List of Repairs - DIY or Mechanic?

[zwanzon]

Hey guys,

I recently had a full inspection on my 07' Tahoe LT. It has about 165,000 miles on it.

I'm wondering which of these repairs I can do myself and which are worth having the mechanic take care of. I would consider myself an intermediate level DIYer. I already did the Serp and AC belts which took like 15 minutes, super easy. Obviously, the last item, engine shield is no problem either.

Thanks in advance!

 

[shreksbrother]

Hey guys,

I recently had a full inspection on my 07' Tahoe LT. It has about 165,000 miles on it.

I'm wondering which of these repairs I can do myself and which are worth having the mechanic take care of. I would consider myself an intermediate level DIYer. I already did the Serp and AC belts which took like 15 minutes, super easy. Obviously, the last item, engine shield is no problem either.

Thanks in advance!

If you are ok with diy, you can do all of it except the alignment.

Does it have leaks? Just curious about the gallery replacements mentioned. If the leaks aren't too bad, just monitor your fluid levels until you're ready for the project.

Sent from my Galaxy Note9 using Tapatalk

 

[swathdiver]

Jordan, since you're mechanically inclined, belong to this forum and are physically able, you can do it all save for the alignment as Adam said. I don't think they press on ball joints anymore, just get new control arms with them already in it.

What do you all think, two Saturday's worth of work here? Of course, if time is money and you make $900+ a day, then it might pay to have the work done!

 

[zwanzon]

If you are ok with diy, you can do all of it except the alignment.

Does it have leaks? Just curious about the gallery replacements mentioned. If the leaks aren't too bad, just monitor your fluid levels until you're ready for the project.

Sent from my Galaxy Note9 using Tapatalk

Gallery replacements? So there aren't any signs of leaking/drops on the ground, but I'm guessing there is residue near the parts they want to replace though?

 

[swathdiver]

Ohh, if your heater hoses aren't leaking real bad, you can get on the list for having them made from brass.

@kbuskill has been spearheading this project with Gruven.

 

[Hi-psi]

Ultimately you know your situation, and what is at more of a premium, time or money.

Some questions to ask yourself...

Do you have the place to do the work yourself? I.e do you live in a home with a garage/driveway as opposed to an apt complex/condo, etc.
Do you have all the requires tools, ability to borrow them, or ok with buying anything required?
Can you endure having the vehicle down for several days to a week to perform the work? Not knowing your work situation, as in if you could only work on it a couple hours each evening, only on weekends, etc.

If your time is more valuable than money, then just pay someone else to turn wrenches for you.

None of the work described is rocket science. Bolts are bolts, nuts are nuts. Doesn't really matter what they're on or what they attache. It really just comes down to a time vs money debate.

I'm mechanically included enough that short of rebuilding the transmission I could tackle most anything. But, I also live in an apartment complex that frowns on vehicle maintenance and my Denali is my primary daily driver. So, sometimes I just have to bite the bullet for the sake of simplicity and time and pay to have somethings done.

 

[Hi-psi]

Short of the oil pan gasket job, I'd say all the others could be split up and done in a bunch of 1-3hr sessions so as to minimize down time. That oil pan gasket job would be the one I'd most like weigh all the time/money options on.

 

[zwanzon]

Jordan, since you're mechanically inclined, belong to this forum and are physically able, you can do it all save for the alignment as Adam said. I don't think they press on ball joints anymore, just get new control arms with them already in it.

What do you all think, two Saturday's worth of work here? Of course, if time is money and you make $900+ a day, then it might pay to have the work done!

Well good to know, thanks James. I actually love working on my cars, I'm just new to the Chevy/SUV game. It was amazing to see how much room there is in the engine bay to work compared to my 350z.

I think the item that has the most priority is the heater hoses? He mentioned they are turning brown which is a good indicator they should be replaced.

It's just hard to find a DIY on all those heater hose parts. Is a 07-14 Silverado 1500 DIY video applicable to the 07 Tahoe?

 

[zwanzon]

Ultimately you know your situation, and what is at more of a premium, time or money.

Some questions to ask yourself...

Do you have the place to do the work yourself? I.e do you live in a home with a garage/driveway as opposed to an apt complex/condo, etc.
Do you have all the requires tools, ability to borrow them, or ok with buying anything required?
Can you endure having the vehicle down for several days to a week to perform the work? Not knowing your work situation, as in if you could only work on it a couple hours each evening, only on weekends, etc.

If your time is more valuable than money, then just pay someone else to turn wrenches for you.

None of the work described is rocket science. Bolts are bolts, nuts are nuts. Doesn't really matter what they're on or what they attache. It really just comes down to a time vs money debate.

I'm mechanically included enough that short of rebuilding the transmission I could tackle most anything. But, I also live in an apartment complex that frowns on vehicle maintenance and my Denali is my primary daily driver. So, sometimes I just have to bite the bullet for the sake of simplicity and time and pay to have somethings done.

So my questions isn't really regarding the time, money, space, tools, etc (which I have). It's the difficulty of the jobs. I guess I should have been more clear on this. If all of these repairs are very much doable for the average home wrencher, then awesome. I just didn't know if there was something in there, such as the oil gasket replacement - where someone would chime in and say, "That replacement is a huge pain and very messy. It's worth letting a mechanic do it!"

That's kind of what I was looking for.

 

[ivin74]

To me the oil pan gasket was a walk in the park, you don't have to remove the front axle just lower it. Its alot easier if you do drop it. It also helps if you have air tools