# 2004 Chevy & 8.2 Boss V



## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

I'll just start one thread and keep updating as more pictures get taken. 
Recently purchased a 2004 Chevy 2500HD LT, 8.1/Allison, ECSB. When I bought it, the stock tire size was still on it, 245's, which were worn out so I had no problem taking them off. Got a really nice set of 285's from a friend for really cheap. Much better! Just this past weekend I picked up a Boss 8.2 poly V for a deal that was impossible to pass up.


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## mossman381 (Nov 17, 2009)

Good start Thumbs Up


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

Nice truck and plow. How do you like the 8.1?


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## maverjohn (Jul 23, 2008)

Nice truck, Any other plans for the truck?


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## SnoMan19 (Dec 17, 2011)

Nice set up man.


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

Thanks for the comments! Truck usually sits during the summer except when something needs towed/hauled that's too big for the car. Like all my previous trucks, it will be a dedicated plow truck. Currently sitting at work for the summer where it will get serviced and prepped for winter. Just replaced the front shocks with Bilstein 5100's. The original shock were not worn out, but the 5100's give a much better feel.
Loving the power of the 8.1! Cant wait to see how it plows, I've always had Chevy 5.7 and while it had enough power, my fuel mileage was consistantly 3-5 mpg. If the 8.1 get that or does better I will be very happy. 

Still in search of Boss truck mount


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

Found a truck mount, so I installed the wiring harness and mount. Bought SumoSprings for the frontend, just like Timbren's but cheaper. Got them from Amazon.com for $117 shipped. Seems to hold the front up pretty well. The front drops about an inch with the plow up, but some of that is the tires squishing. Started to take apart the plow and completely go through it. Clean everything up, new fasteners, new fluid, grease and FF. I found the left lower center pin support broken. Seems to me that it needed more weld. I'll get that welded back together easily.


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

I bought a cheap center console cup holder and modified it to hold the V joystick and hid all the wires. Bought a set of WeatherTech floor mats to keep the carpet looking new.


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## icl (Dec 20, 2011)

secret_weapon;1472916 said:


> I've always had Chevy 5.7 and while it had enough power, my fuel mileage was consistantly 3-5 mpg.


I have 3 trucks with the 350 5.7L in them and average at least 10MPG. Thats with one hauling 2.5-3 ton almost all the time. I wonder why your average is so low?


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

icl;1481166 said:


> I have 3 trucks with the 350 5.7L in them and average at least 10MPG. Thats with one hauling 2.5-3 ton almost all the time. I wonder why your average is so low?


That average is for plowing. Normal everyday driving was 13-15 mpg. I'm actually impressed with my new truck with the 8.1, went on a trip and got 15 mpg all highway. I was real easy on the gas. Normal everyday driving I'm getting 11 mpg.


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## mossman381 (Nov 17, 2009)

Good idea on the cup holder and I need some of those floor mats


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## maverjohn (Jul 23, 2008)

Your set up is going well, so what's the plan for lighting ?


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

maverjohn;1481188 said:


> Your set up is going well, so what's the plan for lighting ?


I'm still thinking about 4 corner strobes, but for now I'm running the good standard magnetic strobe. Went to local junk yard and got a cheap 3rd brak lamp assembly and wired my strobe through that so I can keep the nice one for summer.


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

Weather Tech floor liners are one of the best investments for a vehicle.


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

mercer_me;1481289 said:


> Weather Tech floor liners are one of the best investments for a vehicle.


This is the cleanest used truck I've bought, I'll try to keep it clean as long as I can. On my past trucks I remember what happened and trying to prevent all that with this one.


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## OntarioGuy (Jan 5, 2011)

Nice setup you got! I like the floor mats to. Also I like what you did with the consol and the joystick. It really makes the truck look good.


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

Starting to buy and gather everything for dual battery setup and 200A alternator. 2 new batteries and alt. will be kinda pricey.


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## mass1589 (Jan 24, 2011)

looks great!! i am looking at a 2002 gmc sierra 2500 rclb with the 8.1 !! im on the fence with the gas mileage though....


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

mass1589;1481802 said:


> looks great!! i am looking at a 2002 gmc sierra 2500 rclb with the 8.1 !! im on the fence with the gas mileage though....


Here is something to think about, I have a friend with same truck as me but with 6.0L , we both have 3.73 gears. He pulls a horse trailer and gets about 12-13 mpg. His truck was down for a little this summer and used my truck. He said was getting 11 mpg and had a s*** ton more power to pull with mine. 
I bought my truck as a dedicated plow truck, it usually sits in the summer. I average 5k miles a year so fuel mileage wasn't that big a deal, or a deal breaker. I just thought going with the 8.1 and allison it should be a pretty bullet proof.


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

Got the front windows tinted to match the rear.
The third pic is the before.


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## mass1589 (Jan 24, 2011)

that looks great!!! i love the difference it makes when the front windows are tinted match the rears. i had one truck tinted a little tooo dark though it was hard to see out at night!


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

mass1589;1483180 said:


> that looks great!!! i love the difference it makes when the front windows are tinted match the rears. i had one truck tinted a little tooo dark though it was hard to see out at night!


Thanks! Been driving at night, guess what... too dark:realmad: My bad. The factory tint on the back windows is actually a tad lighter than the front. I'm going to have it redone a little lighter.


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

Had to spend a little money to fix my plow. Last week I was in a lot, last push running the curb which was normally a nice smooth run, but this time *BLAM!!* Right blade half got tweeked, push frame bent and on the truckside mount the left mounting tab (I guess that's what it's called) broke off. Someone else was in the lot and broke the curb, so that a chunk was sticking out. 
I got the truckside welded up in about 45 min so I could finish plowing. Today I just finished replacing the push frame.

I'm thinking after this winter it'll be time to upgrade to VXT blade halves.

Not sure why pics are sideways...


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

Some more pics


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## xgiovannix12 (Dec 8, 2012)

ouch what did that cost you?


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

xgiovannix12;1930394 said:


> ouch what did that cost you?


$330 for the push frame


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## CAT 245ME (Sep 10, 2006)

You gotta spend money to make money, unfortunately.

I'd really like to have that 8.1 big block though.


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

Well, I sold the V plow and bought a used 8' steel blade. Going back to straight blade because it cost too much to fix the V and also a lot less headaches. Another reason for going back to straight is I am paid hourly and don't make anymore $ running the V. 
I didn't get any pics of the straight blade when I first bought it, I just started getting some pics as I started working on it. 
The front of the blade was starting to get a little rusty so I cleaned it up and painted it. Maybe next year I'll blast everything and make it look good. Just want to make sure plow is in perfect working order. The plow is very sloppy and is getting all new bolts. The pivot pins are worn and holes are oblong, I am going to weld in some metal to close up the holes to proper size. 
What I did this evening was weld some metal to the A frame to close the gap a little on the angle that goes over pushframe. The welded area also was painted with POR15. I believe this wore out do to NEVER being greased by previous owner. I looked the plow over pretty good before I bought it, so I figure $500 was a fair price.Thumbs Up


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## ResslerLawnCare (Dec 20, 2012)

How thirst is the 8.1? I am looking at getting one locally here and am a little scared of the thirst that I have been told they have. I currently have a 6.0 and that guy can suck up fuel when it wants too.


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## scott3430 (Dec 28, 2010)

$500. sounds like a good price for the straight blade. Any pics of it? 

It's always handy to be able to do the welding yourself........Thumbs Up


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

ResslerLawnCare;2071175 said:


> How thirst is the 8.1? I am looking at getting one locally here and am a little scared of the thirst that I have been told they have. I currently have a 6.0 and that guy can suck up fuel when it wants too.


Surprisingly my fuel mileage isn't that bad. I'm getting a consistent 11-12 mpg. I have gotten as high as 15-16 empty on the highway, and as for plowing I get 4-5mpg. I have 3.73 rear end which makes a big difference. Co-worker had 6.0L with 4.10 and his fuel mileage was no better than mine. 



scott3430;2071178 said:


> $500. sounds like a good price for the straight blade. Any pics of it?
> I'll get some pics up soon. It's just sitting in the garage not doing anything, Might pull it out for a wash this weekend.
> 
> It's always handy to be able to do the welding yourself........Thumbs Up


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## spencers (Nov 14, 2014)

Nice setup man. I have a 2008 duramax with the 8.2 boss v and love it. Sometimes I wish I bought the 9.2 but some places are a tight fit and the 8.2 works great. I also bought the tan weather techs. It's a must to have those.


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

Pic of truck. I have snow deflector on plow now, will take a couple weeks to get that pic from my phone to the computer then uploaded to here. It's a very long tedious task. 
Took a pic of the bumper saver with back up lights I made. 2 x 2 x 1/4" Sq.tube. Had to make a new one because I backed into a dumpster last year and bent it pretty good. Not a scratch on the bumper though!Thumbs Up Cheap LED lights from Ebay, have about $25 into it.
I painted the front of the plow, nothing spectacular, just wanted a fresh clean look. Used up some left over paint from previous plow repaint.


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## Iceman26 (Dec 4, 2010)

Trucks clean, nice work on the plow, looks new. Does the truck have a leveling kit or cranked torsion bars?


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

Iceman26;2079052 said:


> Trucks clean, nice work on the plow, looks new. Does the truck have a leveling kit or cranked torsion bars?


Thanks!
Truck has about 500 lbs in the back and torsion bars are turned up a little.


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## TJ2015 (Jan 5, 2016)

Plow looks great, Id say you did pretty well for the investment.


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## secret_weapon (Jan 24, 2007)

First casualty, left headlamp broke off. 
Can you guess how many zip ties were used to hold it on? :laughing:
The zip ties were very brittle in these 5°F temps, I'll have to get some longer ones so I don't have to chain link them together.


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## deadman (Feb 8, 2016)

Love the big 8.1L


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