2005 Tahoe - Brakes / traction control active

[Chubbs]

He did a bunch of work for me - new rear shocks, rotors/pads all around, water pump, rear calipers, couple leaky transmission lines, tune-up and new belts for like $4k. It was a lot, but still cheaper than the stealership, I'd wager. Ended up being more than I thought since he quoted me $2400, but that was just parts. Womp womp.

Chris

If he didn't buy his wife a new car, he def paid-off that bass boat which has had him in the hole for a few years.

Somebody has to get the economy stimulated, salute to you. I would have been f*cked had that happened to me lol.

I would have to assume the truck rides really good now. What else does it need at this point?

Oh, is there any way to know if that guy completely flushed the brake fluid? I would not assume that somebody has the integrity to go the extra mile, espc if it's a service that wasn't requested by you or rec'd by him (mech.)

I replaced pads/rotors on all 4-corners but the biggest difference was felt after the orig brake fluid was flushed out of the resv & pipes, then completely refilled with brand new BF. 15-year old, black, water-logged hydroscopic hydraulic fluid is ... Well, almost useless. Easy to check, the hardest part is getting the proper sized clear tubing.

You might give the dude a call/text & ask about it. But you would need a turkey Baster or vac pump to clear the resv, correct sized tubing and 2-qt brand new dot3, all at the very least. I wouldn't necessarily pay that guy to flush the BF if he wouldn't do it in the 1st place while he was replacing everything else @ whopping $4 grand.


This is what I pulled from the reservoir. BF, when fresh, is clear as water. Shocking. I wouldn't say "pointless" but you understand replacing pads & rotors for $$$hundreds, then disregarding $10 in new brake fluid and 45-mins of your time... still it's all hypothetical assuming your mechanic took care of you.

Words of wisdom: don't use the first empty BF can to collect water for cleanup while the 2nd new can is currently in use. Easy to confuse and you will prob end up pouring water into the Master Cyl. I was 2nd-guessing myself until I taste tested each bottle and got it all figured out again

 

[chrmbly]

This is what I pulled from the reservoir. BF, when fresh, is clear as water. Shocking. I wouldn't say "pointless" but you understand replacing pads & rotors for $$$hundreds, then disregarding $10 in new brake fluid and 45-mins of your time... still it's all hypothetical assuming your mechanic took care of you.

Words of wisdom: don't use the first empty BF can to collect water for cleanup while the 2nd new can is currently in use. Easy to confuse and you will prob end up pouring water into the Master Cyl. I was 2nd-guessing myself until I taste tested each bottle and got it all figured out again

Lol - Yeah I bought the truck for 10k and put another 4 into it. 'Doh!

It runs great - no major issues. It looked to be a 'grandad' car that was a 1 owner / 85k mi 2005. Interior was dirty, but after cleaning it up it practically looks brand new - some wear on the driver seat but nothing horrible. Only things were pretty much wear things that had been ignored, likely because i'm guessing it sat for a while (title was signed over to the dealership under power of attorney).

 

[Chubbs]

Congrats on your new purchase. That extra $4 grand is brutal.

My only suggestion is to drain/remove & refill/replace every single fluid and filter on the vehicle. If even just for once, it will probably double the service life of given component. Power steering fluid, coolant, you know. Not 1 of the chemicals has an infinite service interval and once it breaks down you are really asking a lot from very critical systems that you are dependent upon.

There is a schedule for the service and maintenance to keep the truck performing at its best. I believe the factory fill coolant has the longest service interval @ 100k miles before the first replacement, but most others are 1/3 or 1/2 that. Whenever I buy a used vehicle, I just replace everything and start fresh with detailed records.

Chemicals manufactured with today's technology are much, much better than those produced when these trucks were rolled off of the ass' line.

I put the time into selection & then the cash into refurbishing with every intention that I will squeeze and demand every last revolution of every original part. My mothers 2004 z71 Tahoe finally blew the drivetrain with over 300k. She never had anything replaced but the motor oil & the motor was still going strong, 'Check Engine' light & all. I figured if the the other oils were changed 1 or 2 times the truck would still be her 60-mile daily driver.

 

[chrmbly]

Congrats on your new purchase. That extra $4 grand is brutal.

My only suggestion is to drain/remove & refill/replace every single fluid and filter on the vehicle. If even just for once, it will probably double the service life of given component. Power steering fluid, coolant, you know. Not 1 of the chemicals has an infinite service interval and once it breaks down you are really asking a lot from very critical systems that you are dependent upon.

There is a schedule for the service and maintenance to keep the truck performing at its best. I believe the factory fill coolant has the longest service interval @ 100k miles before the first replacement, but most others are 1/3 or 1/2 that. Whenever I buy a used vehicle, I just replace everything and start fresh with detailed records.

Chemicals manufactured with today's technology are much, much better than those produced when these trucks were rolled off of the ass' line.

I put the time into selection & then the cash into refurbishing with every intention that I will squeeze and demand every last revolution of every original part. My mothers 2004 z71 Tahoe finally blew the drivetrain with over 300k. She never had anything replaced but the motor oil & the motor was still going strong, 'Check Engine' light & all. I figured if the the other oils were changed 1 or 2 times the truck would still be her 60-mile daily driver.

Good to know, Chubbs - I'll check the others as well. I did specifically ask to bleed the brakes since it was black - looks clean now, so I'm *assuming* they did it properly - he mentioned bleeding them at each brake. I can do the others on my own. Hell, I probably could have done the others on my own, but it was too much to have to do all at once. I probably could have waited on the tune up and a couple of the other things, but I had the cash set aside for additional work. Tires and brakes were kinda important though - the old ones were starting to dry rot so they were all losing air over time slowly...

I have no doubt this baby will last me for quite a while and have the intention of keeping it for a long time... so your suggestions are a great idea.

Provided I don't have any more serious mechanical issues between now and next year, I'm going to get my rockers replaced as they are the only spot on it showing rust. That was really what made the deal for me is that 99% of trucks this old in my area (Indiana) are all rusted. The underbody of this particular one looked great, because the old fellah had the underbody treated when it was new, so hardly any rust on the underside.

CB