What did you do to your GMT today?

[Matt]

Took it to my tame mechanic and had the lower drivers ball joint replaced. Boy am I glad I didn't even try to do it myself. They had to heat it up to get it out and heat the bracket to get the new one back in.

I replaced the upper passengers control arm yesterday. Looks like a need a new drivers side tie rod and axle, but they can wait another week.

 

[xavierny25]

Replaced the 7" inch joying head unit with a 8" joying head unit with built in dsp and a bunch of other goodies. Not in the Voy but my brother-in-laws TBSS.
We tried to protect each other by wearing gloves and masks since we are both essential workers. He works for ConEd and I'm a facility maintenance engineer aka the handyman.



Turned out really good and the dsp is decent compared to the older 7" head unit.

 

[BrianF]

That looks awesome!!!

 

[Mooseman]

Changed the oil. Wasn't sure of the mileage on it and I forgot to reset OLM last time. Wrote it on the airbox this time. I also added a magnet ring inside the filter. Picked it up from my Yamaha dealer when I picked up some parts there last fall and thought it was a good idea, better than external magnets. It'll be interesting to see how much it actually picks up.

Oil Filter Magnet - for 23.8mm (15/16") Hole Size - Motion Pro

Motion Pro - High quality cables, tools and controls for motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and personal watercraft.

www.motionpro.com

Then I installed the Saab's hood gas strut on the TB. No more prop rod! Then, I found the fog lights I cut out from the old 02 to install them in the LS. One light the bolts were seized and spun and the reflector chrome was black so it's thrash. Did cut the nuts off so I could get the piece of bumper to glue in the fog light pocket. The other one was fine. And I have to take the bumper off to stick in there. If I'm gonna do that, I might as well also install the tow hooks I also kept from the 02, however, I wasn't able to find one of them. So putting that whole project on hold until the local yard opens up again so I can get these.

 

[aaserv]

Well I finally got the U-Pull-It sound system installed and working. Kenwood DPX500BT I got off Ebay from an LKQ in Ohio already mounted in an Envoy w remote $44. 2 Pioneer 6.5" 4 way coaxial front door speakers out of my local U-Pull it rated 260w for $7 each. 2 rear door speakers DB Drive 2 way 6.5" rated 275w for $7 each.
Sitting there going thru the settings, adjusting EQ, etc and the lady next door calls the cops on me...its 12.30 in the middle of the day!!! He laughs about it and shows me how to hook up my phone to it to play Amazon Music via Bluetooth....
Still cant drive it but boy she sure sounds good....lol

 

[TollKeeper]

Put it back in service... The wifes Aztek transmission is either taking a crap, or is having pressure issues. Each gear is fine, but getting it into those gears is the problem. Might be the PCS solenoid, or the shifting solenoids. I wont work on transmissions, so off to the shop as soon as it re-opens from 'Rona.

 

[TollKeeper]

Long post... Sorry, last 2 days has me a little grumpy...

So as mentioned above, my Wifes Aztek (GMT250) Transmission went funky on Sunday, didnt notice that until after I replaced the battery.. When did batteries hit 200 bucks? But yea, I replaced the battery. Since the side post batteries on the 75 series on the Aztek are so hard to get to, I replaced it with a 78 series with dual posts (top and side).

Wife gets to drive my other GMT250 Buick Rendezvous, and I get to drive my old reliable GMT360 XUV, while her GMT250 Pontiac Aztek is at the tranny shop (wish she would let me sell that thing).

So got off work at 5pm last night, went out to my XUV, turned the key, and click.... click click, whirrrrrr..... whirrrrrr (headlight washers). GRR!! Went inside, got the jump pack, and she fired right up.

Took it straight to AutoZone....
Me- I need my battery checked please
Them- Im sorry sir, we are not doing any out of store services because of Covid.
Me- Say what? I just had you guys check the battery in my other car yesterday.
Them- Cooperate said we cant sir.
Me- You laz.... (I then cussed them out before I left the store.)

Drove to another Autozone 15 miles away, and closer to my house.
Me- I Need my battery checked please
Them- Sure no problem (turns to grey shirt) STEPPING OUT!

They hooked up the tester, input the CCA, temped the battery, and **click...click** Bad Battery. Literally as fast as you can read that is how fast the test was, the battery was that bad. Of course my free replacement period for the battery was up last month... GRR! Luckily I still had a pro-rate, which gave me 90 bucks off another 200 dollar battery.

I then drove over to a guys house for a craigslist ad, he had a set of tires for my XUV, Michelin Defender LTX/M-S, with tire birthday of 4219 (Sept 2019), Brand new, for 400 bucks in the size for my XUV. He had just bought them a month earlier, and put them on his Honda Pilot. On his way home from the tire store, he got T-Boned! Tires still had those little nubs on the tread, and a few remnants of the stickers. He paid 1093 bucks to have them installed, and I got them for 400. I think thats a score.

Now to sell the rims and tires that are on the XUV. They are new tires, maybe 1500 miles on them, but I hate them, and they drive horribly. They are on my spare rims, so in an effort to make space in my garage, I will sell them with the rims... Hopefully

 

[aaserv]

Decided to take the rack off today. Mixed result....Like the way it looks until you get the raised ceiling in the very back. Then it obviously looks like somethings missing. There is a black plastic underlay piece goes right in that spot. Gonna take a little work to build it up and smooth it out but gotta put something there..

 

[Mooseman]

I've always liked the rackless look. On the TB EXT, there is a bump in front for the front bolt that was ugly if you took the rack off. I had a bodyshop pound them in and fill them. The rear portion to me looked fine.

Waddiya think? Rackless EXT

When I had my truck in the shop for repairs after a fender bender, got the shop to also permanently remove the roof rack. EXT's are a bit different than the shorties on the rack retention as there are two ugly humps where the front bolts go. I had removed the rack and just plugged the threaded...

gmtnation.com

 

[TollKeeper]

Now to sell the rims and tires that are on the XUV. They are new tires, maybe 1500 miles on them, but I hate them, and they drive horribly. They are on my spare rims, so in an effort to make space in my garage, I will sell them with the rims... Hopefully

And I sold them last night... 350 for the rims and tires, so new tires are going to cost 50 plus mounting.

 

[TollKeeper]

Adding to the above, sold the rims and tires for twice what i paid for them

Then on my way to work this morning, heard a bang.. couldn't figure out what it was for the life of me. Then the sun hit my windshield just right, crack all the way from the right to the left right thru a big chip in the bottom center. Thank goodness for glass insurance coverage.

 

[Mounce]

Heavy footed her to work and back. Had a customer getting tires changed and said he didn't want his wheel spacers anymore and I could have them. So of course, I had to throw them on this evening when I got home. I'm honestly not a fan of spacers and would never buy them myself but for free I'll try them out, they are hub-centric so that's comforting. Will post a pic tomorrow when I can get a shot in daylight.

 

[Sparky]

If they're good quality they're fine, Hardtrailz has beat on his for years without issue offroad along with many others.

 

[Mounce]

Puts them just a little past flush, haven't figured out if I like it yet or not but I'll run them for a few days and decide.

 

[xavierny25]

Swapped out the ddm. I screwed up my original unit doing a led swap so I had to settle for an older model unit 04 or 05 can't remember. It worked but I got tired of the driver side being different and like the look and feel of the one from 2008.
04-05 Old black ddm.

New from an 08

Old unit. I'll be posting it up for sale soon.
Newer or 08.

 

[BrianF]

Swapped in the new ignition switch in my Tb. The fan and 4wd are back working but my abs and e brake light are still on. Also my stabilitrak and traction control light will not come on when the shifter button is pushed.

But in good news, the new vent valve solenoid went in. Cleaned up the seal on the gas cap as well. My large leak code is gone, even after a few key cycles and short test drive. The true test is when I fill up and see if the thing air locks.

The old valve was piled with dirt and dust. It poured out of both ends in the wind. I guess its seen better days.

 

[Mounce]

Silverado AC compressor 'area' has made noise a couple times since its gotten warmer this year. Knew it was ac related because I could kick ac off and it go away immediately.

Looked at it with a work buddy after when we got off today and tried to get it to make the noise again, it didn't. Did make a loud bearing squeal for a second though that I'd never heard before. Yeah well, it slung the ac belt off right then. And chewed a spot on it to where there were strings hanging out the side. Could also see some marks on the back like the tensioner might have locked up once or twice for a second so that lined up with the noise I had, bearing was pretty noisy but not locked and had broken a travel limit tab off of it when it kicked the belt.

Didn't have time nor parts to mess with it right then so we cut the old cracked belt off, didn't want it causing any trouble spinning around the crank on my drive home and it needed replaced anyways. Went bought parts and put them on when I got home and it made the original noise AGAIN. Looks like I'll be putting a compressor on it soon. Yay.

 

[xavierny25]

Washed it early this morning.
Then loaded it up with stuff I wanted to store at my brothers shop.

I have to get helper bags for the lowering spring in the rear just to keep it level.

Used a few extra ratchet straps then I needed to keep my SS wheels in place but it's worth it considering the $ and time it took me to get them looking this good.

I'll be outside in the back of the house polishing up the 18" stockers after I post this.

 

[xavierny25]

Some before and after shots of my polished factory 18's.




A little tire dressing and its done.

 

[xavierny25]

Had to fix 1 last thing before I had to go back in the house.

I'm amazed no one noticed. Lol

Pulled a decal from my stock pile.

I rep the 360,370 line hard.

Then I almost did the oil change but stopped myself since I did enough for 1 day.

 

[aaserv]

Well got back underneath it today determined to finish it up.....Boy am I glad I started early!
A few weeks ago I had posted about moving it back 20 ft or so to get the lawnmower in the backyard.
Well when I did this I didnt have the big plate on the bottom that holds the lower control arms in place.....HUGE mistake....Both arms moved A LOT!! Of course I didnt realize this until I had it all back together and went to put the 4 big bolts in and they didnt come close to lining up.....Had to loosen everything back up, get a huge breaker bar to loosen the front 2 bolts then get em back to who knows how close to where they used to be and button it all back up again....
Needless to say my wheel alignment guy is going to have a fit. Hes already the highest priced so and so in the South but hes going to break me by the time he gets all this straightened out. I may just have it towed to his shop and not even bother with trying to get it close enough to drive. Boy I do not want to be there when they put it on on the machine and it shows how far off EVERYTHING is. Their going to think the frames bent or something.... and he's the kind of guy whos going to give me the whole lecture when I go to pick it up....in front of everybody!!! Then hes going to present me with the bill for the worlds 1st $400 alignment of a passenger car.... jeeeezz I cant buy a break...

 

[Mounce]

Well got back underneath it today determined to finish it up.....Boy am I glad I started early!
A few weeks ago I had posted about moving it back 20 ft or so to get the lawnmower in the backyard.
Well when I did this I didnt have the big plate on the bottom that holds the lower control arms in place.....HUGE mistake....Both arms moved A LOT!! Of course I didnt realize this until I had it all back together and went to put the 4 big bolts in and they didnt come close to lining up.....Had to loosen everything back up, get a huge breaker bar to loosen the front 2 bolts then get em back to who knows how close to where they used to be and button it all back up again....
Needless to say my wheel alignment guy is going to have a fit. Hes already the highest priced so and so in the South but hes going to break me by the time he gets all this straightened out. I may just have it towed to his shop and not even bother with trying to get it close enough to drive. Boy I do not want to be there when they put it on on the machine and it shows how far off EVERYTHING is. Their going to think the frames bent or something.... and he's the kind of guy whos going to give me the whole lecture when I go to pick it up....in front of everybody!!! Then hes going to present me with the bill for the worlds 1st $400 alignment of a passenger car.... jeeeezz I cant buy a break...

Sounds like you need a new alignment guy... But if he gets it right he's doing better than most. Have seen way too many half ass alignments.

Just ordered $300 in ac parts for the Silverado. I'm too soft to do without AC.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Well I found out my cheap projector headlights do not have functional high beam on DR side since being in storage. So back to the old lights again for awhile.

 

[aaserv]

Your certainly right about the bad alignment jobs. Its hard as hell to find anyone who actually knows what their doing. They go by what the computer tells them to do, Don't know anything about setting it up so the computer gives the right info. You go to 10 shops and see how many even ck the air in the tires before they start...probably none.
Ive actually got 2 buddies who run shops and I wouldnt go there for a wheel alignment on a wheelbarrow.. This guy is an arrogant high priced A-hole but he runs a tight ship. His guys are the best in every field. Gives a 12 month/ 12K mile warranty on alignments and doesnt care if you bring it back with a bent rim....He swears a pothole cant change an alignment and if it does they did something wrong..
Ill bring my work truck to the other guys when i need to have something done in a hurry but if i want it fixed right or like its my Moms car.....I only bring it to him.

P.S.........I feel ya on the A/C. Its 85 here today. Nothing I hate worse than driving a hot car..

 

[Mounce]

Romped her to work then around town getting some things and back home. Added to the pile of parts I have waiting to put on it.

 

[TollKeeper]

This was yesterday, but got the windshield replaced. Safelite guy was shocked at seeing 193k miles on the clock, and still had the factory installed glass in it.

Threw a wheel weight on the way home, so stopped by the tire shop to get them rebalanced, AGAIN (just had it done on Saturday).

Last week, put the GMT360 Envoy into Full Time Duty Status. Tranny went out on the wives GMT250 Aztek. So she gets to drive the GMT250 Rendezvous while its getting a new tranny installed. I sure miss my Envoy... It rides so much better than the Rendezvous.

 

[xavierny25]

I've been wanting to do a dedicated chassis ground for my audio system and today was the perfect day to run the wire.
Purchased a threw chassis ground bolt.


Found a nice spot where I wanted to drill out a 5/16 hole.


Drilled and cleaned up the surface rust and got it to bare metal.

Installed ground bolt.



Prepped my 0/1 gauge wire run with home made soldered ring terminal, tech flex and 3 to1 heat shrink.



Ran the wire between the rear bumper and taillight area. I then cut and used the grommet for the taillight to run the wire into the truck. Finally I connected the wire and painted the area with bed liner since it's what I had available.
I did add silicone to the boot to keep it water tight but didn't get a pic.



Tech flex and heat shrink. I'll be using the pink for all positive runs inside the truck.
Have to get a ground distribution block and figure out where I want to have it dedicated in the truck now.

 

[xavierny25]

Oil change while it's only drizzling out.

For the first time ever added some ATF and ran it for 20 minutes before I drained it. I probably didn't need to use Dex6 but it's what I had laying around.


Anyone see an issue with the fact that my upper radiator hose is under some kind of vaccum and caving in on itself or is this "start a thread" worthy.


Once I removed the fill cap to check the fluid the level was fine and there's fluid in the res.

 

[TollKeeper]

Its normal on a cold engine. Just the system trying to suck in fluid from the overflow bottle.

 

[Sparky]

Can be a sign of a failing hose that is getting weak. It shouldn't do that I don't think. Mine never did. I would probably replace it. It is old enough at this point.

 

[Mooseman]

Either the cap is not allowing coolant back into the rad from the overflow tank or the hose to the tank is kinked.

 

[xavierny25]

Its normal on a cold engine. Just the system trying to suck in fluid from the overflow bottle.

Can be a sign of a failing hose that is getting weak. It shouldn't do that I don't think. Mine never did. I would probably replace it. It is old enough at this point.

Either the cap is not allowing coolant back into the rad from the overflow tank or the hose to the tank is kinked.

Thanks guys! I'll look deeper into this later today. I definitely need a new hose since it is the original with over 205k miles on it along with the lower radiator hose.

 

[aaserv]

Found a small leak on a heater hose. Have to fix it this morning but I sure hate fooling with those hoses. Seems every time I move them at all another leak develops.
Been tweaking the front end a lil at a time. Passenger side is pretty close now but drivers side is still way off. Going to fool with that some more today. Whats weird is Ive only moved the adjustments a hair here and there but somehow the steering wheel is almost a full half a turn off now.
Motor sounds great. Slight lifter tap but its got 203k i think so nothing unusual there. Starter didnt hang at all last time I tried it....Would be great if that problem would fix itself!
Drove it back and forth down the driveway a few times but was scared to go out on the road with the gas light on. Got 5 gals of non-ethanol in it now so if i can get that tire a lil straighter today I may take the maiden voyage out on the road today. If everything goes right I'll put the insurance back on it this weekend and get the plate back on it Monday.....Then make that dreaded appointment with the Alignment guy!!!

 

[aaserv]

What a disaster this turned out to be. Had a small drip where the heater hose comes off the T right by the dipstick and runs to the Rear control valve. Looked like all it needed was a better clamp on it.
Well the pinch clamp was facing straight down so no way to get pliers on it so off came the air induction, out comes the windshield washer. Now I can get to it. Put my pliers on squeeze and the other end of the hose comes off the heater valve. O great ! Out comes the coolant tank.......and you guessed it....broke right off the valve, not even a nub left. Jump in the truck and head to u-pull -it to hopefully get a valve off the 2 v-8's they had there last time I went and there is a line 30 people deep...They only let in people as people come out. Sat there for 20 mins saw 1 person get let in and left.
Got to thinking what do I need rear htg for in this area? Hell winter is only 2 days long here. Ill bypass the rear htg. start taking all that apart 1st hose goes pretty easy. The second was the big hose that had went to from the heater valve to the front core. Didnt really bend the right way but i was going to have to splice into it anyway as it was way to short to reach the 90d bend pipe coming out the water pump. Got that all ready pulled the hose up to the connector...........and you guessed it....Broke right off at the heater core connector. Could not get the plastic connector off the core pipe so spent 45 mins sawing into it with a hacksaw blade until i finally was able to peel it off. Got that all back together then put everything else back together......Am I only only guy who catches hell trying to get that horn piece in the air box in the right position??????? Jeez I fight that for 30 mins everytime I do it. Finally got all that done. Remembered I had never even tried the windshield washer so filled it up. Fired it up to ck for leaks, hit the windshield washer and boy did it work....squirted water everywhere BUT the windshield!!! Looks like Ill have to take the cowl off and see whats off or broken in there.....Didnt even try to fool with the front end....Enough bad luck for 1 day.........

 

[jak03TB]

finally got my trans temp installed. (again) Ordered from Glow Shift. when i attempted the 1st time i ran the sensor and power wires had everything soldered in and then attempted to plug in the power harness to the guage. they were different sizes >.> go back to the packaging and realized they sent the wrong harness. 2 hours on the computer (because no one answers the phone because of the 'rona) and another week for shipping. i finally received the correct harness today. my fault for thinking they could send the right one and not checking 1st. now it is set-up and running. and now just awaiting the shipment of the enclosure for my pillar. all in all the gauge looks pretty, the product seems cheap (wires are majorly thin and were only 16'' long) but it works as of now. i dont think i would order from them again because of the customer service.

if the gauge looks hard to read it is because it is. the gauge has a tinted face so the enclosure should help with making it darker and killing the glare. it also makes me want to tint the windows now.

 

[Sparky]

Used my new scan tool and looked up the airbag light code. As expected, front impact sensor (most common cause of airbag light on the GMT900 series trucks when they get old). Right side. Ordered a new one. Dorman -yes I know, but no one has found a difference between the Dorman unit and the OE, except it is half the cost. Some suspect it is the same part just relabeled by whoever sells it. It should be here later this week.

 

[aaserv]

Well shes ready to go.. Did the old string trick on the alignment and still a pull to the left but close enough to drive. Took it for a drive through the hood and it ran great. Couldnt go far cus no plates but hopefully they'll be on tomorrow. Man it felt good to get it back on the road. Not near 100% complete but hopefully no problems I cant tackle 1 at a time. If the front end guy gets the steering tightened up w a couple new Michelins on the front Im going to be 1 happy Envoy driver......Finally!!!!!!!

 

[2001ZR2]

Washed the wife's Envoy Denali and changed the oil and filter.

Now to see why the oil level drops seeing oil in rear part of the engine on the drivers side.

 

[djthumper]

Replaced the brakes and front rotors on the TB. Now to figure out why the front brakes are squealing so bad, the calipers seemed to be working fine but everything was really snug going back together in the front.

 

[xavierny25]

Third times the charm! Right???

Ordered another fuel pump for it. I could not locate a reasonably priced Bosch for it so I went with the acdelco. Hopefully this time I won't have any issues. Current issues are flacky gas gauge and code p0463.
Also it won't start after warmed up and takes another try with the key to get it started sometimes even needing a third try.