What did you do with your GMT400 today...or yesterday....

[Husker6.5]

Know what you mean, @Will L.. When I had my construction business, had money but no time to work on my own house's remodel/updating projects - but bought plenty of the materials ahead for "when I have the time". Now, 20+ years later, I have the time and the materials sit there yet waiting, as those days of beating my body from sunup to sundown have caught up to me so that things that would have been easy-peasy 20 years ago are near Herculean is effort. There are days that just walking out to the mailbox and back is painful beyond belief by the time I climb the stairs back into the house.

 

[Big T]

Yeah, but the heat burns out trannies and the sun kills paint and interiors. But, no rust.

No issue with trannies. This 2005 Honda is a 5 spd manual with 154k miles on it. Yes on the paint and interiors, but this vehicle has been kept in the garage.

 

[Will L.]

Yeah, transmissions aren’t really at much more risk than engine from heat - it kinda all or nothing on the over heating game. If you get the heat up it cooks engine and transmission here.
Parking inside a garage is basically buying a paint job. In 10 -12 years. Many people psrk their rig in a garage at home but outside all day when at work. So the 2 days a week it’s inside stretches the time line a few years more.. Folks that work nights and have it in their garage during the day almost all the time or have a covered parking at work can have cars with factory paint from the 1950’s still looking perfect.

Newer real high dollar car covers are good, but the most older ones use to scratch the paint because fine dust is always blowing onto the car. The older covers if you kept it didt free would protect the paint but amplify the interior heat and cook the interior.

My wife’s 2007 toyota fj is blue- we are second owners. Never garage kept. The paint was faded enough that in 2015 the po did a plasti-dip paint job on it because that was kinda cool thing then and be was deciding wether or not to do a color change. He worked nights and parked in his driveway where the neighbors bay window near it would reflect sunlight most of the daytime against the drivers side doors. It cooked the paint off them before anything else was noticeable. All the plastidip pulled off when we got it and those two doors were in primer ready for repaint. He was gonna get it painted but tried selling before just to see and my wife snapped it up at a descent price. I don’t do paint btw- worlds worst painter.
Our 2001 Toyota pickup we just got a few years ago is white (does the best against heat) and was garage kept until 2019 has no paint issues. It was parked in a parking garage by the po at work so that accounts for it being undamaged.

My hummer...look at my signature. It’s never been in a garage except for mechanical repairs. Longest it was in garage is when I parked it in my shop and tore out the engine. Paint was long ago shot. But any rig that does offroading around here, the sides are always scratched up from the brush anyways. We call it Nevada pin stripping. Pretty easy to tell a rig that toes off road here vs a blacktop 4wd.

 

[n8in8or]

Yup @Husker6.5 I've had rust make me come up with creative solutions to a problem a time or 57.

What I did with my GMT400 last night was haul my mom's snowblower back to her after changing the plug and making sure it was running tip-top. Probably looked pretty silly to see the big dually hauling a little snowblower in the bed, but my little trailer was occupied so this was the best option. Oh and I had to hurry up and get home because it started snowing and I wanted to get home before they started throwing salt on the roads......after all the time I spent fixing rust on this thing, I'd rather not expose it to the rust maker any more than I have to.

 

[Grisley1958]

Snow
Rust
Paint

3 things I hear rumors of but yet to see. Haha

Nothing rusts here, almost. My shop has the breeze blocks installed along one wall which gets air flow from the swimming pool area. In 5 years of having my tools in the shop where it gets the air from the pool and it’s chlorine- I have more rust on a couple tools that my dad bought in the late 60’s before I was born. My dad didn’t have a garage from mid 70’s until he died in 2001. All his tools were kept in metal desks and basic tool boxes just outside under a big mulberry tree. One craftsman chain wrench in particular I know he told me he bought in early 1966. Had a tiny amount where the teeth get worn, so little that steel wool and 2 minutes would remove 100% of it. Because of the pool I had to start scrubbing off the rust and oiling it and obviously other tools.
Yes I have blocked off those holes now to stop the issue, although temporary, I don’t know what to fill them with permanent so it looks good. Grabbed a couple bags of quick-crete, but thought there might be something better so waiting till I can read up a hair.

This morning helped a guy at work who has a square body suburban, wire from relay to blower motor was loose and cooking. Quick chop and few inches of wire has it working until he gets new mini harness ordered.
Then a stran97 k2500 gasser by another guy (when I was getting my tater tots at sonic at lunchtime) popped an upper radiator hose so helped him by just chopping hose 2” shorter and slight angle change it still reached. Sonic manager let him use their hose to refill his radiator and he was on his way. He lived only 5 miles away and he already ordered all new hoses and belt last week, planned for this weekend. Said it was thinking about putting it off one more week but after that- nope! Haha.


When I was a munchkin & teenager, I loved working on rigs. It was something always done with friends or helping out someone who needed it. “They” say: do what you love for a living and you’ll never work a day in your life. That backfired for me. I enjoy the conversations here and on hummer forum, but now am just so burned out working on rigs that I hate working on mine by myself. Used to be needed time and or money to get things done on my rig. Now I am always short time, money, pain killers & motivation! Haha

The problem with the world today is there aren't enough people like you, Will! Someone who is willing to take time out of their day and help a stranger in need is all to rare now days.

 

[Big T]

Yeah, transmissions aren’t really at much more risk than engine from heat - it kinda all or nothing on the over heating game. If you get the heat up it cooks engine and transmission here.
Parking inside a garage is basically buying a paint job. In 10 -12 years. Many people psrk their rig in a garage at home but outside all day when at work. So the 2 days a week it’s inside stretches the time line a few years more.. Folks that work nights and have it in their garage during the day almost all the time or have a covered parking at work can have cars with factory paint from the 1950’s still looking perfect.

Newer real high dollar car covers are good, but the most older ones use to scratch the paint because fine dust is always blowing onto the car. The older covers if you kept it didt free would protect the paint but amplify the interior heat and cook the interior.

My wife’s 2007 toyota fj is blue- we are second owners. Never garage kept. The paint was faded enough that in 2015 the po did a plasti-dip paint job on it because that was kinda cool thing then and be was deciding wether or not to do a color change. He worked nights and parked in his driveway where the neighbors bay window near it would reflect sunlight most of the daytime against the drivers side doors. It cooked the paint off them before anything else was noticeable. All the plastidip pulled off when we got it and those two doors were in primer ready for repaint. He was gonna get it painted but tried selling before just to see and my wife snapped it up at a descent price. I don’t do paint btw- worlds worst painter.
Our 2001 Toyota pickup we just got a few years ago is white (does the best against heat) and was garage kept until 2019 has no paint issues. It was parked in a parking garage by the po at work so that accounts for it being undamaged.

My hummer...look at my signature. It’s never been in a garage except for mechanical repairs. Longest it was in garage is when I parked it in my shop and tore out the engine. Paint was long ago shot. But any rig that does offroading around here, the sides are always scratched up from the brush anyways. We call it Nevada pin stripping. Pretty easy to tell a rig that toes off road here vs a blacktop 4wd.

After I bought this, I switched my commute to the train, so it’s 3+ miles to the train station where they have covered parking in a structure. Then it’s in the garage at home. So it only has 154k miles on a 16 year old car in SoCal. The leather seats are giving it up, but I’ve got my money’s worth out of it and it’s still a good transportation car.

 

[Husker6.5]

Yeah, just rolled 149K on my 05 Camry, 5 speed auto. It had 92K on it from its original owner when I bought it in Jan '16.

 

[93detroit]

@n8in8or , less silly looking than a Ram Cummins pulling a utility trailer with a golf cart on it!

 

[Husker6.5]

Yeah, @n8in8or, part of my weekend winterizing projects, since it was 70° out Sunday and Monday, was to fire up the Snapper Ninja and mulch in the leaves off of the 3 Silver Maples and 3 Ash trees in my yard. Yard looked great - right up until the winds came up Tuesday out of the Northwest and a huge load of Sycamore leaves off of my neighbor across from me's two Sycamore trees in his yard - all wound piled up against my front chain link fence knee-deep and 2'-3' out from the fence! I hate them damn things! Size of a dinner plate, or larger! Clog up the suction chute on the leaf blower/mulcher as they're so large, too deep/thick to run the mower over.

Pulled the tarp off the snowblower, aired up the tires, drained and changed the oil - fresh 5W/30 synthetic, pulled, cleaned, regapped the sparkplug, pulled the float bowl and shot everything with some carb cleaner to remove and varnish/gum deposits. Reassembled bowl. Checked shear pins and lightly greased the auger shafts. Dumped about a half pint of fuel into the empty fuel tank, let sit for a minute to fill the float bowl, put the key in, set the choke and throttle and it fired off on the first pull of the cord! Good old 13 year old 8HP Tecumseh Winter King motor! Tank of an early MTD 27" 2-Stage! Unfortunately, the 120V starter burned out on it about 5 years ago, can't justify paying $100 to start it when the rope works perfectly good! LOL! Only "major" repairs I've had to do to it was replace the skids on either side of the auger intake housing and the scraper blade across the back as the "feet" had worn off skids and the blade was worn past adjustment, three years ago, and replaced the starter rope with a length of para cord last winter when it broke the snow before the big February Deep Freeze.

Prepping for Winter. Something our fair weather members don't understand. Tomorrow's winter chore, taking the half pickup bed trailer of Ash wood from when my neighbor a half block over cut down an ant-infested Ash in his front yard that been sitting in my back yard since Spring and stacking it on the raised pallets of my wood pile for winter burning in my Lincoln Stove.

 

[Husker6.5]

@n8in8or , less silly looking than a Ram Cummins pulling a utility trailer with a golf cart on it!

Wouldn't that be a golf cart pulling a utility trailer with a Ram Cummins on it?

 

[n8in8or]

@n8in8or , less silly looking than a Ram Cummins pulling a utility trailer with a golf cart on it!

I can do better than that…how’s this: dually with a 4x8 trailer and the only thing on the trailer is an engine block.

Yeah, @n8in8or, part of my weekend winterizing projects, since it was 70° out Sunday and Monday, was to fire up the Snapper Ninja and mulch in the leaves off of the 3 Silver Maples and 3 Ash trees in my yard. Yard looked great - right up until the winds came up Tuesday out of the Northwest and a huge load of Sycamore leaves off of my neighbor across from me's two Sycamore trees in his yard - all wound piled up against my front chain link fence knee-deep and 2'-3' out from the fence! I hate them damn things! Size of a dinner plate, or larger! Clog up the suction chute on the leaf blower/mulcher as they're so large, too deep/thick to run the mower over.

Pulled the tarp off the snowblower, aired up the tires, drained and changed the oil - fresh 5W/30 synthetic, pulled, cleaned, regapped the sparkplug, pulled the float bowl and shot everything with some carb cleaner to remove and varnish/gum deposits. Reassembled bowl. Checked shear pins and lightly greased the auger shafts. Dumped about a half pint of fuel into the empty fuel tank, let sit for a minute to fill the float bowl, put the key in, set the choke and throttle and it fired off on the first pull of the cord! Good old 13 year old 8HP Tecumseh Winter King motor! Tank of an early MTD 27" 2-Stage! Unfortunately, the 120V starter burned out on it about 5 years ago, can't justify paying $100 to start it when the rope works perfectly good! LOL! Only "major" repairs I've had to do to it was replace the skids on either side of the auger intake housing and the scraper blade across the back as the "feet" had worn off skids and the blade was worn past adjustment, three years ago, and replaced the starter rope with a length of para cord last winter when it broke the snow before the big February Deep Freeze.

Prepping for Winter. Something our fair weather members don't understand. Tomorrow's winter chore, taking the half pickup bed trailer of Ash wood from when my neighbor a half block over cut down an ant-infested Ash in his front yard that been sitting in my back yard since Spring and stacking it on the raised pallets of my wood pile for winter burning in my Lincoln Stove.

I hate this time of year, so much to get done outside and conveniently it needs to get done just as the weather turns to crap and we lose daylight to get it done in.

 

[Big T]

I can do better than that…how’s this: dually with a 4x8 trailer and the only thing on the trailer is an engine block.

View attachment 68500



I hate this time of year, so much to get done outside and conveniently it needs to get done just as the weather turns to crap and we lose daylight to get it done in.

It wasn't until we bought the ranch in Montana that I truly understood the meaning of "make hay while the sun shines."

With the COVID work from home, I knew there wasn't permanence to my work situation from Montana. I will still likely be able to work from there, but not as much. Knowing this, I pounded as much fishing in as my body and vehicles could stand. It was my version of maximizing time in this one off pandemic event where my employer was paying me to be in a paradise.

 

[Will L.]

The problem with the world today is there aren't enough people like you, Will! Someone who is willing to take time out of their day and help a stranger in need is all to rare now days.

Nah. They are everywhere. This forum and tons of others like it, full of all these people here that love to help. All the people making YouTube and bitchute videos to help others.

The little problem is we just don’t all see eye to eye on every detail. Maybe all here like teucks but some don’t like diesel. Some ford, chevy or dodge. Some pro vax some in middle and some against. Democrat vs Republican or race or religion. There is always a division line and when someone gets upset over one detail that’s different, they don’t jump out to help the other person because left twix people just can’t accept right twix people.

Me? Religion. I say Jesus Christ is Lord and savior because it’s true. But some other folks just can’t handle me because of that view. Or maybe because I am a talks-a-lot jerk. Can’t decide which?

 

[Grisley1958]

Nah. They are everywhere. This forum and tons of others like it, full of all these people here that love to help. All the people making YouTube and bitchute videos to help others.

The little problem is we just don’t all see eye to eye on every detail. Maybe all here like teucks but some don’t like diesel. Some ford, chevy or dodge. Some pro vax some in middle and some against. Democrat vs Republican or race or religion. There is always a division line and when someone gets upset over one detail that’s different, they don’t jump out to help the other person because left twix people just can’t accept right twix people.

Me? Religion. I say Jesus Christ is Lord and savior because it’s true. But some other folks just can’t handle me because of that view. Or maybe because I am a talks-a-lot jerk. Can’t decide which?

I guess I was just sending out a compliment where I thought it was needed.
Maybe we just hear too much negative and not enough positive about people
I know quite often if I stop to help someone out, I hear "I can't believe you stopped! everyone has just been driving by"
And I'm right there with you on Jesus is Lord and Savior!

 

[93detroit]

Nate, for all I know that block is made out of depleted uranium and weighs 4,000lbs!

 

[Big T]

Pulled the loaner reman IP (Thanks MrMarty) on the ‘94 Suburban and started on the install of the AC Delco reman IP. Will have that done tomorrow.







Earlier I replaced the tie rod ends on my wife’s 4Runner. She has an appointment tomorrow with our preferred alignment shop.

 

[Big T]

I quit working on the IP late afternoon after thinking I had it installed correctly. Was losing light and needed new batteries for the flashlight. Come out this am and had the pin in the round hole of the gear when it should be in the oblong hole. Got it corrected now.

 

[Big T]

Know what you mean, @Will L.. When I had my construction business, had money but no time to work on my own house's remodel/updating projects - but bought plenty of the materials ahead for "when I have the time". Now, 20+ years later, I have the time and the materials sit there yet waiting, as those days of beating my body from sunup to sundown have caught up to me so that things that would have been easy-peasy 20 years ago are near Herculean is effort. There are days that just walking out to the mailbox and back is painful beyond belief by the time I climb the stairs back into the house.

This ^^^ is why women generally live longer than men. They don’t beat the shit out of their bodies.

My feet limit how much standing on a step stool and leaning over an engine I can take. Had to quit on the IP install late yesterday and it was right call. Instead, I helped my sister with Plumeria cuttings on our patio.

 

[MrMarty51]

This ^^^ is why women generally live longer than men. They don’t beat the shit out of their bodies.

My feet limit how much standing on a step stool and leaning over an engine I can take. Had to quit on the IP install late yesterday and it was right call. Instead, I helped my sister with Plumeria cuttings on our patio.

Yup, I’m good for about two hours on the concrete garudge floor. Then it is either quit or, continue on and then be in a lot of pain for a lot longer than necessary.

 

[Big T]

AC Delco IP installed: