wildweaselmi

Got it back from Motor City Steel. On a 1-5 rating I'm giving them a 3. Some annoying facts about the company. They never ever answer the phone They are slow.. they promise one time and deliver many many days or weeks after. Now why am I giving them a 3. I believe they do good work. Just be patient. If you are in a rush stay away. If they say a week count on a month. If they say a month count on two months. At least double whatever they quote you. They are also a tad on the expensive side. So I got it back and it runs pretty good. I would say I'm at about 75% happy with how it runs. The trans is still a tad sloppy and it stalls every once in awhile when you first start it and finally, the torque converter locks up and you wish it would of waited just a tad longer. *************** On another note, I found out finally how to remove the top on the 91 K5 since its different then the rest because its the only year that comes with seat belts that come down from the top. Open the cover to the seatbelts there are 2 bolts that have to be removed. There's also a plate behind the drivers side seat. Open that and there is a plug in there for the light. Then all that is left is the bolts on the top itself. It is a safety torx They sell the bit at auto zone. It is a size 40. We had to buy the bit because a regular torx will not do it. The bolts have a solid center to them. So get a bit that has the center taken out of it to accomidate the solid center of the bolt. Other than that have someone there to help you gently lift the top off and back. We slid it down to the tailgate and carried it off from there. Below is from a 75 but the cab and rails should be similar. The biggest difference is the seatbelts and electrical hookup for the light.

Ok so we are now working. Transfer case is no longer leaking. Transmission was provided by one of Sammons contacts and it seems pretty good (just a little sluggish between shifts).. Currently at Motor City Steel for an ignition upgrade and dyno tune on the Holly Terminator which they are certified to tune. Hopefully next week I should be ready to go. Very excited to see what they can do

Ok, not a great update. Good News power steering fixed Bad News Leaking seal on Xfer case for gear selector xfer case vent leaking oil So moved to a SYE by JB conversions a bit ago to help eliminate vibrations in the driveline which worked. Bad news is before the SYE the air build up could slip out the slip yoke seal if build up happens. Now it's sealed tight so the vent is now an escape for the transfer case oil. Moved to ATF since it's thinner than the Mobile Synthetic oil. An option was to put a thicker/wider vent tube or relocate the vent on the xfer case which is what we ended up doing. Moving the vent away from the chain hoping to still allow heat to escape and pressure out but keep oil in. spacer had to be used by alternator since belt was being eaten. will find out in about two weeks

So this should be a lengthly update but seriously I've had a few so will try and keep this at the 30,000 foot view. I got the Blazer back from Unlimited and before I even drove it off the lot I noticed an oil leak which I pointed out to the salesman Aaron Dixon which noted the leak. We assumed it was left overs from the trans pump seal going and shooting trans fluid everywhere but you could see its engine oil not transmission oil. I figured I'd spray/clean the underside and see if it continues to produce oil which it did. Last Thursday I brought the Blazer back to Unlimited to correct the issues since the oil leak is a new development since it left there shop. I talked to Aaron today and it appears the power steering pump is also leaking. So high level, power steering pump is leaking, transfer case is leaking the synthetic 5w-30 Mobil engine oil and not sure if the engine is leaking any oil or if all the engine oil is possibly coming from the transfer case vent tube that is attached to the trans filler tube which lines up with the side of the engine that is showing signs of engine oil leaking. Suggestion: PSC (http://www.pscmotorsports.com/vehicle-specific-products/gm-truck-steering?cat=246&limit=all) Time will tell...

Here is a map of all the known DNR ORV trails as of this posting Alcona Alcona ORV Trail Alpena Devils Lake Route Cheboygan Crawford Frederic Trail & Route Beaver Creek Trail MCCCT Emmet Indian Gardens ORV Route Tomahawk Motorcycle Trail B Loop Gladwin M-30 North Gladwin MCCCT Gladwin Trail & Route Grand Traverse Grand Traverse Motorcycle Trail & Route Grand Traverse County to Supply Rd. MCCCT Iosco Huron Trail & Huron-Sand Lake Spur Old State House Trail & Route Kalkaska Grand Traverse to Leetsville MCCCT Leetsville Trail Leetsville to Kalkaska MCCCT Kalkaska Trail & Route Lake Little O Trail Little Manistee Motorcycle Trail & Route Tin Cup Spring Motorcycle Trail & Route Lincoln Hills Motorcycle Trail & Route Manistee nothing Mason Big O Motorcycle Trail Missaukee North Missaukee Trail, Route, Motorcycle & MCCCT North Missaukee & MCCCT West Higgins Trail and Route Montmorency Big Bear Trail Atlanta to Hunt Creek MCCCT Atlanta Trail & Route Muskegon Holton Loop Motorcycle Trail Cedar Creek Trail Newaygo M-20 to Big O Trail, Motorcycle & MCCCT & White Cloud Loop Oceana Silver Lake ORV Area Horseshoe Lake Motorcycle Trail Ogemaw Rose City Trail Ambrose Lake to Rose City Trail Ambrose Lake Trail Ambrose Lake to Ogemaw Hills Trail Ogemaw Hills to St. Helen Trail Ogemaw Hills Trail & Route Osceola Evart Motorcycle Trail Oscoda Hunt Creek Motorcycle Trail Mio Trail & Route Mio to Meadows MCCCT The Meadows Trail & Motorcycle Bull Gap Trail The Meadows Trail-Rose City Trail Connector Otsego North Branch Route Crapo Creek Trail Presque Isle Bummer's Roost Trail Roscommon Leota Trail Geels to Roscommon Route Geels Trail St. Helen to Geels Trail & MCCCT St. Helen Trail & Route Denton Creek Trail & Route M-30 to St. Helen #3 MCCCT Wexford M-55 to State Rd. MCCCT M-55 to 20 Rd. MCCCT Missaukee Junction Trail Long Lake Motorcycle Trail 20 Rd. to Grand Traverse County MCCCT MCCCT Cross State Connector

Check out the following places for trail information http://www.upnorthtrails.org/ http://www.riderplanet-usa.com/atv/trails/michigan_list.htm https://www.vvmapping.com/trails/trailInfoMI.html http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/ http://michigantrails.us/

This 12 mile long trail offers a connection to Ambrose Lake (7 miles) and Ogemaw Hills (18 miles) trail systems. It is a narrow 50” ATV trail and Michigan Cross Country Cycle Trail thru Oak Pine forest. It has substantial elevation changes with rocks and tree roots common. The trail is located East of Rose City and North of West Branch in Ogemaw County. PDF Map to import on your mobile device like Avenza Maps ambrose_lake_to_ogemaw_hills_trail.pdf GPX file to import into your mobile device using something like Gaia ambrose_lake_to_ogemaw_hills_trail.gpx

ORV Trail, mix of snowmobile trail and 50" ORV Trail. Linear trail (no loops). Newly opened in mid-2011. Much of the snowmobile trail is grass covered from light use. Mostly hard pack, generally wooded. Windy with rolling to slightly hilly terrain. Connects to Bull Gap system. 2 modern parking areas. No food/fuel on trail; gas in Barton City 2.5 miles via county road. Located in Oscoda and Alcona counties. See also the Bull Gap System. PDF Maps that you can import into Avenza Maps on your Mobile Device alcona_orv_trail_east.pdf alcona_orv_trail_west.pdf file that you can import into a Mobile app like Gaia alcona_orv_trail.gpx

From Michigan.gov/dnr You can add the following to Avenza Maps on your mobile device 20_rd_to_grand_traverse_county_mccct.pdf You can import the following gpx file into Gaia GPS (great for offroad use) 20_rd_to_grand_traverse_county_mccct.gpx

Time for an update.... Talked to Joe at Unlimited yesterday and he gave me a status of how its going at the Transmission shop since he just got off the phone with them. Upon taking apart the transmission they found the new Hughes Performance torque converter came apart and messed up the pump which in turn sprayed trans fluid everywhere. Not sure if you remember but at the very beginning the torque converter came apart the first time Frayley's put the transmission in. Come to find out, the wiring to the lockup was wrong causing the torque converters to explode basically. So its a good sign they found this issue and is correcting it. They are still building it but expect to have it back to Unlimited by Thursday or Friday this week which means a Monday pickup for me.

Yesterday the K5 headed on over to a Transmisson shop since the trans failed again. This time trying a different trans shop that was highly recommended by the head tech (Joe) at Unlimited Offroad. I suppose we'll see. On the fence using another local transmission shop versus ordering a trans from Monster Transmission but like Joe mentioned. Local guy is local and can fix it, test it and be good with it. Also offers a one year unlimited miles warranty. Monster is in Florida and they just send the trans. You have to purchase an extended warranty which automatically feels a bit like you don't trust your product enough to warranty it for very long. Should have the K5 back next Friday.

How do you find trails in the local area?

http://www.find-off-road-trails.com/

Great site to find trails

Updated time... As of yesterday the SYE kit from JB Conversions is installed but a guess a part won't fit a xfer case with VSS so Unlimited Offroad needs to send the part back to JB Conversions to exchange it for the correct part. Unlimited Offroad did order the driveshaft from Tom Woods and it should arrive no later than Wednesday next week. Once they get the driveshaft and install it they are going to drive it and test to see if all vibrations are gone from the driveline (which I'm really hoping it is).