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

[azswiss]

Do you have 4x4 transfer case pulling requirements on that operation too?

The front diff has to be lowered in order to remove the pan. Not technically complex but it does involve a little wrangling. Key learning: by cutting the steering all the way to the left I could get another 1"or so of clearance between the diff body and the steering linkage. Every little bit helps.

 

[808]

Gentlemen I would encourage you to precedently and preemptively renounce the promiscuity of ***BRASS DUST*** from your delicate shop environment. Remember, it's disease is that of promiscuity to a gleeful marriage of integrity. Avoid this sedition at all costs. Be ye not tempted to endear it to your use. Remember it's cling and it's grip, it is the terror and the horror that shall make the PPM $CASH FOR CLUNKER$ GRIT. I have been spared. I had forgotten it's absolute infection to surfaces.

 

[TJBaker57]

What did I do to my GMT?

Not today, but yesterday I intentionally shorted the 5 volt reference signals of the MAP sensor and then the cooling fan speed sensors to ground.

 

[Mooseman]

Gentlemen I would encourage you to precedently and preemptively renounce the promiscuity of ***BRASS DUST*** from your delicate shop environment. Remember, it's disease is that of promiscuity to a gleeful marriage of integrity. Avoid this sedition at all costs. Be ye not tempted to endear it to your use. Remember it's cling and it's grip, it is the terror and the horror that shall make the PPM $CASH FOR CLUNKER$ GRIT. I have been spared. I had forgotten it's absolute infection to surfaces.

Huh?

So had the TB towed to the DIY shop for its eventual double bypass surgery. But as luck would be, the replacement fuel line came in minutes later (early by 3 days! Thanks Fedex). The shop is getting another lift installed and is swamped with work so may be delayed.

 

[808]

Huh?

So had the TB towed to the DIY shop for its eventual double bypass surgery. But as luck would be, the replacement fuel line came in minutes later (early by 3 days! Thanks Fedex). The shop is getting another lift installed and is swamped with work so may be delayed.
View attachment 106448View attachment 106449

Dude I'm stoked that you got that fuel line early!!!!

- re:brass dust - I was turning a brass fitting into a steel port that was a little tight, and just from *two threads* and moving around my shop for a few minutes, I discovered that, amazingly enough, I then had brass dust imprinted into my leathers, ground into my chem gloves, hanging on my sleeves, hanging *just* shy of my camshaft cover, I mean... it was *horrifying*.

The worst thing that could've happened would've been a compressed air blast or a fan tripped on, because that sticky schmoo was *headed for the naked engine pre-prime goo*.

I spent at least 4 hours ziploc bagging and solvent cleaning everything... my calipers were among the assaulted, I mean, it was some destabilizing trauma that I'll never forget.

 

[Mooseman]

Ah, so like a good glitter bomb.

 

[Mooseman]

Yesterday, finally replaced the fuel line from the tank to the fuel rail as it rusted out just above the transfer case. Went relatively well except that I again had problems inserting it onto the plastic line from the pump to the front of the tank (2nd and 3rd pics). Just really tight. Had to drop the front of the tank so we could get a good grab of it and I can push the new line onto it. Eventually it went click.



I did cut off the old line at both ends.

Then today, while on a trip to Homeless Despot, I thought I smelled gas again! My old French swear words started coming out! Get to the store and check, smell nothing. Either I was driving by a gas station that was being refuelled, it was another clunker leaking near me or it was my imagination. On the drive back, nothing. If it would have been leaking, I would have taken up smoking again just to have an excuse to light a match

 

[Blckshdw]

In 2 words.... FOAM CANNON!!

Since it was in the low 80s today, and my driveway is decently shaded after work, took out the pressure washer and gave the EXT a much needed bath. Some birds had tagged me pretty good, and the front rims were pretty grimey.

 

[flyboy2610]

An old Red Skelton routine:
There were these two seagulls, Gertrude and Heathcliffe. One day Gertrudes says "Hey, Heathcliffe, did you see farmer Brown got a new car?"
Heathcliffe says "Yeah, I spotted it yesterday!"

 

[Mooseman]

Picked up the Sierra from the dealer. Battery replaced and HVAC defrost mode fixed.

 

[TJBaker57]

I intentionally shorted the 5 volt reference signals of the MAP sensor and then the cooling fan speed sensors to ground

And not a soul asked why would I do such a thing!

All you regulars must be accustomed to me doing such things!

Occasionally we see someone reporting multiple codes and based on the particular type of code we might think there is a common 5 volt reference issue. But the service data doesn't seem to clearly indicate which sensors are on which 5 volt service. And when I have come across such information I don't think it has reconciled with my own testing of the P10 PCM. So I started a recording and verified which 5 volt reference each of those 2 sensors, MAP and Fan Speed, were connected to. Those two do NOT share a 5 volt source on a P10 PCM. I have yet to move on to other sensors primarily due to cold weather.

And BTW, if you short your MAP 5 volt reference circuit to ground your engine quite immediately dies. At least mine did.

Also on my to-do list is test the 5 volt references for continuity on a P12 PCM.

 

[aaserv]

Envoy has been at the transmission shop for 3 weeks now. I was told when I dropped it off 3 mondays ago it would be would ready on Friday.......Stupid Me completely forgot to ask which Friday he was referring to......3 Fridays later it still hasnt been touched. Going back Tuesday and if its not on a lift Ill have it towed to another shop. I agreed to be substantially overcharged to get my work done by the shop who in over a year of research I determined to be the best rebuilder in the city. Well I dont need a 2 x 4 across the forehead to realize he doesnt have time to repair my car....... Im sure this entire adventure wont end well but thats the latest in the continuing saga of my repairs to this truck...

 

[TollKeeper]

Replaced the U-Joints on the Envoy to get rid of a vibration.. All went smooth, had to borrow the neighbors torch..

Took it for a test drive... Did not get rid of the vibration... DAMNIT!

 

[Blckshdw]

Finally broke down and got some replacement washer fluid pumps. Time to get those put in since the weather was perfect. After running into an issue doing this for a friend, where the replacement pump was DOA, and we didn't find this out until after everything was installed, I opted to pull the harnesses and test both of them before pulling the dead ones, and losing a ton of fluid.



Took advantage of the extra ground clearance up front, and slid my super catch bin (cut off piece of a 50 gallon drum) with some puppy litter to catch the spillage. Caught most of it, but still missed some. There's not a ton on the garage floor, so that should dry up soon enough.

 

[TollKeeper]

I just replaced the washer motors on mine 2 weekends ago. The headlight washer motor shorted out internally, blew the fuse, which also takes out the rear wiper washer.

I was at a salvage yard and just grabbed a pocket full of them off of GMC Envoys with headlights washers. They worked! Total cost was 7 bucks plus gas!

 

[BrianF]

Mine is back to sitting. Its tires got aired up and I began digging as to why the rear wiper is barely working. It did this before when the wires chafed. The shaft was seizing up from lack of use. I got it to somewhat work but I think this weekend I will remove the whole works and buff out and grease her up

 

[aaserv]

Got my Envoy Friday from the tranny shop. Replaced the rear seal, starter and rebuilt the tranny. Tranny seems ok. I was hoping for a little more ughhhh "impactful" shifts but it seems fine I guess.
Biggest difference is with the starter. Damn was my old one dragging. Hit the switch and it spins fast! Shocked how much improvement it made.
Next problem to solve ....have a small power steering leak right out of the top line of the pump. Also I noticed when I picked it up the lifter tick is louder than i remember and after driving a few miles I smell oil burning. I have a feeling the test driver at the shop put the beans to it hard. Due to the tranny Ive never really wound up the RPM'S. It feels like it was dogged pretty good... Ive got 215K miles so a little tick is to be expected but its very noticeable now. The oils smell is whats puzzling. Every gasket and seal on it has been replaced and I see no sign of oil anywhere but stop at a light with the window down and I smell oil. No wisps coming off the motor when I get home. Thought it might could be the power steering fluid blowing on the motor but its a very small leak and i see no discoloration on the motor behind the pump. I did replace the oil sending unit which is not readily visible on the rear of the motor. Maybe a trickle there? Im going to take a pic of the area and see if i can see anything but I thought I got it pretty tight.
Im about to go out now and try to remove the rear piece where the license plate goes. It was removed improperly in the past and was caulked and screwed back in. The caulk looks like crap now. I am afraid that whatever clips, etc that held it in originally are now broken but will cross that bridge when I get there.

 

[Blckshdw]

During a couple of commutes last week, the brakes felt "off" during light braking at low speeds. Not quite a grind feeling, but definitely not smooth or normal. The week before, I thought I heard the wear indicators chirping, so it was definitely time to change the brakes.

Have had the Adaptive One pads in a box on the shelf for almost 5 years now, the R1 Concepts pads and rotors I bought in 2016 lasted me this long, so I'm quite happy with that purchase. They did start to squeak on me, which made me buy the AOs, but some 'brake quiet' on the back of the pads did the trick.

Next pad change, may need to check thickness on the rotors. While both surfaces were still pretty smooth, there's a definite ridge at the inner and outer edge, where the pads don't make rotor contact. Still had to fully compress the calipers in order to get them down and seated once the new pads were in.

Cleaned and regreased the slide pins, didn't borrow my friend's brake bleeder, so didn't get around to flushing new fluid, but that can wait a while. Wheels back on, dropped it down, torqued up the lugs, and put a little air in the tires.

Compressor kicked on as expected, but when it stopped, started leaking air somewhere in the regulator area. Didn't stop until it got around 95 psi. So that's an issue for another day.

Staged pics, just because.




Yep, these are DEFINITELY shot!

 

[aaserv]

Took the back door apart to access the license plate section. As expected it wasnt pretty. The light bulb holder assembly was just hanging in place, all the tabs but the 2 at the bottom of the section were broken off. Around the hole in the door they had applied silicon and it was a bitch to get it off. Been on there for years I guess. I tried various ways to get it off and none were easy. Even broke out a sander but that was useless. Ended up using contact cleaner and a razor knife blade. Still took about an hour but it did get it all off down to the paint.
Was doing some research on the gaskets and came across some surprising info ( if true). It seems that originally the plate holder was sealed to the door by the inner gasket only and later after a lot of leaking problems they went with the black rubber gasket that goes all around the outside of the holder. Mine had both so I guess its been into multiple times as I cant believe someone who just ripped it off the truck would have went to the trouble of buying the updated gasket and then sealing it with silicone. Anyway I glued the inner gasket back into place and am letting it sit overnight held in place with duct tape. Im going to go to u-pull tomorrow and look for another plate holder. They show a white envoy in stock so hopefully its there and not broken.

Something else I ran across...the top piece on the door where the brake light resides is STILL available via GM. I was surprised until I saw they are selling it for $340 to $515 !!!!!!!! No wonder they still have a stock!! The outer gasket for the plate holder is also still available and oddly enough is only about $25 on Amazon but $45 from a GM Dealer. My local dealer doesnt have 1 in stock and I dont want to wait a few weeks to get it so Ill go back with the old 1 for the time being. Washed and cleaned all the inner door sections that you usually dont get to but while i had it apart it was pretty easy. Lubed all the hinges and locks, etc.
Fantastic weather today and with the new tranny Im just in the mood to fix her up a little. Ive hated the way that silicone looked since the day I bought the truck so feels good to get it off of there. Wish I had taken some pics before i started but here is a few after i had removed the silicone and glued the gasket back in place. The 1st one shows the broken tabs that once held it in place . The second you can see my tape job , the 3 holes on the tab are where they shot the sheetmetal screws that was holding it in place since the tabs broke.

 

[TollKeeper]

Took the Envoy our to get the tires checked for a blown belt, or wheel inbalance. Nothing..

I cant figure out where this vibration is coming from...

 

[flyboy2610]

Took the TB through the car wash. Had 9-1/2" of snow Thursday followed by 4 days of high temps in the upper 30's to around 50. Snow's pretty much gone, but the mud and slush don't do much for the TB's appearance!

 

[christo829]

Finally got around to replacing the rear shocks. Totally uneventful procedure until I was installing the second one. Wrench popped off the upper bolt when I was tightening it, and the side of my hand hit the rusty edge of the brake dust shield.

Stupid me was not wearing gloves, 'cause "what could go wrong" on a job I've done plenty of times before with other vehicles...

Gave blood to the truck, and the walk in clinic gave me two stitches after they more professionally debrided the wound, and felt that my tetanus shot was still good so I didn't need another one.

Yay me!

On the bright side, so far, the suture needle hurt more than the actual wound, even after I doused it in rubbing alcohol to flush it out.

Truck rides better, at least!

 

[aaserv]

Went to the u pull yard and no luck getting getting another piece. They are short on Envoys right now but a lot of TB's ...just none with a good license plate holder section.
Did some more investigating and it seems that once you use the "new" outer gasket you should remove the inner foam gasket. Makes sense. Also cking Rock Auto i have a new GM gasket on the way for $8.00. Should be here before the weekend. Bad news is they only had 1 in stock and it seems they may be discontinuing the item.

 

[Mooseman]

Not mine but @$ Khalid ! 9130 just came over for me to tune his "new to him" 2014 Yukon XL, most importantly turn off DOD and change TCC engagement a bit on the 6 speed tranny. Then we checked out a noise it's making. Sounds like a clunking noise just going straight or more pronounced turning left. Made it worse by putting it in 4HI. Feels like it could be the passenger front axle. He's leaving tomorrow but I'll see if I can book some time at the DIY garage so we can have a look at it and determine if it can wait or has to be done right away.

 

[Mooseman]

Well, we found out what was causing the noise!

The shop was able to do it right away, video evidence and documentation done, he'll be going after the stealership that sold it to him for selling a vehicle with a bogus safety. On top of that, they replaced the rotors but left the old pads! Now they also have to replace those as they were damaged. And if they refuse, complaints to the MOT and OMVIC incoming. It's been making noise since he bought it

 

[$ Khalid ! 9130]

Not today and not me but a big shoutout to @Mooseman for helping me out with the tune and fixing up the wheel bearing on my old new Yukon XL. Been a bit busy settling in here in Canada. Hopefully I will be able to post more about the move and my new baby soon! Just got off speaking my mind to the stealership. Waiting to get a response from their service department.

Edit: Just like that got a message from their manager that they will issue a cheque for the work done. Will be heading to them tmrw morning to get the rotors and pads checked

 

[xavierny25]

The SS got some attention today. New front wheel hubs, set of upper ball joints. I also donated a set of fairly new upper control arms I've had laying around that I had on the Envoy for about 8 months.
Got a few more things to pick up to get the front end nice and tight again. Lower control arms, sway bar bushing and shocks are on that list. This truck is a driveway queen with just 110k miles on the dash.

 

[xavierny25]

During a couple of commutes last week, the brakes felt "off" during light braking at low speeds. Not quite a grind feeling, but definitely not smooth or normal. The week before, I thought I heard the wear indicators chirping, so it was definitely time to change the brakes.

Have had the Adaptive One pads in a box on the shelf for almost 5 years now, the R1 Concepts pads and rotors I bought in 2016 lasted me this long, so I'm quite happy with that purchase. They did start to squeak on me, which made me buy the AOs, but some 'brake quiet' on the back of the pads did the trick.

Next pad change, may need to check thickness on the rotors. While both surfaces were still pretty smooth, there's a definite ridge at the inner and outer edge, where the pads don't make rotor contact. Still had to fully compress the calipers in order to get them down and seated once the new pads were in.

Cleaned and regreased the slide pins, didn't borrow my friend's brake bleeder, so didn't get around to flushing new fluid, but that can wait a while. Wheels back on, dropped it down, torqued up the lugs, and put a little air in the tires.

Compressor kicked on as expected, but when it stopped, started leaking air somewhere in the regulator area. Didn't stop until it got around 95 psi. So that's an issue for another day.

Staged pics, just because.

View attachment 106910
View attachment 106909

Yep, these are DEFINITELY shot!

View attachment 106908

Don't know if you caught it or not but both front tire have heavy ware on the outer edges.

 

[Blckshdw]

Don't know if you caught it or not but both front tire have heavy ware on the outer edges.

Yeah I drove on them too long before getting an alignment when I replaced the LCAs a while back to resolve that bushing problem.

 

[flyboy2610]

Yesterday, I needed to go to the hardware store to buy a couple of items for a project I had going.
As I walked out the back door, I thought "I should check the oil in the TB." (Deep sigh).
I shouldn't of oughta done that.

I checked the oil, and it was about 1/2 quart low, so I opened the liftgate, got out a bottle of oil, and added half a quart. Rechecked the level, spot on. I put the bottle of oil back in the plastic box of fluids and supplies I keep in the back of the TB. I closed the liftgate, and here's where things went south.
It bounced open again. I looked at the latch, thinking maybe it had somehow become closed (had that happen to the wife's '06 TB). Nope, it was in the open position. I closed the liftgate again, keeping pressure on it this time. I could hear the actauator click, so I knew it was getting power and ground. It just wouldn't latch! As soon as I took my hand off the liftgate it would partially open. I even tried holding it in place with one hand and locking the doors with my key fob button. I could hear the actuator very clearly.
I removed the trim piece and soaked the latch with penetrating oil. Everything seemed to move OK, but it just wouldn't latch the lfitgate shut!
Down the basement I went for a couple of ratchet straps. I raised the two middle seats (I have an EXT), and used the ratchet straps on the liftgate and the seat hold-down attachments to secure the liftgate closed.
I got on the computer and did some research. A failed latch mechanism will produce one of two results: either the lfitgate will not unlatch when closed, or it will not latch when open.
Great. The latch is fubar'd! YouTube showed me that the latch is pretty easy to replace. Now, I have to find one! Advance Auto: special order. Autozone: 1 in Omaha, 65 miles away. O'Reilly's: 1 at each of two different stores here in Lincoln!
The bad news: $267! For a Dorman part! But, beggar's can't be choosers! Good thing I worked 10 of overtime last week!
So I drove across town, spent my overtime money, and came home with my new latch assembly. I got it installed without issue, using some blue threadlock on the mounting bolts, closed the liftgate, and..... it latched!
I put the tools away, washed my hands, and, 2-1/2 hours after I decided to go the hardware store the first time, I went to the hardware store!
Moral of the story: Never check your oil!

 

[Mooseman]

Oil and fuel filter change in a balmy and sunny 2c. Decided to try the ACDelco gold filter but comparing it to the regular ACDelco that came out, it looks the same. The one in the pic was from a previous change at the dealer while the last one was from RA. None uses silicone anti drainback valves so why bother paying extra for the same thing. Also gonna start looking at other brands.



And looking at my running boards, I notice that the paint is peeling. Updated my review on Amazon. This means I might have to get them powdercoated or replace them with a pair of used OEM.

 

[BrianF]

Spent some much needed time on the Trailblazer. While I need to still figure out my ABS issue I also needed to get the rear wiper working. The last couple years it began to seize up. You could eventually get it to work itself free but it was slow and infective.

Pulled it apart and found one of the bushings seized on and some corrosion and build up. Ii couldn't free the one bushing without potentially damaging the plastic gear. No big deal, I cleaned up the corrosion and used some silicone grease on assembly. Popped her in and wow, I forgot how fast that thing really works.

 

[flyboy2610]

The shaft corroding inside the housing seems to be a common issue on the rear wiper of these trucks.
My TB has had a bit of a smoosh in the sheet metal around the rear wiper since I got it. Because I had to remove the inside trim piece to replace the liftgate actuator last Sunday, I just left it off for now. When the weather warms up some, and I have time (the two rarely seem to coincide) I'm going to see if I can push the smoosh out from the inside, and also take the rear wiper assembly apart. Hopefully it's just corroded and not dead altogether.

 

[TollKeeper]

Friday...

Took the XUV to the Firestone, alignment had gotten all wacky again.

While it was there, had them check for the vibration at speed..

They could not find anything wrong with the suspension, but said I have some bad grooves on my rotors, and heat checks, and that it was most likely causing the vibration.

They then proceeded to write up a estimate for $1400! For pads and rotors!

I think I will tackle this myself thank you!

 

[TollKeeper]

Friday...

Took the XUV to the Firestone, alignment had gotten all wacky again.

While it was there, had them check for the vibration at speed..

They could not find anything wrong with the suspension, but said I have some bad grooves on my rotors, and heat checks, and that it was most likely causing the vibration.

They then proceeded to write up a estimate for $1400! For pads and rotors!

I think I will tackle this myself thank you!

Parts ordered.. $198.. I really want to stop working on my own vehicles.. But this is why I do it.. $1200 savings, for 1-2 hours of work! I will gladly pay myself 600 an hour to work on it!

Edit: Correction! $373 bucks.. I forgot I am also ordering front Bilstein Struts. The uni-strut that I ordered from AAP just keeps bottoming out since its the wrong spring rate. Luckily I still have my old struts and springs!

 

[sashainwy]

Was headed to Billings for shopping anyway, so checked in advance at a salvage yard. Got the entire driver side mirror assembly and nice spoiler for $70. Even though there's a lot of small dings and scratches, at 105K miles the TB has a lot of life left, so I want to keep it modestly decent.

 

[Blckshdw]

After about a month on the new Adaptive One pads, I've noticed a severed hit to my MPGs, and noticed a strange noise when braking from 35+ mph with medium pressure after the brakes are warm. They were silent when cold. The assumption is the brakes are dragging, so it was time to get back in there and have a look.

Got the passenger side front up in the air and spun it by hand before taking the wheel off. Could hear a faint scraping noise, similar to when they are hot. Pulled the wheel, lifted the caliper and grabbed my caliper grease jar, figured I didn't put enough on. For kicks, grabbed a stud and turned the rotor, STILL scraping! On closer look, saw this.... On the outside edge, the lower brake pad hardware was touching the rotor, and the upper one was pretty damn close. Definitely nowhere near centered. Guessing as the rotors got hot, they expanded to make more contact with those metal pieces, and that's what I was hearing under braking?



Pulled everything and adjusted the hardware. Slide pins had a good amount of grease, but not really sure if these fare any better if you go overboard with it? Put everything back together, gave the rotor a turn, and it felt like there was more resistance this time than before. There was some friction noise, as you'd expect with the resistance, but not the metal on metal sound.

Wheel back on, moved to the other side. Similar issue, not sure what I was thinking, hardware wasn't centered. Added a little more grease to one of the pins, put everything back together and gave it a spin. More resistance than before disassembly. Went for a test drive to the hardware store, went a little quick at the speed bumps through the neighborhood and hit the brakes a bit harder, no noise. Got to the store, still no noise on the brakes, at that point during the work commute, I can usually start to hear something. On the way back, still no noise, so that's good at least. Although it's about 20 degrees cooler than it has been, so we'll see how it sounds during the week.

My immediate concern is the fuel economy. From the fuel gauge, I've gone 140 miles on this tank so far, but the needle is where it usually is when I've gone 180. Long term concern is warping the rotors from excessive heating, if indeed the pads are dragging. Guess I'll have to monitor and recheck.

 

[aaserv]

Just changed the oil again. I have to reiterate how effective running a half can of SeaFoam in the oil before changing is. Knew I was changing it the next day so I went by Wallys and got an ACD filter and a new large size can of SeaFoam, must be like 16-20 oz. Never seen these before but nice to have. Dumped half the can down the oil filler tube and the other half in the tank then drove it probably 30-40 mins that night. I had ckd the oil before leaving and it was still a nice golden color on the stick. Next morning pulled it on the ramps and popped out the drain plug and watched as black as tar oil drained into the pan. Im telling ya the seafoam really scrubs the motor. There may be other products that will work but they cant be anymore effective than the SeaFoam. Just amazing.

Anyway the real reason for the post is Ive been wanting to ventilate the hood since the day I got this truck and I thing I may have found a way that will look decent and be effective. Want to get some opinions from the forum before I go to cutting. This grille is from a Caddy, 2016 ATS model. I love the way it looks on the caddy but of course the Envoy doesnt have the same middle rise in the hood as the Caddy. Still I think it'll work and look decent. Im thinking the same basic position on the hood as pictured below. The grille is available locally for around $125 and I could resell it on EBAY if i decide to change my mind after I get it. Really would like some feedback on the project... Sorry the size of the pics are huge just all I could find on the net..

 

[aaserv]

After about a month on the new Adaptive One pads, I've noticed a severed hit to my MPGs, and noticed a strange noise when braking from 35+ mph with medium pressure after the brakes are warm. They were silent when cold. The assumption is the brakes are dragging, so it was time to get back in there and have a look.

Got the passenger side front up in the air and spun it by hand before taking the wheel off. Could hear a faint scraping noise, similar to when they are hot. Pulled the wheel, lifted the caliper and grabbed my caliper grease jar, figured I didn't put enough on. For kicks, grabbed a stud and turned the rotor, STILL scraping! On closer look, saw this.... On the outside edge, the lower brake pad hardware was touching the rotor, and the upper one was pretty damn close. Definitely nowhere near centered. Guessing as the rotors got hot, they expanded to make more contact with those metal pieces, and that's what I was hearing under braking?

View attachment 107366

Pulled everything and adjusted the hardware. Slide pins had a good amount of grease, but not really sure if these fare any better if you go overboard with it? Put everything back together, gave the rotor a turn, and it felt like there was more resistance this time than before. There was some friction noise, as you'd expect with the resistance, but not the metal on metal sound.

Wheel back on, moved to the other side. Similar issue, not sure what I was thinking, hardware wasn't centered. Added a little more grease to one of the pins, put everything back together and gave it a spin. More resistance than before disassembly. Went for a test drive to the hardware store, went a little quick at the speed bumps through the neighborhood and hit the brakes a bit harder, no noise. Got to the store, still no noise on the brakes, at that point during the work commute, I can usually start to hear something. On the way back, still no noise, so that's good at least. Although it's about 20 degrees cooler than it has been, so we'll see how it sounds during the week.

My immediate concern is the fuel economy. From the fuel gauge, I've gone 140 miles on this tank so far, but the needle is where it usually is when I've gone 180. Long term concern is warping the rotors from excessive heating, if indeed the pads are dragging. Guess I'll have to monitor and recheck.

I always grease the inside of the metal hardware where the pads go in so they can freely move back and forth. Ive seen videos like South Main Auto where he does that also. Just a thought.....

 

[Mooseman]

I think SMA does this as a rust preventive so that the shims don't get rust jacked onto the pads and seize them. Don't think it's that much of a problem in Florida.

Maybe try using a disc brake quiet spray or liquid on the back of the pads. I use it all the time to prevent squealing. It's kinda like glue. I've had the shims rubbing like that on the rear brakes and no matter how much I would bend them away from the rotor, they would eventually start rubbing again. Only thing that fixed it was replacing the pads and shims. Maybe the shims are just crap.

@aaserv , I think it would look cool however, will this allow a lot of rain water onto the top of the engine? Long term, this may not be good. Just my