Useless Information

[iamdub]

A few hours earlier my sixteen year old and I tackled the rear brakes finally. Pulled off the rear disc and saw that the parking brake shoe and inside of the drum in hat were soaked. Axle seal. Just changed the fluid 7,000 miles ago and all was good. Ordered up some new AC Delco seals and more grape scented rear diff fluid and will make the repair and get it all back together Monday hopefully. The parking brake cables look good, the shoes are wore out and were not adjusted right, not even touching. The discs were rotten and the wrong size too. The inside pads barely touched any of the disc. We've checked and checked and checked and checked again to make sure we bought the right parts.

If you want something done right...

 

[swathdiver]

You got it. What a day! Thirteen hours and still not done. Just plumb wore out.

Put on the new parking brake shoes and began adjusting them. Little adjuster only seemed to work one way. Twice we got the drum/disc over the shoes and tested the parking brake whereby it would then not come off freely. Took 15 minutes of careful prying each time just to remove it and start over. The second time took some shoe material with it. Ughh. They engage a little more loose than I'd like but still have yet to adjust the cable.

Somewhere in between that we dropped the rear differential cover and pulled the pin easily. Then spent the next several hours trying to get the C-clips out. There was just not enough room! They needed 1/64 and after hours of trying we finally go the right side C-clip out. Home free right? No, not me, not today. Could not find my pry bar so my lovely wife went to the store and bought another. Then we pulled the leaky seal and pried the axle out of the right tube. Probably another hour there. The new seal went in quickly, the axle went back in without too much fuss as did the c-clip. But that pin! Goodness gracious that pin. I think we spent 4 hours or so trying to get it back in. To make a long story short, we pried the left axle outwards a bit and it dropped right in, but too tight to slide around. With some jiggling the pin was able to freely move and it was soon secure.

My little helper left for a shower and to finish her homework while I replaced the cover and refilled the differential. Just used two bottles, will top it off later. Reused that original gasket again, not leaks so far.

Then I got started on the brakes but my hands were cramping and refusing to function and I knew I'd done too much already. Just got over a month with the flu. Getting old isn't so bad until you forget your twice as old as when you did this stuff last!

Might take a look at those parking brake shoes again tomorrow before putting the calipers back on, in daylight!

On the plus side, it was cool and windy, perfect night to sleep outside and the scent of night blooming jasmines filled the air.

Praise be to God for answered prayer and giving me the strength to get as far as I did today. I have not been able to do this much activity in a long long time.

 

[PG01]

You got it. What a day! Thirteen hours and still not done. Just plumb wore out.

Put on the new parking brake shoes and began adjusting them. Little adjuster only seemed to work one way. Twice we got the drum/disc over the shoes and tested the parking brake whereby it would then not come off freely. Took 15 minutes of careful prying each time just to remove it and start over. The second time took some shoe material with it. Ughh. They engage a little more loose than I'd like but still have yet to adjust the cable.

Somewhere in between that we dropped the rear differential cover and pulled the pin easily. Then spent the next several hours trying to get the C-clips out. There was just not enough room! They needed 1/64 and after hours of trying we finally go the right side C-clip out. Home free right? No, not me, not today. Could not find my pry bar so my lovely wife went to the store and bought another. Then we pulled the leaky seal and pried the axle out of the right tube. Probably another hour there. The new seal went in quickly, the axle went back in without too much fuss as did the c-clip. But that pin! Goodness gracious that pin. I think we spent 4 hours or so trying to get it back in. To make a long story short, we pried the left axle outwards a bit and it dropped right in, but too tight to slide around. With some jiggling the pin was able to freely move and it was soon secure.

My little helper left for a shower and to finish her homework while I replaced the cover and refilled the differential. Just used two bottles, will top it off later. Reused that original gasket again, not leaks so far.

Then I got started on the brakes but my hands were cramping and refusing to function and I knew I'd done too much already. Just got over a month with the flu. Getting old isn't so bad until you forget your twice as old as when you did this stuff last!

Might take a look at those parking brake shoes again tomorrow before putting the calipers back on, in daylight!

On the plus side, it was cool and windy, perfect night to sleep outside and the scent of night blooming jasmines filled the air.

Praise be to God for answered prayer and giving me the strength to get as far as I did today. I have not been able to do this much activity in a long long time.

God bless brother

 

[iamdub]

You got it. What a day! Thirteen hours and still not done. Just plumb wore out.

Put on the new parking brake shoes and began adjusting them. Little adjuster only seemed to work one way. Twice we got the drum/disc over the shoes and tested the parking brake whereby it would then not come off freely. Took 15 minutes of careful prying each time just to remove it and start over. The second time took some shoe material with it. Ughh. They engage a little more loose than I'd like but still have yet to adjust the cable.

Somewhere in between that we dropped the rear differential cover and pulled the pin easily. Then spent the next several hours trying to get the C-clips out. There was just not enough room! They needed 1/64 and after hours of trying we finally go the right side C-clip out. Home free right? No, not me, not today. Could not find my pry bar so my lovely wife went to the store and bought another. Then we pulled the leaky seal and pried the axle out of the right tube. Probably another hour there. The new seal went in quickly, the axle went back in without too much fuss as did the c-clip. But that pin! Goodness gracious that pin. I think we spent 4 hours or so trying to get it back in. To make a long story short, we pried the left axle outwards a bit and it dropped right in, but too tight to slide around. With some jiggling the pin was able to freely move and it was soon secure.

My little helper left for a shower and to finish her homework while I replaced the cover and refilled the differential. Just used two bottles, will top it off later. Reused that original gasket again, not leaks so far.

Then I got started on the brakes but my hands were cramping and refusing to function and I knew I'd done too much already. Just got over a month with the flu. Getting old isn't so bad until you forget your twice as old as when you did this stuff last!

Might take a look at those parking brake shoes again tomorrow before putting the calipers back on, in daylight!

On the plus side, it was cool and windy, perfect night to sleep outside and the scent of night blooming jasmines filled the air.

Praise be to God for answered prayer and giving me the strength to get as far as I did today. I have not been able to do this much activity in a long long time.

Hope she's not turned off of working on cars because of experiences like this!

I wonder if your axle housing is bent on that left side?

 

[swathdiver]

I don't think so. She likes the sense of accomplishment and the fact that she now knows more about cars than the young men in her classes.

Don't know about that tube. There is no adverse wear on the tire, no vibration issues and the ring and pinion and all spider gears are in excellent condition. Time will tell. Took today off as a day of rest and our church's bible study is moved to Tuesdays on Thanksgiving week. Will finish it up tomorrow I reckon.

 

[swathdiver]

Done! Rear diff is quiet as a mouse but we did not get above 45 while fueling and burnishing the brakes. No leaks either.

Last tank of gas averaged 12.7 mpg for 15.4 hours of engine run time and 282 miles. Tires are at 42 psi cold.

Brakes feel much better, whoever did them previous used the wrong rotors or cut them down too much and put the pads on backwards, the wear indicators go on the inside. Nice to have the parking brake work as well. Finally!

Spare tire hoist went caput trying to winch it up! It will lower no problem but slips with tension on the cable. Spare went into the garage, guess a new one goes on the To Do List. Isn't there one without a clutch we can use?

 

[swathdiver]

Made a 120 mile or so round trip on Thursday and averaged 15.8 mpg @ 75 mph for 75% and 70 mph for 15% and the rest city driving.

This afternoon my daughter and I cleaned the Mass Airflow Sensor and throttle body with that little two-pack by CRC. Didn't need a whole lot, the throttle body seemed pretty clean even though it's been reading about 7% or 8% now. Not enough to throw a code but Justin @ BB thought it a mite high when he tuned it. Anyhow we buttoned her back up and she barely sputtered on the remote start and came back to a good idle pretty quickly.

Soon after we went to dinner and upon leaving noticed a chill in the air, it was now a chilly 70 degrees! Time to open the windows and moonroof! Instead of heading home we headed for the beach and a little drive with the heat on the floor and the windows down. I romped on the truck from light to light until my wife's back started hurting then calmed down and enjoyed their company. Eventually, the mileage dropped to 15.4 mpg after about 30-40 miles. The a/c compressor was now off.

So cleaning that got me looking at that factory air tube and thinking about that Airaid as a possible replacement. Some breathers for the valve covers too but not sure what or where to get those yet. First thing we always did back in the day was get the oil and blow-by out of our intakes.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Made a 120 mile or so round trip on Thursday and averaged 15.8 mpg @ 75 mph for 75% and 70 mph for 15% and the rest city driving.

This afternoon my daughter and I cleaned the Mass Airflow Sensor and throttle body with that little two-pack by CRC. Didn't need a whole lot, the throttle body seemed pretty clean even though it's been reading about 7% or 8% now. Not enough to throw a code but Justin @ BB thought it a mite high when he tuned it. Anyhow we buttoned her back up and she barely sputtered on the remote start and came back to a good idle pretty quickly.

Soon after we went to dinner and upon leaving noticed a chill in the air, it was now a chilly 70 degrees! Time to open the windows and moonroof! Instead of heading home we headed for the beach and a little drive with the heat on the floor and the windows down. I romped on the truck from light to light until my wife's back started hurting then calmed down and enjoyed their company. Eventually, the mileage dropped to 15.4 mpg after about 30-40 miles. The a/c compressor was now off.

So cleaning that got me looking at that factory air tube and thinking about that Airaid as a possible replacement. Some breathers for the valve covers too but not sure what or where to get those yet. First thing we always did back in the day was get the oil and blow-by out of our intakes.

Catch can.

 

[iamdub]

So cleaning that got me looking at that factory air tube and thinking about that Airaid as a possible replacement.

Yup- the MIT is all that's needed.

Some breathers for the valve covers too but not sure what or where to get those yet. First thing we always did back in the day was get the oil and blow-by out of our intakes.

I wish that were an option. The way the air flows through the LS engine, the vent tubes are needed. Also, if the system was opened (vented to atmosphere with simple breather filters), you'd throw an SES light. I'm sure with a custom tune you could have the PCV stuff turned off then cap off/filter some lines. But, you may induce issues with the PCV system not being evacuated enough.

 

[swathdiver]

Maybe a catch can with a breather? Never heard of those things until you fellas mentioned them. We always put breathers on the valve covers. Truck really doesn't lose any oil between changes either.

Well, you're slowly getting through my thick skull. In a couple of weeks at Moroso it'll be truck night only for drag racing and think I'll take the family and show them my old haunt, though it's been completely modernized and changed since. Haven't heard from Andy but will see if he can make it and see how those new headers and tune run too.