Chevy & GMC Vans

Installed 4 new KYB Gas-A-Just shocks and found I needed 1 new rear brake pad! Wondered why it was making a funny noise! The right rear inside pad was down to the wear indicator with about 1/16" left. Replaced all 4 rear pads. Test drive is later today when Ben and I head to the local state park to run some trails.

Was the caliper able to float ?

I got this little bracket thingy from Ballistic Fab:



Now I just need that little spool of twine thingy that glues on top.

97CargoCrawler wrote:I got this little bracket thingy from Ballistic Fab:
Now I just need that little spool of twine thingy that glues on top.

What is it?

I heard it holds a wench. I guess you tie her to it with the spool of twine...? I dunno. It's much bigger than it looks.

97CargoCrawler wrote:I heard it holds a wench. I guess you tie her to it with the spool of twine...? I dunno. It's much bigger than it looks.

Ah, OK, I gotcha...

Carry on.

HPbyStan wrote:Was the caliper able to float ?

Yeah both sides float fine. The pads float freely inside the holders too. Shortly before I bought the van, the brakes had some work done to them. I wonder if an old pad was left on or something. The rotors were in great shape with just barely a lip on the edge. No unusual wear patterns or rust. I will keep an eye on them over the next couple oil changes.

I got these today to assist with my axle overhaul:



Bearings and seals supposed to ship on Thursday.

I also celebrated with this on the way home from work:

Just broke in! Nice!

nice. I'm closing in to 180k with my 2000. (and oddly, I get alot more compliments on my van that I did with my luxo-barges).
I found out I need a new tire hoist thingy. I went to put my spare back under the van. I cranked it down about 2 inches and the wire jammed and wouldnt move any more, so it looks like my spare is permanently riding on my rear bed.

My job didn't fit into my schedule today so I slept in and then messed around a bit in the van. I started the prep work for putting the rack on this weekend. I had to de-bur the holes, polish the paint where the rubber gaskets will sit, fit the plastic spacer plates and add in washers to take up any gaps. I'm glad I was able to do this today because not only did it take a hell of a lot longer than I thought it would, I also ran out of washers! Now I'm 40 washers short. Which normally isn't a big deal except that these are stainless steel in just the right thickness I wanted and diameter that would fit in the cross member channels. It was like 2p.m. when this happened so I quickly placed a McMaster order and they said it would ship today. Then I checked back a few hours later online and it has my order shipping tomorrow morning....which means it will arrive Monday. F**K! Now I gotta go to the hardware store and get whatever crap they have for 10X the cost.

UPS made their daily delivery.

McMaster came through! My stainless steel washers arrived today so I'm good to go for rack installation tomorrow.

Also arrived: new door hinge pins, springs, axle bearings, seals and new spring hangers. I bought the spring hangers to get an idea of how they are made and what I can to do them, including making my own from scratch. Being that my van is a DD I can't just pull them off and have a look. These look pretty easy to modify. Weld plates, drill holes etc. Jot down the basic dimensions, buy new greasable bushing sleeves and some steel channel and make a set a few inches longer...hmmmm.

Drove to church

Tomorrow I am going to drive the Astro up the hill to GM's Milford Proving Ground for my new job.

wkastro wrote:Tomorrow I am going to drive the Astro up the hill to GM's Milford Proving Ground for my new job.

Congrats on the new job!

Now what kind of company secrets can you get us? Van related of course.