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

[dbrannon79]

Did some much needed work on the wifes trailblazer this evening. I had planned on doing the work tomorrow during the day but it was nice outside this evening and I got a wild hair to get it done tonight! replaced both rear shocks as it had a real bouncy feeling LOL, they were both blown out! replaced the O2 sensor up on the manifold and the canister purge solenoid due to the engine codes were showing them both bad.

I was kinda surprised with the rear shocks, the old ones I pulled off were Blistens and still had stiffness to them and would expand on their own like they were supposed to, but after installing the new ones I got off the jungle site, I attempted to bounce the arse end and it was a night and day difference! took it out for a spin and it drives almost like a new vehicle, the front struts are starting to make noises and need replacing, that will come later on as all the parts I got cost me $250 already plus I'm not ready to deal with strut springs yet!

I also installed a set of LED headlights, the old halogens still worked but as I'm getting older, it's harder to see in the dark. Now I can see, the spousal unit will be happy as she does all of her door dashing in this thing.

I've got one thing left to do now, the engine has been sucking and drinking oil from the crankcase. she can put about 2500 miles on a fresh oil change and go to check it finding out there is no oil on the dipstick. it's done this twice now and can't be good for the cat in the exhaust.

this engine has no PCV per say, but has a hose that goes from the intake to the block they call a PCV hose. I went to pull it off and found out it's rock hard. it's connected to the plastic intake and to another plastic barb on the engine side so I decided to just order a new hose before I attempt to pull it. Over on the Trailvoy forums I have been talking to folks and they are telling me that this hose is known to clog up and needs to be checked at each oil change. they tell me to pour a cap full or so of berrymans B12 down the hose while I'm changing the oil to let it clean out any gunk.

I had the thought of getting an oil catch can to put on it inline with this hose but they are saying not to that it would interfere with the crankcase ventilation system. I feel like if I get one of those catch cans that are made of aluminum and seal up so it can be used on the vacuum side of the intake, it should help. the hose is only a short (maybe 6 inches) 3/8" hose. It's not that easy to get to and being short and connected to plastic barbs, I don't like the idea of pulling it off and on all the time risking breaking the barb off the intake! If it was longer and ran up to a catch can, I could easily pull it off there and use the berrymans on it without worry or snapping the plastic.

What's y'alls thoughts on that?

This is the oil catch can I was talking about installing on the "dirty" side inline on that hose.

https://www.amazon.com/EVIL-ENERGY-Universal-Reservoir-Aluminum/dp/B081N392BN

Here is a couple of videos they told me to watch on how the CCV system works and why it sucks oil when clogged.

 

[Big T]

My thoughts: sell it. These Blazers had a bad reputation. I cringed when you bought it. You don’t deserve to be punished by this vehicle.

 

[Paveltolz]

On a positive note, Auto Zone refunded all funds for the return line kits I ordered and the one I used that failed. Yay

 

[dbrannon79]

Didn't get a chance to do anything today with the trailblazer. got some other needing things done around the house but then got a severe headache. it tool 4 ibuprofen and a 4 hour nap to get back on my feet! Wife woke me up when it was 10PM with me not realizing it got that late. now I'm back up moving around but still recovering.

the replacement hose showed up at the door. Genuine GM replacement PCV hose. Plan to get on that in the morning.

 

[Paveltolz]

Didn't get a chance to do anything today with the trailblazer. got some other needing things done around the house but then got a severe headache. it tool 4 ibuprofen and a 4 hour nap to get back on my feet! Wife woke me up when it was 10PM with me not realizing it got that late. now I'm back up moving around but still recovering.

the replacement hose showed up at the door. Genuine GM replacement PCV hose. Plan to get on that in the morning.

Hang in there and feel better. Good luck with the PVC hose. The stuff I ordered from McMaster Carr for the return lines should be here today. Can't decide if I should stop puttering work on the Red GMC or shift over and remove the turbo and prep for the new lines so that monkey is off the back. Nice to have time to do things but, my body too is suffering from years of repeated differed maintenance in my youth. "No pain, No Gain" and "Work through the pain, suck it up buttercup" are vicious lies.

 

[jrsavoie]

Hang in there and feel better. Good luck with the PVC hose. The stuff I ordered from McMaster Carr for the return lines should be here today. Can't decide if I should stop puttering work on the Red GMC or shift over and remove the turbo and prep for the new lines so that monkey is off the back. Nice to have time to do things but, my body too is suffering from years of repeated differed maintenance in my youth. "No pain, No Gain" and "Work through the pain, suck it up buttercup" are vicious lies.

It's hell to get old. But it beats the alternative.

My cardiologist said, "There's nothing golden about our golden years. Except our pee. And we're lucky if that holds true."

I just got done resting in a chair so I could climb the stairs to take a nap.

 

[dbrannon79]

Well guys, I need your thoughts here on my son's 68 chevy...

I took my son out this afternoon so he could learn how to drive his truck (stick shift) we went out to an open parking lot so he could get used to the clutch. putted around there for a while, then ventured out to a store on the other side of town. when we left from there he wanted me to drive it home. as I was driving heading home, the truck began to loose power and wasn't accelerating very well. the further we went the worse it got. at one point I had the pedal to the floor going the back roads out of traffic in first gear all I could get was maybe 10 mph with it spitting and backfiring from the throttle body. as I turned to corner it shut off and didn't want to restart.

I let it roll to a open driveway, popped the hood and pulled the air cleaner off. nothing looked out of the ordinary, wasn't overheating at all. tried to start it again, it fired up stumbled and died, but when it died the tach started bouncing around and I heard something under the hood clattering away. got out and looked real quick and saw the injectors in the TBI firing away even though the engine was off. I quickly shut off the key. called the wife to come to the rescue. let it sit there until she arrived, maybe 10 minutes later. I tried one last time to see if the truck would startup again. it fired up and idled, so I took off trying to get it home. got about 4 more blocks down the road and once again same thing. loosing power rapidly, starting spitting from the throttle body. I managed to get it into the driveway and home safe.

something is screaming hot electronics to me. I am wondering if an ignition module inside the HEI distributor could do this. the ignition system on this truck is fully controlled by the ECM, no vacuum advance in the dist, it's all controlled by a combination of the module in the distributor and the ECM. there is a name for the type of system but I can't remember the name. curious if the module would cause all this. what's yalls thoughts.

I already checked for codes on the ECM, nothing showed up, but I know on OBD1 some codes go away when the key is turned off.

 

[Paveltolz]

Opted to putter on the red truck. Headlights and turn signal buckets are yellow so, instead of working them over with a restore kit, I pulled a set off the spares pile I accumulated chasing the best set for the LED's. Owner is running HID low beams and Sylvania Highs anyway and I was using the box this spare set was in for a paint stand. GONE. Looks good. Had some fitment issues as being OEM copies, they didn't exactly fit...adjustment screws not lining up with firewall openings. Got it figured out but it took much longer than it should have. Life.


Addressed the broken courtesy door lights and license plate light had one bulb out. Don't want to get pulled over for a bad bulb with out of state plates.




BigT made it here this afternoon for a mid-stop rest over night on his way to Big Sky Country. Good to see him again.
Patriotic Red, White and Blue 6.5 display for our 250th year.

 

[Big T]

Just a short 10 hour drive today to Paveltolz’s place where I completed the Red, White, and Blue 6.5 lineup:


My ‘99 Burb still has vibration issues in the front. Has vibration while braking coming front right front. It increases from subtle while lightly braking, to a heavy shudder under heavy braking. It’s like the rotor is cracked, if I didn’t know better. It also increases as the brakes heat up. The rotors are worn and have a good lip on the outer edge. Pads have about 1/3 left. I will replace rotors and pads while up at the Montana home.

The service 4wd light came on during the trip and the light went out on the push button shift after shutting down for a break. Checked fuse and it’s fine. I suspect the 4wd actuator went out. I will test that while in Montana.

Paveltolz plugged in his Tech 2 and it had 3 codes. One was for low ECT. I saw it drop to 170 or 165 on a long downhill grade in CA early am.

Also had the following codes:



Not sure what those are about. We cleared all the codes and will see if they come back.

Up early tomorrow for the 8 hour drive to Montana. Anniversary was today but will celebrate tomorrow. I’m beat.

 

[Will L.]

Well guys, I need your thoughts here on my son's 68 chevy...

I took my son out this afternoon so he could learn how to drive his truck (stick shift) we went out to an open parking lot so he could get used to the clutch. putted around there for a while, then ventured out to a store on the other side of town. when we left from there he wanted me to drive it home. as I was driving heading home, the truck began to loose power and wasn't accelerating very well. the further we went the worse it got. at one point I had the pedal to the floor going the back roads out of traffic in first gear all I could get was maybe 10 mph with it spitting and backfiring from the throttle body. as I turned to corner it shut off and didn't want to restart.

I let it roll to a open driveway, popped the hood and pulled the air cleaner off. nothing looked out of the ordinary, wasn't overheating at all. tried to start it again, it fired up stumbled and died, but when it died the tach started bouncing around and I heard something under the hood clattering away. got out and looked real quick and saw the injectors in the TBI firing away even though the engine was off. I quickly shut off the key. called the wife to come to the rescue. let it sit there until she arrived, maybe 10 minutes later. I tried one last time to see if the truck would startup again. it fired up and idled, so I took off trying to get it home. got about 4 more blocks down the road and once again same thing. loosing power rapidly, starting spitting from the throttle body. I managed to get it into the driveway and home safe.

something is screaming hot electronics to me. I am wondering if an ignition module inside the HEI distributor could do this. the ignition system on this truck is fully controlled by the ECM, no vacuum advance in the dist, it's all controlled by a combination of the module in the distributor and the ECM. there is a name for the type of system but I can't remember the name. curious if the module would cause all this. what's yalls thoughts.

I already checked for codes on the ECM, nothing showed up, but I know on OBD1 some codes go away when the key is turned off.

Dude…
1968 with tbi?
You need to add this rig to the list with what drivetrain and all it actually has.

Also, for this situation- start it’s own thread.
Too many things to go into and be able to follow up on it being mixed in with other trucks & stuff. Until you start that thread- tbi is crucial to fuel pressure & electrical system being near perfect.

 

[dbrannon79]

Dude…
1968 with tbi?
You need to add this rig to the list with what drivetrain and all it actually has.

Also, for this situation- start it’s own thread.
Too many things to go into and be able to follow up on it being mixed in with other trucks & stuff. Until you start that thread- tbi is crucial to fuel pressure & electrical system being near perfect.

There. I added the truck details to my signature

 

[Big T]

Well it was a quick assessment on the Service 4wd light. Crawled under the truck and found the 4-pin harness plug to the transfer case shift motor had somehow dropp and then was rubbing on the front drive shaft. Lost the female side of the plug. New pigtail repair plug ordered.

 

[MrMarty51]

Well it was a quick assessment on the Service 4wd light. Crawled under the truck and found the 4-pin harness plug to the transfer case shift motor had somehow dropp and then was rubbing on the front drive shaft. Lost the female side of the plug. New pigtail repair plug ordered.

View attachment 98697View attachment 98698

I sometimes say, hap crappens, and other times its

 

[Paveltolz]

Playing around with some more 'area beautification" on the Red truck before turning it over on Saturday.
Decided to address the faded tail light lenses. 1500, 2000 and 3000 grit wet sanding first then two coats of 3M Headlight Restoration resin. I purchased a 50 pack on sale of just the packets so, plenty of material for experimentation.


The clear coat, like most of these poor old trucks is of course, either blistering and peeled like a sun burn from the top edges of the fenders, hood and roof. Original owners addressed the hood and right side panel of the extended portion of the cab with a nice orange peal application of red. The OEM paint under the absent clear coating and exposed to the elements is pretty faded. Orange in a a lot of the areas. I just addressed the tailgate, both bed sides, right & left sides of the cab, and right fender, with a course polish followed by ceramic 'all in one' fine polish and wax from Griotts Garage.

The polishing got rid of the orange oxidation but, the blistered clear coat remains an eye sore. Driver's door after the course polish. Still needs the final polish but, I'm doing a bit more with the fender before going final. I'm not doing anything to address the clear where it is blistering or still trying to hang on. It looks bad but, my goal is to not do anything that can't be easily undone. Polish...easy peasy. Top coat of rattle can paint on one fender's top edge where the clear is gone is also an easy undo given the need for full prep for a 'real' paint job.


Passenger side. Hard to see the clear coat peel line and the orange oxidation is all gone. Pretty impressive.

Driver's side fender has primer on the top edge so, I sanded smoother, etch primed and let it sit last night before addressing with color matching paint today. Below the body crease I experimented a bit and 'color polished' with 2000, 3000 and 5000 wet sanding. Today on a DA sander before applying the course polish and then Ceramic polish/wax. I'll do the polishing today before painting.


More to follow after paint and more polish. May leave the driver's door A pillar alone depending on how the fender works out.
Don't know if I'll go after the roof or not. Haven't been on a ladder to look yet but, I'm thinking rubbing compound before course polishing and wax.

 

[dbrannon79]

I need to take some lessons from you on paint and body! I had attempted to repaint the hood on my 93 (black) and might have forgotten a minor detail! Now the paint is cracking and peaking up in large flakes after we had a hail storm a while back!!