Chevy & GMC Vans

I shot some oil on my rear cargo doors hinges. Ive done tons of stuff on it lately but never remember to post. I was just browsin' thru again.

9dawgs wrote:Loaded up the '99 with food for the homeless down in Clearwater...

youre homeless? j/k and thanks even though Im not homeless either. not a bad place to be homeless though.

I remember a snorkling trip down there. one of the best times I ever had. it was fun riding the current in the spring water cut canals that snaked all over the place.

ihatemybike wrote:Pulled it over to find light smoke coming from the hub. Appears that the drivers side brake caliper locked up again.

AGAIN? Yikes! mabey the inside of the front brake line swelled up and rescticted the flow.. Ive seen this happen. I put SS Braided lines on mine. you should probably check and repack those wheel bearings too.

batmo wrote:

ihatemybike wrote:Pulled it over to find light smoke coming from the hub. Appears that the drivers side brake caliper locked up again.

AGAIN? Yikes! mabey the inside of the front brake line swelled up and rescticted the flow.. Ive seen this happen. I put SS Braided lines on mine. you should probably check and repack those wheel bearings too.

Yeah, I guess I should have bought new calipers last time instead of new hardware and playing the piston up and down several times. Oh well, I was really broke then and have a little money now. Repacking the bearings goes without question.

yesterday: Did oil change after driving home from work (damn that was hot), found my bloody exhaust leak on either side of my cat....

Yesterday replaced the thermostat. It was nice to see the temp rise up and then come back down when it opened rather than just go up to a rather low temp and stay there.

First thing I did was warranted the cost of the lift by the ease of which I was able to change out the fuel filter! hallelujah!

-fuel filter
-new fairing for the rooftop, redirect the wind up and over everything else! (scary ride through the columbia gorge yesterday, notorious cross wind highway)
- reworked the pop out table in the back... didn't account for the lift & tires when I built it, ](*,) turns out the top of the table was chin high from the ground, no good!

Tomorrow brings a tranny fluid & filter change & some undercoating of the wheel wells.. may swap out the serpentine just for the peace of mind on the road. Then it's packing time!

Rileysowner wrote:Yesterday replaced the thermostat. It was nice to see the temp rise up and then come back down when it opened rather than just go up to a rather low temp and stay there.

Wait ... you mean the temperature gauge is suppose to go up to xyz# and then drop and repeat on a properly working thermostat!? Mine just gets up to around 70-75C and on extended drives up to 86C-92C .... but it never fluctuates ... is this why I *may* be running rich?

phr1$k37 wrote:

Rileysowner wrote:Yesterday replaced the thermostat. It was nice to see the temp rise up and then come back down when it opened rather than just go up to a rather low temp and stay there.

Wait ... you mean the temperature gauge is suppose to go up to xyz# and then drop and repeat on a properly working thermostat!? Mine just gets up to around 70-75C and on extended drives up to 86C-92C .... but it never fluctuates ... is this why I *may* be running rich?

No, the temps should remain steady. Sometimes a vehicle will warm up and then slightly drop when the thermostat opens.

It sounds like his thermostat was stuck open which causes the vehicle to cool more than needed. Grumpy rarely went closed loop this past winter due to a stuck open thermostat. Made for some chilly drives.

changed 2 rear tires with 2 goodyear regatta 2 tires i got from my wifes uncle with 1/4 inch tread left , should be good for the summer, now i just gotta get them balanced.

1994 LT:

Got cracked windshield replaced.

Put on new rear shocks.

Ooooooooo Yeah!!!!.Finally got it NYS inspected and OMG it passed. =D> =D> =D>

Bought new rear drums,shoes,hardware kit,fuel filter,new EGR screen gasket,(it's time to replace that I think) 5qts of oil.Man that was a rude awakening on the oil pricing Still need to find a Wix filter and PVC valve for it.

phr1$k37 wrote:
Thanks Aaron for the explanation.

Today I went to the wreckers to get headlamps. One of the headlamps I got the horizontal adjuster does not work ... :(

Hey, what is the best way to clean the lens? I took off the clips but looks like it is sealed on.

hey abe, i'm assuming you're talking about cleaning the inside of the lens.......they are sealed on...but if you heat up the seal all the way around it will pop open. that unfortunately is the only way to get at it inside there.....

probably best way is to stick them in the oven for a few mins at a low temp. oh new custom idea! throw in a batch of cookies while your at it....hahhah.....then you'll have the only headlights that have that fresh baked smell....hahahha.

blk lt awd wrote: probably best way is to stick them in the oven for a few mins at a low temp. oh new custom idea! throw in a batch of cookies while your at it....hahhah.....then you'll have the only headlights that have that fresh baked smell....hahahha.

I am sure mother and my girlfriend would be happy with that idea hah ha.
Yah that is what I thought about the lens. DARN! Also I just realized that the replacements I got are not the same "Guide" as what I have. Meaning not so original. I think I will find a way to change the housing instead.

Grumpy on Saturday: Menards run for some cedar shingles to repair the back porch.

ihatemybike wrote:

batmo wrote:

ihatemybike wrote:Pulled it over to find light smoke coming from the hub. Appears that the drivers side brake caliper locked up again.

AGAIN? Yikes! mabey the inside of the front brake line swelled up and rescticted the flow.. Ive seen this happen. I put SS Braided lines on mine. you should probably check and repack those wheel bearings too.

Yeah, I guess I should have bought new calipers last time instead of new hardware and playing the piston up and down several times. Oh well, I was really broke then and have a little money now. Repacking the bearings goes without question.

Green on Sunday: Found the problem, stupid easy/cheap fix. While Green had it's trans trouble I let it sit too long and a bit of rust formed on the parallel flats between the caliper and the inner pad. When I redid the brakes last time I didn't notice this and I guess the pulling/install of the pads knock a little off so they worked for a while. What happened was the inner pad was pushed onto the rust and couldn't slide back away from the rotor. A little sanding to remove this rust and the pad slides freely. Repacked the bearings and all is well.

saturday:drove to north bay
sunday:drove home
today: did oil change on engine and transfer case checked, levels on front and rear diff and patched exhaust. Also replaced front brake on my fathers van and inspected rears which had plenty of life in them so left them alone

Saturday:
Drive up to Mt. Adams to maiden voyage the ghettobago, all the new upgrades worked perfect, great fire, nice short overnight, but the heat went out... no biggie, couple other signs pointing to thermostat.

Now mind you I have spent my first month of unemployunism wrenching & building this thing for a 5 week expedition we leave on Wednesday evening for...

Monday:
Pick up thermostat, and serpentine belt since I was needing to disassemble anyway... of course the thermostat studs were a #%$^% and impossible to get to & I ended up backing the studs out 1/16th turn at a time instead of the nuts off (better than breaking the bolts I suppose) Put everything back together, ran her for 5 minutes while I stood around patting myself on the back for not breaking those bolts & doing a mighty fine job overall..... heat blowing like haiti, temp gauge spot on... shut her down, stow all the tools, last item is pulling the plywood creeper out from under her... COVERED in anti-freeze.



Fire her back up, drip drip drip, nothing green around anything I just wrenched on, spend the next 10 minutes on the back trying to chase it down... it's hidden, no can see source. Then I notice the tailpipe spewing white smoke-like clouds.

Sorry, never meant to drag this story on but typing this is theraputic at this point!

End of story is I race to a buddys shop, pressure test @ 16lbs & nothing leaks from anywhere. At this point I'm thinking it's the inlet seal, so for the journey it's monitor monitor monitor, if it fails I spend an extra few days in whatever town I'm closest to.. at least comfortably in the van! After the heart attack went to the local school & used their giant brick wall to aim the off road lights up.

Tuesday (much better than monday!)
Changed my off road lights switch from the dash to a foot pedal switch from a 77 chevy pick up... man do I wish they would go back to foot switches for high beams!!

Wednesday: Pack

Thursday: DRIVE!!!