i just bought an 1991 k5 silverado (i drove an S10 Blazer before this,got tired of the crappy IFS so i decided to get a big boy truck lol). 350 TBI. 700r4 trans. its pretty solid and has a little rust, its mainly that sweet northeast flaky rust underneath(only the rear mounts are rotted and it came with new ones!). 3in suspension lift and brand new 33" tires. its got 166-ish miles but runs/shifts/drives good. i gotta couple questions about a few issues it does have..

1) ive rebuilt the braking system. new brakelines and master cylinder. ive bled the brakes about 10x so far but the brake peddle feels real good with the engine off but once its running its kinda mooshy, is it a vacuum problem? do i need to bleed them even more?

2) the dash lights dont come on at all when the headlights are turned on, i get the warning lights in the gauges (SES, Brake, Seatbelt, etc) when starting it but no illuminating lights when headlights are turned on. ive pulled the cluster and changed all the bulbs. also the ac controls or the light inside the indicator by the 4-wheel drive lever doesnt come on. any sugestions?

3) when i start it, it has a slight clattering sound but after a few seconds it goes away, was told rod bearings or its the flywheel?

4) lastly, only spot of rust that really super bothers me, when pulling the dash apart to get the cluster out, i found under the windshield on the passenger side a spot about 3in long of flaky rust, is this easy to repair or should i see a professional?

thanks again

 

Crap i forgot a couple...

5) the ac isnt working, nothing comes on at all, ive bypassed the plug on the silver canister you put the freon in (i cant think of the damn name!! lol) and the compressor never engaged. idk anything about this part of cars so any help would be very appreciated

6) have a 1992 s10 blazer 4.3 vortec sitting here, anything i can use off of it for my k5? like alternator, a/c components, etc...

 

i believe the a/c compressors are the same, you should be able to visually inspect them and see if all the connectors are the same. try bleeding out the master cylinder at the lines that go into them.

i dont know what it is but i always have issues bleeding these old trucks

 

Per the dash lights not being on, the lights on pull switch can rotate, as it does it increases/decreases the light power, try turning it next time you test the inner lights and see if this helps. If you don't have a pull switch look on the dash for seeming 'extra' dials and turn this to check as above.