Hi guys/gals OK i recently had a plow installed on my truck and was taking it off today and released that I was missing the front skid plate that covers the oil filter, the skid plate that covers the oil pan was loose, and the skid plate that covers the transfer case was missing three of the five bolts. Dose any one know why or what could have made them come loose, dose the front skid plate normally come off when a plow is installed, and do I really need the skid plates or are they just for show?
Thanks for all the info
Mark
I'd say keep them on but replace the fasteners. They keep the underside a lot cleaner along with damage protection. Maybe your frame is flexing enough to loosen them, due to the stresses of the plow. Or if they were ever off before, like during the plow install, they might not have been tightened enough. Have you had the truck from new? Do you know that they were secure before the plow install?
No, I have not had the truck since new I bought it fresh off lease. And the frame only has about 60,000 miles on it truck has 118,000 on it frame was replaced 2 years ago in January due to an accident. yes the skid plates bolts were tight about a month before the plow went on. Any other ideas?
thanks
Mark
any body have any more ideas?
Sounds like something or somebody interrupted the person stealing your skid plates. Don't rule it out. They stole my valve cap covers off my car because they were chrome. Nothing safe these days.
I had to remove the front skid plate from my S-10 too.:(
The skid plate wouldn't fit back on my truck after the plow mounts were put back on. I made one out of a piece of heavy gauge sheetmetal.

Hello,
I have always liked chevys and I just got a new toy to play with.
The paperwork I got says it is a C/K 1500 (K/R10).
I have been told by some people that it is a 3/4 ton and by others that it is a 1 ton because it has 8 lug wheels and 3/4 trucks have 6. I did not even know there were 1 ton pickups. How can I be sure what I have? It is an automatic. How do you tell a 350 trans from a 400? One more question, it has 4 square headlights. The top lights work as both hight and low beams. The bottom lights don't come on at all. When should they be on? Thank you.
Rob
A 3/4 ton truck will have an 8 lug pattern too. I have an 85 3/4 that is 8 lug. You will have to give some more info to determine whether its a 1 ton or 3/4 ton? Either the axles or the body have been switched if it says its a 1500. Hope this helps a little
There is a good chance someone swaped axels on you and put 1 ton or 3/4 ton stuff under your 1/2 ton. A turbo 350 has a square pan with a corner chopped at a 45* angle on the rear driver side and a 400 pan is kinda jagged and looks like the state of illinois.
On the rear end do big hub looking things poke out of the middle of the rim about 2" diameter and 6" long? Does the front have ball joints or king pins?
If paperwork says 1/2 ton than thats what you have and you can only legaly carry what a 1/2 ton will
Ok, how did you get a 1/2 ton, isn't 1500 a 3/4 or am I all confused? I didn't think that was even a possibility.
Pardon my ignorance but I don't know the difference between ball joints and king pins.
This one really confused me.
"On the rear end do big hub looking things poke out of the middle of the rim about 2" diameter and 6" long?"
I did not see anything like that on rear end. That almost sounds like you could be talking about where the lock-outs would be?
The trans is the odd shaped 400. Is it much better than the 350?
Maybe some pics will help.
Photos coming right up.
Here are some shots. BTW, I payed $2500 for it. Body is good, runs great, but likes to drink gas.


8 lug wheels would lead me to believe at least the differentials are out of a 3/4 ton truck. The 3/4 tons had 3 leaf front springs and in the picture you have only 2 leafs. 1/2 ton had 2 leaf spring set-up. For the rear differential if it uses 8 lug wheels it is a 3/4 ton. The question is whether it is semi floating or full floating. A picture of the rear wheel with hub cap off will help identify. Semi floating was used on light duty 3/4 tons, full floating was used on HD 3/4 tons. Hope that helps.
..... k-10(1/2 ton) k-20 (3/4 ton) k30 (1- ton)
Some one has put 3/4 axles in the truck thats why you only have 2 leaf springs.
Here is a picture of the rear wheel.
Light Duty 3/4 ton rear axle.
What were the heavy 1/2 ton trucks??? An extra leaf or were the the diff's off of a 3/4 ton???
A heavy 1/2 ton still only had 6 lug wheels. I think it had the same GVW as the regular 1/2 ton. I THINK they had different gear ratio's and 400 turbo or the bigger manual trans. I know on the older 1/2 ton trucks that certain steering components were different if the truck was equipped with 4.11 gears as opposed to other gear ratio's. The 4.11 ratio steering components were beefer, but still not the same as 3/4 ton stuff. I suppose if someones really interested I could go through some of my older service manuals and find out.
The pics aint showing up for me. So you guys say he has a semifloating 14bolt?
The whole comment about the kingpins were I was just curious if you had a dana 60 up front or a dana 44. A 60 is a stronger axel. if you have a semi floating 14 bolt then I bet you have a 44(3/4 ton stuff) Still good stuff but I was mostly curious. You could take a pic of the cover of the front diff and we could tell ya but I bet its a 44.
Congrats though......3/4 ton stuff swaped in there is a good thing. Beef rules. 1500 and 10 designation has always been a 1/2 ton with chevy. They are starting to get wierd with their designations lately and the numbers dont mean quite what they used to.
You figure out what trans you have?
3/4 ton trucks also came with 2 leafs in the front. I bought a set from a guy that had a 3/4 ton 1990 suburban. just fyi
Yes, it is a 400 trans. Thanks for all the info, guys.
Rob
Usually, inside on the glove box door is the SDID sticker which will list all the options on the truck when it was built at the factory. If it is gone, may guess would be someone removed it. The VIN will tell what it was when it was built also 1/2 or 3/4. Normally, 1/2 tons had 350 trannies, 6-lug wheels, Corporate axles up front & Corporate 12-bolts out back. What is the length of the box.....1/2 tons came 6' or 8'.....3/4 & 1-ton were only 8'.
3/4 & 1-tons were normally 400 trannies, 8-lug wheels, axles varied from Dana 44s up front & Dana 60s out back to GM Corporate "look-like-Danas" front/back. If you've got 3/4-ton stuff on a 1/2-ton....great. Although the 3/4 & 1-tons may have a thicker frame than a 1/2-ton.
As for the HD springs...std. springs were only 2 leafs no matter what size truck you bought. The additional 3rd leaf was the "HD Front Spring" option. The additional leaf added only 50# capacity to the front end. In 1984 there was no "Plow Prep"-type pkgs., so when it came time to put a plow on, smart owners took their trucks to a spring shop & had additional leafs added....
Just my $.02
http://www.akfabshop.com/alaskaoffroad/axle_tech.htm
I came across the interesting web site with info on "How to Identify Chevy Axles". Of course, I'm still not sure what I have.
"Rear axle:
The best way to tell if you have a 10.5" 1 Ton 14 Bolt, is to look at the front of the pumpkin where the pinion bolts to the drive shaft. If it has a bolt on cover like the ford 9" then it is a 10.5" 14 bolt or an Eaton. If the pumpkin is round like a ford 9" then it is the Eaton. If its not, then it is definitely the 14 bolt. 10.5" 14 bolts also have hubs sticking out of the wheel (because the 10.5" is a full floating axle and the 9.5" is a semi-floating axle) and the 9.5" 14's don't."
My rear axel cover has 14 bolts but looks different, and the front of the axel has no bolts.



cont.
"Front Axle:
The front axle can be identified by whether or not it has kingpins or ball joints. It would have kingpins if it was a Dana 60 (1ton axle) or ball joints if it was a Dana 44 (3/4 ton axle). The newer Dana 60's have ball joints but it is very unlikely that you have one. The other way to tell is to look at the diff housing from the front. On the right hand side there is a web that goes from the side of the cover down to where the tube is welded in. On that web there should be a 60 or a 44 cast into it. Again, the 60 would mean that it's a 1 ton, and a 44 means that it is a 3/4 ton or half ton. The Dana 44 came in both 1/2 and 3/4 the differences being the thickness of the tube and the 8 lug outers. The diff covers on the Dana 60 and 44 look almost identical so its easy to get them confused. "
I still don't know which I have.
Mine looks loke a 5 is stamped on it. :confused:


That glove box label has some interesting info, but I could not find a 3/4 or 1 ton on it.

It has a 8' bed and a 400 trans.
Rob
It's a ck20 which is a 3/4 ton. ck10 is 1/2 ton.

I have been thinking about getting a plow as some of you know, but I have a question. Can I use a 4 inch suspension lift and a plow. The thing is I'm not really going into the business of plowing I just have alot of family I want to help out, as well as help plow our church parking lot.
Does anyone have a lift and a plow?
You will need to drop the frame mount for the plow to work right. It would work "ok" if you just stuffed it on the truck but it should really be lowered. A truck with a suspention lift aint ideal but its workable. What sized tires outa curiosity?

looking at a 04 gmc 2500 hd cc d/a dual 105 altenators.
no plow pkg is avail what do the experts here recommend ? and why? thanks in advance for your help will be plowing driveways and so small lots on long island ny.
Good Question...I was considering the same thing. The only thing holding me back are the warranty issues. I dont even know if Fisher even lists a plow for that configuration....I would do it in a heartbeat...3 Kids
I have an extra cab with no plow package and run a boss8.2 power v no problem carying it at all.put what ever you want on it! a good dealer doesn't care.
here is a picture!
Technically, with a Crew Cab and Duramax, GM doesn't want a plow on that truck.
The added weight of the Duramax and Allison (increased oil capacity, larger radiator/coolant, extra battery, two alternators in your case) really add up on that front axle.
Plus GM figures a 150lb occupant per seatbelt! Thats 750lbs minimum right there! 900 if you have the front 60/40!
This was my major reason (plus turning radius of course) for choosing a regular cab gas powered truck. I'm almost 2000lbs LIGHTER than your truck!
Bottom line....I'd do it, but you'd better not expect to have warranty work done on the front suspension/steering components. Depends on how your dealer is.
I have an ext cab HD2500 6.0 gas now, but it would be nice to have a diesel and some more room for the kids. As far as a plow, I have a fisher 7.5 that is only 3 years old. The only plowing I do is 2 lots and 2 driveways. I just don't want the dealer to viod my whole warranty if an injector goes bad and they see the plow mounts...You never know these days...
Originally posted by JRKRACE
I just don't want the dealer to viod my whole warranty if an injector goes bad and they see the plow mounts...You never know these days... They would be doing something VERY illegal if they did.
Unless the failed component was directly related to something that the snowplow caused (ie: ball joints, tie rods, CV boot failure, idler arm...etc.)
If you purchase a Snowplow prep packaged GM truck, the factory gives you $900 cash back if you install a new plow! payup
Well, just got back from the dealer. I had him call the Fisher dealer to see about putting a plow on the Duramax Crew. The salesperson's jaw dropped when theplow dealer told him not to even bring the truck in. They want nothing to do with it. 8.1 or 6.0 gas no problem. Oh well, looks like an 8.1 gas Crew for me...
They really don't even wink if the truck doesn't have a plow package...As long as it's gas...
Here are the figures.....
These numbers are the front axle weight rating (4670) MINUS the actual front axle weight. This gives us the actual PAYLOAD.
Note: This does NOT include passenger(s) or the effects that bed weight (neg or positive) has on the front axle weight.
6.0 Auto = 1260lbs
8.1 Auto = 890lbs
6.6 Auto = 702lbs
This is based on your standard CREW CAB 2500HD
Just for comparison, on my REGULAR CAB 2500HD I have a 1626lb payload. In other words, I can handle 366lbs more on my front axle just because of the Regular cab.
So, you can see that when you add in 150lbs per Seatbelt, the actual front axle payload can be overloaded without even having a snowplow!
as was said they cant void your warrantee unless they prove what ever you did or didnt do caused the problems.
I have a reg cab D/A and it handles the 9'6" EZV no problem and I run 100# or so less balast than fisher says is required.
For what you want the truck will handle it fine.....
Its up to the dealer to deny or take care of you. The only part you will have to play dice with is the front end if there is ever a question. And I dont think they can void your waranty for having the hook ups on there, they gotta prove that you had a plow on there and the overload killed what ever. Its up to you though if having the diesel is worth the potential fighting that it will cause. The 8.1 is a running MF too