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What did you do with your GMT400 today...or yesterday....

Well, I think I figured out part of the issue on the door. Pulled the striker bolt, good thing that rubber grommet where the wires go in the pillar was right there because had I not stuck my finger in there to hold the inner nut thingy, it would have fallen down inside the pillar and giving me more greif! lol the striker is not adjustable, only a hole barely large enough for the striker threads to go through on the pillar.

I fooled around more with the door. when closing it the head of the striker rides on the top of the latch just inside the catch part pushing the door up maybe an 1/8th of an inch if that much. looking at the door and fender, also comparing to the rear door, when closed everything lines up with the body curves and the crease that travels the mid section of the cab.

with the window down and the door closed I grabbed the door frame and lifted. it will go up another 1/8 of an inch or so and when I let go it drops on the striker and you hear the "bam" I was hearing while on a rough patch. got my son to pick up on the door while I stared at the hinge pins and bushings. the bushing on the bottom of the lower hinge has quite a bit of play in it, I can't see anything in the top hinge. it almost seems as the bushing is moving in the hole it goes into on the lower hinge. So I guess I need to get the oversize bushings and replace the crappy ones I have!

Funny thing is that the latch mech has a grove wore into it where the head of the striker hits it. the grove is fairly deep, looking at it all, if I were to install a new latch it would be pushing up further on the door making it go higher than it should! Oh, and I did try adding a thin piece of plastic air line tube over the shoulder of the striker just to see if it helped, nope it's the head that is rubbing. I'm curious if this is how they are designed, for the head to rest on the upper part of the latch stabilizing the weight of the door when closed.
 
Sorry for the bad advice. My striker hole did allow for some adjustment. I used thin washers to move the doors vertically until the body lines were straight, and then adjusted the striker for a nice smooth close.
 
@93detroit you used them as shims on the hinge? I hadn't thought about that! I did try lifting the door with a board and floor jack while in the almost closed position to try and tweak it a tad but that didn't seem to do anything even though it lifted the truck a good amount with the lifting pressure. of course I was skiddish on over doing it. the other thing that came to mind after giving up for the day was checking the striker with a speed square to make sure it isn't bent and is straight with the pillar. there are marks on the pillar where it looks like someone previously used a pry bar on the door. nothing on the doors edge, but when I swapped the mech out in the door I had to ding some area out around the cut out in the door where the latch comes through. the dings were not letting the mech sit flush in the door. indication someone before me ether tried to break into the truck or a shade tree mechanic working on it with the latch stuck. maybe that was why the mech was all tore up and mangled like it was.
 
Just out of curiosity, would anyone know the two sizes on the bushings? mainly the inside diameter or OD of the pun top and bottom? I have a set here at the house because I had bought extras when I did the repair last time. when I pulled them out, I noticed that the bushings fit loose on the pin where they already have a little slop before being installed!

this sparked an idea of instead of using the pin that came with the kit, using a couple of bolts that have a short shoulder. I might be able to find something that fits better in the bushings or even if I have to reem them a tiny bit to have a better machine fit.
 
@dbrannon79 on rock auto there's a greasable pin kit GM part #19332887 pricey at $85 but by the time you try to DIY it's probably cheaper to just buy it for the driver's side

More Information for GM GENUINE 19332887

www.rockauto.com

Also if your upper door hinge pin needs replacing the Dorman replacement part is too big out of the packaging and needs to be ground down slightly in order to fit into the hinge. Don't be stoopid like me and wail on it with a hammer and punch for way too long before breaking out the micrometer or reading the comments to see others had to grind down the splines or enlarge the hole on the hinge in order for it to fit.


The pin bushings are extremely fragile and will crack very quickly when installing. A nice trick is to put the pins and bushings in the freezer for a few hours, helps them go in a bit easier.
 
I watched a youtube video last night about sticking them into the freezer before installing. I will have to check out the greasable ones. I still have two sets of bushings and two pins, enough to do one door. Just ordered the inside handle, more pannel clips, and a new door seal off amazon. they had some decent reviews on them so I figured I'd go for it. today coming home the inside handle just about broke on me. having a drivers door operational is essential lol. So guess what my weekend task is.....
 
Got the new inside handle installed last night. I noticed that you still have to pull the handle to its extreme end in order for the latch to release. I ended up modifying it a bit where I slid the handle a tiny amount forward and securing it in that position. not I can easily open it from the inside. looking at the old one, I noticed that there is a stop on the back side that prevents you from pulling it further. I may pull my new one back off and grind part of the stop down so it would allow a little further movement.

on another note I plan to pull the door this weekend to have a gander at the pins and bushing again. the bottom ones are sloppy even though there were already replaced. the new set I have ready to go in have a little slop from the get go. i am curious if I can use something like a trimmed section of a soda can and use as a shim wrapped around the pin just to help take up the slop in the new bushing. using my caliper the difference between the new pin diameter and the id of the new bushing is .014" I would have to measure the thickness of a soda can but looking online it seems they average a thickness of .0034".
 
So my attempt to stop the passenger side valve cover oil leak by installing a new GM valve cover only resulted in reducing the size of the leak. It went from a palm-sized spot every stop, to an infrequent quarter-sized spot, but I think most of it is burning off the exhaust manifold to crossover pipe junction. I can see smoke billowing up there while the engine is running.

This valve cover design is such a pos. Need a rigid cast aluminum replacement. That or Leroy's valve cover girdle. Does he have those in stock?

Aside from oil leak, I suddenly develop rough running on cold start-up. There are bubbles going through the CLEAR LINE while it's doing this. I suspect lift pump is going out as it took forever to fill the FFM after changing the filter and it had fish biting roughness upon acceleration until all that air cleared. Yes I have the FUEL PRESSURE gauge installed in a box on the floor next to my desk. Also have the special tee fitting. Have not had time to get to that. Too busy with work and splitting wood.
 
One thing I have found out about that right stuff. If it is very thickly applied, the middle will not cure out in a very long time.
I dont remember what it was that I put together with that stuff.
The leak developed in about the same spot, took it apart once again and the right stuff had not cured in the thicker portion.
That was IIRC, about a week after I had assembled the components.
Wish I could remember what that was so I could embellish a little better on the example. Might have been the front/back intake reails on that 1988 Puick. Ooops, I meant Buick. 😹😹😹😹
 
Air in line supersedes pressure.
First check you ffm is all ok. Lid not sealed or bleeding screw Are common.
And if liftpump is working usually have moisture around the area.

more common is leak before the liftpump. But no fuel will leak out. When the pump is running it will suck air in- causing the aeration.
the air bubbles make the optic sensor not read right and mess with the compression of the fuel on the high side of the ip.
Definitely solve that first.

new valve cover leaking- examine thehead surface area closely. If all is good, it’s usually installation error. Not torquing down evenly- get all snug, then tighten to 1/3 spec then 2/3 spec then final spec. EVERYTHING that has a torque spec should ALWAYS be done in 3rds, and always in proper pattern.
 
Will L. said:
Air in line supersedes pressure.
First check you ffm is all ok. Lid not sealed or bleeding screw Are common.
And if liftpump is working usually have moisture around the area.

more common is leak before the liftpump. But no fuel will leak out. When the pump is running it will suck air in- causing the aeration.
the air bubbles make the optic sensor not read right and mess with the compression of the fuel on the high side of the ip.
Definitely solve that first.

new valve cover leaking- examine thehead surface area closely. If all is good, it’s usually installation error. Not torquing down evenly- get all snug, then tighten to 1/3 spec then 2/3 spec then final spec. EVERYTHING that has a torque spec should ALWAYS be done in 3rds, and always in proper pattern.
Click to expand...

I torqued per The Right Stuff instructions: 1) finger tight, let sit 90 minutes; 2) torque to spec which is 20 lbs, starting from middle working out and diametrically opposing.

Fuel problem showed up yesterday after parking pointed upwards on steep incline while loading wood. Took about a mile to blow the air out. Same thing today after replacing FFM filter. No leaks there, but I could not purge fuel out the valve on top. I could not get the FFM to overflow with many cycles of the lift pump running. Eventually able to purge it. However, the clear line has a permanent bubble at the top of the bend. It is
not solid fuel in there after purging the air. Before purging it was solid fuel with periodic bubble streams.
 
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