Buck36952 said:I'm from Shawnee.
chief0299 said:I'm in the city... if you want, I can meet up with you this weekend and try to give you a hand.
Buck36952 said:Offer is greatly appreciated. It's currently sitting at the stealership in Shawnee. I gave a complete write up of everything that's happened, so it will hopefully guide them in the right direction. I'll be sure to let you know results when I get it back. Funny how the most reliable vehicle can quickly climb to the top of your hit list when it doesn't cooperate with your wrenching attempts!
Told the wife that I was seriously considering selling off the work car, truck, and TB and just buy a 3/4 ton 4x4 and a family member's minivan. She was cool till she heard the minivan part Thought she was going to end up driving it!
Oh, BTW - results from the 1st mechanic:
1st road test - coolant temp at 230 without a/c running
2nd road test - coolant temp at 226 with a/c running
Said that normal operating temp (per GM) is 224 +/- 5. Seems odd since we all seem to agree that the temp gauge rides right at 210. Is that saying that the gauges on a TB aren't super accurate? I think I posted this before, but on the first road test, the temp rose to 237. At that temp, the fan engaged and brought the temp down to something like 207. I asked him about what temp to be concerned about and he stated that the computer will throw a code at 250-something....I think he said 254, but I'm not sure. I had a lot of numbers hanging out in my head.
meerschm said:you need the one that matches your car. (have to go look) mine are on the bottom. I think they all are ,but don't quote me on that.
I have not changed the radiator, but tricky parts I would expect are getting hoses off and on (sounds like they have been off and on pretty recently so should not be a huge deal.)
and snaking the rad out between the fan clutch and a/c condenser. (I bet the book says to pull the fan clutch, fan and shroud out first. you may be able to avoid this)
other tricky part is getting the transmission lines disconnected and reconnected to the radiator. will drip a bit of fluid, but you don't want it to leak when you are done.
how do the tranny lines look overall?
Buck36952 said:Yeah, that's the problem with Amazon....sometimes they show a pic that isn't exactly right. If you assume it's correct, they say "It's just an example." But if you order with the assumption that it's an example, they say "There was a picture of it when you bought it."
Concerning the connections: You are quite correct sir. No stuck hoses here. They are all guaranteed to be free!
Tranny lines: They should be fine. I had it in for a check up not long ago. Had the tranny flushed and all was well. I've at least got that going for me. Of course, I'll have to check and see how much fluid I lose for the cooler when I replace the radiator. Other than that, I should be on the road to recovery. My bank account..... not so much..
Oh sideline:
Price Check: Resurrecting a 150K radiator: $450 out the door.
Installing a new Radiator: $628
Radiator from GMpartsdirect: $145 (plus their diabolical shipping rate)
Will wait for folks to wade in with the details of what's involved in a radiator shop. My other question is if it's worth the extra $$ to go with an OEM radiator. Dealer claims that many aftermarkets are undersized, undercool, or simply leak like nobody's business. Thoughts on these two topics??? Thanks
gmcman said:Do you have the vehicle back in your possession?
This is what I would do. First, start the engine and disconnect the temp sensor, this will engage the fan. Does it engage fully?
If the radiator is plugged, what about the heater core? There is a cleaner from GM that works on the sludge from Dexcool......part # Prestone Heavy Duty Cooling System Cleaner, GM P/N 12346500...is this what you used?
You likely need to perform a reverse flush with the above mentioned chemical.....mainly because of the radiator is now an issue, the heater core just may be close as well.
You may not have removed all the Dexcol and now it's mixed with green, this is generally bad but I haven't heard it mess up a system this quick....never know.
Just tossing ideas out.
Buck36952 said:On a bright note: Granted, I've paid three professionals to NOT fix my ride. But I've gotten three confirmations that my head gasket is NOT leaking. It's at least something!
Buck36952 said:When I asked about what would cause the overheating isssues when I changed the clutch and water pump, I got a plausable answer. He said that the radiator was probably plugged already, but that the fan cluch (being locked up) was drawing in sufficient air flow to compensate for the lack of cooling ability in the radiator.
chief0299 said:Glad to hear it's running good. You definitely saved yourself some coin. The VA... you go to the one in OKC? I'm up there pretty regularly. Even though the waits are a little long, it's the nicest one out of the 4 I've been to. No worries on eating crow. At least not with me. I'm just happy to help.
Buck36952 said:Yeah, I head to the OKC branch. I was able to get in the the ER just fine, but getting them to respond back for a follow up hasn't generated much in terms of results. Just hoping that it doesn't require surgery again. Of course, recovery couldn't possibly be any worse than it was when I was active. One day off, then back to work
chief0299 said:I've never had to go to the ER there, just visit the docs for regular appts and go to the urgent care clinic. Are you OEF/OIF? They seem to be able tp ush us through a little faster. Not sure why.
Buck36952 said:Yeah, I was OEF, Noble Eagle, etc. Got paid to play on the world's largest beaches.......just a few hundred miles too far from the water's edge! The VA just doesn't ever seem to make much sense to me. You can hit Urgent Care or Emergency, but I'm working on my third day of waiting for them to call me back for a routine appointment. Go figure
When were you in?
Buck36952 said:Yeah, I was OEF, Noble Eagle, etc. Got paid to play on the world's largest beaches.......just a few hundred miles too far from the water's edge! The VA just doesn't ever seem to make much sense to me. You can hit Urgent Care or Emergency, but I'm working on my third day of waiting for them to call me back for a routine appointment. Go figure
When were you in?
chief0299 said:Army guard from 96-99
Active duty Air Force from 99-05
Air Force Reserves from 05-11
I'm OSW, ONW, OEF, ONE, OIF... Too many to list.
My first achievement medal was for 9/11. Generated my aircraft and was off the ground in less than hour. The medal paperwork says Operation Infinite Justice on it.
LOL on the distance from the water. Sometimes it was a blessing. While I was in Qatar, it was hot as shit AND humid as shit! At night, you could see the humidity actually roll around in the air. It looked like something out of poltergeist. I would've easily traded it to go back to PSAB.