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But won't lowering it make the ride even worse? Comfort and pickup truck are not two things that go together.
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May 9, 2021 22:47
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I've riden in several very comfortable trucks. I'm just trying to see if I can upgrade the ride comfort on mine.
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May 9, 2021 22:51
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Yeah, in the 21st century trucks are pretty comfortable: Perfect for driving to my IT job in the city. I don't speak Ford, but the standard rec for the GMT800 is a set of Bilsteins. Truck was pretty shagged when I bought it so even the cheapest KYBs and a bunch of mevotech bits gave pretty good results.
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May 9, 2021 23:11
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Boys who love boys
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I think the Express is close enough to a GMT that I can crash this thread with some Van Chat… I put Monroe HDs on the Express and it’s pretty floppy for new shocks at highway speeds. I don’t slow down for speed bumps any more and I’ll do Bilsteins when these blow out. I did plugs/wires/intake manifold gasket a couple years ago on the van (99 Express 4.3l) and it sucked. All the fasteners that are hard to get at on the trucks are easy on the van, but all the easy stuff on the trucks is terrible on the van, and that’s a much longer list. 1/10 don’t recommend. I was getting lots of random misfire codes and the engine feeling boggy, which felt better after the plugs and poo poo but fully recovered after replacing the MAF. Cleaning it made a huge difference but it wasn’t 💯 until I replaced it. Now she’s sounding like somebody put a pebble or two in the transmission. It’s a rebuild according to a sticker on the case, but I have no idea when that happened. I bought it with 130k and it’s at 150k miles now. The whole van is a giant piece of poo poo, molting paint, dented up, and we owe each other nothing. I plan to ignore this until the transmission scatters itself. I have AAA. Then I’ll go and see what Pick N Pull has to offer…
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May 10, 2021 04:15
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Applebees Appetizer posted:Oh man I used to love the Aurora and was tempted a few times but GM. Was it a fun/good car? Random datapoint, but my grandfather owned a slew of GM dealerships (including Cadillac and Oldsmobile). He'd usually grab a car off the lot to drive for a few months, and slap his personalized dealer plates on (<dealername>1). He'd grabbed a brand new, first year Aurora, I think the first one GM sent to his Olds lot. Mom's car was at the dealer getting something done, so he tossed her the keys (it was only supposed to take a couple of hours, otherwise he would have arranged a loaner). We got towed back 5 miles later, with <200 miles on the odometer. It pegged the temp gauge within a couple of miles, and wound up dying on us. Much like the Northstar, it had an overheat mode where it ran on half of the cylinders and shut off the AC. It still wound up needing an engine IIRC; he'd been driving it every day with the gauge pegged, and not paying attention (he was hard of hearing and up there in years by then, and probably a bit used to 90s GMs dinging constantly for everything - and drove, well, like grandpa, so probably didn't even notice the loss of power - I remember having to show him how to turn off the hazards on one car when I was a kid...). But that overheat mode is just meant to get you home ONCE, then call for a tow to the dealer. it's NOT meant to let you drive around all day with the engine cooking away. With how fast it overheated on us (I don't know why I remember this all these years later), I'm guessing the thermostat was stuck... or it just didn't get any coolant from the factory. It didn't boil over or have any smoke or steam coming out when it died, it just died and had that nasty "hot metal" smell instead of that "overheated engine with a side of coolant" smell. I've driven/ridden in a few others since then, and they were very nice cars with decent power. That random datapoint just happened to bite the dealership owner's daughter in the rear end. meatpimp posted:On the Northstar -- I have had 3 of them and they have all been great, dependable, strong motors. A '93 STS, a '96 Aurora and an '02 Deville. The biggest repair I had on any of them was a water pump on the Deville. They were all great cars. Irony: mom's 92 SLS was in the shop for something fairly minor (I think the alternator took a poo poo a few weeks after she got it?), hence how we wound up driving her dad's Aurora. A month or two later, we tried to take a road trip to Idaho (from TX), in August. The AC compressor locked up just as we hit Utah with <3000 miles on it. It kept eating AC compressors after that until GM finally replaced everything instead of just the compressor (gee, wonder why?). The 94 was a better car, but would overheat anytime Mr Fresh Driver License (me) laid into it too much. It popped the head gaskets 2 or 3 times under warranty.  Also grenaded a transmission, but the tech who tore it down solidly blamed it on "someone pretending it's a manual and downshifting it constantly" (whoops). (that was before they just replaced it without tearing it down on a warranty job)I THINK we wound up in a 96 SLS after, then a 98 or 99 Intrigue. The Intrigue was a pile, aside from the 3800 (though it too popped a set of head gaskets - water pump poo poo itself around 30k and she ignored the temp gauge + DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING, kept driving until it died - shortblock was fine, got hot enough that it hosed the intake manifold though). The interior and body were the major issues on that car (I'm lumping the digital climate control into body in this case, it went through 3 or 4 climate control modules); the water pump was the only engine issue it ever had. At 50k (when she got rid of it) much of the interior looked like it had >300k on it. Door cards that fell off when you looked at it funny, stuff falling out of the dash (vents, airbag covers), headliner flapping around, etc. The Intrigue was the worst of the W bodies, IMO - I think the Buick Regal was probably one of the most solid versions, plus you could get it supercharged and still have it look like grandma's church car.
randomidiot fucked around with this message at 10:17 on May 10, 2021 |
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May 10, 2021 10:10
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STR posted:GM.txt Hmmmm, I wonder why they had to declare bankruptcy.
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May 10, 2021 11:55
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late 80s/early 90s GM in the cars was more funny and awful than tragic as the 2000's, (RIP Pontiac) because they FINALLY after 50 loving years, decided to synergize, in a real and not-parts-binning-way on developing cars between divisions and none of their engineers could figure out how to do it because they still wanted their own fiefdoms lol
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May 10, 2021 15:21
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Rhyno posted:Truck suspension chat. If the current suspension is end of life then just refreshing it with newer stuff will likely help. Check all the bushings, ball joints, wheel bearings etc... and it will be fine. Anything after market will likely make it less comfortable unless you throw bags on it or something. I daily drove a 2015 Silverado 120 miles 4 days a week for 18 months and comfort wise it was fine and being in a fullsize truck on i93 between Boston and New Hampshire means there are less shitheads who are willing to mess with you in traffic. Edit: after my move last month I leased a GMC Sierra of a similar spec to my Silverado but more fancy because GMC and cheap because I4 Turbo and RWD and that is decent as well but I think I will go for a midsize truck next time around since there are a few times in a fullsize even in a city designed for cars where it gets a little tight. BigPaddy fucked around with this message at 15:41 on May 10, 2021 |
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May 10, 2021 15:37
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Crunchy Black posted:late 80s/early 90s GM in the cars was more funny and awful than tragic as the 2000's I can give solid testimony to that. I lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the late '80s and had girlfriend/friends there in the early '90s. The father of one of my good friends was the VP at the local GM truck assembly plant. With that, the plant always had a slew of new GM cars that the executives could use at their leisure. That was nice, because any time we wanted a road trip or needed a bigger vehicle, he'd grab us a new van or something. On the other hand, it wasn't uncommon for those new vehicles to poo poo themselves. My favorite was a brand new 1990 Buick Reatta, right after Buick launched those with much fanfare. It was a $30k BMW coupe when a base BMW 325i stickered for $25k. It was pre-cell phone days, and I don't remember how I got notified, but my friend had taken the Reatta out to a new housing development that was in the middle of construction. With his girlfriend. At night. So, I guess they were going to have (or maybe had) some quiet time. Anyway... somehow I got notified that they were stuck and I had to pick them up. The Reatta has poo poo out reverse gear and they were facing a muddy empty lot. Instead of trying to tow it, I got in and just blasted through the mud enough to get the car turned around. I'm sure his dad was thrilled with the muddy mess of a car when they got home. This is the same friend's dad that had a '64 Corvette convertible that we hooned around in. But that's a whole 'nother thread of stories.
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May 12, 2021 14:48
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EVERYWHERE 
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I live there now and there's an unusual number of Reattas rolling around town.
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May 12, 2021 15:52
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Rhyno posted:I live there now and there's an unusual number of Reattas rolling around town. Any number that isn't zero is unusual.
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May 12, 2021 16:14
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My dad worked for Cadillac when those were being developed and I remember him bringing one home. Loved the engineering mules with wires and computers and all sorts of weird poo poo plainly visible. I’m stupid enough to maybe one day buy a Reatta and/or Allante. They look kinda cool and the mediocrity matters less when they’re a few thousand dollars to buy.
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May 12, 2021 16:58
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RIP Paul Walker posted:My dad worked for Cadillac when those were being developed and I remember him bringing one home. Loved the engineering mules with wires and computers and all sorts of weird poo poo plainly visible. TBH, all those 80s and 90s piles of poo poo are becoming the fairlanes, galaxies, impalas and imperials of our parent's or grandparent's day. Same as the irocs, transams and 5.0s from that era are becoming the same as the SSes and Cobra Jets etc....
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May 12, 2021 18:48
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AmbassadorofSodomy posted:TBH, all those 80s and 90s piles of poo poo are becoming the fairlanes, galaxies, impalas and imperials of our parent's or grandparent's day. I'll give the Northstar cars a pass. If you don't mind fixing their egregious problems once they last and last. Maybe the 3800 equipped Bonnevilles and the last Buick Rivieras, too. The Panthers are fine, if you don't mind a pickup truck of a car. Everything else can go rot. Aggressively, rot. It boggles the mind seeing a nice 4100 or 4500 V8 Caddy. Like, why? Whhhyyyy?
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May 13, 2021 17:50
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Only thing I would use a north star for is from a FWD caddy and make a Mazdarati clone but with the Northstar and call it Fist of the Northstar. Question is will the driver already be dead?
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May 13, 2021 18:03
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Anything in particular that cause these trucks to burn oil? Does a quart a month sound excessive or normal Was thinking of going to a heavier oil weight to see if that helps. I don't think it's the valve seals (no smoke on start up) so maybe piston rings.
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May 13, 2021 19:02
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Applebees Appetizer posted:Anything in particular that cause these trucks to burn oil? Does a quart a month sound excessive or normal 
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May 13, 2021 19:18
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Applebees Appetizer posted:Anything in particular that cause these trucks to burn oil? Being driven.
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May 13, 2021 21:23
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Rings would be my guess.
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May 13, 2021 21:24
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Advent Horizon posted:Being driven. Applebees Appetizer posted:Anything in particular that cause these trucks to burn oil? Does a quart a month sound excessive or normal It's probably not burning a full quart... some of that has to be ending up on the ground. I don't think going heavier is bad... I've been mixing 15w40 and 5w30 (whatever half bottles I find hiding) and it helped the oil pressure a bit.
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May 13, 2021 21:32
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It's got 180k on it. He said it's not leaking, has been putting cardboard under it to check and nothing. I figured rings too. What's about the heaviest oil weight you can go with these? It's in Florida so winter temps aren't an issue here. I figured switching to a heavier weight would help at least a little.
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May 14, 2021 00:05
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Mine uses a litre every uh, however long the OCI reminder in the dash is. 330k km. doesn't leak a lot either. I've put 15w40 in it a couple times, it's a sbc it doesn't care as long as there's some kind of oil in there. (running good synthetic 5w30 on double dash oci rn cause I hate changing oil) Turbo Fondant fucked around with this message at 00:14 on May 14, 2021 |
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May 14, 2021 00:11
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oh poo poo heaviest? I bet you could do a 50 in a warm climate but 15w40 is nice cause it's fairly ubiquitous as diesel oil.
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May 14, 2021 00:16
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My parents had an 87 or 88 GMC safari with a 4.3 that leaked all sorts of things from all sorts of places and we'd put 80w90 gear oil in the engine. I don't think the van cared much. Seemed to last a bit longer than regular engine oil. It also leaked coolant through a cylinder head or the block and we'd just top it up with windshield washer fluid, because it was winter, and cheaper than coolant, and we of course didn't want it to freeze up, which we think was the cause of the crack in the first place.
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May 14, 2021 00:36
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AmbassadorofSodomy posted:My parents had an 87 or 88 GMC safari with a 4.3 that leaked all sorts of things from all sorts of places and we'd put 80w90 gear oil in the engine. I don't think the van cared much. Gear lube is rated differently and, IIRC, 90W gear lube is close to 40W motor oil. 5W50 motor oil is pretty easy to come by. That’s what I run in my FJ62.
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May 14, 2021 01:37
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Applebees Appetizer posted:Anything in particular that cause these trucks to burn oil? Does a quart a month sound excessive or normal These things would consume a worrying amount of oil when new, apparently. GM said something insane like "Less than a quart per 3k miles is fine" for warranty work when these were new. or at least that's what my mechanic told me. I picked one of these up cheap as a toy. They are very easy to work on, which is nice, because i've worked on mine a lot.
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May 15, 2021 06:42
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This might be a tiny bit out of this thread's wheelhouse, but does anyone here drive anything with an Eaton Fuller 8LL transmission? I have made the mistake at work of admitting to having some experience in the past with truck driving, but apparently failed to emphasize strongly enough that I'm not very good at it, nor do I really enjoy it. Unfortunately the same is true of everyone else, and I seem to have accidentally become our truck driver. Anyway, they tell me the truck has eight speeds in two ranges, plus a low gear that you can split into two in the low range, which is consistent with the diagram in the cab. But I can also split every gear (1-4) in low range using the same splitter button, and no one can tell me if I'm supposed to do that, or even if I'm supposed to be able to do that. Maybe the transmission has been updated at some point in time? I guess the other question is which side should be the default within a gear. I have to be on the high side to shift into high range, so I'm assuming that the most direct route for power to take through the transmission is that way, and splitting a gear onto the low side is an additional reduction, probably to be avoided to minimize torque strain on the components? But I really have no idea.
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May 20, 2021 23:54
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Uncle Lloyd posted:This might be a tiny bit out of this thread's wheelhouse, but does anyone here drive anything with an Eaton Fuller 8LL transmission? I have made the mistake at work of admitting to having some experience in the past with truck driving, but apparently failed to emphasize strongly enough that I'm not very good at it, nor do I really enjoy it. Unfortunately the same is true of everyone else, and I seem to have accidentally become our truck driver. Many years ago I routinely drove an 8LL (fire truck....a tanker). Do you have the insane pattern or the regular one: 1 3 2 4 Is regular. 1 2 3 4 is the insane one. And I LIKE that one. So here's the deal....don't touch the blue lever. You need to be really loaded and crawling up a hill to need the LL thing. Depending on the truck you just go 1, 4, (pop the high range) 5, 8 when unloaded. This is why the "insane" pattern is great. When you're loaded just go through the gears in order. Forget about the LL unless you're in a stupid spot that it gets you out of. But yeah, it makes everything low. If you need it I'd suggest getting through 2 or 3 gears and then STAYING in that gear, pop it out of LL and continue.
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May 21, 2021 00:03
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Motronic posted:Many years ago I routinely drove an 8LL (fire truck....a tanker). Do you have the insane pattern or the regular one: Yeah we have the regular pattern. Sounds like just because I *can* use the blue lever doesn't mean that I *should*, in general? Since it's a farm truck and sees a lot of field work I can't really get away with ignoring it entirely, but on the road it needs to stay on the high side then? I guess I don't understand the differences in transmissions between 8/10/13/18 speeds--at one point I briefly ran an 18 speed where you could split every gear in each range, and I remember a 13(I think?) where I could split high range gears, so what about the 8LL makes that not recommended if it will let me do it? Also I seem to remember being told at one point in time that trying to use low gear in high range is a huge no-no, leading to destroying expensive parts in very short order--true? Thanks.
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May 21, 2021 01:06
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Uncle Lloyd posted:Yeah we have the regular pattern. Sounds like just because I *can* use the blue lever doesn't mean that I *should*, in general? Yes. Absolutely yes. Uncle Lloyd posted:Also I seem to remember being told at one point in time that trying to use low gear in high range is a huge no-no, leading to destroying expensive parts in very short order--true? I've heard the same but never experienced it. I think this is very very trans/driveline specific and I don't know what applies to what.
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May 21, 2021 01:16
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Super, thanks. I now may be arguably almost qualified to do my job.
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May 21, 2021 01:44
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Uncle Lloyd posted:Super, thanks. I now may be arguably almost qualified to do my job. I will say completely properly driving a 5 speed split rear ford f800 or something that was another tanker at another department......I split the rear while loaded between 3rd I think and just left a greasy mark in the road and some parts. Did not make it to that fire. poo poo happens. Edit: CSB pointed out in my tired posting said 1/4 on the gear skipping when clearly it's 2/4. So yeah, use 2/4. Motronic fucked around with this message at 16:11 on May 21, 2021 |
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May 21, 2021 02:27
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Let my buddy borrow my jacks and stands and did my best to dodge his calls for a couple weeks in an attempt to avoid working on the truck. Finally accepted reality (camping trip in ~9 days ) and gave the truck a once over. Three wheels spin nice, but rear driver's is a little noisy. (sound on all) https://i.imgur.com/yAnTCdv.mp4 Most of the play was in-line with the axle: https://i.imgur.com/F10CpXh.mp4 ...and with the wheel removed: https://i.imgur.com/FpoJThh.mp4 Well gently caress... no, the parking brake on this side doesn't do poo poo in case you're wondering (Pax-side also has (to feel) similar end play but feels much tighter in torsion and doesn't make bad noise. The brain trust suggested that axle c-clip wear can contribute to the play. so I pulled the cover off the pumpkin.  monsterzero (j. 2002) self portrait, 2021 75w90 on G80 rear end I didn't see any obvious/scary wear, and when my wife yanked on the wheel I didn't see/hear any play in the diff. Hopefully that's not a totally hosed axle, but old POS truck... While I was under there, drained the transmission pan (didn't drop)... fluid was dark, had a little build up on the magnet and it smelled like clutch. ~400 miles on the ~$400 4l60e rebuild. thinkin about becoming a PO
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Jun 6, 2021 22:44
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The bearing in the end of the axle like that doesn't impact axial play at all, it's entirely set by the play in the C-clip / center pin. Pull the center pin, pull the C-clip, pull the axle shaft, use a slide hammer to pull the bearing (seal will come out with it).
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Jun 6, 2021 23:26
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Oh, a pretty flower  I was really confused about the inner c clips until I realized the the other side didn't have all the locker bits in the way Found the pin, pushed in the axle and fished out the clip with way too large magnet. If that groove wasn't machined in-situ I think the c-clip is okay... right guys??? stock photos of c clips do not have a groove  ...axle race looks like poo poo tho.  Feeling around the bearing, it's not obviously hosed but given the damage to the race it goes in the bin. So a new axle shaft and bearing and c clips. If rockauto can have those to me by next weekend, cool. Otherwise does this look like I could nurse a couple hundred miles out of replacing the worn c clip and sending?
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Jun 7, 2021 00:40
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Oh, hello It always goes so smoothly for the how-to video people. Otoh, me:  tap tap tap easy peasy  at least the parking brake doesn't squeak Pulled studs onto the new axle with some washers and dugga duggas. tested the G80 rear end's pinion gear cigar-cutter function on my finger (it's not that bad but I'm squeamish and don't want to look at it ITT ) while trying to get slack to fit the new c-clip in. Saw my own blood and had to lie down for a while but I think i'll probably survive. Got back to together, dropped it on its wheels and finished torqueing the lugs. The new lugs were so smooth I was worried that they were spinning as I torqued them from one dugga to 100ftlbs I thought they were spinning (I'll get em to 140 tomorrow). That's when I realized I left the ignition on and killed the battery. monsterzero fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Jun 12, 2021 |
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Jun 12, 2021 00:51
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It lives again! Jumped it, returned some loaner tools and blasted a couple exits up and down the highway. No new noises, in fact a few fewer: that 40-55mph driveline vib seems to be less, and the squeak I heard over bad pavement at low speed and attributed to the truck being an old POS seems to be gone. If it doesn't drop any fluids on the driveway today I'm going to load it up on Friday and make my return to the lake that killed the 4l60e the first time (no boat this time though)
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Jun 12, 2021 18:28
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monsterzero posted:It lives again! Jumped it, returned some loaner tools and blasted a couple exits up and down the highway. No new noises, in fact a few fewer: that 40-55mph driveline vib seems to be less, and the squeak I heard over bad pavement at low speed and attributed to the truck being an old POS seems to be gone. That's good news. I just backed out the Escalade and left a big tire mark from the LF tire at full lock. I think the ball joint is worn allowing too much of an angle. From what I've seen, that's not a fun part to replace. As my wife pulled away, I also noticed that the back is sagging. Probably needs time to pump up the rear bags, but I'm thinking about just switching the rear to static. I don't need load leveling, and the stock shocks are barely keeping air in.
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Jun 12, 2021 18:44
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meatpimp posted:I just backed out the Escalade and left a big tire mark from the LF tire at full lock. I think the ball joint is worn allowing too much of an angle. From what I've seen, that's not a fun part to replace. That was the first job I did on the truck. 2wd, made it a little easier but drilling out eight rivets suuucked. If I had to do it again and didn't already have bolted ball joints I'd buy a whole control arm. Then you only have to worry about getting the taper out of the hub.
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Jun 12, 2021 19:02
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Current mood: 
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Jun 14, 2021 01:55
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