What did you do to your GMT today?

[Mooseman]

I thought you had the 6.0L in yours somehow and the 6.0 doesn't have AFM? or did I get mixed up which one you ended up getting.

The 6.0L L76 does have AFM. Already tuned it out

 

[Reprise]

Funny thing is, it was easier to swap that sensor in the Saab than in this full size truck

The 'pro' tip is apparently to pull the intake, to make it easier. I had mine off, and *still* wound up purchasing the special socket (about $6, USD) to remove it, as there's so little room between it and the firewall (and the valley cover interferes with it on the front end, IIRC, although that can be removed, too, of course)

I don't envy whoever gets to pull the pan to remove the pickup tube bolts, since you have 4x4. They should (?) be able to leave the timing cover in place, if they're careful.


Fingers crossed that your bearings are OK (I'll be the sunny optimist here and predict that they are).

If the timing cover did have to be pulled, it'd be the perfect time to put in a new Melling pump
(on edit: According to Summit's 'truck' L76 guide, that engine has a HV pump, stock (1.25 c.i. per rev. @ 30 psi))

Note - There was a 'car' version of the L76, as well, which is why I put the 'truck' in there.

 

[Sparky]

I didn't find pulling the pan that terrible. The 4x4 stuff drops out pretty easily, especially compared to the GMT360 with that awful through pan setup. A lot more room to work underneath the full size. I did not touch the timing cover.

 

[Mooseman]

The 'pro' tip is apparently to pull the intake, to make it easier. I had mine off, and *still* wound up purchasing the special socket (about $6, USD) to remove it, as there's so little room between it and the firewall (and the valley cover interferes with it on the front end, IIRC, although that can be removed, too, of course)

I wound up having to get that special socket too but only to remove the original sensor. The new one works very well with a 1 1/16" deep 12pt socket but was too big for the old sensor. Spent more time hunting down this socket than I did doing the job. This socket was supposed to work for both sizes of sensors but it didn't fit on the new one so had to revert to the 1 1/16" socket.

There was no way I was going to pull the intake and having to also replace that gasket too. The real problem is that f@#$%&* piece of plastic held in place by the brake booster vacuum line. I tried to get that hose off so I can toss that useless garbage but it just wouldn't budge so I just fought with that feral cat.

Fingers crossed that your bearings are OK (I'll be the sunny optimist here and predict that they are).

I sure hope so too as I don't want to wind up with Son of Saab!

If the timing cover did have to be pulled, it'd be the perfect time to put in a new Melling pump
(on edit: According to Summit's 'truck' L76 guide, that engine has a HV pump, stock (1.25 c.i. per rev. @ 30 psi))

When I did the DOD delete on the Saab, I had mistakenly put in a regular pump and my oil pressure was lower however nowhere near as low as the Av's. I then replaced it last year to the Melling 10355 and was much improved. Wish I would have kept that pump. I got it for $155CAD at the time and it's now over $240. The stock DOD pump already has higher volume. If I wind up taking it apart, I'll get a stock pump at $142CAD and shim the bypass spring so it will go up from 53psi bypass by about 10psi. The Melling 10355 already had a 70psi bypass and the Saab never even got close to that which means clearances were likely very loose.

I don't envy whoever gets to pull the pan to remove the pickup tube bolts, since you have 4x4. They should (?) be able to leave the timing cover in place, if they're careful.

I didn't find pulling the pan that terrible. The 4x4 stuff drops out pretty easily, especially compared to the GMT360 with that awful through pan setup. A lot more room to work underneath the full size. I did not touch the timing cover.

I do have a trick up my sleeve that I used twice on the Saab, pulling the pump without having to drop the pan. Heading into winter, I am definitely not doing this in my driveway and at $30/hout for the DIY garage, dealing with the diff by myself would be an expensive long slog.

 

[Mooseman]

So drained a bit of the Av's oil and added motor flush. It says to run for 5 minutes, it ran it for 30. I'm gonna let it soak overnight in case the pickup is gunked up. Tomorrow I'll get it up to temp again and change the oil to some cheap dino lube and filter. Run it for a while a and see if things improve. If not, to the shop it goes next week.

 

[Reprise]

There was no way I was going to pull the intake and having to also replace that gasket too. The real problem is that f@#$%&* piece of plastic held in place by the brake booster vacuum line.

Ah, you have the vacuum booster. I assume that any truck w/ a 6.0L has Hydroboost, and that's definitely NOT the case. In a way, I wish I had the traditional booster, as when it goes out, you don't lose both brakes *and* power steering.

I then replaced it last year to the Melling 10355 and was much improved. Wish I would have kept that pump.

Just a note on my HV Melling... I noticed when I first started the engine with it, the pressure was damn near 60psi at idle, and I found myself wishing I'd put in the other spring, even though Melling advised against it. Now that the motor's got some hours on it, I see that it's definitely calmed down and sits just 'over' the 40psi midway mark, where the gauge was just 'under' it with the old pump. So it runs about 5psi or so at idle, over stock - and that, I can definitely live with. I just wanted more volume, over (significantly) increased pressure.
The only thing I can figure is that the engine wasn't fully pressurized on that first start (more on this in my build thread, which I need to make an update on (but not tonight))

Oh, and on leaving the pickup bolts / pan intact -- if you're replacing the pump, that's how I'd go to (and I did too, at first... kinda). But I'd think that one of the two has to move, to get the pickup tube separated / new seal in. Pick your poison (I'll take the pan route, over the front cover, myself... if I had 4x4, maybe not-?)

 

[Matt]

Tried to crack the locking nut for the passengers TRE, magic piss and heat did nothing, so it's going to get the alignment as is. However, if they say it's buggered, I'll ask them to crack that nut for me and put it in the parking lot and I'll have it done in 15 minutes (I'll put the jack, tools and stands in the back).

 

[Mooseman]

Changed the oil in the Av with some cheap dino lube and filter after running it a bit more with the flush and pressure seems to be good now. Driving it around and giving her quite a bit, pressure is holding a lot better than before. Cruising at 2000 rpm, pressure is just shy of 40 psi. From the research I have done, the stock pressure relief is around 50~53 psi and seems to be functioning correctly.

So what happened? I dunno really. This truck was previously from the northern Ontario town of Sudbury so maybe it was filled with a lighter oil, like 0w20? It did have an ACDelco filter which tells me it was probably done at a dealer (sold outside of dealers not very common). Maybe there was some dirt stuck in the pressure relief valve. I don't think it was the pickup screen as it would have had more trouble sucking in oil when cold than hot, which would have been the opposite of what was happening. I also don't think it's the pickup tube o-ring as it would act the same way as before if that was it. When I drained the oil with the flush, it wasn't overly dirty but did find it was thin.

While I was under there, I did find that the front axle seals are leaking .

 

[TJBaker57]

So a couple days ago I swapped my previous junkyard EV fan clutch for another. This time a Behr unit. The original as well as the previous unit never went below 720 rpm and ran about 1200 rpm at 2000 engine rpm. It otherwise worked when commanded so never an overheating concern.

I first tested this second junkyard pull for speed sensor operation and resistance through the solenoid. This unit registered a significantly lower resistance of 8 ohms, the previous having been 12 ohms. Either way the resultant amperage seemed to be reasonable. I could hear the solenoid click so I knew that much looked OK before doing the swap. After the swap I tested it out in the garage and it engaged as it should and appeared to disengage much like the previous units did, remaining at roughly 720 rpm at idle. I thought "well it's no worse and it gives me more of a data sample for consideration".

Today I am headed out for the first time on the road with it and upon starting I see the fan RPM in Torque at 174!! I pop the hood for a look and sure enough it is just loping along. I have never seen a fan running that slow without having been manually stopped by hand during a test. Have now driven about 30 miles in two legs and this unit seems to disengage better that my previous units. At startup I get a couple hundred rpm and it stays fairly low for several minutes even after having accelerated to highway speed and maybe 1800 engine rpm. Eventually it goes to the same 1200 rpm at highway speed and close to 2000 engine rpm. The tipping point seems to be in the mid 300s. Once it lopes on up to that it then seems to re-engage more fully.

 

[MBS1994]

Built a smoke machine to find a possible leak

 

[TJBaker57]

Built a smoke machine to find a possible leak

I have thought about doing this. Have collected a fair amount of electric heater element (wire) from old residential hvac units. Planned on using a gallon metal paint can but then saw where someone used a glass vessel and mounted the heater stuff in the lid. Might try that.

 

[MBS1994]

I have thought about doing this. Have collected a fair amount of electric heater element (wire) from old residential hvac units. Planned on using a gallon metal paint can but then saw where someone used a glass vessel and mounted the heater stuff in the lid. Might try that.

Ironically that's what I did. I salvaged a heater element from a furnace and a valve stem from a tire. Gonna try it soon.

 

[TJBaker57]

Ironically that's what I did. I salvaged a heater element from a furnace and a valve stem from a tire. Gonna try it soon.

That looks like a hot surface igniter there. I plan on using some resistance wire from an electric heater element. I have some from a furnace and also some from an electric clothes dryer.

 

[Mooseman]

Part deux for today. Received a message from the Android HU seller because I had complained that I couldn't change the shortcuts on the home screen. He gave me instructions and link to an update file. Well, the update went in and it's now unusable. The screen size is wrong, touches don't correspond to where the buttons are on the screen and it's ugly as f#ck.




So another message and they sent me another update file to try. I hope I can do it since I need to be able to touch the button on the screen to start the update. Tomorrow.

 

[Blckshdw]

I messed mine up similarly a while back. Touch points were all over the place, and the screen res was way off. Luckily I was able to get into the settings screen and there was a recalibration feature that I could reset. Hopefully you've got that option too.

 

[Matt]

Tried to crack the locking nut for the passengers TRE, magic piss and heat did nothing, so it's going to get the alignment as is. However, if they say it's buggered, I'll ask them to crack that nut for me and put it in the parking lot and I'll have it done in 15 minutes (I'll put the jack, tools and stands in the back).

Dropped the TB off at Firestone this morning and they are looking after me. They've already changed the TRE for me for nothing. I've been going there for over 10 years, so it's nice they're doing that. Just waiting on the call to pick it up with the new meats.

 

[TollKeeper]

Will be dropping off the Envoy at Firestone this evening for them to go back over what they did. Something is just not exactly right. Its close, but the noise I am hearing in the front end on bumps says something is loose, or not right.

 

[Mooseman]

Changed spark plugs and wires and cleaned the throttle body. I think it had the original plugs in there. It had 41-985 plugs, which seem to have been superseded by 41-162, which is what I replaced them with. For having 200k km, they didn't look that bad. It idles a bit better, a little less shake. The ACDelco Air filter was like new and I had already cleaned the MAF. Only showing four of the plugs but they were all the same.



I also received my pipe cutter and it made short work of cutting open the old oil filter. Only a few flecks of shiny metal, no copper. Just a little dirt in the bottom of the can. Definitely not impressed with these filters, being just a bit above Fram in construction. I do like the idea of opening the filter after each oil change so this will be a new habit from now on.



And on the radio front, finally have it back to normal after another update however, my original complaint of not being able to change the home screen remains. Not a super big issue but annoying nonetheless. I'm just happy to have it back to normal!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/c14GubrwKz1V9JsH7

That Dab+ app is useless in North America and would like to get rid of it. If the seller can't do anything, I might have to resort to an app or manually force an uninstall as it doesn't give that option.

 

[xavierny25]

Learning the hard way its either gm/ ac delco or nothing for my Envoy.

Today I replaced the new Hayden fan cluth with a AC Delco.

 

[Mooseman]

Let me guess... the bigger one is the Delco? What a difference! Is it locked up on startup? That seems to be the biggest complaint.

 

[xavierny25]

@Mooseman Yes the 1 on the right is the Delco. Not only on start up but quite a few times on a 20 mile run to work and the same coming back home. Now with the cooler temps not as much but still very annoying. Regardless of that the hayden had to go. I'll be monitoring temps and see when this 1 locks up and at what temp it let's up as I was doing with the hayden.

 

[Mooseman]

If you could do a quick ACDelco vs Hayden writeup, that would be useful for reference.

 

[Mooseman]

My saga continues. Today was such a noice day (18c and sunny with a light breeze) that I had to do stuff in the Av. Replaced the Evap vent solenoid with the new and improved version as per the TSB, replaced the shocks with the ACDelco air shocks, ground out the secondary lock on the spare tire hoist (it did give me some grief so, GONE!) and lubed the cable and inside where the crank rod goes. Saw the poor state of the original suspension compressor so yanked it out to save a few pounds. Aired up the shocks to about 40psi and it brought it back up to a nice slight rake.

So took it for a fuel fill and...

0 new items by Moose Man

photos.app.goo.gl

I had also checked the vent hose from the tank to the top of the filler. There was a restriction with what looked like a small brass venturi inside the hose. Took that out. Now I'm at a loss. I'll probably start a thread on this issue.

Oh, the truck lost about 5 lbs of dirt and rust. The PO must have lived on a dirt road because there's a lot of dirt. Not dried mud but dust and dirt. And, of course, most of it landed on my face and in my mouth . (I was wearing safety glasses).

 

[Eric04]

I finally ran into some work that didn't require crawling underneath a vehicle, swapped out plugs and cleaned throttle body on the wife's Equinox. I had done a cleaning from the top before but I pulled the tb this time and it was blackened pretty good on the underside of the butterfly. The only thing of note with the whole thing was the plugs were all reluctant to come out. They all eventually broke free with patient leverage but I didn't care for the feeling. I took it for a drive after letting everything recalibrate and she buzzes along like she should.

 

[Mounce]

I also received my pipe cutter and it made short work of cutting open the old oil filter.

Which one did you get? I wanna do the same to keep a check on things but filter cutters seem overpriced and exhaust pipe cutters seem hit or miss.

Got in my truck today and noticed an 8 inch crack on the windshield from the top, down through the rear view mount and past it at a curve. Further inspection showed it stemmed from a rock chip that is behind the headliner at normal seating positions so I never noticed it. Looked up a quote through safelite for $180....is that too cheap? Should I use someone else? 03 silverado....

 

[Mooseman]

Which one did you get? I wanna do the same to keep a check on things but filter cutters seem overpriced and exhaust pipe cutters seem hit or miss.

This one from Amazon Canada. Went by the reviews and most of the CCC ones had poor reviews. This one also has the ability to flip the chain around to use the less used end of the chain cutters as the more used ones wear.

GearWrench 2031DD Exhaust and Tailpipe Cutter : Amazon.ca: Automotive

GearWrench 2031DD Exhaust and Tailpipe Cutter : Amazon.ca: Automotive

www.amazon.ca

 

[TJBaker57]

This one from Amazon Canada. Went by the reviews and most of the CCC ones had poor reviews. This one also has the ability to flip the chain around to use the less used end of the chain cutters as the more used ones wear.

Hell I just did this for the first time the other day. Being a Tin Knocker I just used an old pair of tinsnips. Made a snip at the seam and then ran around the filter. Sharp edge but I'm accustomed to dealing with such.

 

[TollKeeper]

Will be dropping off the Envoy at Firestone this evening for them to go back over what they did. Something is just not exactly right. Its close, but the noise I am hearing in the front end on bumps says something is loose, or not right.

Got it back from Firestone on Saturday. 3 alignment points were off. They could not find the source of the clunking.

 

[Stugar]

Digging through the issue with the rear wiper motor Sunday, I figured out there's something wrong with the programming of the control board. Again, this seems like a "never trust aftermarket parts" moment.

What it'll do is it'll go through it's test sweep, and return to the parking spot, then, 3 minutes later with the car completely off it will sweep again and park like 5-10 degrees before the parking block, winding up on the window and making it impossible to open the window. And subsequent wipes with this configuration wind up with it first parking on the block, then after 3 minutes of the car being off, sweeping and parking on the glass.

I'd noticed this back when I first installed the motor, so I took the arm off after this park on window step and rotated it one detent so it was sitting on the parking block. However, it appears that this was not a good idea since when you do a wipe with it it tries to return to the parking block it gets blocked before it reaches what it thinks should be it's home position, and basically locks itself out till you pull the self resetting fuse and plug it back in.

I saved the board from the factory one, since I took it off trying to rebuild that as a spare, but wound up scrapping it because it was so seized up I couldn't get it apart non-destructively. So, I think I'll try swapping boards if they're physically compatible.

 

[Stugar]

Well that's yer problem lady!

Not really, this thing technically worked. Problem is in the programming on the microcontroller (center right). I swapped in the original Valeo board that I'd saved from the factory wiper motor and it works perfectly now.

But still, this was a brand new Carquest motor! It's covered in flux, components are sitting barely on their pads, there's a freaking bodge wire from the controller to a big glob that I think is covering a resistor...

 

[djthumper]

I will be changing the oil in the TB and I have to replace the rear brakes on the Silverado.

 

[Matt]

Firestone had to replace the valves in the 2 front wheels. Seems like they tore a bit during installation. They soaped everything and that was the cause of the leaks.

 

[mrrsm]

While looking around for some Camshaft Aluminum Cap 10.9 Fasteners on eBay for another GMTN Member... I spied a complete set of Used GM 4.2L Cam Phaser, Intake Sprocket and both Camshafts for $58.65 (plus a fairly big hit on the S&H) and so I've have this set coming,

Ordinarily, I would look for All New Valve Train Components, but since I need to R&R the Camshafts with Galled Ramps and Lobes on the Cams fastened to a 2004 Engine Head... these should do nicely. I think this eBay Vendor also has some additional used Cams and Cam Phasers for anyone working on a Weather Exposed Motor that has the Top End Rusted Up & needs any such gear for an R&R:

 

[Mooseman]

@MRRSM , I wouldn't reuse that phaser. It looks a bit coked up, just like mine was when it failed, which tells me poor maintenance.

I went to the DIY garage, replaced all the tires with the set of used Cooper AT3's I picked up last week, then replaced the rear pads with ACDelco Pros to get rid of the squealing from the cheap pads the used car dealer had put on ( as well as not lubing the pins, the boots were worn out and had reused old shims), changed out the cheap dino lube and filter with the good synth stuff, drained and refilled the transfer case (fluid was black instead of red) and rear diff. Nice thing about the rear diff is it has a drain plug and fill plug on the cover . Replaced the charcoal canister.

Having it on a hoist was oh-so-noice however, I will NEVER EVER do tires again. What a labour intensive job that is and because of the overabundance of old dried up bead sealer, had to clean off the rims of all that crap. Sure, $30 DIY vs $100 at a shop, I will happily pay someone else to do it. Those 20" wheels are freaking heavy!

Now for the bad news. I couldn't get the front diff fill plug off (similar to GMT360's). The 18mm hex just stripped. I think it's never been taken off before. And I gotta get it off and fill it because it has substantial drip at both axles. I'll either try and find another one at the yard or get a new one. The mech suggested trying a small pipe wrench. I might try pounding a 17mm socket on there and use an impact and heat.

And when I was all done and ready to leave after filling it with oil, dead battery . The mech gats a fast charger out and we get it going again. Because it was on the lift and in neutral for 5 hours, the key was still in a partially turned state and some stuff was still on, maybe on aux. I know I had to force the headlights off.

Other bad news, tried to fill it on the way home and it's now WORSE! It only needed 1/8 tank top up, start filling and the pump shuts off very early and pukes gas out. Try to fill slowly, clicks off and pukes again . Only got 1/16 of a tank in. I'll start a thread on this.

At least the new brakes are nice and quiet.

 

[BrianF]

Shitty deal Moose, wheels/tires piss me off. Thats a complete and utter no go for me. The burnouts at the tire shop can do it.

I wonder WTF went wrong with the canister? Did or are you doing the vent valve?

I also know your pain of the dead battery. When I had mine on blocks doing the axlw seals, I had it neutral with the keys stuck in it as well. I had to wait an extra day only to find her pooched.

 

[mrrsm]

@Mooseman ... THAT Exhaust Camshaft Phaser is going to take a Nose Dive into a Nice, Deep Bucket of Berryman's ChemDip as an Experiment in "How to De-Gunk a Helical Cam Phaser, Circa 2002-2003".

I'll be fabricating a "Slender Bathtub" made out of Cardboard and Duct Tape and then after lining the interior of it with a section of Plastic Garbage Bag... I'll submerge the Camshaft in there under some more Berryman's Chem Dip for nice, long Bath; one at a time to De-Grease, De-Gunk and Clean Up both Camshafts as Prep for a later Bright Light Inspection,

Then, I'll Spray all three items Down with WD-40 after a Wash in Hot Water and finish the Jobs with separate Saran Wrap Ups of them. The Old TTY Bolts will go into my Old Junk Bolts Bucket for other Jobs... :>)

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Packing it up for a weekend at the land doing some hunting

 

[Mooseman]

Got that fill plug out using a twist bolt remover. When drained, it was pretty dark and still had a good amount however it looked like it had some moisture in there with the telltale grey milkshake. I squirted some gear oil in there to flush some of that out. Filled it with 80w90 and added some Lucas power steering stop leak I had in the hope it would help swell up the axle seals and slow the leaks. Grabbed a fill plug from a spare front diff from a 9-7x I have.

 

[Reprise]

Ordered up driveshaft U-joints, along with LCA bushings & LBJs for the Sierra.

Spent two days researching 'which' U-joints I needed (both because of manufacturer & material of the driveshaft... mine is a Spicer, and I thought it was aluminum (which requires zinc phosphate coating on the bearing caps, to avoid galvanic corrosion). Much to my surprise, a magnet stuck to the driveshaft, so it's not aluminum! Which made my U-joints both cheaper and easier to obtain. They'll be here Monday.

Today, I rented a fuel pressure gauge, so I could see what was happening with the pressure when the engine is shut down. Watched it almost immediately bleed down from the mid-50s to under 40psi, at key on / engine off. When started, it idles in the mid-40s (which was a bit surprising; I thought it was supposed to put out at least 58psi, since it's regulated at that output.)

My LTFT is in 'positive' territory (lean, adding fuel), even though my STFT is pretty damned tight. And my injectors on bank 2 have been a bit noisier than I'm used to hearing, so I figure it's time to swap out the fuel pump (I purchased a pump unit, instead of the whole module, so I wouldn't have to wait for the 'whole module' unit I wanted to come back in stock from Walbro). Pulled the Sierra in the garage tonight and will do the R&R tomorrow, which includes modifying the 'bucket' of the module.

Still undecided about lifting the bed, vs. dropping the tank; I'd like to lift the bed, if I can manage it. We'll see once I crawl underneath, tomorrow. Given my experience dropping the Envoy's tank last year (to replace the rear brake 'crossover' line), it wasn't too terrible with a floor jack at either end supporting the tank; if this one is the same, I may just drop the tank and be done with it.

 

[northcreek]

Which one did you get? I wanna do the same to keep a check on things but filter cutters seem overpriced and exhaust pipe cutters seem hit or miss.

Yes, overpriced indeed. I just bought the cutter wheel for $10 and slabbed together a a crude but functional filter cutter.