What did you do to your GMT today? [Part II]

[flyboy2610]

I muscled the old rusty one out and was able to get the new one in by basically inserting the lines backwards and then flipping it down and around and under (they said it couldn't be done ).

I like to tell people it's amazing what you can do when you don't know what you can't do.

 

[Mooseman]

In the morning, I removed the pump and pulled the pulley while waiting for the new pump. Pump arrived just before noon (Amazon 1 day shipping FTW). Installed it (another sweaty afternoon). Went in fine. Filled it and jacked up the truck to be able to turn the wheels to bleed it. Start it and it does the same thing! Constant whining and gets super hot quick. Still no power steering. Talking with my son who's a heavy equipment tech, he thinks there's a blockage somewhere and the pump is continuously bypassing, similar to when you're at full lock, but worse. I can't see the new lines doing this so I think something went into the intake port of the rack. Maybe a piece of the old cup seal or dirt?

So leaving it like this for now until I can get some options for a replacement. RA has a new SKP for $340 all in. I'll talk to the parts guys at work to see what local options there are. I should have grabbed the rebuilt rack from the old '02.

 

[Mooseman]

So a rebuilt would be about $350 before tax so that option is out. Asked if he knew a local rebuilder and he gave me a number of a shop that might be able to rebuild mine if needed.

Got home and went under the TB again, pulled the lines out of the rack and I could see that the pressure line cup seal was missing the little flap, like I suspected. Drop the rack and that seal is nowhere to be found so it was ingested deep on the pinion. I'll bring it to work and check on the rebuilder shop and hopefully can drop it off. If not, then it's RA and a week's wait.

 

[Mooseman]

FFS! I just can't win. The local shop doesn't rebuild racks anymore so I decided to go with the local rebuilt just to get it faster. So my parts manager ordered it yesterday and it came in today. Swapped it out with my old core. Get home and check it out. It's just painted! It has old inner tie rods and I think even old bellows. You can see the rust and wrench marks on the tie rods. One was worn while the other was still hard to move. Unbelievable!



So back it goes. I texted the manager to not send that core back. I'll try and grab the brand name. It came from a local parts house.

So now back to the RA option. Not sure which brand to go with. SKP? Ultra-Power? AAE? (shows as a favourite). Another option is used again. The last one was fine except for the inners I had to replace but I kept the new ones I installed last year. They were still solid.

 

[azswiss]

It's just painted! It has old inner tie rods and I think even old bellows. You can see the rust and wrench marks on the tie rods. One was worn while the other was still hard to move. Unbelievable!

Wow! At best, that's misrepresentation. More likely, fraud!

 

[Mooseman]

FINALLY! Finished the rack. Went to Kenny and I found this nice rebuilt in an '08 TB. It looks way better than the supposedly rebuilt one I returned. Came out easy and I kept the better looking LCA Jesus bolts to replace some of mine that the shafts were partly rusted away. $57 all in, including the $5 admission fee, which increased from $3.



Waited till later in the afternoon for the sun to be on the other side of the house so I wouldn't be baking. I recovered the cup seals from the donor and I cut off the flaps to avoid the same problem as the last one. One of them already had the flap removed so I think rebuilders already knew of this problem. Rack went in easy peasy. I slathered all the bolts with anti-seize. The outers went back in to the same position that the lock nuts were at. Filled and bled the system with the wheels in the air. Started it and... silence! Not even a little whine for any air. Turned the wheel lock to lock and only at lock you heard the pump work but not whine. Check for leaks, none. Back on the ground, same thing. Nice! Test drive and it's still pretty straight.

Although I'm on vacation for the next two weeks, I'll bring it in to the dealership for an alignment and they can drive ME home.

 

[TollKeeper]

On my GMT201 (Saturn Relay), Pulled the fuel tank prepared to replace the faulty Fuel Level Sensor... Dropped the tank, and opened it up.. It helps if the fuel level sensor is connected to the side of the tank to read the fuel level. It was just laying in the bottom of the tank. Pulled out the fuel pump assembly, grabbed the fuel level sensor, and reattached it.. Fixed. I love jobs that are free, except for time.

 

[azswiss]

Took advantage of the cooler morning temp (99F) to change the oil.

 

[TollKeeper]

Looked at my Driveway today.. And its confusing

GMT201 (Saturn Relay) parked in the garage, daily driven, full coverage insurance
GMT250 (Pontiac Aztek) parked in the garage, broken, liability only
GMT360 (GMC Envoy) parked on the street, driven rarely, liability only

I am currently driving the Saturn daily to work, wife is driving the Envoy as needed (she works from home), and the Aztek is broke. The Envoy and Saturn will be swapping places at the end of the month.

Thinking I need to park the Envoy in the garage, but the wife refuses to park it in the garage...
Its either that or I get a bigger garage (HA! )

I really need to sell the Aztek...

 

[Mooseman]

On Monday morning, brought the TB to the dealership for an alignment after the rack replacement. In typical fashion, They didn't get to it till Tuesday. Called me just before leaving for Toronto and.... They couldn't do it because the right lower A arm bushings were shot . Great, more work. They gave me an estimate of $750 and that was with my employee discounts!

I think I'll do it myself thank you. Figure I should change all of them. Found the lower brackets for $132 for both on Amazon and I can get the upper A arms for $62 for the pair at a local el-cheapo Chinese parts house.

 

[northcreek]

Spending time with wife learning how to pilot our new 2023 Blazer RS. We can't believe how much the technology has changed since the 2015 Nox which we traded in.This actually has a selector for 2 wheel, all wheel, towing and a few other settings, kind of a pseudo range selector.
308 hp 3.6 has plenty power and the 9 speeds help with that. Won't have to wrench on this for a bit which was not the case with the Nox lately ......we hadn't bought new since our Astro Van so the new car smell is pretty intoxicating....

 

[Mooseman]

Tackled the lower brackets and upper A-arms. Took about 4 hours. Set up one of those 10x10 sun shades since the sun was beating down right on me. Went relatively well. I found the upper arm bushings to be in worse shape than the lowers but what do I know. Took it back to the dealer in the afternoon for an alignment and got a shuttle ride back home. Should get it back tomorrow.

 

[TollKeeper]

Is that strut housing split??? All that oil in there makes me think it is. Not looking pretty! All that Canadian rust!

 

[Mooseman]

That's just the paint peeling/rusting off but yeah, she's crusty. This is the right side so it's not from the power steering leak so it is seeping. I kept the Bilstein struts from the old 02 EXT so when I have a chance, I might swap them out. Because it was an EXT, they might have a little stiffer springs so might bring the front up a little, which is OK since it still has the original rake.

Got the call from the dealer, alignment is done. I'll pick it up tomorrow.

 

[aaserv]

My camper towing adventure is turning into a huge disaster. Dont have time to tell the whole saga yet but it's looking like a 225,000 mi Envoy V-8 with the 3.40 gears and the inherent cooling problems of same will not tow my trailer. Drove it about 25 miles this morning with outside temp around 98 degs and it cruised along nicely at a toasty 221 water temperature. When i stopped and popped the hood it sounded like hiroshima underneath... The only temperature higher is the boiling point of my frustration!! Cats are off, trans cooler installed........all for nought so far.......

 

[Matt]

I know I don't have a 360 any more but I picked this hitchhiker up in my rear passenger tyre yesterday arvo. Sliced right through and was bouncing around in the rim. Of course, being a new car, no spare, just a can of jizz and a compressor. Fortunately, the Minister also has a Kia that has a space saver spare so I got her out of court and was able to use that on mine to limp me to a used tyre place. They had a near new take off Bridgestone in the same size for $50. However, now my CDO is itching because my tyres now don't match.
If anyone know WTF this is, please enlighten me because my friends and I can't work it out. It's not part of a saw blade, pawl or cove mold cutter. The only sharp bits are the points.



Business card for scale.

 

[Mooseman]

My camper towing adventure is turning into a huge disaster. Dont have time to tell the whole saga yet but it's looking like a 225,000 mi Envoy V-8 with the 3.40 gears and the inherent cooling problems of same will not tow my trailer. Drove it about 25 miles this morning with outside temp around 98 degs and it cruised along nicely at a toasty 221 water temperature. When i stopped and popped the hood it sounded like hiroshima underneath... The only temperature higher is the boiling point of my frustration!! Cats are off, trans cooler installed........all for nought so far.......

221f (105c) isn't really "over"heating since boiling water is 212 (100c). Maybe the fan clutch or stuck thermostat? With the A/C also going and those scorching temps, I wouldn't be surprised if it ran a little warmer. My Saab with the same engine but 3.73 gears did run a tick over 100c while pulling our 7000# trailer in 35c (95f) with A/C on and it had the Hayden thermal fan clutch. Apparently the GM/ACDelco/Mahle/Behr runs closer to specs than the Hayden if you need to replace it.

Have a look at this very good thread about overheating issues and fan clutch comparisons:

Coolant system failure spiral.

My cooling system repair is almost done. After looking at all the parts I think I can deduct what happened on our trip. I'll post this just as a guide of what can happen and what to check. First Problem: The power wires to the fan clutch broke. The black and white ones. The copper broke inside...

gmtnation.com

 

[Blckshdw]

If anyone know WTF this is, please enlighten me because my friends and I can't work it out. It's not part of a saw blade, pawl or cove mold cutter. The only sharp bits are the points.

View attachment 109068

I doubt it's helpful, but my ratcheting crimper and tube cutter both have a piece in them that closely resembles that. The big tooth at the top is what releases the jaws when they close all the way.

 

[mrrsm]

Yes... THAT Makes perfect sense when compared against an unbroken one:

Robot or human?

 

[northcreek]

A/C compressor shit the bed in the Motorhome (Chev G30). Removing and flushing parts to be saved. Put RA order in for compressor component kit and o-ring kit.

 

[Mooseman]

Picked up the TB from the dealer after the alignment. Damn I was spot on when I put the lower A-arm brackets in as the camber and caster were dead right but the toe was way off. When I was driving it, it felt like I was plowing but didn't before I replaced the brackets.



And while I was there, I spotted this guy and picked it up. Figured since it's probably a collector's item now and.... oh wait.... never mind! But still nice to have one.

 

[Mooseman]

Now that the TB is behaving, gave it some cleaning. Pressure washed the exterior to get rid of the seeping rust preventative oil spray from the bottom of the doors, vacuumed the carpet a bit and washed the Husky floor mats. Far from a detail job but at least it's now presentable. The plastics are faded and makes it look its age. I may give the same product I used on the Avalanche's plastics a try to restore them. Could also use it on my propane tank cover on the RV.

 

[northcreek]

Replaced the A/C compressor on my motorhome.
First charge failed due to a leaking sealing washer(new), second charge is holding and working as designed (less the original R12).

 

[mrrsm]

Nylog Blue... Your BFF for Sealing A/C Schrader Valves, Green "O" Rings and Threaded Fittings... All Things HVAC on the Cooling Connections Side of the Hardware:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008HOSQQQ/?tag=gmtnation-20

 

[flyboy2610]

Voided the warranty on my new rear windshield wiper motor for the '04 TB EXT.
A few months ago, when I had to replace the rear liftgate actuator (those are pricey little buggers!) I removed the wiper motor, because it was non-functional and also to deal with a bit of a smoosh in the liftgate in that area. In the process I buggered up the plastic nut on the outside of the housing. No one seemed to have any, and I really didn't want to go the junkyard (err.... automotive recycling facility) route, so I sealed up the hole left by the now missing motor and waited for someone to get them back in stock. They arrived yesterday.
I took the motor apart and applied nickel based anti-seize to the shaft where it goes through the housing. Those things to tend to suffer corrosion bonding, and lock up the motor. My old one also had a fried circuit board.
To get the shaft out a couple of connections must be un-soldered. Easy to do, though. I plan to install the new motor tomorrow, weather permitting.
It will be nice to have a functional rear windshield wiper again!

 

[flyboy2610]

Got the rear wiper motor installed. Started the TB, turned the switch to 3, and the rear wiper went back and forth across the rear window!
For about 15 seconds. Then stopped. 😱
Went prowling around in the fuse boxes, underhood and under the drivers side rear seat. I have an EXT, so it has a silver 15 amp circuit breaker/relay type looking thingy. I noticed that it didn't appear to be seated all the way. Pulled it out, firmly re-seated it, and the rear wiper motor is now functional again!
Now if I can just figure out why the rear washer won't work! The system has washer fluid, fuses and relays are OK. Tomorrow I'll go out with a test light and make sure the pump is getting voltage when the button is pushed.
Don't feel like doing it now. Plus it's getting dark.
If the pump is getting power, I'll replace the pump. They're not terribly expensive.

 

[mrrsm]

Say @Matt ... Remember that Damned "Busted Sharps Tire Flattener" Chunky-Hunka-Junky Stuff that came out of your Tire back in Post #1016? Well... Check Out THIS Gadget-Gizmo:

 

[flyboy2610]

Haven't been able to find the time to replace the rear washer pump. The pump connector was getting power, so I suspected the pump was bad.
Replaced it this morning, and I now have a functional rear windshield washer!
A successful repair! I love those rare occasions when that happens.

 

[Mooseman]

On Sunday, the Sierra got the engine oil changed and at the same time, did the transmission. It only has 44k km but when I replaced the cooler thermostat, I found the fluid colour a bit too dark for my liking.

Oil change went fine. The tranny only has an Allen filler plug, which is conveniently located right next to the front driveshaft (sarcasm ) . Got a pump from Amazon for less than $30 to both suck out the old fluid and pump in the new. Sucking it out went really well and you can see the old fluid colour. Dropping the pan I didn't spill a drop. No metal chunks or forbidden glitter, just the usual black sludge on the magnets and it wasn't too bad. The filter is held in by two reverse T50, supposedly one time use, bolts. Couldn't find my T50 socket so used a regular 8mm and it worked fine. They weren't tight at all 🤔. The filter itself is kinda interesting. Looks like it has two types of filter media, maybe a fine and coarse? It bolted right in. Reused the old pan gasket. On that oil pump, I reverse the hoses so the small one would go in. After purging it of old fluid, put it back in the hole and started pumping. Up to this point, I hadn't spilled a drop of oil or fluid onto the driveway. At the second or third quart, the pressure from that pump pushed the hose out and spewed a bunch of fluid onto the driveway . Out comes the kitty litter. Started dribbling and stopped pumping. Refilled the engine oil and started it. Man that diesel quiets down with new oil. Since I have the thermostat delete, I can resume pumping right away instead of waiting for it to warm up until it dribbles out again. Total about 8 quarts including whatever I spilled.

After putting everything away and getting the truck down from the ramps, dragged out the pressure washer to clean up the Exxon Valdez.

I could have done a flush/exchange but given the low mileage and that it's supposed to be "lifetime" fluid, I figured just a pan drop and replace would suffice. Might do this annually however the filter ain't cheap at $65CAD with my employee discount. The fluid was $8 a quart, cheaper than the oil.

 

[aaserv]

Been awhile since I updated my ongoing cooling issues. Been working on them but with temps here at 100+ everyday for 6 straight weeks progress has been slow......

So I had the cats removed and the tranny cooler done. Still was too hot to haul the camper during the day. Left at 1 am and doing 50-55 I was ok but just goose it to 60 and the temp gauge started climbing. Ended up having to leave the camper 4 hours away and getting the bro in law to go tow it home.
So I then realized that the inspection sticker I thought was good until February had actually EXPIRED in February!! So now I have a catless truck that I cant get inspected. So I order a set from Magnaflow, pipes and all and......nobody would put them on. They're telling me Magnaflow cats are horrible and wont pass inspection. But 1 guy I go to tells me he's got a guy who will tune the cats out of the system and I wont even need them.....
So I go see said guy and he says no problem. I mention I would like to get the fan speeds increased and the transmission shift points raised as well. No problem. Well as shocking as this may sound so far its working perfectly!! Yea when driving in town with 106Deg temps I can hear the fan spinning like a helicopter but dammit Ive yet to see the gauge go over 209. Hell the A/C is even blowing cooler! And with the better shift points I can finally keep up with traffic without having to nail the throttle.
Remember mine is an 03 with the software that wasnt updated until the 05-06 models so after 20 years Im finally getting the performance the car was designed to give. The only thing Im interested in seeing is will the new Mahle (formerly BEHR) OEM fan clutch hold up for very long. Im really running it hard now so we should know shortly if its going to last like the original BEHR did.

On another note we have another u-pull lot about 15 miles from here that I had only been to once because all the cars were stripped bare.......Well someone bought them out and filled the entire lot with cars that look like you could drive them home! On my 1st trip there I got 2 front door panels in immaculate condition which I have been trying to find for years. A nice chrome and black grille from a Denali/Envoy. An entire set of made for ENVOY heavy duty floor mats that included 1 for the rear cargo area that fits perfectly...... Talk about a much needed item. I got all that for less than 1 door panel goes for on EBay.... I also staked out maybe 4 Behr fan clutches and probably 4 sets of used rear Bilsteins that Ill grab on my next trip. This place is an ENVOY Goldmine!

So its only taken 3 years or so but finally a positive post about my Envoy experiences !!

 

[Ilikemy3s]

Took the TB in for a tire rotation and an alignment since wife and I are planning a trip to see friends next weekend. Easy right .. nope .. bad tie rod end and torn CV boot showing a very bad looking CV joint, resulted in some unexpected costs. But she does steer much nicer and I have peace of mind

 

[azswiss]

Replaced the rear sway bar bushings.

 

[flyboy2610]

The bumper cover on the wife's '06 TB suffered an impact with a fence post. In our own backyard. Thoroughly messed up the 17 year old factory paint, and broke one of the mounts free from the bumper cover. Whoever came up with the idea of attaching the bumper cover mounts by slightly melting the pegs on the cover should be beaten with a wet noodle to within an inch of their life!
I still had the bumper cover from my '04 EXT from when I stripped a different one and repainted it with Rust-Oleum truck bed liner, so I stripped that one and repainted that one with it as well.
Installed it on the wife's '06 today. The bumper cover mounts are attached with 8mm-1.25 button head bolts, washers, and hex nuts. I still need to find some fog lights, as my '04 had them and the wife's '06 did not. They won't be functional, but they'll fill the holes.
This is mine, but the wife's looks the same.


Here's a pic of the button head bolts.


When I put the bumper cover back on the wife's '06, I installed the license plate holder so the slot is at the top, not the bottom. Whoever put that on her car put it on upside down. The slot should be at the top, so that if the screws fall out, the license plate won't drop out. Some people just can't figure simple things out.

 

[6716]

Removed the OnStar module, opened it up and scavenged the power connector.

Attached the connector to a prototyping board, and soldered on power leads to a 12v cellular modem I bought.

Multimeter showed 12.42 with the truck off, so I plugged in the modem and started driving around.

 

[Blckshdw]

Tuesday on the way to the office, after turning a corner onto a side street, heard a strange noise from the rear passenger side. A rapid tapping noise, like it was on the body, that only lasted for a few seconds. That evening on the way home, after a few minutes of driving and getting onto a main artery, the sound came back, but much louder, seemed to match wheel speed, but lasted for maybe 30 seconds this time. After stopping in traffic, it never came back the rest of the drive home.

Got it into the garage, checked the wheel well, didn't see anything, no marks, scrapes or scratches. Got on the dolly and rolled underneath, didn't see any evidence of something getting wrapped around the wheel and whipping around under there. Nothing on the driveshaft either. Drove back and forth to work Wednesday and today, everything was fine until the drive home...

While coming through my neighborhood, had the windows down, no other vehicles on the road, and hit the break between songs where I could hear an ever so slight tapping noise. Paused the music and listened while coasting about 20mph, sure enough a wheel speed related tapping sound, but very very quiet. Got it into the garage and took another look around the back wheel...



I dunno WTH I ran over earlier in the week, but that tracks with it sounding like something was whipping around with the wheel and hitting the truck. Tire doesn't look low, so maybe I'll luck out and it's a short screw that's just stuck in the treads. Couldn't find my tire plug kit (probably tossed it cuz it was old) so I'll make sure to pick up a new one this weekend before getting that out of there.

 

[mrrsm]

Better get TWO of those Kits... One for the TB & One for the Ryobi Electric Riding Lawn Mower... If you get any Flats... They're a Bigger PITA to fix if you have to R&R them than any Regular Truck Tire! Thank God that they are TUBELESS!

PS... My New Neighbor just had a Brand New Roof installed and I spotted their "Clean Up" Guy Waltzing around a few narrow spots here and there with the Roofing Company's Tar Stained 36" version of those Two Wheeler Magnetic Nail Picker- Upper Roll-Around Tools.

Since I still manage to keep the world at an arms length ever since the Covid-19 Crisis... I walked my own version of that Magnetic Roller over to him as he stood alone in the back of his Garage and was already walking away as he came out to greet me and eyeball that Odd Little Machine.

As I kept on walking he looked at me just a little bit askance... as I suggested to him over my shoulder,

"Run THAT Thing around in your yard...especially in the Back Yard by the "Cement Pond" a few more times before your Family pick those Unfound Roofing Nails up in their Bare Feet... I'll be very surprised if you don't wind up with at least a Pound of 'Em in a Zip Lock Bag when you're finished. Take your time with returning it...."

Later on in the same afternoon... he dropped off the Unit at my front door with THIS Note attached:



No matter how many times I run that "Thing" around my yard with different angles each time... I STILL manage to find more of those GD'd Roofing Nails!

 

[Blckshdw]

maybe I'll luck out and it's a short screw that's just stuck in the treads.

Yeah, so about that.... Tire looked a lil pudgy this morning, and had lost a few pounds compared to the rest. It was still within specs for the EXT, since I run them a little high due to the larger size.

13mm socket would have spun it out, if the head wasn't so worn down, vise grips to the rescue. After a couple of turns, cold hear the hiss, and eventually this is what came out. I'm usually pretty perceptive and manage to avoid things in the road, but whatever was whipping around in the wheel well earlier in the week was definitely attached to this before it broke off.




HF was out of their plug kits, which kinda sucked since it was a bit of a drive. Paranoia had me thinking every little wiggle or shimmy was the tire losing more pressure. Stopped at the AZ right by the house and got one of their kits. After getting home, I found my old plug kit, but remember I broke the handle on the insertion tool, so money not wasted.

Got it plugged up, mounted and refilled. Will let that sit for a few hours while I do some stuff around the house, and will double check that it's holding pressure before going out to run errands.

 

[northcreek]

But, hey!.....free metric bolt.

 

[xavierny25]

Got new tires put on the Voy friday. Went with a set of GT radial MAXTOUR LX. Also put 4 new tpms sensor since 1 was completely died but I'm having issues programming them 😔
Also went and got the alignment done and damn it drives like new. I'm super happy with the Voy and how it's held up over the yrs. With just shy of 260k miles(original engine and trans) on it I'll be driving this till the wheels fall off.

 

[TollKeeper]

We had those tires on my Pontiac Aztek... When I got new tires, I was glad I got rid of them. Never realized how bad those rode, and the road noise dropped by 70%.