What did you do to your GMT today?

[Maverick6587]

The rear axle stole my Saturday! Rear diff fluid change, 2nd change since it was too black not to do it twice, rear rotors and pads, and rear axle bearings and seals.

Draining the rear diff Saturday, it was still completely black. You couldn't even see through the fluid while pouring it, trying to look through it with a light behind the fluid.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Drove it into work. Gave it a quick clean out as well. Amazing how much stuff accumulates in a vehicle

 

[Blckshdw]

Got the replacement cable for my new backup cam, so got around to installing that. Had never seen this type of connection before, turns out it's called CVBS, and appears to be more common than I thought. The cable they provide is long as hell, something like 26' I think. When you think about it, all of them should be that long, so you don't need to use extensions and additional connectors. I didn't feel like tearing out my interior and dash again, so I just bundled up all the excess in the cargo section by the amp.







Made sure to do a test run before messing with the rubber boot again, not to mention making sure the camera worked. Laid it on the cargo shelf, and was impressed with the picture quality. I think it's rated at something like 600 TV lines, so my expectations were low. Granted, it's being viewed on a 10" screen, so that helps.




Snipped the appropriate loop to get rid of the reversing lines, since the HU has them as an option, and I don't use them anyway. Modded the trailer hitch cover with a cut piece of scrap metal, since the camera is smaller than the original hole I drilled. Painted the metal black, and siliconed it in place. Fed the camera wire through, and routed it to the driver's side tail light. Note, would have been smart to check the length of wire on the camera first. This one was considerably longer than the previous 2. The connector could have been fed through the tail light grommet much easier due to the smaller diameter. Ended up tearing the grommet forcing the larger harness side connectors through. Oh well, taped em up real good, so it's fine.




One more test post-install, may need to adjust the rotation a little bit, but think it's pretty good. Will record a short video on the drive to work, to add to my Amazon review, so I can get that refund back.

 

[6716]

Figured out why the washer fluid wasn't coming out ...

 

[xavierny25]

Figured out why the washer fluid wasn't coming out ...

Pumps no good or was the connector left disconnected at some point?

On another note I swapped out my squeaky power steering pump.







That's all for now and everything is right in the world. Lol

 

[6716]

Pumps no good or was the connector left disconnected at some point?

I replaced a pump that was leaking (as part of a lot of other work). Looks like I just didn't plug them back in.

 

[aaserv]

Frickin rats got into mine and Im catching hell getting the smell out. Ran an ozone machine twice this week and spent the morning cleaning it up again but still have the smell.
Really dreading pulling the seats out and shampooing /replacing the carpet but it seems I may have to.
Ive made a zillion mistakes rebuilding this thing but letting the rats get in it has to be the biggest of all. May end up ruining the entire project.

 

[REDLTZ]

Installed new Rockford fosgate 6.5s sound deadened the doors and installed my new headlights I also broke my grille and am drinking my sorrows away

 

[6716]

Cleared a P0455 and a P0300. New gas cap. Replaced four coil packs I should have also replaced when I replaced just two coil packs when I did a whole lot of work at once. #6 and #1 were the worst, the number 6 had significant corrosion on the fastener tube and right at the spark plug contact.

The plugs only have 50,000 on them, #4 still gaps right about to new spec, but I think I must have cross threaded #3 when I changed them a while back because it will turn a little, but then stop, and turn back a little, but then stop. I'll have to worry about that at a later time.

 

[Pygot]

Went food shopping. Contemplated putting my HIDs back in. Spent the rest of the afternoon convincing myself that getting rid of it is the best idea.

I was considering doing hids in my saab 9-7x.. I have had them in other cars and enjoy them why dont you want them?

 

[Reprise]

Got the rear hubs replaced on the Sierra yesterday. Took it out for a test drive.

Good news: The higher pitched noise I heard during cornering at speed / load, is gone.
Bad news: I still have another noise, which, after researching, appears to be worn carrier bearings.

Granted, the JY axle I replaced the original axle with last year had miles on it. And the shop I had swap it out did inspect it before installing it. But it's kinda depressing to have two axles in a row with issues -- especially when I've never had a differential issue until I got this truck.

Suffice to say, I'm not a fan of Dana axles, given my experiences. Give me a good AAM axle, any day. They might not have the rep for 'toughness' that Dana / Spicer does, but I've never had a problem with one, either. And I'm not 4-wheeling with it.

Debating whether I take the truck to have the diagnosis confirmed / fixed by the shop now, or let it wait until after I finish the engine work. Leaning toward the latter, TBH. I've had to postpone it so many times now, for various reasons. Now, I just want to get started with that project.

Watched a video of a guy doing the carrier bearings on a Dana 44. Not so intimidated by it, now that I've seen it. However, since I futzed up the old R&P just by taking the bearing caps off, I'm a bit leery of doing it and screwing up another one. So I'll have the shop do it.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Drove it to the city again with the snow.

 

[bobo52]

Finally got a some time to get the transmission out to inspect a probable pump problem, and yep sure as rain it went plus the front half is marred up so I ordered a new one

 

[Sparky]

Drove it to work last few days. Had some snow and winds that was causing drifting and slick areas so I threw it in A4WD a few times. This is my 07 Silverado with a newer transfer case that does not "slip-bang" like the GMT360 case does, and it really does a very nice seamless job on intermittently slick roads where you really don't want full locked in 4wd. Still don't want to run it in A4WD too long due to clutch wear etc. Anyway, nearly at work and I saw my one intersection was sketchy so I put it in A4WD again, and it worked fine as usual but I got the "Service 4WD" message on my DIC. Oh man really? But 4x4 still worked normally. Hm. Maybe because I engaged it right as I entered a turn and it didn't like a wheel speed variation and slip right at time of engagement? Dunno. I'll keep an eye on it.

220k miles on original powertrain anyway!

 

[xavierny25]

Rack & pinion for a 3rd time. First time was last July when they sent me a remanufactured with a stripped bolt hole for the lines. At that point I had to put my original back in and go about my day. 2nd time was the next day with a unit I pick up from a local parts store also a remanufactured. Well that one went to shit 2 days after I replaced the power steering pump. I ordered 1 up on ebay from the Detroit Axle store that night. Got it delivered yesterday and got to work on it this morning.
The new reman is in and I'm scheduled for an alignment for tomorrow at 10am. I'm not mad about doing the work but after 3 times it's a bit frustrating. I need to catch a break from any steering issues for a bit. I know that after 200k things are going to break but if I can't trust reman parts to last at least half the life of the original I'm so done.

 

[Maverick6587]

@xavierny25 didn't you just replace that with a Detroit Axle part? I thought they had a 10 yr warranty?

 

[xavierny25]

@xavierny25 didn't you just replace that with a Detroit Axle part? I thought they had a 10 yr warranty?

Well the first one was a Detroit Axle which had the stripped bolt hole so I sent that back and I didn't have the time or patience for them to get that 1 back and then send me another 1. So I got my funds back from them. I went with a local part store 1 thinking I'd be okay regardless of who rebuilds them. After the first experience with Detroit Axle I didn't want to go back to them but since I've seen so many here have good results I'm giving them a second chance.

 

[Maverick6587]

@xavierny25 please, let me know how that goes! I'm planning on using their suspension parts this summer.

 

[xavierny25]

@xavierny25 please, let me know how that goes! I'm planning on using their suspension parts this summer.

There suspension parts are solid I've got lower control arms from them as well as a slew of other parts.

 

[Reprise]

Drained the trans fluid in the Sierra -- after taking an impact to the drain plug bolt. Originally went after it with a 12pt socket attached to my breaker - all that did was round off the bolt head a bit.
Remembering what happened with the bolt in the Envoy's trans pan, I headed straight for the 6pt impact. Took about 5 shots w/ my battery-powered gun before it finally loosened. I was starting to think I'd have to drill / extract the bolt, like I did with the Envoy's plug a couple of years back.

Given that, I'm wondering if this was the factory tightened bolt -- but if it was, the fluid would be a LOT darker than it was (isn't pink, but isn't burnt, either... more like a purplish-red). I'll hopefully know once I get the pan off, and take a look at the pan / filter. 4L80e is a gorilla, but I doubt it would've survived 235K on factory fluid (which would've been Dex III, for chrissakes)

Will also do the 'shadetree flush' after I get the filter in; I've got mega quartage of my preferred fluid on hand to swap it out with.

Ordered up a replacement bolt from AAP and will go pick up in a few minutes.
For reference, the bolt is a M12 x 1.75 x 30mm (I believe it's the same for both 4L60 / 4L80). 15mm bolt head, btw.

Note that mine was NOT rusted in-place -- there was no corrosion on the bolt, threads, or pan surface underneath. Although there might (?) have been some catalytic reaction with the steel bolt and the aluminum (?) pan - ? Needless to say...the bolt was frickin' tite, if I had to use a gun on it.

While the GM part # is 24233099, I do NOT recommend replacing with it or a clone -- the bolt has a tapered surface under the bolt head (to conform with the pan shape), and the 15mm bolt head itself is a shorter height as a result -- which, combined with (GM plant) overtightening, makes for an almost 100% chance of at least rounding the bolt head. Plus, the one I got to replace it has a magnetic tip.

Given my experience with the two factory plugs... if you ever get underneath your truck and find this type of bolt below in the trans pan (Dorman shown, but it's a clone of GM's)... stop, and get a suitable replacement on hand before draining your fluid, because the likelihood is, you'll round off or strip the bolt head getting it off, and then have to stop & get a replacement, like I'm doing tonight. I may even throw some anti-seize on the bolt, even though the torque is somewhere around 28-35 ft-lbs (I forget, but you *know* I'll verify it beforehand)

With the short height of the bolt head, it's a cluster**** waiting to happen.

 

[Sparky]

Found out yesterday my front right tire was at 20 psi. Hm of course that's the one my TPMS sensor is dead in. Aired it back to 40. This morning tire is at 35. Ok, so a slow leak somewhere...

*edit* checked just now and it was down close to 32 psi. So, appears I lose roughly 10 psi every 24 hrs. Aired it back up around 42 so I should be good for going to work tomorrow and back. Looks like a tire shop visit for a leak repair is on my to do list this week. Hm, maybe have them put in the "new" (now 1.5 year old never installed) tpms sensor while they are at it and get rid of one dash light. Still have to figure out the airbag light. Anybody in the Columbus area with a tech 2?

 

[Maverick6587]

Decided to have a little fun in seeing how well the tire plugs kits can really "repair" a puncture. I have no intentions of EVER using this tire... Just having some fun in testing.


I pulled the tire off and then pulled the screw out of the tire and let most of the air out of the tire. Only to find that the "hole" looked more like someone stabbed it with a knife and then put a screw in place of the knife.
I tried one plug, knowing I would need more and that started to bubble as I was applying extra glue. So, I immediately added a second plug.

Four-five plugs later... I let the glue dry for about an hour and decided to put some air into the tire.


I hear the hissing sound and grab my water and soap mixture to spray on the tire. I find three leaks... On on the sidewall of the tire and two at the rim. So, I plugged the sidewall hole, waited for it to dry, put air in the tire and called it quits.

 

[aaserv]

Went to the Pull a part where there is an Envoy exactly like mine but 1yr later model. Same color and everything....except the interior. This bad boy has black leather seats that I want sooooo bad but cant spring loose the money right now. Not to mention I swore to myself I wouldnt buy anything else for it until its totally back together and running...
Which brings me to what I got done yesterday and today. All the coils are back in place and plug wires attached. Water Temp sensor wired in. Fan, clutch and shroud re-installed. Found the boots for the steering shaft and got that back on along with the adapter from steering shaft to rack...Still have the rack just hanging from 1 side as I need 2 people to align it properly before i bolt it up. Went under the car and rechecked all the torque on oil pan bolts. So pretty good effort all things considered.
Finally got my Coolant Tank installed and boy does she shine!! Actually the whole reason for making this post was so I could post a pic of it and show it off!
Still thinking I may go back tomorrow and get the front seats at the junkyard. They starting to mildew a lil ...the back glass is gone and its rained here virtually everyday for a month. Really want the back seat too though...o the pain , the pain!!

 

[Mounce]

Took the Silverado grocery gettin. Got home and dumped half a bottle of Seafoam in the oil and drove to the dentist then got gas and dumped 1.5 bottles of seafoam in the tank. So about 15 miles and 30 minutes idle time, wanted to try to flush it as I have a lifter collapse once or twice soon after changing oil everytime but it re-primes after a few minutes lol. Changed the oil, put a new plug in it and my usual wix 51522 extended length filter. Changed up my oil flavor this time, went with rotella t6 5w40, notice she gets a little tappy when hot so hoping the extra 10 weight when hot might help. Checked and topped fluids while I was at it.

 

[paul2005tb]

Found out yesterday my front right tire was at 20 psi. Hm of course that's the one my TPMS sensor is dead in. Aired it back to 40. This morning tire is at 35. Ok, so a slow leak somewhere...

*edit* checked just now and it was down close to 32 psi. So, appears I lose roughly 10 psi every 24 hrs. Aired it back up around 42 so I should be good for going to work tomorrow and back. Looks like a tire shop visit for a leak repair is on my to do list this week.

Interesting, I just went from 44psi to 20 psi and took the wheel of , making a very careful assessment with soapy water I found no leaks. The only alternative explanation I can think of is that the aluminum rim bead seat has corrosion inside. I'm going to have dismount the tire and clean the bead seat with Emery cloth.

 

[Beacon]

Changed up my oil flavor this time, went with rotella t6 5w40, notice she gets a little tappy when hot so hoping the extra 10 weight when hot might help.

Have you tried, or considered, that Lucas Heavy Duty oil stabilizer?

 

[Sparky]

I will not touch any oil additives with a 10 ft pole. Good oil has all you need in it, and Lucas oil "stabilizer" can cause foaming which is very detrimental to the engine if it occurs.

Truck has been sitting for a couple days. Got a good heavy rain shower rinse though that got a lot of nasty salt crud off the side windows and body panels lol.

 

[TollKeeper]

I will not touch any oil additives with a 10 ft pole. Good oil has all you need in it, and Lucas oil "stabilizer" can cause foaming which is very detrimental to the engine if it occurs.

I agree. Lucas is not the greatest thing they say it is. It definitely creates an aeration in the oil, which is murder on oil bearings. If its thicker than your regular 10w30 oil, its not good.

 

[littleblazer]

Put the new instrument cluster in the sierra. Drove it. Gotta love the 6.0l sound.

 

[Mounce]

Balanced the tires at work. All were out. Feels like riding a cloud again.

 

[Mounce]

Replaced the bumper led DRL bars on the Silverado then gave it a very over due bath. She still cleans up nice.

Forgot to mention that when I balanced the tires I checked diffs and transfer case fluids. Rear appeared a smidge low but not enough to concern me, I could see the fluid through the fill hole. Front diff was over full a smidge and GLITTERY tons of glitter. Made me very uncomfortable, I just serviced the whole shebang like 30k miles ago wtf? I'm sure this isn't the last I'll see out of it, gonna need to change the fluid before vacation next weekend and will wait till it's howling. Transfer case was still nice and blue and full.

 

[Mike534x]

Went to Harbor Freight to pick up a set of 5 point torx bits, been having a small issue with the ABS kicking in randomly at slow approaching stops @ 5 mph or less. Its not often, but its slowly starting to do it enough that its becoming an annoyance. Started up maybe 3-4 months ago, went away and is showing itself again. I attempted to clean the driver side hub, but didn't know Timken used a 5 point torx screw. Fair amount of surface rust, a bit more then I was expecting for something thats 3 years old. Planning on doing both sides tomorrow, I'm curious to see how well the Moog hub I installed on the passenger side is holding up. In case the sensors are flaky, I picked up 2 AC Delco speed sensors in the Amazon warehouse section for $30 (both were brand new, just damaged boxes). Figured there was no harm in changing them, but otherwise no abnormal noises, hums, or vibration coming from the front end. I'm hoping its just the surface rust causing an issue, for good measure I picked up another can of Fluid Film that I'm going to spray near the sensors to keep it from happening again for awhile.

 

[coolride]

Went to Harbor Freight to pick up a set of 5 point torx bits, been having a small issue with the ABS kicking in randomly at slow approaching stops @ 5 mph or less. Its not often, but its slowly starting to do it enough that its becoming an annoyance. Started up maybe 3-4 months ago, went away and is showing itself again. I attempted to clean the driver side hub, but didn't know Timken used a 5 point torx screw. Fair amount of surface rust, a bit more then I was expecting for something thats 3 years old. Planning on doing both sides tomorrow, I'm curious to see how well the Moog hub I installed on the passenger side is holding up. In case the sensors are flaky, I picked up 2 AC Delco speed sensors in the Amazon warehouse section for $30 (both were brand new, just damaged boxes). Figured there was no harm in changing them, but otherwise no abnormal noises, hums, or vibration coming from the front end. I'm hoping its just the surface rust causing an issue, for good measure I picked up another can of Fluid Film that I'm going to spray near the sensors to keep it from happening again for awhile.

When I had this problem, it resolved after I installed a new o-ring on the sensor.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Cruised it into work with it pouring rain out. Going to fill it up with some high-test on way home since fuel prices are low currently.

 

[BrianF]

My wife and oldest daughter took the 360 to the city today. I had to heat gun the lower edges of the lift gate as the damn thing froze up again. One day it is wind driven snow, then -25C, then the next it is -5C, heavy sun and melting. The next day its -15C and everything is completely iced over.

I may have cursed GM and their engineers on this one.

 

[Reprise]

I had to heat gun the lower edges of the lift gate as the damn thing froze up again.

I swear, with as many issues with rusting liftgates (bottom corners), frozen liftgates, etc., there's definitely a problem on these things with water intrusion, seal deterioration, or both.


As for me... finished my 4L80 trans service on the Sierra, including full fluid replacement. Used 14qts, replacing 1-2 qts at a time. Marked up a gallon jug with 1qt increments, placed it in my view, & shut the engine off after about 12 seconds each time. Worked a treat.

Only thing I would've done differently would've been to move the bracket for the shift cable; I wound up pouring out a bunch of fluid on me & the garage floor tilting the pan to clear it and the exhaust shielding on the other side. (Two T40 screws hold it on, and you can move it by removing only the front one (the screws strip easily). Lesson learned, although I'll probably never have to take that pan off again, on this truck.

When I got the pan off, I saw that the trans had been cared for - pan was basically spotless inside, and just a thin coating of material on the magnet. Was nice to see that. Still good to have peace of mind, and I don't consider the time and $ I spent wasted, plus I gained good experience with the fluid 'flush'. Wouldn't hesitate to do it on the Voy now, although it'll be awhile before it needs new fluid.

For the little wire clip that holds the cooler line in - it was easier for me to put it back in place first, then push the cooler line back in past it afterward. As for removing it - no issues, using a pick tool. I did remove the top half of the air filter box / intake plenum, which gave me plenty of working room (and a place to set the fluid collection bottle)

Now to take it in to my axle shop to confirm the suspected carrier bearing issue & get them replaced. Decided to get that done now, rather than tempt fate. I'll swap out the springs on the new heads & get some other stuff ready, while they're working on it.

 

[Mounce]

Changed my front diff fluid for piece of mind. Maybe been 35k since I done it but fluid was super glittery. Those aren't shards of metal, just a whole pile of metal powder in the magnetic fields.

 

[Reprise]

Changed my front diff fluid for piece of mind. Maybe been 35k since I done it but fluid was super glittery. Those aren't shards of metal, just a whole pile of metal powder in the magnetic fields.

Those are 'filings', correct? Maybe it's the size / resolution of the picture, but that seems like a lot (?) for 35K miles. 'Glittery' fluid doesn't sound good, either. How often do you engage 4WD? (just curious; not suggesting it's the source of any 'problem')

'Glittery' reminds me of what I found in the Sierra's rear axle (Dana) when I drained out the fluid last year (and that axle was such a mess that I wound up replacing it w/ a JY unit, as it was cheaper than rebuilding it.) I got some on my hands & it took two days for it to wear off (yes, I wash my hands!)

 

[Mounce]

Those are 'filings', correct? Maybe it's the size / resolution of the picture, but that seems like a lot (?) for 35K miles. 'Glittery' fluid doesn't sound good, either. How often do you engage 4WD? (just curious; not suggesting it's the source of any 'problem')

'Glittery' reminds me of what I found in the Sierra's rear axle (Dana) when I drained out the fluid last year (and that axle was such a mess that I wound up replacing it w/ a JY unit, as it was cheaper than rebuilding it.) I got some on my hands & it took two days for it to wear off (yes, I wash my hands!)

Filings, fine filings, yes. Basically powdered metal, no noticeable chunks. And yeah seemed like a lot to me too.

And at the moment I've engaged 4wd everytime I leave my house for about 50 yards for the last 3 months or so. Could very well explain the extra wear. Driveway is pretty dang rough and the 3 months of rain here have only exacerbated the issue. Without 4wd I'd have the driveway all kinds of fubar. With 4wd I gently climb it and go about my day without wrecking it so bad that the TB can't make it out.

 

[Reprise]

Without 4wd I'd have the driveway all kinds of fubar. With 4wd I gently climb it and go about my day without wrecking it so bad that the TB can't make it out.

That's what it's there for. That's why you bought it. Use it, in good health.
Not all of us can be flatlanders