NP-231 Fun

[Miles]

And the fun begins! 71 lbs of fun, to be exact.









Everything's setup to install tomorrow after church.

[F9K9]

My wife (the nurse) just walked by, glanced at the picture in the kitchen and said "Must be the guy who wrapped up your stuff that came in the mail, everything is sterile white and a little anal"

[HenryJ]

Did you find a bracket or build one?

[Miles]

Oh, I found one! I thought I commented on it here....maybe I'm goin looney! Yes, that same rig that I found that console out of, had the entire drivetrain left in it, sans the motor. It was a 1995 4-door GMC Jimmy, with leather interior. In fact, it was the VERY last S-10 4x4, in the very last yard in DFW. I was hollerin' & yahooin' when I found that thing last week!

Reed......bite me!

[HenryJ]

I am glad the elusive bracket turned up.

[Miles]

Well, I only got to spend a few more hours on it today. Wrestling the beast out of there was a real joy. I had to coerce the entire motor/trans forward about a half inch, by prying against the tranny cross-member, just to have enough clearance to get the Autotrac off of the output shaft. After that, I had to remove the cross-member, as well as the transmission mount, just to get it completely out of the truck. My tranny mount is history, btw. The Autotrac weighs in at 87.2 lbs.

Any idea what I should do with the 5 remaining electrical plugs that I will no longer need? Surely I should not just leave them exposed to the elements!? I'd hate to think that wrapping each one up in electrical tape is the best idea.

Here's a few pics:

[cknaffle]

All the "optional" parts I eliminated, I just taped up the plugs really well so the crap can't get to them.

[BWroZR2]

You could just "dip" them in that liquid electrical tape stuff. I forget the name of it, but I bought it at a Advanced Auto

[Miles]

Welp........it's in. Mike came over earlier & worked his electrical wiring magic on all the excess harnesses. Installing the 231 was nothing. It was the shifter cable that has totally kicked my ass. The 1.5" hole I drilled in the floor pan was spot on. GM routed the fuel lines up on top of the tranny right in the way of where the cable comes through the floor. I've got to be worlds most stubborn man though, because after several hours of wrestling with it, I finally got it to seal to the floor properly. Most people would've aborted long ago! Major PITA, but it looks good though.

The shifter works flawlessly with no binding, and sits in the same factory location, as it would have on the 95-97 models! Can't wait to get that console installed.

Alright, break time's over! Gotta go cut a pointless aluminum ear off the tranny bell-housing with a hack-saw, so that I can at least get the drivers side x-case support bar installed. No way the passenger side one will fit. Damn fuel lines in the way again. No rest for the weary...

[Miles]

I got 2 hours, and am back at it. Gotta get this thing knocked completely out today.

Oh, Justin......installing that friggin transfer case shifter cable bracket, is just a barrel of joy! :thumbsup: Fuel lines are routed right over that area too. Why, oh why did GM decide to route the fuel lines up the "spine" of the tranny? :angry:

[cknaffle]

Hmmmm...... Mine must be different, I didn't have any issues with fuel lines being in the way.

Keep at 'er Jeremy!

[Miles]

Isn't yours a 1995 model though? The cable shifted 231 was a factory option on 94-97 pickups, as well as 95-97 Blazers. It stands to reason that yours was fairly straight forward! In 1998, they apparently reconfigured the drive train, and discontinued the manual transfer case option. My Blazer is a 2000, and fought me every single step of the way. Not only did GM re-route the fuel lines to the motor on the back of the transmission, but also routed two big wiring harnesses beside it as well. No plug & play here! My knuckles look like I got in a fight with a blender.

[Miles]

I forgot to mention that GM also redesigned the tranny crossmember, and the aluminum transfer case skid that came on the earlier model S-10 4x4's, does not fit the 1998 + models. Once again I am getting creative with my Dremel, just to make that aluminum skid fit! Much better than that plastic crap though. The older style tranny cross-members do not have the big dip in them for where the front driveshaft comes across the top of it. The older styles are pretty much straight across right through there.

[Miles]

*moved from another thread*

Originally posted by Muslhed@Aug 8 2007, 08:01 AM
Man, I tell ya.... I can't believe how many little differences there are between the factory under carriage, cross-members, wiring, etc. of the 95-97 Blazers that this 231 came out of, and the 98+ models that never came with them! Of course I pay attention to every itty-bitty detail too.

For instance, I've been up since 5:30 this AM shaving the bottom of my transfer case, because the aluminum skid tucked in soooo close to it, it was actually touching three little "ears" that were on the x-case. Most might think nothing about this, but I knew that it would create a lovely rattle that would drive me crazy. I also had to trim the front of the x-case skid plate to fit the 98+ cross-member, that is shaped differently than the earlier models. Also....there is a wiring harness that runs across the front of that same tranny cross-member, just below where the driveshaft runs across the top of it. The old plastic skid plate covered this, but I knew that it would be very prone to getting ripped off on rocks now since it is exposed. So, I re-drilled out the x-member on the back side, so that the little factory wiring loom holder thingys would secure it out of harms way. Zip-ties would not work, because they too could easily get cut off by rubbing across a rock, and this would again leave the wiring exposed to getting ripped off too.

This is absolutely not a "plug & play" operation on a 98+ model! After breakfast, I will test drive it with only the rear driveshaft in it, to make sure the tranny shifts correctly, prime the x-case pump, test out all ranges of the x-case, etc. After that, I re-fill the x-case, add some GM Friction Modifier to make the x-case shift like butter........and then move to the interior!

Once inside, I've got to pull the instrument panel out so that I can remove the bulbs in the back of it for the "Service 4WD" & "Low Fuel" indicators. I just can't stand seeing bright orange lights staring at me! The Service 4WD light will stay on now, because all those other plugs that were connected to the Autotrac, are no longer there. The Low Fuel light ALWAYS stays on, because my gas gauge does not work. After that, it's on to the console install. I'll post up pics shortly.

[Miles]

*moved from another thread*

Originally posted by bdshort86+Aug 8 2007, 10:18 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (bdshort86 @ Aug 8 2007, 10:18 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Muslhed@Aug 8 2007, 09:01 AM
Once inside, I've got to pull the instrument panel out so that I can remove the bulbs in the back of it for the "Service 4WD" & "Low Fuel" indicators. I just can't stand seeing bright orange lights staring at me! The Service 4WD light will stay on now, because all those other plugs that were connected to the Autotrac, are no longer there. The Low Fuel light ALWAYS stays on, because my gas gauge does not work. After that, it's on to the console install. I'll post up pics shortly.

It sounds like you're having entirely too much fun!

JFYI on the idiot light bulbs: IIRC, I believe the SES light will come on if you just remove the bulbs... or at least that's been my experience. However, if you just burn the bulbs out and then reinstall them, then you're golden. How do you burn out the bulbs? Get two pieces of insulated (solid core works best) wire, find your nearest 110v electrical outlet, and use your imagination . But, BE CAREFUL. It'd be easy for something to go wrong while doing this. If something does go wrong, most likely it'd just knock you back on your butt, but there's always the potential for worse. Hope that helps. [/b][/quote]

[Miles]

*moved from another thread*

Originally posted by Muslhed+Aug 8 2007, 10:53 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Muslhed @ Aug 8 2007, 10:53 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-bdshort86@Aug 8 2007, 10:18 AM
JFYI on the idiot light bulbs: IIRC, I believe the SES light will come on if you just remove the bulbs... or at least that's been my experience. However, if you just burn the bulbs out and then reinstall them, then you're golden. How do you burn out the bulbs? Get two pieces of insulated (solid core works best) wire, find your nearest 110v electrical outlet, and use your imagination . But, BE CAREFUL. It'd be easy for something to go wrong while doing this. If something does go wrong, most likely it'd just knock you back on your butt, but there's always the potential for worse. Hope that helps.

Are you serious? I figured I could just remove them! That would massively suck if I put that dash all back together.......just to have yet another orange light staring at me! And for the orange light to be the SES one is not cool either. I need that light to work, to advise me of anything else going wrong. [/b][/quote]

[Miles]

*moved from another thread*

Originally posted by HenryJ+Aug 8 2007, 10:54 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (HenryJ @ Aug 8 2007, 10:54 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-bdshort86@Aug 8 2007, 10:18 AM
I believe the SES light will come on if you just remove the bulbs... or at least that's been my experience. However, if you just burn the bulbs out and then reinstall them, then you're golden.

There should be no difference between a burnt out bulb and removing it. Both leave an open circuit.

How about just blacking out the lens? [/b][/quote]

[Miles]

*moved from another thread*

Originally posted by Muslhed@Aug 8 2007, 11:03 AM
I'm just not a fan of using electrical tape to black out a lens....or a permenant marker! "I" would know that the light is still lit!

Isn't removing the instrument panel pretty simple, after you remove the face plate? I remember doing this on my 90 & 92 model's that both had digital dashs in them. They just basically unplugged from the dash board.

[Miles]

*moved from another thread*

Originally posted by HenryJ@Aug 8 2007, 11:40 AM
Pulling the instrument cluster is not too bad-



I'd probably do as you are and pull the bulbs. Setting the MIL is a real possibility. During startup I believe there is a bulb check. It may only be visual for the 4x4 functions.

I haven't tried to disable bulbs, so I will have to differ to the experiences of someone who has. I would be tempted to do as you and pull them to see what happens.

Ideally we would research what needs to be jumpered to satisfy the check. It would be nice to solder a couple wires together from a dangling connector and have the problems solved.

A working gas gauge is something you are going to need to fix. I find that if the gauge is gone, the pump is less than a year from following.

[Miles]

I took her for a drive this AM to test everything out. The transmission shifts in 2WD & in 4HI......but not in 4LO! :huh: The speedometer works in every range selection. Here goes the fun of reverse engineering...

Obviously I did not follow Justin's footsteps correctly. When he swapped his Autotrac out on his Blazer, he wired the VSS to one of the two sensor wiring harnesses, that were in the tail-shaft of the Autotrac. He told me that he had first wired it to the one on the passenger side, and that his transmission would not shift in 4LO. I can't remember if he said that his transmission would not shift at all....or not. So, he simply wired the VSS plug into the wiring that was originally on the drivers side of the tail-shaft.....and it worked! The colors of the wires on that side are lime green with a white stripe & purple with a white stripe. There was also a ground wire of some sort.....which we did nothing with on my truck.

*Thinking* that I could mirror what Justin did with his wiring......Mike & I cut off ALL of the other sensor wiring plugs, and Mike wrapped up the individual remaining wires.

Now, I just talked to a friend of mine that owns an off-road shop to get his input. He told me that he once swapped in a manually shifted 241 into a built up Escalade that originally had the Autotrac as well. He said that he removed ALL of the sensors out of the Autotrac, plugged them all back into their corresponding plugs in the wiring harness...and just zip-tied them all up out of the way. Once he did this, the transmission shifted perfectly fine. He said that this "completed the circuit", and also gave him no Service 4WD lights either. Maybe I should have done this before I cut it all off???

If need be, Mike can still wire it all back up. We kept the plugs just in case, so it's just a matter of matching the right colored wires to each other. PITA though.

Any thoughts?

[Miles]

Oh. Forgot to mention that the transfer case that I just installed......the one that had been sitting outside on a pallet in a junk yard for the past THREE years (it was covered though)....works great! It does not grind, vibrate, clank or clunk whatsoever, while shifting through the ranges! Very happy with that aspect! :thumbsup:

[HenryJ]

Originally posted by Muslhed@Aug 8 2007, 02:16 PM
I just talked to a friend of mine that owns an off-road shop to get his input. He told me that he once swapped in a manually shifted 241 into a built up Escalade that originally had the Autotrac as well. He said that he removed ALL of the sensors out of the Autotrac, plugged them all back into their corresponding plugs in the wiring harness...and just zip-tied them all up out of the way. Once he did this, the transmission shifted perfectly fine. He said that this "completed the circuit", and also gave him no Service 4WD lights either.

Any thoughts?

That sounds reasonable to me.

[Miles]

Mike is gonna re-wire it tonight. Justin confirmed that his transmission does NOT shift in 4LO either. Wiring in the correct VSS is paramount though for the speedometer to work, as well as for the transmission to shift in 2WD or 4HI. The other Autotrac sensors DO need to be plugged back in to their factory harness, and just tied up out of the way. This will complete the circuit for the transmission to shift correctly in 4LO. The encoder motor, however, does NOT need to be wired up, because it is on a totally separate circuit from the transmission, and is no longer utilized.

Still working on the center console install. I'm having to re-work the rear console mount, because of the Bose amplifier that is under my factory console. Yet another PITA...

Here's a few pics of the 231 installed:

[HenryJ]

It really looks out of place in there. A light coat of red oxide primer would age it to resemble the rest of the undercarriage better

[Miles]

Yeah, that would be all the red dirt from all of our trips to BMRA in Gilmer TX. It is much fun there....but I swear that you cough up red dirt for at least 2 days after you leave! I thought the brushed aluminum gave it just the right amount of *BLING*!!! :thumbsup:

[HenryJ]

Did you seal it with a coat of clear? That really helps to reduce the onset of oxidation after brushing aluminum. I find that brushing tends to take some of that hardness from the surface and they tend to oxidize a little quicker. A coat of clear will help to protect it a little longer and make it easier to clean.
Just a thought. You can always take a "rattle can" and spray it around under there. It would also serve to seal things up. Being clear it would not affect the red dirt look you have going under there.

[cknaffle]

Looking good Jeremy!

[Miles]

Well.....re-wiring all the harnesses back in to their corresponding colored wires, and plugging the two other Autotrac sensors back into them.....did NOT work. It still will not shift out of 1st gear when in LO range. I honestly do not know where to go from here.

I'm goin to bed.

[ArkansasBlaZeR2]

I've tried everything I can think of. I can't get it to work either. I've still got some ideas though.

One question, does anybody know how a stock 95-97 S-10 knows how and when to shift when in 4LO? The only thing on the transfercase is a vss plug.

[Jeff]

Seems to me I remember Mike telling me that the computers have a different shift program for 4lo compared to 4hi and 2hi. I'm not sure if this is different between the autotrac vehicles and the standard trucks though. Maybe your computers are expecting some other sensor input to allow the transmission to shift, whereas the other trucks computers don't need it.

[Miles]

So, you are thinking that maybe I need a different computer program to get it to shift correctly?

I had no idea that this was going to be a nightmare. I honestly do not know what to do!

[Miles]

I just got off the phone with Advance Adapters, and they are researching it right now. They didn't even attempt to sell me anything! They genuinelly semed interested in helping me solve the issue.

What they did tell me however, is that the factory Autotrac sensor that was located in the housing right above the front output shaft, "told" the 4L60-E computer that is was in LO range, and how to shift correctly. They said that it sounds like I've got the VSS working as it should, since the transmission is shifting when in 2WD & 4HI. They're supposed to call me back this AM.

[Jigg]

Might be worth it to contact PCMforless or Wait4meperformance and ask if there's some part of the programming that they can alter to correct it... i know one of the guys on s-10crewcab was working with one of them to get the tow/haul mode working.

Edit: just read the above post, guess we posted at the same time... good news!

[Miles]

Got a contact number or website for either of them?

[Jigg]

Wait4meperformance:

http://www.wait4meperformance.com/
574-267-3630

pcmforless:

http://www.pcmforless.com/
(724)-349-4431

On a side note, can anyone get on 'USA?

[Miles]

I talked to Advance Adapters, and after all their engineers got together & finished scratchin' their noggins on it, they called me back to tell me...........nothing. They mentioned me buying the service manuals for a 1995 Blazer whence my 231 came out of, as well as the service manuals for my 2000 Blazer. With those manuals, I should be able to come up with something......they said.

I am seriously concerned right now. I'll give these PCM guys a call right now.

[Miles]

I can shift it manually from 1st to second, so I'll be fine like it is. I always shift the tranny manually anyway when in LO range, and rarely ever shift to third either off-road.

I got the center console trimmed & installed! Looks awesome, IMO! Got the transfer case skid installed as well. Looks like I just cut the "gut" off of the ol beast! MUCH more clearance than I ever had before.

[Miles]

Here's a pic of the console & transfer case floor shifter installed:

[HenryJ]

Piggy back the VSS sensor for the front shaft.

All you need is a signal for the sensor for the front shaft , right? So splice it to the wires from the rear sensor. That will give it a pulse at the same speed as the rear shaft and make it happy.
I would try it. Heck you could splice all the autotrac sensors to the one you have and that should keep them all happy.

Signal High Front YEL needs to attach to Signal High Rear LT BLU
Signal Low Front PPL needs to attach to Signal Low Rear DK GRN

[Miles]

Originally posted by HenryJ@Aug 9 2007, 06:11 PM
Piggy back the VSS sensor for the front shaft.

All you need is a signal for the sensor for the front shaft , right? So splice it to the wires from the rear sensor. That will give it a pulse at the same speed as the rear shaft and make it happy.
I would try it.

Maybe I'm not following ya. On the 231, there is only one sensor, and it is in the tail shaft. Now, I have the wiring harnesses for the other two sensors wired up as well. Are you saying to try just splice in the wiring of the sensor that was previously above the front output on the Autotrac, to the two VSS wires in the tail shaft of the 231?

BTW, have you read Mike Copeland's response to this predicament, in this thread? Curious to what your thoughts are on that...