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

[Mooseman]

So guys, just to confirm, it is not the 5/8" clips as those are for the evap?

I'm not sure myself. There are two ot three different sizes IIRC. That's why I got the variety pack when I needed them.

 

[BrianF]

Some guy on the old forum gave the Dorman parts # 800-023, which is the pic I posted. If they ever come in or I find a local source of them I will confirm and let everyone know.

 

[Mike534x]

Made a trip home to grab the floor jack, the nub/rubber bushing thing for the shifter linkage broke when reversing into a spot. Couldn't figure out why the cluster showed it was in "Reverse" while the shifter was in Park. Thought maybe the electronics were acting goofy, so turned it off.....and the truck wouldn't start. Thought maybe the it was the parking safety switch. I'm not thin enough to wedge myself under, so out came the phone and I managed to snag a pic of the linkage. Bushing was gone, and the linkage was sitting parallel to it. I have no idea how some people managed to use a zip tie to keep it together, especially with the metal pin or whatever that sticks out from the switch. So there was still enough "grip" to push it back in and baby shift it back into drive and get it down the street to the shop my work uses for our company vehicles.

All in all......the truck won't be ready until tomorrow morning with a $256 repair bill (new linkage cable and whatever else they ordered). I would do the repair myself, but I'm too keen on working on it with how cold its been (8-12* F these past few weeks in NWI). Still cheaper then the $500-1,200 some of the other shops around here want.


My summer list was literally getting the shifter repair pin from ATFspeed too so I wouldn't have to worry about it happening down the line.....

 

[Blckshdw]

the truck won't be ready until tomorrow morning with a $256 repair bill (new linkage cable and whatever else they ordered)

Yikes, I hope they are actually replacing the cable for you, charging that much. Instead of just getting the replacement bushing for under $20 and popping it back in place. 🙏

 

[Mike534x]

Yikes, I hope they are actually replacing the cable for you, charging that much. Instead of just getting the replacement bushing for under $20 and popping it back in place. 🙏

From what I'm aware, its a new linkage, cable and whatever else that's needed. I did attempt finding the bushing locally, but nobody had it. I did see it on Amazon, but the heater in the garage took a dump last winter otherwise I would've rigged it somehow until it came in and crawled under to work on it.

If only it would've held off a few more weeks!

 

[flyboy2610]

In about 3 hours after it warms up a bit I get to go stand outside and replace the thermostat and coolant temperature sensor on my '04 TB 4.2. Fun, fun. Won't be as bad as replacing a radiator on a Plymouth mini van over Christmas break like I had to do several years ago. Go outside, do a little work, come in and warm up, repeat, repeat, repeat.

 

[Blckshdw]

Listened to the engine on the evening commute.... Every now and again, I'll get that low oil pressure message for a brief second, and then it goes away for months on end. Well today I was leaving work and it came on while doing 35 down a side street, and stayed there. Turned a corner onto a faster moving street, still there. Pulled into a gas station to check the oil level which was fine, and to get a closer listen to the engine which also sounded fine. No ticking, tapping or knocking.

Continued driving and the message went away, needle back to around center. It would waver a bit, and the message came on 2 more times before I was halfway home, and then went back to normal the rest of the way. After getting home, poked around in the engine bay a bit, figured I would check to see if I could get at the pressure sensor connector to see if there was any oil in it, and saw this...




For a second I thought it could have been from the oil change fiasco last year when the filter didn't seal and it puked oil everywhere. But I degreased as much as I could, and this mess is localized right around the sensor. Plus the filter is below it so... Will order a new one, and try to get to it this weekend.

Seems like a pain in the ass to get access to. Do you guys recommend going in from the top, or from underneath?

 

[flyboy2610]

Time to do an oil change. Is this a 4.2? The sensor is located right above the filter. Once the filter is removed it's easy to get to. Can't remember right offhand what the socket size is, though. A 3/8 drive flex head ratchet makes getting old sensor off and the new one on easy. Adds maybe 5 minutes to an oil change.

 

[Mooseman]

I think you can get a straight shot at it from the wheel well since that's also the way I get to the oil filter to avoid a hot black shower on my arm. However I've never had to change that sender. @flyboy2610 's method sounds good too.

 

[Blckshdw]

Yeah I was thinking of going through the wheel well. Took a peek in there last night with a light, and could see some oil on the frame rail too, so pulling the wheel will be the easiest way to get some degreaser in there, and maybe a brush. I think it was August when I changed the oil last, and the OLM is only at 86% so I'll wait on the oil change. Morning commute was normal, if I hadn't seen the oily mess under there, I'd probably leave it alone. But now it's bugging me. New sensor will be here this afternoon.

The other weird thing is the oil pattern. When I did the oil last year and got messy, I cleaned everything as best I could. In the pic I took yesterday, the oil filter doesn't have any of that oily grime on it like the sensor housing above it does, or the immediate surrounding areas. So that would make me think the leak started long before that, except that area got cleaned, so the leak should have happened after that, but why is the filter seemingly clean?

 

[coolride]

I looked over that image, and don't much of anything that looks wrong. The oil that I see looks like it's been there a long time. The sensor wires look like maybe they could be loose? Now would be a good time to get one of those real oil pressure gauges.

 

[Blckshdw]

Last night after work, put the front passenger side up on a jack stand and pulled the wheel. Got my splash tub out and parked it under the LCA. Sprayed some Simple Green everywhere I saw old oil and let it sit for a bit. Rinsed that off, and things look a lot better under there. Poked around with a bright light, and determined the oil mess was from the CPAS Degreased that area and rinsed it down as well. I'll keep an eye on it, and see if that was a leak from before I replaced it a few years ago...

Today after work, got to work on the sensor. Tried to go in through the wheel well, but due to the length of my arms, I couldn't quite get the right grip to be comfortable, so ended up going from underneath anyway. Got the old sensor out, and the pigtail socket was full of oil, as was the plug itself. Sprayed out the plug with electronics cleaner, and let that dry while putting the new one in.

Got it hand tight, figured I might as well torque it to spec just because. Well the HF click stop wrench I used, didn't click, but it stopped permanently. Something didn't feel right when tightening the sensor, I felt like I was pushing too hard. As a test, I swapped the socket out for a 19mm and tried it on one of the lug nuts. Figured being set to 15 ft-lbs it should click right away, but it didn't. The drive head snapped off in my adapter instead. At least it's done now, a little peace of mind goes a long way.

 

[flyboy2610]

At least you got it done!

 

[BrianF]

Well my Amazon order for the fuel line retaining clips never did ship after a month of waiting. They gave a new time line of another month.... so I ordered online at Cambodian tire... only to have them cancel the order. Turns out its store dependant when you order so off I went order from another neighboring store..... now will play the waiting game on that...

 

[JerryIrons]

Well my Amazon order for the fuel line retaining clips never did ship after a month of waiting. They gave a new time line of another month.... so I ordered online at Cambodian tire... only to have them cancel the order. Turns out its store dependant when you order so off I went order from another neighboring store..... now will play the waiting game on that...

Well you could be like the dealer when I had my fuel pump replaced 100 years ago under that sender recall, hooked a fuel line up to the fuel pump with a zip tie instead of one of those clips, must have been out of stock.

It held for quite a while too, because I replaced that pump again. No autozone or etc in your area? Pretty sure you can buy them there, of course in today's world who knows. There are two sizes used as I'm sure you know.

 

[Beacon]

Towed a boat, which I've owned for 6 years and has never been wet. I need more free time. Changed the oil, by far the longest time I've let that go, 11% left according to the dash. And made a purchase for another thread.

 

[BrianF]

A buddy had suggested a zip tie as a last ditch effort as well but the location of this connector was just too tight of a fit to so that, which sucks as I would have tried.

So, second Cambodian tire canceled my order. I was in a different city today and their Napa didn't have them but oh wait they could get them in next day, great, I won't be back in the area for who knows how long.

Looks like I will order from Rockauto but will have to make a larger order, not paying 16 bucks to ship a 4 dollar part.

 

[azswiss]

A beautiful day outside, garage doors open and temperature was perfect (72F). Rotated the tires. 40K miles on the Michelin LTX AT2's, uniform wear & tread across all tires. Pressures good and torqued to spec.

 

[flyboy2610]

Drove it to and from church today. Chilly and windy out today. Good day to stay inside, so that's what I'm doing!

 

[Mektek]

Replaced the heater hoses - originals from 01. I could not remove the quick connects and they broke while trying. I had a 3/4" hose with a right angle bend on the shelf and a piece of 5/8 hose leftover from another job. Cut off the leftovers of the quick connects and clamped new hoses directly onto the heater core fittings. The original hoses don't look bad - I suspect the 20 yr old thin plastic connectors had small cracks which seeped. My neighbor fried his duramax diesel from failed plastic quick connects - I'm very glad I caught it before complete failure......

 

[Blckshdw]

This morning the EXT cranked over slow enough that the DIC reset its display to the main odometer. Battery is just over 2 years old. Other than a quick trip to the grocery store Monday, I hadn't driven the truck since Thursday. Less a minute into the drive, there was an electrical event. Dash lights all came on, needles reset, radio/amp cut out, interior lights/side mirror lights shut off as well, and then everything came back on looking normal. (maybe that's where the system switches over from battery to alternator power? ) The last time something like that happened, one of the battery bolts had gotten loose enough that the cable wasn't making consistent connection.

At a stop sign, opened the battery monitor app on my phone so I could see what was happening, but nothing. It was stuck on the data from a few weeks ago when I checked on it after sitting for days without use. Couple of minutes later at a red light, went into the settings to try and manually connect, but it didn't list the device available. Checked BT settings, same thing. At first, I thought one of the accessory battery nuts became loose and the spade connector for the battery monitor had slipped out, causing the glitch I saw. Quickly dismissed that, as the relay harness for my HIDs and 5 channel amp are hooked up in the same way, and those were still working just fine.

Got to work, popped the hood for a quick glance, nuts were still snug on their posts and everything in place. Until I get home for further testing, I'm assuming the battery monitor is fried. If that's the case, it lasted 1 week short of a full year. Glad it was only $30

 

[BrianF]

So I was in town yesterday and stopped in a little auto parts store. They had some loose retainer clips and one for a gm they tossed me. Get home to try it out and the clip was some weird plastic that snapped in half just trying to install it in the -10c air. Plus the clip was to big anyways. Then smashed my head on the frozen ground. Swore a bit more and aid i would burn the thing down but I can't because she has no gas. Bitch lives another day. Got some clips on order from a Canadian company so hopefully there are no border hiccups.

 

[Blckshdw]

... and of course on the drive home this evening, everything acted like what happened this morning, didn't... Battery monitor was recognized and showing a good charge. 🤷‍♂️

 

[Reprise]

Battery monitor was recognized and showing a good charge. 🤷‍♂️

Just as an FYI -- I've noticed that if the battery gets low enough, the monitor stops reporting / responding. I think that level is about 11.8v or so... by 11.6v, it's definitely not reporting. But as you saw, if the battery charges up past there, it'll start working again. The period that it's not reporting is lost, of course... and I think the prior history is lost, as well. In short, it starts out 'clean'.

You'll notice the same for a disconnection event -- the prior stored history is volatile, IIRC.

Guessing there's a spot of code in the module to have it quiesce if the battery gets too low, rather than help drain the last bit of voltage out of it (it becomes a reminder for me that I really do need to put the charger on it...lol.)

The data that you see on the phone is stored in the module; the phone itself is just the display mechanism.

According to Amazon, I bought mine in Jan 2020, so it's about 2yrs old now, and in use for almost all of that time, tbh.

 

[Blckshdw]

I was aware of most of that, except for the thresholds, so that's good to know. Checking the history, it stops at last Friday night @9pm. Was at 12.1v there, the last 2 morning starts (Monday and today) were 11.9v, so right around that mark you mentioned. The strange event I saw, isn't reflected in the graph, so the timeline is pretty strange. The confusing part was, during the 25 minute commute, the monitor never appeared to come online, as I left my phone open in the app the whole drive. It's a mystery

When I get some free time this weekend, I'll dig around and find my alligator clamp leads for my meter and do some checking for a parasitic draw.

 

[Reprise]

I was aware of most of that, except for the thresholds, so that's good to know. Checking the history, it stops at last Friday night @9pm. Was at 12.1v there, the last 2 morning starts (Monday and today) were 11.9v, so right around that mark you mentioned. The strange event I saw, isn't reflected in the graph, so the timeline is pretty strange. The confusing part was, during the 25 minute commute, the monitor never appeared to come online, as I left my phone open in the app the whole drive. It's a mystery

When I get some free time this weekend, I'll dig around and find my alligator clamp leads for my meter and do some checking for a parasitic draw.

After taking my battery out of the Sierra, charging it to float, and then letting it self-discharge, I can see that it discharges to the point where it needs a recharge much more slowly than when in the truck & connected. So I've got some type of parasitic drain, too. I always bad-mouthed the Wally World battery (their best FLA) but I've got proof now that the truck helps drain it (a lot) quicker.

The thing was, my first Sierra did it, too (which is why I always suspected the WM batteries were at fault -- I ran the same model in both trucks, and replaced both, too.)

Once I get the Sierra back in the garage, I'll be looking to isolate where mine is (and MRRSM made a post awhile back about tracking them down, so I've got that open in a new tab, just waiting for me to jump into the job). My top candidates are the DDM and the keyless entry / security system, along with the OnStar module that's still in the truck, as those are all known battery killers.

I have an AGM in the Envoy, and it does drain much more slowly, as AGMs are advertised to do. If you find out yours is marginal, I'd recommend the AGM, myself, just for peace of mind. After the 'full replacement' warranty is up on the Sierra's Walmart FLA battery, I'll probably get another AGM for that truck (or two, as I'm thinking about a dual-battery conversion).

I got the AGM for the Envoy (edit: Duracell) at Batteries Plus Bulbs (or whatever they call themselves this month.) When I got mine, I saved $ by buying it online, then picking up at the store, so check out their website, if you go that way. They were the cheapest (non-Walmart) option, when I got mine a couple of years ago, and they have a full 5yr warranty (non-prorated).

 

[Blckshdw]

So I've got some type of parasitic drain, too. I always bad-mouthed the Wally World battery (their best FLA) but I've got proof now that the truck helps drain it (a lot) quicker.

I have a couple of culprits in mind too. An oddity that I noticed a while back, when I was going back through my dashcam clips looking for something, I came across one that technically shouldn't have happened. I got home from work, backed into the garage like always, and there's a clip of my walking out of the garage from the driver's side of the truck, down the driveway to get the mail and walk back.

The HU always goes to sleep as soon as I open the door, but I guess it's still leaving power to the dashcam if it's continuing to record afterwards. Generally the last view is always static, either my across the street neighbor's garage door, the back of my garage door, or the parking lot at work. So I always thought that was just the end of the clip when I arrived at my destination.

I figure it stands to reason if the HU is still powering the dashcam, it's likely keeping the 5 channel amp turned on as well. My 2 rear cameras are connected to a relay that's triggered by the amp turn on wire, so they could be running longer than they need to as well.

I got the AGM for the Envoy (an Energizer) at Batteries Plus Bulbs (or whatever they call themselves this month.)

I picked up a Duracell AGM from them this last time. I too had been using the Walmart batteries for the last few rotations, but had been replacing them at the end of their 3 year warranties. Wanted a 5 year, and figured I'd be all set with this one. Should be interesting to see what happens when I tinker with the radio and how it affects the battery when the key is off. Or if there's more to the drain than that.

 

[aaserv]

Weather eased up so I finally got around to the oil pressure switch. Wasnt to hard to get to, couldnt actually see it but with the right extensions it popped right out. Didnt like the quality of the ACDelco replacement at all... that same plastic looking metal as the elcheapos from the any auto parts store. Not easy getting it started in the hole but eventually got it in. Due to the angle of the sockets though I really couldnt get a good feel of how tight I was getting it. And not wanting to overtighten it due to the low quality of the metal means Ill have to keep an eye on it for leaking but it works just fine now.

Then I found a video on YT where you put the knock sensors in the cyl head and it saves all the work of having to remove the intake etc. Tried it and it was very simple. Took 10 mins. Have no idea if it will work or not. Deleted the codes and after 25 miles or so they havent come back....yet! If I remember right it went a lil farther than that when i reset them before so Ill know more in a few days if its going to actually work or not. Something else I was surprised to learn is that when the comp pops the knock sensor code it changes the timing advance settings to adjust for engine knocking. Delete the codes and the timing goes back to normal and it runs a lot better. A very noticeable change...once you know about it

 

[Mounce]

Little headlight restoration, got the outside pretty nice, realized I have internal oxidation as well.


Also got some dual tails going a little while back after my old led tails started acting up.

 

[Mike534x]

Taking her to another tire shop. First joint didn't properly balance the tires, it was fine for a week and slowly developed a vibration. Took it Tuesday to the same place to have it redone, it still feels off like it's not fully balanced correctly. Noticed that they didn't break the bead and reseat the tire on round 2, and just moved/added more weights. Rears went from 11 to 12 weights on both wheels, and the fronts are at 6 and 9. Shop tried blaming all 4 wheels being bent, and the suspension in both front to back being shot. Didn't have any balancing issues or vibrations with the Yokohama's up until these were put on. The Yoko's needed 3-4 on each wheel, I firmly believe this shop wasn't doing it correctly.

Called Tirerack the day before, they want me to take it to their preferred shop a few towns over that have a Road Force/Hunter machine. Bright side is they're reimbursing me for the rebalancing, and if they're out of round I'll be able to get replacements and have the cost of rebalancing those reimbursed.

 

[Mike534x]

Update: Tires are pretty much balanced, for the most part. Where the other shop had the weights placed, didn't match up with where the machine was saying they should be. So 3 of the tires are balanced, one wheel has a very minor bend but it's nowhere near enough to affect or throw it off. The 4th tire is being replaced though, Roadforce was showing it putting down 20 lbs. But the tire wouldn't balance out. So it falls under Toyos warranty, so that's being covered thankfully.

Ride wise, everything feels near perfect. Tirerack reimbursed me for the full cost of the rebalance so I'll see that in a few days. Oh and called corporate on the first shop to get my money back. Not only did they refund it, they matched what I spent at the other place. I pretty much just walked away with an extra $20 in my pocket.

 

[littleblazer]

It's kind of nice that the worst maintenance I've had to do in the last 3 years is rotate the tires. Big bath day, pressure washer on the undercarriage (the colorados are powdercoated just like our trucks are so I'm not sending wax everywhere doing this.) Body and interior. Even got a coat of ceramic on it. Then jumped the TB because it was sitting since October. Oddly enough so was the sierra and that fired right up...

 

[flyboy2610]

Drove it home from work and changed the oil.

 

[aaserv]

I knew things had been going too good for too long...... Van starting chugging yesterday on the way home....Fuel pump? Convertor stopped up? Left out this morning no problem until it got good and warm. Then the problem presented itself...transmission slipping....Bad! I was already late for an appointment so i limped on to it. Its slipping like crazy, banging into gear. Left the call and went to autoZ. No lucas slip fix but i added a quart of fluid. Pulled out and it feels fine. Left the light and its like brand new....until it hit about 4th gear (6 speed 6L90).....no 4th gear and rpms go thru the roof. I pull over again. wait a few minutes and then limp in 1st and 2nd to a shop near by. Trans is shot. Fluid is brown, stinks, etc. Damn, I only got 303K miles out the damn thing. O well they dont build them like they used to. We can replace it no problem, 8 day wait for delivery though and we'll need a down payment... No problem how much we talking? $3000 Wait the down payment is $3000??? How much is the whole job? $4250...but we'll knock off the 110 for diagnosis......Well arent you a great guy!

8 days with no truck? No problem cus I got a great running Envoy at home been waiting for daily use!!! I get a ride to the house pick it up and head back to load all my tools and crap into it. Show the mechanic my knock sensor job, show off my new Bilsteins all around..... Get in turn the Key and .........NOTHING!! Nada, not a click, nothing happens. Mechanic crawls underneath and raps the starter and it eventually fires up.
Im not 100% convinced its the starter so Ill ck it tomorrow at home. Popped the shift linkage bushing last weekend and hit it with the zip ties so maybe enough play to throw off the postion switch? Key didnt really feel right and I heard no clicking at all when trying to start so maybe the ign switch????? Who knows so ill ck it tomorrow..........and on the way home the CEL came on again so maybe the Knock sensor placement change didnt work after all............ I knew things had been going to well lately

 

[Reprise]

Changed the oil / filter on the Envoy. I don't think it was 'quite' time, but I apparently forgot to reset the OLM the last time, and it hit '0%' the other day in the DIC (and also turned on the 'Change Eng Oil' lamp in the cluster -- which doesn't come on until 0% -- not good
Tried out my new oil filter wrench from HF, as well -- finally, one that works well

I have to say... maybe it's how quickly the job goes... but it was cathartic to change it out. Few things in (my) life give me so much satisfaction, for so little effort. Or maybe it's a 'guy' thing? 🤷‍♂️

 

[BrianF]

Well boys, the retaining clips made it in from partsavatar. Tried them and other than shipping cost they were good to deal with. Also two days ago Amazon says they shipped those parts we ordered way back then. Whatever.

Tomorrow I will see about getting her all buttoned back up.

 

[BrianF]

Finally found time to out her together. Of course it was windy and cold. The black, 3/8" clip was what I needed.

Of course the angle of attack and amount of exposed fuel line coming from the tank made it harder, I was able to use my alien twig arms to get her done. Ensured I heard the audible click and the old tug to be sure.

I couldn't hear the pump prime so I had a little pucker but I hit the Schrader valve at the rail and she farted a bit and then fuel followed. She runs like a top now.

Now down to one non drivable vehicle on the lot....

 

[aaserv]

Was tooling around Rock Auto.... Looking for upper and lower radiator hoses. Want OEM quality hoses and it appears that 1 of them is no longer available. So anyway I ordered the 1 they do have and was looking at other things. They have new headlights available for $48 each. I mean you pay $30 for 1 of those lens cleaning kits and then spend a few hours doing it. For around $100 bucks w tax I get NEW lens, New bulbs all the way around and it takes 15 mins to to change them....Sounds like a deal to me! Got them in today and put them on and looks brand new . I think I got a bargain...

 

[Blckshdw]

While in the garage this morning, it dawned on me to check the status of my battery. Since it gets low after 4 days of not being driven, I figured why not see where it was after 36 hours of downtime. Not entirely to my surprise, the app said the battery was drained. As I put the charger on it, I went to check the history of the last few days, and saw something quite interesting.

This is Wednesday, normal work day in the office. Pretty big voltage drop to start the morning commute, but other than that, looks normal



Thursday, I also went to the office. No crazy voltage drop in the morning, but around 3pm, something woke up and threw a damn party. The 3rd spike is from the evening commute, but as you can see, whatever was happening, continued until Friday morning around 3am before going to sleep for good.




Charger is on it now, last time on the low setting, took an hour to fill back up. I'm suspecting either the OnStar module, or the radio. Pulled the OnStar fuse, and will monitor things more closely for the next week to see if this weirdness happens again. Not to mention see if the rate of drain on the battery changes.

I may disconnect the radio later. I can go without tunes for a couple of days. Seeing how the dashcam continued to record long after RAP tells things to turn off seems problematic. 👎 But yeah, whatever was happening for 12 hours is beyond strange.

 

[2001ZR2]

I got a call from my wife she was locked out the Envoy because neither the fob or the key would open the door. $85 dollars later and 45 minute wait for the tow truck to unlock the door I found the battery was dead. Pulled off the door panel and found the rod retainer clip had broken at the lock cylinder got that fixed.

So here is the weird part the blower motor kicked on while the keys were on the floorboard as I removed the panel. I turned the key and the fan stopped. Made sure the HVAC system was off and a hour later I heard the fan again when I returned with the new clip.

I will replace the blower speed resistor today if the weather holds...also dying slowly by letting my son replace the front end components on his 2001 blazer..