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

[Zaab]

Did some more work on the front suspension. Driver's side upper ball joint wouldn't take grease, always had to lube it from the boot, which was shot. Passenger side upper control arm had play. Had removed both sets some years ago, and had some struggles, which resurfaced this time.

First, getting the snap rings off the UBJs was a royal pain. I had a pair of snap ring pliers with the interchangeable teeth, but it needed more range. Took too much effort, and using other tools together, to get the job done. Managed to fight off the ring on the bad UBJ, but couldn't get the new one in place. Broke down and ordered a set of pliers that were larger than the Harbor Freight one. Made that step as easy as you'd expect...

Did end up spending some extra time with the ball joint press kit, couldn't remember which attachments I used, after an hour wasted, I remembered an old post that said people used a deep socket for pushing them out... Then in my socket drawer, noticed an impact socket that didn't match any of my other sets... Placed it on top of the ball joint, and it was a perfect diameter fit. Marked it with some red electrical tape, so I'll know if there's a next time.

Getting the control arm bolts out was a pain. Couldn't get sockets on them from the engine bay, and didn't want to sit there with my big adjustable wrench through the wheel wells, so ordered a 21mm ratcheting wrench. Did make the mistake of spinning out the front bolt too far with the ratchet end, and couldn't get it off. Had too use a crowbar to bend the inner fender enough to wiggle it free.

Having better tools made the job much easier (when I used them right). Pumped the UBJs full of grease, then did a quick spin around the block, and my front end is nice and quiet again.


Staged pics, just because

View attachment 119952

View attachment 119953

I don't have the pliar so I used a hammer and chisel to push the old snap ring off. Then hurt my back when I try pressing in the ball joint in a twisted position.

Where did you bend the inner fender to free the UCA's bolt? I need that trick as well lol.

 

[Blckshdw]

I don't have the pliar so I used a hammer and chisel to push the old snap ring off. Then hurt my back when I try pressing in the ball joint in a twisted position.

Fortunately for me, I finally bought one of those padded roller stools, so I could sit on that and work, instead of a bucket or the tire. Made it so much easier to work in there this time.

Where did you bend the inner fender to free the UCA's bolt? I need that trick as well lol.

I put my crowbar between the fender under the battery tray, and the shock tower. My wrench was sticking out through the wheel well, and got pinned up against the fender below the battery tray. I applied force towards the driver's side headlight, and that gave me just enough wiggle room to get the wrench off the bolt head, and spin the rest free with my fingers.

If you can get the bolt started, and loose enough to not need a wrench the entire time, you might not have to mess with the fender at all.

 

[Zaab]

Fortunately for me, I finally bought one of those padded roller stools, so I could sit on that and work, instead of a bucket or the tire. Made it so much easier to work in there this time.



I put my crowbar between the fender under the battery tray, and the shock tower. My wrench was sticking out through the wheel well, and got pinned up against the fender below the battery tray. I applied force towards the driver's side headlight, and that gave me just enough wiggle room to get the wrench off the bolt head, and spin the rest free with my fingers.

If you can get the bolt started, and loose enough to not need a wrench the entire time, you might not have to mess with the fender at all.

View attachment 119967

View attachment 119968

Much appreciated!

 

[TollKeeper]

Got the trailer lined up to the -X- no problem.... And thats when the fun started of "where did I put the keys to the trailer I have not touched in years".Pulled it out onto the driveway,

Found them in 20 minutes, still was a heart attack until then (specialty locks for the hitch and the liftgate to the trailer).

Got the 150 pulled out... Need to order a new fuel tank, as the bolt on fuel pump will not unscrew from the base, but rather, it spins the entire mounting system. GREAT! Found the front master cylinder to be completely dry of break fluid, but no obvious leaks. That when I noticed that the fill sight glass on the front the brake apparatus was completely missing. YAY! Found that I didnt need wheel bearings, just the kingpin bolt was loose, and it had egged out the bolt. Tightened the bolt for now, will have to fight with that after I see if I can find a fuel tank and brake reservoir. I can it started on brake fluid, and it ran beautifully!

Put it back in the trailer, and backed the -X- and the trailer back into their parking spots until next weekend.

After much cussing, and a lot of other things... I finally was able to get the vacuum fuel pump off the 150's original tank. Had to use a reciprocating saw with a metal blade, and cut off the pump just above the bolt. Grabbed the base of the ferrule with a pair of long needle nose pliers, and put an impact on the nut that remained, 2 triggers of the impact, and it spun off..

Did a little happy dance!

Wasnt out of the woods yet. I didnt know if the seal inbetween the ferrule and the tank was still good. Put a gallon of water in the tank, while I had a stopper in the ferrule bung, and no leaks!

Ordered a new non-vacuum fuel shut off valve, which should be here Thursday.

Replaced the sight glass on the brake reservoir, and bled the brakes.

Used a small lawn mower tank I had to feed fuel to the 150 so I could get the engine warmed up a bit, so I could change the oil. No matter what I did, it just would not start.

Pulled the carb, pulled the carb bowl, and it was dry. I had already ordered a carb, so I threw it on. After a bit of priming she started. Adjusted the carb for the high idle, and let it run to get fully warm and ran my little tank out of fuel.

Feeling pretty good about the 150

Started working on the 250... And it was bad.... Like really bad (for me at least).

Fuel tank was completely full. I had forgotten that I was trying to take the quads out for a last ride when I found the Vacuum fuel pump on the 150 was leaking. It was the last one I filled.. So this means the 250 and the 800 both have full tanks. Its the ethanol free gas, but its still not good after 10 years.

Pulled the fuel shut off valve from the 250, and this very brown, nasty, stinky, fuel poured out of the 250. Fuel shut off literally fell apart in my hands.

Ordered a new fuel shut off. Should be here Thursday

Put a new sight glass on the brake reservoir, and bled the brakes.

Than I thought I better check choke actuation and throttle actuation at the carb. Both are completely frozen.

Not taking chances, I ordered a new carb..... The wrong carb. Ordered one for a 2 stroke. Cancelled that order, and ordered what I hope is the right carb. Should be here Thursday.

Weekend plans are:
150: Install fuel shut off on the 150, install gas tank, and fuel lines. Put fresh gas in it, check for leaks. Start it and warm it up so I can do the oil change that I had intended on doing when I got it warmed up last weekend, but got squirreled with the 250. Put on the plastics, and test drive.
250: Pull the plastics, pull the fuel tank, flush the fuel tank, install fuel shut off valve. Pull old carb, install new carb, install everything else, and see if she starts. If it does, get it warmed up, and change the oil. Put some slime in the tires, air them up, and take for a test drive.
800: I dont even know where to start on this one. Completely forgetting that the fuel tank is likely still full, and its FI. This one has me scared...

Moving the Envoy in and out is a great thing, the AC still blows freezing cold, and in this 100+ heat wave we are having, I was not complaining!

 

[dhanger]

This week I replaced defective Amazon/Hayden fan clutch with NAPA version. Backstory:

In March last year (2025) I decided to replace HVAC components with a RA kit (compressor, condenser, accumulator, orifice tube). System was functional but getting old and weak (compressor was so bad that after removing it I could place the tip of one finger on the clutch and spin it easily) and had to top off refrigerant at the start of each season due to small leak. This was my first time doing such major work on automotive a/c so I spent many hours reading and video viewing until I felt confident of my knowledge.

1. Had system evacuated, then disassembled complete system except evaporator. Took the chance that the evaporator was not leaking, was proven right in the end.
2. Flushed all hard lines and evaporator with a/c flushing solvent.
3. Re-assembled everything with correct amount of oil distributed between components, also replaced all seals and added dye.
4. Pulled a deep vacuum, closed all ports and checked for leaks. No leaks detected after more than a couple of hours, so I proceeded to vacuum for a couple more hours. Since I was doing this in early spring, the air in Arizona that time of year is nearly bone dry anyway so I figured that was more than adequate.
5. Specs called for 29-30 ounces of R134a (depending on the source of information, underhood label had flown off ages ago) so I proceeded to weigh in the exact amount (minus a couple of ounces at first, which I added later on).

I was puzzled by the fact that the high pressure kept rising and low pressure kept dropping and cutting off compressor--thought I had done everything exactly right. Eventually I figured out that the fan clutch was not working (was able to stop it by hand even with engine hot). I had recently had the EV fan clutch deleted from the PCM but hadn't replaced the fan clutch yet so I bought a Hayden thermal fan clutch from Amazon (first mistake). After installing the new clutch I still had the same issues with the a/c--very disappointing. Second mistake: I did not test the new fan clutch and made the ASSumption it was working right.

Limped through the following summer and this summer with varying degrees of a/c cooling and wife grumbling. By July I threw in the towel and took it to a shop. After telling my story and going over the system the mechanic advised that the RA (UAC brand) compressor was probably the culprit. I had a gut feeling that was wrong but didn't have the smarts to prove it. After much head scratching I finally remembered I hadn't checked out the new fan clutch. Sure enough, I was able to bring it to a halt with the engine hot--I could hold it still with one hand and feel it pull a bit every few seconds but never catching completely. After installing the NAPA clutch everything fell into place--stable pressures and 42F from the center vents in 95F ambient temps!

Takeaways:

1. For the umpteenth time learned to never buy mission critical parts from Amazon. I don't know whether it was a counterfeit or just defective from the start but since I never checked it I missed the return window ages ago, and if it was genuine Hayden I missed the one year warranty by a couple of months.

2. In all my research on a/c diagnostics there was not much said about airflow over the condenser. I know it was there, just not emphasized enough for me to pick up on it. Rookie lesson learned.

3. I was pleased that, otherwise, I had done the rest of the job well!