Wrenchin... Adventures under the hood... Put em here.

[Rideski]

Gotta love the real metal bumpers instead of the plastic bs they switched to.

[Aldo]

That’s a nice piece of equipment right there. Clean interior, barn doors,just broken in. Lotta miles left on that clock.

[tBatt]

Truck has been having intermittent starting issues. Turn the key, get one single click. Jumping it worked most of the time.
Checked voltage running, constant 14V.
Non-running battery 12.8V.
Load Test came back fine. Battery new 1/23.
Hooked up 12v across the leads of the starting relay, contacts pulled in fine, got continuity through the lead.
Went down to Napa (30 min drive), gave them year/make/model, they sent me home with a new starter.
Pulled the old one off, they didn't match up. Called them back with the model number off the old starter, they found a match, had it on the shelf.
Another trip there, got the right part, had it installed in ~30 mins. No issues yet.

[east or bust]

Could have sworn when I looked at it last Monday I watched the guy pull in and saw the brake lights work, but sure enough 5min into driving it back my fiancé calls and tells me no brake lights. It'll be a good starter project on the easier side.

Sounds like it can be a lot of different shit going haywire on the GMT400 platform. Started with the easiest today - fuses and ground on the rear harness. Tried to check power at the rear harness but it's kind of a pain in the ass with a multimeter. 95% it's not getting power back there but going to buy a cheap test light tomorrow to be 100% sure. Next will be the brake switch, followed by the turn signal switch. The blinkers and hazards work fine so don't think it has anything to do with the circuit boards in the lights themselves.

Brake switch was the culprit, swapped out this morning. Was easier than I thought, can't believe some people pull apart the steering column to do this. I used a hook/pick set, though the right pair of snap ring pliers would also work well if you could somehow get them to the retainer clip.



That's it in the top middle

[bagtagley]

Apparently axle bearing failures are going around. Did the DS rear hub assembly on my MIL’s Crosstrek. Figured it would hammer out as easily as the Odyssey, but read enough Subaru horror stories that I went ahead and ordered a hub shocker.



Very glad I did. Gradually worked my way from the little hand sledge to the bigger to the full sledge with a scissor jack supporting the knuckle. After twenty minutes of cussing it finally opened enough gap to load it up with all the penetrant. Fucking Subarus.

[MontuckyFried]

I'll be a regular participant of this thread for years to come. Picked up the '98 Tahoe this weekend. Overall, aesthetically and mechanically it's in really great shape. Drives perfectly straight with no shake at 70mph, engine and trans feel strong, steering is tight, etc.

Heckuva score!!! Congrats! With the travesty that is the 2023+ models, I really miss the ones like yours. Tough as hell, pretty reliable, and not bad looking either. Good job getting the brake lights fixed.

[warthog]

Ok, did the dumbest thing of my life yesterday morning. I feel I am amongst friends, so I can admit it.
I blame the time change.

So last Friday my daughter was driving and told me the steering locked up when she went to park at dance practice. I knew it was the PS, but didn't know the cause. I suspected the tensioner pulley, since when I changed it, the new one wouldn't thread. I had to use the old bolt to get it to thread.
Got to her dance school, and sure enough- serpentine belt vanished- poof- gone. Tensioner was sitting at a wonky angle. Went to loosen it, heard a noise. Little looser, and it fell out and hit the ground. Hmm- that's interesting- there's the other half of the bolt still in the bracket. Well shit. Gave her the keys to my car and nursed it back home. Luckily it was a pretty cool FL night and the drive is only 7 minutes. Still got pretty close to pegging the temp and when I got home I could hear the radiator boiling. No damage done though, and it was home.
FF to Saturday. Hit 2 local pick and pulls. 1st one had 2 E-150 vans that had the right bracket, but shit was tight in there, and it looked like a nightmare job. 2nd one had a 1995 F-150 on their site, so I was hopeful.

Score, had exactly what I need. Moment of truth came when I removed the tensioner on the donor engine. Loosened right up and threaded out smooth. 2 more bolts and it was out with the smog pump attached. 10 minute job tops. 2 of which was removing the radiator to get better access. Grabbed a couple other goodies for backup stuff, and $102 later I was stoked. Got it home, cleaned it up, hit it with some aluminum paint, and it looked new. Swapping out the smog pumps was the toughest part of the job. I was so happy to find the right part and really feeling like the master shade tree mechanic, a real pro. But then...

Now the dumb part. While the paint was drying on the bracket Sunday am, I decided to top off the PS fluid since it puked a bit out when my daughter tried to man handle the steering while not moving (she learned a lot about how power steering works that night). So off I go with some Lucas PS additive that has worked well on my CJ. Then, like a true shade tree grade A dumbass, I pour it right into the brake reservoir. I immediately realize my fuckup, thankfully. I run to the garage, grab my hand pump bleeder, and suck everything out of the reservoir that I can. Then I top it off with the right fluid, let it sit a while, and repeat.

So now I am convinced I got 95% of it out. I decide to hit the O'Reilys near me and get more fluid. Thankfully, I admit my mistake to the jobber at the counter and he tells me to be really cautious and thorough with my next moves. At this point, I have NOT touched the brake pedal. I go home and do some research and start tripping (hint- it is a REALLY bad mistake to make). I immediately go out and disconnect the master cylinder and dump the contents into a glass jar. I also disconnected the lines from the MC to the ABS pump and clean them out with denatured alcohol after dumping their contents into another glass jar. I added water to that jar and let it settle, figuring if I saw a petroleum sheen on top of the water, I was fucked. Thankfully it showed nothing but brake fluid and water mixed together.
Thank god I never touched that brake pedal. Something in my pea brain, immediately after I did it, told me that would be bad. After researching it, I realize that was the only smart thing I did that day. I call a local mobile mechanic, a guy that was so good that I will be using him again for sure, and schedule him to come over this am. I just wanted a pro's opinion before moving forward.

This morning I bought a big old jug of DOT 3 and a brand new brake master cylinder with reservoir. Mobile guy came over, cleaned all the old fittings needed, and gravity bled it all out and got it dialed. I was still putting all the stuff back in from the bracket removal, so we couldn't start it to check it all out. He showed me how to gravity bleed it at the MC if the pedal felt a little squishy after I started it.

Got it all back together, new serpentine, triple checked everything I had done (didn't need another speed bump), and test drove it. Pedal felt slightly squishy so I bled it a little more and it felt perfect. Gonna monitor it closely for a while, but I think I avoided a MAJOR expense and safety hazard.

Apparently, petroleum doesn't do good things to the rubber inside a brake system. Once it is in, you pretty much have to replace anything with rubber. MC, ABS, lines (if applicable- mine are SS thankfully), calipers, etc. Major PITA, and if you don't flush it all out, it keeps happening.

The good news is, brake fluid is much heavier than petroleum. It doesn't mix and go into the system UNLESS you hit that brake pedal. At that point, you are stuck. I tested it by pouring extra brake fluid in a mason jar and then pouring the Lucas straight in. I wanted to see if pouring it directly in would mix it more. It did not. The oil went right up to the top like a lava lamp. Almost 24 hours later, it is still separated, so I am pretty sure I got most of it out right away by drawing it out with the pump and refilling and repeating.

Please remember this cautionary tale. Apparently though, if you want to off someone, dump some oil in their brake reservoir. The internet makes it seem like even a drop will ruin the entire brake system.

TL/DR- I got a nice clean new brake master cylinder.

Commence laughing...

[warthog]

Brake switch was the culprit, swapped out this morning. Was easier than I thought, can't believe some people pull apart the steering column to do this. I used a hook/pick set, though the right pair of snap ring pliers would also work well if you could somehow get them to the retainer clip.



That's it in the top middle

Welcome to the 90's SUV club. Hopefully there is a good forum to help you. I found FSB.COM for old Fords, and it has been a godsend.
Your interior looks perfect. Congrats.

[gravitylover]

Sometimes I wonder but it sure does seem like self-healing is a thing. So, I've spent countless hours and a bunch of $ trying to solve the lumpy running motor which is/was causing the poorly rebuilt tranny to suck worse. When I finally wrapped my head around needing cats to solve it the mechanic that put the motor in and did all the other work to fix it pulled the upstream O2 sensors to visually look into the cats. What could be seen looked great so he sprayed the sensors with MAF cleaner, blew the connectors clean and put them back in. It's been slowly getting better and it stopped setting codes, still showing pending but not setting. The tranny has nearly completely resolved all of the problems but I think 20k miles of abuse did some damage, we'll see. I did 660 miles yesterday in relative comfort considering it's a 200k mile Dodge Caravan.

[Squirreljam]

Hey all, question for the collective. If you needed to replace a GM 3.6L, LLT variant, in a ~140k pretty clean 2010 Chevy traverse with no other real issues - would you use a salvage yard used engine (usually 30/60 day warranty on long block only) or a reman’d engine with a 2/3 year warranty? If reman, anyplace anyone can recommend?

It’s a big job, full subframe drop, so I don’t relish doing it over and won’t be doing it in my garage. In contrast I just replaced a GM 2.4L 4 through the hood of a terrain and that was easy enough that I gambled on a salvage engine.

[fatnslow]

Hey all, question for the collective. If you needed to replace a GM 3.6L, LLT variant, in a ~140k pretty clean 2010 Chevy traverse with no other real issues - would you use a salvage yard used engine (usually 30/60 day warranty on long block only) or a reman’d engine with a 2/3 year warranty? If reman, anyplace anyone can recommend?

It’s a big job, full subframe drop, so I don’t relish doing it over and won’t be doing it in my garage. In contrast I just replaced a GM 2.4L 4 through the hood of a terrain and that was easy enough that I gambled on a salvage engine.

Do they offer reman warranties if you DIY the installation ?

[Squirreljam]

I don't know, not far enough along in shopping for this one. I would think so, as long as stuff like heat tabs weren't melted, you had receipts for new gaskets, etc. I have run into some places that seem to sell only to an installer network. Not getting the warranty would probably make me just go salvage.

[SumJongGuy]

Gave the daughter a head's up about battery and tire pressure before the first sub freezing mornings of the season. She topped off the tires and said car didn't crank as easily as it usually does. Bought the car April of 2020 and no idea about history. Well, even though it still cranked we took it to get the battery checked. Battery was dated April of 2018 so over 5 years old. Replaced. Sleeping much better knowing her battery is now solid. It was the last think on my "might need a new.." checklist for her car.

[basinbeater]

Two hours in. Fan pulley bearing starting howling on the cruiser last week, so I parked it and got on rock auto. $600 later, we have everything we need. I think. Because I was about 7k miles away from this cars next timing belt and the fan pulley bracket is 70% of the work to get to the timing belt stuff I figured fuck it. Let's do it. So, busted out the rarely used craftsman harmonic balanced kit, and making progress.

[El Chupacabra]

Goddammit.

Swapping on the winter tire set, and there was a circle of fluid marks on the tire, film of oil on the inside of the wheel. Didn't smell like gear oil, but brake fluid reservoir was full, so ruling out brake fluid leak for now.

Earlier this year on this same wheel position, I replaced the axle seal, brake caliper and hose, and brake pads. Guess I didn't do something right. Sure looks like an axle seal leak. No drip marks on the concrete where I park, oddly. It's a GM 14 bolt 10.5 full floating axle, so at least it's easy to work on.

Will check diff fluid level later. I ordered everything I'll need to redo the seal and replace the parking brake shoes (drum in disc hat type) - - Amazon to deliver Sunday, which gives me Monday to fix, before weather gets wet and cold.

[basinbeater]

Alright. Lunch time. Then water pump out and start reassembly.

[basinbeater]

.......... To be continued.

[basinbeater]

Goddammit.

Swapping on the winter tire set, and there was a circle of fluid marks on the tire, film of oil on the inside of the wheel. Didn't smell like gear oil, but brake fluid reservoir was full, so ruling out brake fluid leak for now.

Earlier this year on this same wheel position, I replaced the axle seal, brake caliper and hose, and brake pads. Guess I didn't do something right. Sure looks like an axle seal leak. No drip marks on the concrete where I park, oddly. It's a GM 14 bolt 10.5 full floating axle, so at least it's easy to work on.

Will check diff fluid level later. I ordered everything I'll need to redo the seal and replace the parking brake shoes (drum in disc hat type) - - Amazon to deliver Sunday, which gives me Monday to fix, before weather gets wet and cold.

Yeah, oil seal didn't settle properly or something. Some high quality rust prevention there.

[El Chupacabra]

Yeah, oil seal didn't settle properly or something. Some high quality rust prevention there.

Update: checked diff fluid level, it's fine - just a tiny bit below the fill hole - if I reach in with my pinky it's right below the fill hope, per spec.

Google and various GM forums say that overfilling the diff can force some fluid past an axle seal when the fluid heats up, and/or if the diff breather is clogged. I traced the breather hose from the diff up to near the gas filler neck - - seems very long, IDK if a prior owner extended it or if this is normal on a GMC Sierra.

Anyone experienced an axle seal leak from overfilling? I'm wondering if this is a thing that'll resolve itself if I overfilled it, and I don't have to redo the axle seal. Not super hopeful on that though.

I replaced the diff fluid around the time I replaced the axle seal, in early May this year. I think the leak appeared recently though - I didn't notice it when replacing the receiver hitch in October, and I was under the truck for that.

[basinbeater]

Drive it for a while, check axle fluid again. If it is unchanged, and you still have brakes, you might be in luck.

Alright. Gotta get back in there and keep going on the LC.

[caulfield]

Update: checked diff fluid level, it's fine - just a tiny bit below the fill hole - if I reach in with my pinky it's right below the fill hope, per spec.

Google and various GM forums say that overfilling the diff can force some fluid past an axle seal when the fluid heats up, and/or if the diff breather is clogged. I traced the breather hose from the diff up to near the gas filler neck - - seems very long, IDK if a prior owner extended it or if this is normal on a GMC Sierra.

Anyone experienced an axle seal leak from overfilling? I'm wondering if this is a thing that'll resolve itself if I overfilled it, and I don't have to redo the axle seal. Not super hopeful on that though.

I replaced the diff fluid around the time I replaced the axle seal, in early May this year. I think the leak appeared recently though - I didn't notice it when replacing the receiver hitch in October, and I was under the truck for that.

same forums are full of guys replacing an axle seal again shortly after the first replacement right? I had to do that on my LBZ and the second one lasted another 80k. My recollection is that there's some OEM paper gasket you have to be careful to remove and also maybe those things are just really sensitive to the way they're seated.

is your pic with the winter tires? (edit: yes, studs) I would get a starburst pattern of oil on the inner sidewall that I don't see on yours

[caulfield]

...
TL/DR- I got a nice clean new brake master cylinder.
...

Someone needs to acknowledge this story. It was a pleasing read and a mistake I could picture myself making. Glad it worked out!

[El Chupacabra]

same forums are full of guys replacing an axle seal again shortly after the first replacement right? I had to do that on my LBZ and the second one lasted another 80k. My recollection is that there's some OEM paper gasket you have to be careful to remove and also maybe those things are just really sensitive to the way they're seated.

is your pic with the winter tires? (edit: yes, studs) I would get a starburst pattern of oil on the inner sidewall that I don't see on yours

I used a paper gasket (Fel Pro) on the axle end flange cap. No leaks from there. I was careful to remove all of the old axle seal when I first did it - it came apart when removing the hub, and part was stuck on the backing plate assembly.

The pic is after I changed tires to the winter ones pictured. I had a star burst pattern on the other tire sidewall.

[basinbeater]

Making progress. Gah.

[basinbeater]

My back hurts. I'm getting old. Been a while since I did an all day wrenching session. Car is just about done. Engine fired right up sounds good. I'm going to change the oil and filter and put some new front sway bar bushings in and grease the driveshafts. Inspect the front diff bushings and order those up if necessary. I suspect it is necessary.

Parts replaced,
Drive belt
Drive belt tensioner
Drive belt idler pulley
Fan mount bracket (this was the bastard that failed leading to all this bs in the first place)
Fan clutch
Timing belt
Timing belt tensioner and pulley
Timing belt idler pulley
Water pump
Thermostat
Radiator hose x2
Fresh Toyota red coolant
Timing belt replacement sticker noted with 276432 miles.

Based on the looks of it, I need to do both valve cover gaskets at some point in the not too distant future. But the cam and crank seals are not leaking which is nice. I also want to get some stiffer rear springs, stock ones are not up to the taste with a loaded bike rack and fully loaded with camping gear. Maybe.

Engine runs smoothly and does not burn any oil between oil changes.

The other day we had the passenger seat recovered by a local shop as well as the leather center console cover. Looks MUCH nicer inside. I also treated all the seats with leatherique.
Got a new steering wheel coming in the mail. Car is just about ready for winter and the next 25k miles.