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

[Mike534x]

Welp my headlight washer pump stop working! I can see the nozzle pop out but no spurting. That probably means the relay and PCM is good, either the nozzle clogged or pump died. I always use orange Rain X washer fluid but on the 9-7x I went cheap and put in supertech washer fluid. Hope that's not what's cause the issue

More then likely the pump is dead, I'd get someone to hit the switch and feel if the pump sounds or feels like it's even doing anything. My vote is on it failing, they're fairly cheap so I'd just replace the whole set and not worry about it.

 

[Mooseman]

Actually, they pop out under the pressure from the pump so it probably is still working but the nozzles are clogged.

I disabled mine on the 9-7x at the time as it worked automatically every 3-4 times you used the windshield washer. No way to do it manually. Very annoying and wasteful of fluid so I pulled the relay. Never missed it.

I knew the TBs had a separate button for them, did not know about Envoys although I had noticed them in yards.

 

[azswiss]

Following up on my previous post regarding the trans slipping I did some basic checking and found the following:
- No codes
- Trans fluid level and color were OK, no burnt smell
- Drained the trans (thankfully the pan has a plug); no chunks but small amounts of fine glitter
- Topped off the fluid (~3.5 Qts) and took it for a test drive along the same route as previously
- No slippage (note: only went to 75% of WOT)
- Trans temp steady at 185F
- Shift times: 1-2=>.2/.3 sec 2-3 = .3/.6 sec 3-4 =>.6/1.2 sec

Even though there was no slippage *this time*, given the presence of (albeit small amounts of fine) glitter and the noticeably higher 3-4 shift time my interpretation is that the trans is putting me on notice.

Will continue to monitor for now while taking it easy and using only locally.

 

[Mike534x]

Actually, they pop out under the pressure from the pump so it probably is still working but the nozzles are clogged.

I disabled mine on the 9-7x at the time as it worked automatically every 3-4 times you used the windshield washer. No way to do it manually. Very annoying and wasteful of fluid so I pulled the relay. Never missed it.

I knew the TBs had a separate button for them, did not know about Envoys although I had noticed them in yards.

My Envoy has a dedicated button for it, the Trailblazer doesn't. I believe the TB North Face had a dedicated button similar to the Envoy's however. But that's good to know! I've yet to see the Saabs interior in person to get a feel for its setup. Learn something new everyday, I had no idea the nozzles popped out when activated.

Made progress on the Envoy, and I may be passed the worst case scenario. Found a YouTube video, where a guy held a dollar bill to the exhaust pipe, if it tries to suck it in then the valve is bad, if it doesn't then the valve is good. It passed the dollar test. So I retraced my steps from the very beginning. Re-inspected the new plug, the gap is still good. Swapped out the wire with a new one, and put the old coil back in. No change. Noticed the fuel injector on #2 was louder then the others. Gently pulled up the fuel rail, and grabbed the "cleanest" of the old injectors and threw it in. Loaded up the "Tech 2" and started watching the misfire counts. None on #2 so far, then #7 starts to show a count or two. So I technically have 7 "new:" fuel injectors, the one I installed on #2 was....the reman GMB I grabbed from RA. So before I take the rail off again, I figured why not swap the wire on #7, as suspected, the misfire left #7 and moved to #6.

So my misfire on #2 was caused by all 3 components. Bad plug, wire, and injector. Idle wise, shes sounding much happier/less rough. After swapping #7's wire, I ran her for 2k RPM for 5 minutes and thats when #6 started showing one or two counts. I believe the other issues are bad wires. I believe the first ones I received from Amazon were counterfeit AC Delcos, when I hold each one, the "bad" one definitely feels more flimsy compared to the other "ACD" wires I received the day before from Amazon. Going to change the other rest tomorrow, and monitor the misfire counts again. But I'm breathing a sigh of a relief....for now....


Also, some random info that may be helpful.

The AC Delco 41-110's were superseded by the 41-162's for most of the V8s to current it looks like, from various forums I've looked at Denso seems to be the new OEM supplier for AC Delco spark plugs. So it looks like those are the next best thing OEM wire to use on our platform.

 

[flyboy2610]

There seem to be an awful lot of counterfeit auto parts on the big river site these days. I'm sure Mr. Bezos is well aware of the issue, but he doesn't seem to care enough to do anything about it. Rant over.

 

[Zaab]

Actually, they pop out under the pressure from the pump so it probably is still working but the nozzles are clogged.

I disabled mine on the 9-7x at the time as it worked automatically every 3-4 times you used the windshield washer. No way to do it manually. Very annoying and wasteful of fluid so I pulled the relay. Never missed it.

I knew the TBs had a separate button for them, did not know about Envoys although I had noticed them in yards.

Well I was able to pull the headlamp asssembly, having assessed to the washer and then pull the nozzle out remove safety pin.
Boom! Hot washer fluid gushing out uncontrollably. I now have to ring the damage control party. Damage control party cut the power to headlamp washer pump, no effect. DCP concluded that the system may be in open and being gravitational drained, use a rubber glove to plug the washer. No effect. Garage start flooding. DCT proceed to bring a bucket under. Flood controlled but entire reservoir of washer fluid lost.

 

[Zaab]

Actually, they pop out under the pressure from the pump so it probably is still working but the nozzles are clogged.

I disabled mine on the 9-7x at the time as it worked automatically every 3-4 times you used the windshield washer. No way to do it manually. Very annoying and wasteful of fluid so I pulled the relay. Never missed it.

I knew the TBs had a separate button for them, did not know about Envoys although I had noticed them in yards.

Pretty much nailed the suspect at faulty nozzle. Pump always has the pressure and shot me a full face of water. When I wash the nozzle, spray on one exit would cause water coming out from aside, means the end part of nozzle is good. It’s just where it regulat pressure to extend the nozzle as well as spraying died.
Not affecting daily drive so just let it go~

On the other hand, learnt how to get headlamp assembly off and change bulbs, so still a fruitful time spent this afternoon.

 

[Mike534x]

There seem to be an awful lot of counterfeit auto parts on the big river site these days. I'm sure Mr. Bezos is well aware of the issue, but he doesn't seem to care enough to do anything about it. Rant over.

Its definitely becoming more common unfortunately. I was hesitant ordering them a second time, but thankfully those seemed legit. Same thing happened with the spark plugs for the Trailblazer, I've reached the point where anything part related I'll just get from RA, or Summit Racing. The part stores have been getting a little better with price matching, so I may stay open minded about them.

Drove the Envoy around earlier to do some errands, the spark plug heat shields didn't come in. But so far so good. No current misfires when driving around with the "Tech 2" open, and the idle is holding fully steady and can now barely be felt running when at idle. Still going to swap the remaining wires though when I get the chance. This whole experience has had me eyeing an ICON scanner from Harbor Freight. After watching Eric O from SM use his, it seems like a pretty solid tool.

 

[Mike534x]

Took her for a drive this morning, came to a crawl in traffic on the highway as I'm inching forward I feel the dreaded shudder. Oh boy....misfiring, but not setting a code off but Torque was reporting #2, 5, and 6 with counts. After managing to turn around and head home, I left her sitting for a few hours and climbed under the hood and yanked each wire and plug. #2 reeked of gas, and the plug confirmed it. So that reman injector was definitely sending too much into that cylinder. Here's where it gets interesting, plugs from 4 and 6 were loose, those were snug originally. #5, 7 and 8 were ok though. I had 8x ACD Iridium 41-110s sitting in my tool box unused in their box, so I figured might as well toss the OEM ones back in and see if that changes anything. Comparing the threads, the NGKs were ever so slightly more spaced out. So I'm guessing the plugs came loose from the expansion of the block warming up and cooling off.

Threw them in, and left her running for 20 minutes and she was back to idling smoothly again. Still not seeing a misfire count, but I plan on taking another ride on the highway tomorrow with the scanner open to keep an eye on it. I did end up changing the oil to be on the safe side, and it definitely smelled more of gas then it usually does.

Will post back about this crazy misadventure.

 

[Zaab]

Getting the $$$ Bilstein. Aside from being very good shock, they are also good at making your wallet lose weight!

Almost kill the air bag by accidentally drop the axial, but it is done.
Now the rear feels like a bimmer x3 lol

 

[Mooseman]

Getting the $$$ Bilstein. Aside from being very good shock, they are also good at making your wallet lose weight!

Tell me about it. I spent over $500 just on a pair of struts for the Sierra but it was well worth it.

On the TB, the windshield washers were barely squirting anything . First thought it was empty but refilling didn't help. Disconnected the hose near the container and the pump is working fine so the nozzles are plugged. With the hose still disconnected, I put some compressed air to them but I forgot to take off the one way valved so I blew apart the aftermarket nozzle on the passenger side. Had to unbolt and get under the cowl cover to grab the hose, add some instant glue and put it back together. Now she's squirting good again.

Then on the Sierra, the ScanGauge II that I was using to monitor things like soot load %, Regen status, oil and trans temps went wonky and was rebooting and freezing every few seconds. I had tried contacting their support but only told me to try some of the other X-Gauge programming, which didn't help. Some of the other X-Gauges were showing some funky symbols so figured it was borked. Instead of buying a whole new unit, I found out that when getting an update for them, you simply replace the board inside with the new one they send you with the latest version. Voilà! A new SGII for only $45 instead of $190. Just had to program in the X-Gauges for the GM diesel specific stuff. I`ll do a write up on this as they don`t list specific PIDS for the 3.0L diesel.

I am considering getting a ScanGauge III. A much better unit that can display up to 9 PIDS instead of 4 on the SGII. And it`s only $350CAD instead of the insane $419USD ($580CAD) for the Banks iDash Pro which only displays 7.

 

[Zaab]

Tell me about it. I spent over $500 just on a pair of struts for the Sierra but it was well worth it.

Woah! Is it specifically designed for offroad/towing?

On the TB, the windshield washers were barely squirting anything . First thought it was empty but refilling didn't help. Disconnected the hose near the container and the pump is working fine so the nozzles are plugged. With the hose still disconnected, I put some compressed air to them but I forgot to take off the one way valved so I blew apart the aftermarket nozzle on the passenger side. Had to unbolt and get under the cowl cover to grab the hose, add some instant glue and put it back together. Now she's squirting good again.

Nice. My drive side doesn't spirt as well as passenger side, I need some compressed air treatment as well.

 

[Mooseman]

Woah! Is it specifically designed for offroad/towing?

It`s the adjustable 5100 series. Needed better rebound control and wanted to level the truck.

B8 5100 0-2.5" Ride Height Adj Front (24-337052) 4wd - Bilstein Canada

Bilstein B8 5100 (Ride Height Adjustable) shock absorbers are designed for trucks and SUVs with a front OE coilover style suspension. Multiple snap-ring grooves in the body allow for different spring seat positions, providing 0-2.75 inches of front lift with OE springs (depending on...

bilsteincanada.com

Post in thread 'What did you do to your GMT today? [Part II]'

Jun 28, 2025

I saw it's a V8, please tell me it's not the 6.2! The 5.3 is safe.

Project Sierra suspension upgrade complete. Just installed the Bilsteins in front and at the second top most clip position, she's level. The job itself wasn't too bad except that the top bolts on the struts weren't accessible from the top because of stuff in the way except for the innermost one on the right side. All the others I had to remove with a wrench from the wheel wells. To get the suspension to droop down enough I had to unbolt the sway bar link from the lower control arm, and then I still had to use a pry...

• Mooseman

• 

 

[azswiss]

Swapped out the shift & TCC solenoids in the transmission. The pan looked good; some magnetic gunk on the magnet but not a lot. Was able to extract the 1-2 & 2-3 shift valves and they were clean and moved easily in their bores. Have to say, working in this heat is a challenge. Got off to a late start yesterday doing all the prep work (drop the exhaust, ready the pan for removal), by the time I called it quits it was already 106F outside. Started off much earlier today, by the time I had the solenoids installed and the pan back in place and torqued it was already 107F (on the way to 114F) so I called it quits again and then flopped into the pool. Whew! Will finish tomorrow.

 

[azswiss]

Replaced a burned out bulb behind the fuel gauge. There was a time when I could do these types of fine electronic repairs without needing magnification. Not so anymore.

 

[Zaab]

Lot’s of work been done on my 9-7x this month.
Changing out front wheel beearings. Last owner has driver side bearing wear out and only replaced that one with Carquest brand bearing. It went shot again in less than 100k miles and the right side oem ones last till the replacement. Talking about old GM parts quality. I put Mevotech heavy duty ones on. These are the top product lines for Mevotech and I hope it lasts.

Before the bearing, I replaced spark plugs on the vehicle. It has Denso wire so at some point it has been replaced, that’s good. OEM plugs suppose to be changed at 100k mi. 8 plugs for 5 hours of labor, loud cussing, hopes and prays. I don’t want to touch it again in the next 100k mis. But it is done. AcDelco plug and wires for quality assurance. I bought wires from eBay, turns out they are the long ones for pickup chassis, but still fit and work. Old plugs are not in good condions, I’m surprised they don’t miss fire already.


Recently I replaced the strut with Bilstein B6 4600. New KYB strut mounts as well. Saab springs are no where to be found so I saved them. I then asked a shop to help me building it, because I don’t want mess with those mobile strut compressors. The shop kindly did me a favor with only half hour of labor cost. Now this truck has much better handling! Love these long & thicks under my 9-7x’s skirt.

 

[TollKeeper]

Thats the same thing I did to my 9-7x, just re-used.

I know there are a couple people around that rate those Mevotechs near the bottom of the barrel. Hopefully they work for you.

 

[Zaab]

Thats the same thing I did to my 9-7x, just re-used.

I know there are a couple people around that rate those Mevotechs near the bottom of the barrel. Hopefully they work for you.

Yes. I don't think we can get Saab specific bushing/spring anymore. All parts labeled compatible across the platform.
What I heard is Mevotech economy tier is trash while supreme is better, TTX is the good stuff. Will see how long it lasts.

 

[Mike534x]

Dropped Trailblazer off at the body shop, insurance adjuster is coming by sometime next week to look her over. Police report came back, and the driver had no insurance. Go figure.

The Envoys been having some lifter noise on cold starts with the temperature dropping recently, added about 4 oz of Marvel Mystery Oil down the fill cap and so far I haven't heard it the last few days. A bit surprised to say the least. Amazon also "accidently" sent me too much oil, so I've got about 18 Quarts of Havoline HM Full Synthetic. So I'm set for the next few changes

 

[Zaab]

Dropped Trailblazer off at the body shop, insurance adjuster is coming by sometime next week to look her over. Police report came back, and the driver had no insurance. Go figure.

The Envoys been having some lifter noise on cold starts with the temperature dropping recently, added about 4 oz of Marvel Mystery Oil down the fill cap and so far I haven't heard it the last few days. A bit surprised to say the least. Amazon also "accidently" sent me too much oil, so I've got about 18 Quarts of Havoline HM Full Synthetic. So I'm set for the next few changes

No insurance, ahhh the pain.
How many quarts of oil you ordered?

 

[Mooseman]

If you have uninsured coverage, it should be covered by your insurance.

 

[TollKeeper]

If you have uninsured coverage, it should be covered by your insurance.

Yep... And then the insurance company will go after the other driver in the courts.

Yes, you will have to pay your deductible amount, however, by law here in Colorado at least, once your insurance company wins in court, any moneys received has to be paid to you first to cover your deductible amount.

 

[Mike534x]

No insurance, ahhh the pain.
How many quarts of oil you ordered?

Just 6, the Havoline comes in a box, with a spout attached to the bag of oil. Somehow they ended up sending 2 extra.

If you have uninsured coverage, it should be covered by your insurance.

I've got uninsured, too many idiots driving around here without coverage the last 10 years but I always take it. I need to look into it, but I think I still get the hit/premium increase even when I'm not at fault.

Yep... And then the insurance company will go after the other driver in the courts.

Yes, you will have to pay your deductible amount, however, by law here in Colorado at least, once your insurance company wins in court, any moneys received has to be paid to you first to cover your deductible amount.

Unfortunately, Indiana is ass backwards on that front. They'll attempt to recover it, but there's no guarantee you'll get it back.

 

[Sneakycyber]

I got some of the summer funk polished off and a slight shine. I need to go back over it with a heavier cut and polish when I have more time. Also, my sunroof grenade on me, that was an eye opener. I got the new parts shipped for $30.00.I am blocking off a weekend to do the replacement. Thankfully I have it lined up enough (for now) to not leak.

Edit: The sunroof was unrelated to the polishing.

 

[MD_Envoy_Driver]

Just joined the hub/wheel bearing club at 133,250. NAPA product left side only for now. I am going to order a Moog for the right and see what lasts longer. The left side replacement had to be done immediately so NAPA got my order. Rock Auto gets the right side Moog (for less than NAPA!)
It so quiet now and I thought it was the tires this whole time.

 

[Zaab]

Just joined the hub/wheel bearing club at 133,250. NAPA product left side only for now. I am going to order a Moog for the right and see what lasts longer. The left side replacement had to be done immediately so NAPA got my order. Rock Auto gets the right side Moog (for less than NAPA!)
It so quiet now and I thought it was the tires this whole time.

LoL. Same. My wheel bearing is grumbling for a day, and I keep wondering why suddenly all the roads are noisy?? Then the reality sink in. Oh.....

 

[Mike534x]

Just joined the hub/wheel bearing club at 133,250. NAPA product left side only for now. I am going to order a Moog for the right and see what lasts longer. The left side replacement had to be done immediately so NAPA got my order. Rock Auto gets the right side Moog (for less than NAPA!)
It so quiet now and I thought it was the tires this whole time.

Hopefully you have better luck then I did with the Moog hubs. I've had two sets, and each one suffered from the low speed ABS shudder after a few months. Timkens and SKF were the ones I've had success with so far....though the SKF lasted like 4 years before both bearings were toast.


Spent this morning pulling the intake manifold to change out the gaskets, the hissing sound I was getting near #5 and #7 started to get louder with the temp changes the last week or so. Also was tired of the cold start misfire/rough idle that would go after away after 30 seconds. Each gasket had a flat spot that was allowing a vacuum leak on each cylinder. Got it back together, and it's much quieter and the cold start idle surging is gone too it seems like. The real test will be when we dip back into the low 50`s tonight. Hoping to knock out the radiator once the TB is back, that'll be the last major thing and then from there it's just the diff service front and rear to worry about.


While cleaning up, something caught my eye. So the truck has AFM disabled via tune, however, the factory harness is capped off (looks original) where the connector would be that would plug into the VLOM for controlling the AFM Solenoids. The VLOM connector is loaded full of debris, which has me wondering if the 05 SWB models had AFM disabled from the factory while retaining the hardware.

 

[Blckshdw]

Maintenance guy at work stopped by my office this afternoon to say hello, and mention he noticed an issue with my rear tires. I already knew about the wear pattern, because I had them on the front and went too long before getting an alignment when I put the lift kit on But he mentioned there were some cracks and splits...

Took a closer look at the end of my shift, and sure enough the rear driver's side tire had a number of splits at the edge of the tread in the worn area, starting to go up the sidewall. Passenger's side had a couple as well



I've had these tires since November '22, and there's still plenty of tread in the contact areas, so I could have easily gotten another few years out of them. Ordered some General Grabber HTS60 that will be ready for install on Friday, so these Yokohamas which have served me well, will come off.

Also going to downsize a bit, from 265/70s (31.5") to 255/65s (30") to try and get a few MPGs back. Hopefully the change in the look won't bother me with the smaller tires, guess we'll wait and see!

 

[Mooseman]

I was losing air in the right front tire of the TB, about 10 lbs per week. Took it in to Kal Tire after work. Yep, had a nail in it. At the same time, had them rotated. While I was waiting and watching, noticed something the techs did. They initially torqued the nuts when the truck was brought back on the ground, backed it out, and then torqued them again just outside the door. Never seen that done before .

Since I bought the tires there, total cost was $0 and a free coffee

 

[MD_Envoy_Driver]

I stuck Pep Boy's Starfire Solarus tires on my 2003 Envoy. Nice smooth ride now. Bought a spare aluminum OEM rim to replace my original rusted rim and the 2003 Michelin still stuck to it! It had never been used in all these years. So, now I have a 5-tire rotation system.

 

[northcreek]

They initially torqued the nuts when the truck was brought back on the ground, backed it out, and then torqued them again just outside the door. Never seen that done before

Because Lawyers....

 

[Blckshdw]

Tire replacement misadventure is complete. Showed up at the shop for my 8am appointment, to find out not only did they not have the tires I requested in stock, their local supplier did not have them either, and it would take a couple of days to get here. Settled for their budget brand tire, as that was the only option that wasn't going to cost me more time and money. It has a highway tread, compared to the more offroad type I had before, which could be felt on the drive home.

Some before and after staged pics, just because. The extra space near the steering knuckle is definitely noticeable, but overall, really can't tell the difference from the side profile, unless you know there was a change.

 

[BrianF]

Definitely staged. Classic @Blckshdw

 

[Blckshdw]

Put about 70 highway miles on the new tires, and got a really good feel for them. Acceleration was much easier, required less skinny pedal to get up and go when I asked it to. In addition to the quieter ride, the vibration issue at higher speeds is gone. I would feel it in the steering wheel around 70mph, and if I pushed it to 85 the shaking would be visible, and uncomfortable to drive. ( that was probably a good thing...)

On the way home, I was in a convoy in the left lane, cruising along with the music going and windows down. Happened to glance at the speedo and we were doing 95 The EXT was calm, smooth and quiet, which was nice, but had to let that group go on without me. Scangauge said I was getting 15MPG

 

[krunal88]

Put about 70 highway miles on the new tires, and got a really good feel for them. Acceleration was much easier, required less skinny pedal to get up and go when I asked it to. In addition to the quieter ride, the vibration issue at higher speeds is gone. I would feel it in the steering wheel around 70mph, and if I pushed it to 85 the shaking would be visible, and uncomfortable to drive. ( that was probably a good thing...)

On the way home, I was in a convoy in the left lane, cruising along with the music going and windows down. Happened to glance at the speedo and we were doing 95 The EXT was calm, smooth and quiet, which was nice, but had to let that group go on without me. Scangauge said I was getting 15MPG

Which tires did you go with? I am having the vibration issues at 70+ also in my TB.

 

[Blckshdw]

Which tires did you go with? I am having the vibration issues at 70+ also in my TB.

The General Grabbers that I wanted, were going to take days to arrive, so I went with the cheapest option available Ironman RB SUV, shorter mileage warranty, but I don't put on a lot of miles annually, so not that big of a deal.

 

[Zaab]

The General Grabbers that I wanted, were going to take days to arrive, so I went with the cheapest option available Ironman RB SUV, shorter mileage warranty, but I don't put on a lot of miles annually, so not that big of a deal.

I'm surprise budget tires now perform well.

 

[krunal88]

I used the ole trusty Trailblazer when my daily 2016 Tucson’s ac compressor bit the dust. Still on the original compressor on the Trailblazer (for now).

 

[Zaab]

Ughh, tried to replace front low control arms for cluncking noise when go over pothole, nope, the front control armmbolt, which is 21mm, fused solid into the frame. Even a 1150 ft lbs impact wrench cant remove it. Too bad!

But otherwise, changed transfer case fluid and front diff oil. Now no clanky sound when giving heavy throttle at stop light.

 

[oldbeater1]

took it in to have the ac worked on. the leak was a big one right over the left wheel well. i didn't have the tools to fix it. only cost 2000 dollars (ouch).