Chevy & GMC Vans

ihatemybike wrote:

Lumpy wrote:The guys at DiscountTire love it when I come in. Since I took the rear wheels off to do the lift, I went in for some air up and had them torque the lug nuts. I've been eyeing some 235/75 BFGoodrich A/Ts.

This is what I want to put on Grumpy after its 2" lift is installed. Pocketbook and environmentally friendly.

Treadwright Crawler M/T 235/75R15

I cant say enough good things about my Treadwrights. I run the 225-75r16 Puma A/T's on my Astro camper(got them when I only had a 2" lift), kinda wish I had gone with the mud's. All mine balanced at an ounce or less. When mine wear out I think ill go with these, since I am at about a 4" lift now.
245/75R16 GUARD DOG M/T (E)

well the other day we went to do a 20km drive to Princess Auto we got about 5km when the front right started to make a whumpping noise. I thought the tire might be going down so we stopped at the gas station and when I put my hand on the rim for balance it was warm to the touch. Nice another frozen caliper. I just put that caliper on last year. So today I got to swap another caliper on the front right. This time I got lucky and the brake rotor was not damaged. I put on slotted vented rotors last year and they are very expensive but it seemed to be worth it as they took the heat and didn't warp.

Kidhauler wrote: I put on slotted vented rotors last year and they are very expensive but it seemed to be worth it as they took the heat and didn't warp.

Glad to hear! Thanks again for the helping hand on the weekend

Lubed up the chassis to get rid of a squeak in the suspension when rolling through a turn.

Kidhauler wrote: started to make a whumpping noise.

Whumping noise?...........Care to explain?

reaper wrote:

Kidhauler wrote: started to make a whumpping noise.

Whumping noise?...........Care to explain?

Brake catching causes the tire to jump. Similar to a tire being severely out of balance.

ihatemybike wrote:

reaper wrote:

Kidhauler wrote: started to make a whumpping noise.

Whumping noise?...........Care to explain?

Brake catching causes the tire to jump. Similar to a tire being severely out of balance.

Thanks,I know what it is,Just like to tease Skidhauler allot

reaper wrote:

ihatemybike wrote: Whumping noise?...........Care to explain?

Brake catching causes the tire to jump. Similar to a tire being severely out of balance.

Thanks,I know what it is,Just like to tease Skidhauler allot [/quote]

*Cough ... CrashHauler ... you forgot? He just avoided this whumpping one.
(PS thanks for coming to my rescue again!)

(Cough cough) anyone who runs his van out of gas isn't allowed to poke fun at others for 2 weeks. (Cough Cough)

At least my van was broken.

drove to North bay with 30 2x2 pave stones had a flashing check engine light and a nasty misfire on steep uphills drove back no problems even got decent mileage....?

I'm a day or two behind, but...

1989 worked on clutch/start switch circuit (Wednesday)

1994 removed seats to haul wife's crafts show stuff for a 3 day event (Thursday)

1999 disassembled and removed subframe, dissassembled drivetrain, took trans to be rebuilt, worked on assembling engine (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday)

1994 hauled craft show stuff back, she made more in 3 days what I make in a month (Monday)

1994 put seats back in (Wednesday)

1999 worked on engine, boogered up pick up tube , sent wife for a new one (please please??)

Time to catch up, again. All Grumpy this time.

Saturday
Late start on the van due to adding almost another inch of lift to my wife's Jeep.

First was a trip to the exhaust shop to cure the header to Y-pipe exhaust leak. I had tried to fix this myself, but after rounding a nut off and a 2nd degree burn on my arm from a hot socket I decided to let the pros do it. $110 for new gaskets and studs, after talking down $20. Van is almost too quiet now.


Returning home I had enough time to prep and roll the first coat of paint on the hood (test panel) before heading out to a friends graduation thing. Looked ok. Technique needs work. Forgot to take pics.

Sunday
Got up early to roll a second coat of paint, hoping it will be dry enough in time to go to a Jeep Meet and Greet.


After attending the meet and greet did some pre-paint prep work on the body. Look for the gray primer spots.


There was a rust bubble under the paint on the right rear fender, that revealed this when cleaned.


Since I've fallen in love with the van, I decide to try my first bondo job. Wasn't ready for how fast it sets.


After mixing bondo 4 times I had a surface that I could smooth out and primer.


Monday
Started by removing the roof's gutter covers.


Thunderstorm coming, so it's off for more paid work. Lifetime alignment at Firestone. $159.99 less $25 coupon. Lifetime? How long do I plan on this van lasting? I was allowed to watch and shoot the bull with the technician the whole time.


Storm over and Grumpy able to drive a straight line, back to pre-paint prep. Pulled the rub trim from the drivers door. Leaving adhesive behind.


Maybe this will help.


Not sure if it helped much, still took a lot of effort to get here.


All areas to receive gray paint were cleaned of any rust and primered if needed and wet sanded.

Tuesday
Free AC System check at Merlin. AC System has a decent size leak to be found later.

Was originally planning to get the roof painted, but I needed to go for a walk with my mother in law to help clear some stuff from my head that's been weighing me down for far too long. Best thing I could have done. I love my family!

Yesterday I installed a new fuel pump and finally got the van running. Today I put a cover over the hole in my floor where its cut out to access the fuel pump. Vacummed it all out and just cleaned it up. Also never really showed in interior pics so here you go. I guess the PO built some wall panels and headliner for it. I'm going to cover all that in either carpet or tweed. I'm also going to steal one idea I read on here. I'm going to get some of those cushion squares from Harbor Freight to go underneath my carpet.

Days like today make me think i should just take it to my mechanic instead of me monkeying around under it

drove home from work and started to change my rusty cat and O2's 6 hours 2 rounded nuts and 3 broken bolts later my van is now out of commission

Cobra wrote:Days like today make me think i should just take it to my mechanic instead of me monkeying around under it

drove home from work and started to change my rusty cat and O2's 6 hours 2 rounded nuts and 3 broken bolts later my van is now out of commission

I'm with you, exhaust work is for shops with all the right tools.

I will say that extracting the studs and removing the flange nuts is really easy when the sub frame isn't under the van and you don't have to worry about catching everything on fire with the torch. I did a bit of that yesterday on the 99 build. So many things are easy with the subframe pulled, too bad it is a such a pain to get to that point.

Hauled a bunch of crap to a friends little girls first birthday party - chairs, bocce balls, beer, food, my family, a fridge, dog, all the other stuff like diapers, clothes, etc.... thats about all - but it is what it is - a hauler! and works well. Oh ya good party - thanks Woodies!

Hey Chev. screw the SUV's AKA Acadia, Traverse - I want the ability to walk back to my kids in the back - even though while moving that is not legal - I want to be able to do it when stopped... bring me back the AWD Strofari... or something like it - I don't mind the better mileage of the new SUV's but I would also like something that can tow - so 4.10 gears and 20mpg is my wish - walk through - and AWD, with push button LOW RANGE! Not a Tahoe, I want a VAN type thing!