What did you do to your GMT today?

[Trail X]

I've been having some bad steering wheel vibrations on the interstate lately. It sounds similar to some of the things I've heard guys complain about before, but I never saw a resolution.

The vibrations occurred mainly on the highway, but only for the first mile or so. The vibrations would then settle out. Never had any pull one way or another. Tires all seemed fine, proper inflation, no flat spots.

I started realizing the brakes on the passenger side were getting very hot after driving. Sure enough, if I lifted the passenger tire off the ground, I could barely spin the tire by hand.

Turns out I had a frozen caliper piston, and as the rotor heated up it would warp and then once it reached steady state, the warp would become uniform across the rotor, which would eliminate the vibration. It was really odd.

Anyways, I got that all settled out. Caught it before the rotor and pads were ruined. Amazing how cheap calipers are.

Also, does anyone know why vacuum bleeders don't seem to work on our brakes?

[DirtyBacon04]

Been a productive couple of days for me and the rig. Yesterday was disassembly and inspection of suspension, clean regrease disco, and replace front brakes.
Today was serp belt, tensioner, idler pully, and VVT. Todays maintenance went by surprisingly fast even though it was the first time doing all of it except for the belt. Start to finish, got those 4 things done today in about 1.5 hour. Oh and that 12v ratchet was a godsend for working on belt accessories.

[Anthony Hernandez]

NICE! I got home early today and it was 66 degrees, i ended up doing an oil change, tire rotation, cv axle repair, and remounted my lightbar that i had to take off for inspection. I noticed that i get vibrations from the rear end, i suspect that the old BDS rear lift bolts might be rattling or something, im going to rip them out and put the skyjackers in tomorrow. I keep having issues with my cv axles. I may swap the front setup...... again..... i got some 87's, i may try to get a 2" and just use the washer shims like James used to. I cant seem to find that happy medium with everything up front. Currently its on liftmeister 3" w/ moog 114's.

[DirtyBacon04]

NICE! I got home early today and it was 66 degrees, i ended up doing an oil change, tire rotation, cv axle repair, and remounted my lightbar that i had to take off for inspection. I noticed that i get vibrations from the rear end, i suspect that the old BDS rear lift bolts might be rattling or something, im going to rip them out and put the skyjackers in tomorrow. I keep having issues with my cv axles. I may swap the front setup...... again..... i got some 87's, i may try to get a 2" and just use the washer shims like James used to. I cant seem to find that happy medium with everything up front. Currently its on liftmeister 3" w/ moog 114's.

I bought (2) 2" square led light pods to add as alley lights over the front doors, and then a 14" bar to illuminate behind the truck when the tailgate is closed. Cheap Harbor Freight lights. I was hoping the alley lights would fit under the RTT, but no such luck. I really don't want to drill through the roof. If I have enough room to slide the tent aft a couple inches, I should be able to use the front mounting bolt of the factory roof rack. If not, I may have to fab up small extension plates.

Which rear springs are you using? I'm still on my first set of Z71s, but have given thought to going skyjacker. I carry a shit ton of weight in the back and figured progressive were the the way to go, but I'm curious if the skyjackers would be more comfy.

[Anthony Hernandez]

I am on the z’s man. From what I have heard the skyjackers are a better ride... my issue is the bds lift seems to be rattling around? I don’t really know, but it’s causing other things to rattle and it’s annoying.

[06denaliman]

Not today but other day did coilspring conversion and wheel spacers on my 06 denali








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[DirtyBacon04]

I am on the z’s man. From what I have heard the skyjackers are a better ride... my issue is the bds lift seems to be rattling around? I don’t really know, but it’s causing other things to rattle and it’s annoying.

The Roadie provided wisdom while assisting me install my BDS lift all those years ago. Add a layer of RTV to the top of the spacer before install to eliminate the rattle.
You're familiar with my extensive amount of off-roading and cross country traveling over the past 8 years. Still running BDS 2" in the rear and no rattle.

[Anthony Hernandez]

bah! i knew it! its gotta be it man....

[06denaliman]

Had 265/60/18 michelins installed. Also got my borla pro xs muffler put on. Sounds so good. Will get video this weekend.




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[DirtyBacon04]

Well, I started to replace my fuel pump, but managed to break 3 of the fuel line retainer clips. Now I gotta wait for the new ones to come in from rockauto. **EDIT** Advance auto had a bunch of em in stock.
Protip for fuel pumps:
1) replace them before they fail so you get to run the fuel as low as possible. Heavy tanks are a pain in the ass.
2) Order replacement fuel line retainer clips when you order your fuel pump because you are almost certain to break a couple.
3) motorcycle jacks are perfect for lowering fuel tanks.
4) dont skimp on quality for fuel pump. Failed fuel pump is a game ender. Spend the money for a high quality. I trust ACDelco.
5) Buy/borrow the spanner wrench for the lock ring. The May03LT way of taking off the lock ring with a hammer and punch is great for getting the ring off. not so much getting it on.

[Dudabadical]

I installed a MarkMC 3" front lift.

[DirtyBacon04]

Jeesh, looks like you polished up your frame, too. The only time mine looks that shiney is when a xmsn line bursts and sprays fluid all over.

[Flyingfischer5]

Is that thing new? I don't think they were even that clean on the lots. HAHA

[DirtyBacon04]

Mounted up some 3" pods as alley lights. Still gotta get them wired up, but the mounting went pretty seamless. Been planning these for a few years... taking my sweet ass time, obviously.

[Flyingfischer5]

Nice! I also put some ditch lights on mine and they work wonders. Also works great when setting up camp if you roll in late and its dark. You'll love them!

[Anthony Hernandez]

Bacon, if you are referring to the little "horse shoe" shaped clips on the tank, then i did the same thing, and i jsut put some small sized zip ties through the holes and back onto themselves. If you are talking about the same ones, looking at it, there is a small blade looking thing on the tube, so it just gets slipped in front of that. The zip tie worked for me, might for you? I dunno.

[DirtyBacon04]

Bacon, if you are referring to the little "horse shoe" shaped clips on the tank, then i did the same thing, and i jsut put some small sized zip ties through the holes and back onto themselves. If you are talking about the same ones, looking at it, there is a small blade looking thing on the tube, so it just gets slipped in front of that. The zip tie worked for me, might for you? I dunno.

Yea, I'm talking about those. I considered doing the zip ties, but dealing with fuel and vapors, my paranoia won the battle for a $6 assortment of fuel clips.

[Trail X]

I like those alley lights Bacon. Wiring to the roof is annoying, I still run my wires through the rear door seals. Sealing wires through a hole is generally impossible unless you have a jacketed wire and a dedicated boot, or a bulkhead plug. I've never noticed a drop of water past my weather seal, and its been raining a lot here this past year.

If I had to go around the door seal, I'd do something like this:



Its a two-pin bulkhead Deutsch connector, item number DT04-2P-L012... Deutsch makes some of the best sealing plugs out there. We use them in our products at work.
https://laddinc.com/product/?sku=DT04-2P-L012


Oh - and I fixed the exhaust leak on my truck finally. The exhaust O ring had blown out a rather large portion of its circumference.

[hilljb]

Today, I washed my TB. It had been about 15 months. I should have taken a photo before it got dark out, because my truck looks nothing like my member photo at this point. I should update a bunch of stuff.

More substantially, I've been running Blizzak W965s in the winter and Nitto Trail Grapplers in the summer, all 265x75R16s. I hadn't been able to find a second set of rims that I liked and didn't cost a ton, so I just kept looking on Craigslist for TB wheels. A guy in Denver was selling a set of four stock 16" wheels for $70. Score! (I only have 4 Blizzaks and keep a Trail Grappler on my tire gate as a spare. I had found a single extra rim years ago for the 5 summer tires. So yeah, I have 9 TB wheels now.) Now, I can change between winter and summer wheels whenever I feel the need, which is really nice for the mountains. I like the plastic dip look of my older set, so I'll do that to the new set once it warms up outside a bit.

[GiedriusZ]

Water pump changed. The belt tensioner bearing has also been replaced.