What are you doing today? [Part II]

[TollKeeper]

Kia Sportage, I really like. All Hyundai underneath. Good trucks honestly. Think I would go with a Hyundai SantaCruz thou.

Chevy Traverse/GMC Acadia/Buick Enclave (same car), theres no amount of money you could pay me to buy one of those rolling piles of crap. Engines are bad, Trannies are bad, and if you even think about getting into an accident, its totaled. One of the maintenances thats required on them at 100k, timing chains, at $4000. Engine out procedure.. Been like this since 2007 I think.

 

[Matt]

I like the Santa Cruz too but I can't wait.

 

[Eric04]

I still don't know what I'll replace the TB with, but if I go SUV it won't be American. I don't like having to do that but aside from the full size, which I don't need, GM offers overpriced garbage. Darn near as reliable as Chrysler these days. Hard pass. Grats on your new ride, Matt!

 

[TollKeeper]

So this was was taken last month, when I was replacing a blend door motor.. My sausage fingers, and the spare tire around the middle.. Its nice to have a wife that is really small, less than 100lbs, and over a foot shorter than me!
View attachment 99494
View attachment 99495View attachment 99496

Revisiting this a little bit.. -WE- didnt know we were pregnant in this picture.

 

[littleblazer]

Colorado has been good still, tahoe ate a hub. GM full size has been garbage for a while now. Rides like it needs shocks. Looking around online... 40k isn't unheard of on oem sets... smh. Trail blazer still doing work as backup and isn't skipping a beat.

 

[BrianF]

Nothing new on the western front. Still crushing the honey do list before the snow comes. Surprised that the last few days we were above freezing at night but the tradeoff is the damn wind won't quit. Just atrocious.

Anyway, one thing you can't beat on the prairies are the sunsets.

 

[NJTB]

Some of you read my thread from several days ago where my wife ran over a concrete abutment, blew 2 tires and had to have the car towed to a Ford dealership on the tow truck drivers recommendation. This happened in Maryland, about 150 miles from where I live in NJ.
The car is a 2014 Ford Focus, ran well and needed nothing. I looked up the car in Kelly Blue book and it's value was between $4900 to 5100.
Called the insurance company to report the accident, in a few days they got an estimate from the dealer for $6200. I thought OK, I'll put $1000 into it and have the car repaired, but that's when things got weird.
About a week after the accident the insurance company called her back. They told her because of covid and the shortage of cars, the Focus was worth $9100, and the buyout on the car was $7200. They also explained the estimate was a rough one as they hadn't taken it apart yet so it could be more. He also said they would have trouble getting parts for it so couldn't give a date when it would be finished. WTF???
I REALLY didn't want to hunt for a car she'd like in todays market.
At any rate, her son is a salesman at a Mazda dealership in Wayne, NJ. She called him up, and he said he would get her something at cost, let him look for a bit.
We are now the proud owners of a 2018 Mazda CX5 Grand Touring. It's a nice car but there's so many buttons and bullshit on this thing it's going to take me a year to figure out what they all do. If on cruise control, a holographic image shows up on the bottom of the windshield of the speedometer. The price also had a pucker factor.
I hate being an analog guy in a digital world.

 

[TollKeeper]

You got high-balled.. Which is just weird for a insurance company..

I got low balled on my Aztek, and having to go thru arbitration. They valued it at half of market. Damn hail.

 

[NJTB]

You got high-balled.. Which is just weird for a insurance company..

I got low balled on my Aztek, and having to go thru arbitration. They valued it at half of market. Damn hail.

That's my point. In 55 years of driving, I've never heard of this happening. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, where I get the call that someone made a mistake.

 

[Mooseman]

Picked up the Sierra from the dealer this morning. What a bunch of f****** morons! The tech called me yesterday asking for more info because it started fine for him. Told him it was an intermittent issue, it's well documented and in a GM bulletin, there's an ECM update available, yada, yada, yada. I hate knowing more than the tech! Anyway, we shall see if this resolves the issue.

Just over a week since the update and it hasn't done a CNS since. It does take about .5 seconds longer to start all the time.

I hate auto-stop. I forgot to turn it off and it did a weird restart after a short stop that was not quite long enough to allow the engine to spin down and it restarted without the starter. It made a weird bang, like a loud diesel knock. Getting the auto-stop eliminator to turn that off permanently.

 

[NJTB]

Just over a week since the update and it hasn't done a CNS since. It does take about .5 seconds longer to start all the time.

I hate auto-stop. I forgot to turn it off and it did a weird restart after a short stop that was not quite long enough to allow the engine to spin down and it restarted without the starter. It made a weird bang, like a loud diesel knock. Getting the auto-stop eliminator to turn that off permanently.

Didn’t know there was such a thing. Have any details?

 

[northcreek]

Didn’t know there was such a thing. Have any details?

Start/Stop Disabler

No more annoying Start/Stop in stop and go traffic! If your Ford or GM vehicle has Auto Start/Stop, we have the solution!

www.rangetechnology.com

 

[Mooseman]

I didn't go with that one, got this one for less than half the price and is totally hidden. It's actually more convenient as it can be disabled at will. A bit of a PITA to install but once it's done, it's done.

Silverado 1500 (19-25') Start / Stop Eliminator

In stock GM Chevrolet Silverado 1500Start / Stop Eliminator, Same Day Free Shipping, 30 Day Returns, One Year Warranty

www.4dtech.com

 

[northcreek]

I didn't go with that one, got this one for less than half the price and is totally hidden. It's actually more convenient as it can be disabled at will. A bit of a PITA to install but once it's done, it's done.

I like yours better, certainly worth the work...

 

[Blckshdw]

Garage door has been getting noisier, so decided to take a closer look. Some of the rollers were getting cockeyed, and the torsion springs are kinda rusty. Started off with the rollers today, and not too soon either. A couple were so bad, the wheel fell off, and the bearings came out as soon as I slid them from their brackets. All the rest were loose, some so loose you could see past the bearings.



Haven't been able to find torsion springs matching the pair that I've got locally, may have to order some online. The new rollers helped some with the noise, but those springs definitely need to go too. At least now, there's no worries about the door falling out of the tracks.

 

[BrianF]

Picked up some new tires for my quad. Carlisle AT489. Seem nice and hold air, which is a big improvement over the leaking, dry rotted Mud Lites. I was surprised at the price though, quote back in June was just shy of 800$ and now well north of 800. Was told tire prices all across the board are up. Its a shitty time as I need to price out some new moccasins for my 3500.

 

[Redbeard]

Handed out candy to many many youngsters for Halloween. Our neighborhood seems to be one of the go to places for kids from around town to come and trick or treat. Being this is the first year for us we didn't know what to expect, but just in case I purchased much extra candy and thoroughly enjoyed sharing it all with the children All the children were dressed up well in their costumes along with saying "thank you" for their treats

 

[Mooseman]

Spent some time in the garage cleaning up. Clutter multiplied in there during the summer, just like rabbits, and I need to clear it out so I can work on my sled.

Then spent a couple of hours at a local grocery store manning the poppy sale table. As a member of the Legion, we sell poppies leading up to Remembrance Day on Nov. 11. All of the proceeds go towards helping veterans.

 

[TollKeeper]

Tried handing out candy, not a single door knock.

Time to take my kids out, went to the local fire station. We were the only ones to show all night.

 

[Mooseman]

We had 14 kids show up tonight while we were watching Beetlejuice. My eldest son was also here for dinner since he missed Thanksgiving.

 

[xavierny25]

Morimoto hids and relay kit on my work supervisors 2016 Dodge Durango.
A bit of a rant but... the truck comes with projectors from the factory why would they put halogen bulbs that are no brighter then the fog lights in. My guess is so that I can make money installing hid and led kits in them. Lol

 

[TollKeeper]

I am actually very seriously considering on of those Durangos...

 

[xavierny25]

I am actually very seriously considering on of those Durangos...

The wife and I also did for while but I've driven a few and can't stand the road noise inside the cabin. I guess because of the unibody construction, even the wife asked why does it sound like this at 40k and our 225k mile envoy is so silent down the road.

 

[northcreek]

The wife and I also did for while but I've driven a few and can't stand the road noise inside the cabin. I guess because of the unibody construction, even the wife asked why does it sound like this at 40k and our 225k mile envoy is so silent down the road.

I think the higher up you go in trim the quieter (more refined they are) My JGC Summit is every bit as quiet as the Denali that it replaced. For those that don't know, the Durango is a stretched (three row) JGC.

 

[xavierny25]

I think the higher up you go in trim the quieter (more refined they are) My JGC Summit is every bit as quiet as the Denali that it replaced. For those that don't know, the Durango is a stretched (three row) JGC.

Dyno mat is also an option but then everything would have to be pulled out and it really does put some added weight on the truck.

 

[northcreek]

Dyno mat is also an option but then everything would have to be pulled out and it really does put some added weight on the truck.

Looking at my build sheet I see several things to suppress noise like,
Active Noise Control System, Acoustic Glass,Premium Insulation Group to mention a few. So I guess as the price goes up, the noise goes down....

 

[BrianF]

Made some ribs tonight. F'ing good. No staged photos so guys like you can't make fun of me.

The other morning she was a bit crisp. Snapped a photo of the neighbour at the end of my driveway.

 

[northcreek]

And I'm guess'n Buffalo burgers tomorrow ....

 

[Matt]

A bit of a rant but... the truck comes with projectors from the factory why would they put halogen bulbs that are no brighter then the fog lights in.

Kia does the same thing. The Seltos and Sportage don't get LED's unless you get the top trim spec. It costs fuckall to put in LED bulbs in projectors.

 

[Mooseman]

I can't figure out GM. My 2021 has regular turn/brake signal bulbs but the parkings are LED. My nephew's 2500 Sierra has full LEDs and it's not a Denali. Could be a slightly higher trim since he has leather seats. So that could be my next mod.

 

[Matt]

Here's another one. Full LED interior, LED brake, park and forward lights, but halogen license, reverse and indicators in the back...how does that make sense? As a bonus, I can't change the reverse or indicator lights because they go in from the bottom, not the back.

 

[BrianF]

Well we are or were supposed to get a big snow storm..... hours later it has yet to show. Because of that I put the blade on the quad, topped its fuel up, then moved onto the rotation of my ope. The riding mower was put in storage, the sleds brought out and ensured the snow blower runs.

Well the John Deere 1028e blower fired first pull and so did my Evinrude. My Golden Ghost was not so lucky. She took for ever for the primer to prime and the impulse pump was looking weak. I pulled all the lines apart and she could draw fuel but for some reason would not fill the carb. I pulled the carb, too which I found the float, needle valve and vent were all working. WTF I say. Of course I lost one of the mounting nuts..... right down the cooling shroud.... into no man's land. Thankfully its not interfering with anything. Just have to hit town now to source a fine thread nut.

I'm hoping the fuel pump is just a bit gummed up from sitting and will loosen up with fresh gas in her.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

Been a while since I was on! Trying to return to the normal here. Have still 5 - 6 months to go till I am free from this country, started my visa applications for Canada and US.

In other news the TB has had some servicing done by my dad, new headlights thrown on etc.. Hope everyone is safe and hopefully now that I have some more time I will try to be more active again.

Love the new tags under the usernames

@Mooseman Gonna need you to point me in the direction of the pictures for your new truck!!

 

[Mooseman]

@$ Khalid ! 9130 , These are the original pics as well as the whole thinking process of the purchase if you need a little light reading :

Thinking of the Baby Duramax

Looking a bit, the problem I find is they're mostly high km and/or lifted and/or clapped out. I'm just gonna keep an eye out and if something comes up, I'll look at it.

gmtnation.com

and with the new running boards:

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

The catch on my OEM sunglasses holder broke yesterday so I'm going to the local Pull-a-part to see if any of the TB's there have one. You gotta quit using it as a Taco holder....

gmtnation.com

I should start a build thread although I probably won't be modding it too much. Might swap out the incandescent brake, turn and license lights to LED but the owners manual gives this ominous warning:


I think they're just wanting to sell their LED uplevel LED housings.

Today, I'm going to shop for a snow brush. Woke up to a light dusting of snow and remembered that I don't have one for the Sierra.

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

@Mooseman I guess I do have some catching up to do. I was looking around if you had a build thread up.

Off to bed now, some projects to get up to early tmrw

 

[northcreek]

Winterizing the Turfcat and decided to put new tires on for next years mowing. After dicking around a day trying to get the tires to seal on the wide rims (the right way) with no success I did it the redneck way with brake cleaner and a match, works (almost) every time ...

 

[azswiss]

Picked up the jeep radiator from the repair shop today and reinstalled it this afternoon. Had the work done at a local family owned shop that has been there for 50 years. There were pinholes in the base of the filler neck and the coolant reservoir overflow tube as well as two more on the bottom side. Also had it cleaned for good measure. Gotta love the simplicity of older vehicles (this is an '85). Removal & reinstallation involved 2 hose clamps, 4 nuts (fan clutch to water pump) & 4 bolts (radiator & shroud mounts). All readily accessible!!

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

Setting up a website for my startup. Content is in local format as I had to use the region locked to India. Will be changing once I leave from here

https://khairgroupofcompanies.com/

Feedback is appreciated

 

[Matt]

Winterizing the Turfcat and decided to put new tires on for next years mowing. After dicking around a day trying to get the tires to seal on the wide rims (the right way) with no success I did it the redneck way with brake cleaner and a match, works (almost) every time ...

A ratchet strap works well too.

 

[northcreek]

A ratchet strap works well too.

Couldn't quite get there using the strap method, had to resort to detonation...