wish I had two tone seats.

Good to see progress in the opposite direction.