davester

There is not a "typical" sierra. It varies with engine, 4wd, bed length, cab length and other options installed on the truck.

No, there isn't that much in them. I would suggest cracking lines moving forward from the rear, and seeing where you get fluid. But it sounds like something is wrong with your MC.

Yeah, that sounds like something has gone wrong somewhere (perhaps the MC ran dry?). I doubt just using a different way to bleed the brakes will help with how the brakes work...

Maybe describe what you are doing to bleed the brakes? You have filled the master cylinder, then you open the bleeder, and have someone press on the brake pedal, then you close the bleeder, and the person releases the brake pedal? And when the person presses on the brake pedal, no fluid comes out?

The last joke is WAY funnier if "what's" is changed to "want's"...

Put it in 4wd, chock the rear wheels, lift up one of the front wheels and try to spin it. If it doesn't spin, great, you are in 4wd If it does spin a) if the front driveshaft spins when you spin the wheel, then most likely the chain in the TC in broken (could be other things, but that's the most likely) b) if the front driveshaft doesn't spin with the wheel, and you can't rotate the front driveshaft by hand either, then (given that you checked the actuator that it does move in/out), most likely the locking gear and/or the passenger side stub axle (in the diff) is broken (could be other bits in the diff)

I suppose someone out there may want it, but I wouldn't hold on to it hoping for it to increase in value as a collectible vehicle. If you aren't towing or planning to tow/haul with it, I would suggest fixing and then selling it, as it's a total gas guzzler, and it's highest value is likely now (once the trans is fixed). Even swapping in a used transmission from a junkyard or a wrecked truck would do the job, as they are a pretty stout transmission. As for rebuilding the transmission, yes, I would suggest checking out diesel forums, as it's much more common for the allison to be behind a duramax, and there's a lot of info about rebuilding them on those forums.

Well, it's unlikely anybody here could give you a definite yes/no answer. Phone up the dealer and see if they will make the keys based on the VIN. You may have to fax your driver's license and registration papers to them to prove you own the truck, or something like that.

You may wish to use other sites to verify a given product works for your specific vehicle, as at least some parts are incorrectly marked for a given vehicle (for example, for my truck, it offers a transmission oil pan for the Allison 1000, which was never used with the 6.0L gas engines).

x2 And if it happens again, see if they will test the starter coming out, to see if it has actually failed (which is possible, if you run the starter too long like it sounds Arno has done). But, it wouldn't surprise me at all if it's an wiring and/or connection problem, and replacing the starter cleans up the connection enough for everything to work for awhile, and then it fails again.

I just did the front hubs/ball joints on my '04 3500. If it's 4wd, I would suggest just smearing anti-seize on the splines of the front axle, the nut doesn't need it (if you put the cap on the hub so it's sealed in there). I did this 5 years ago when I upgraded my truck to 4wd, and the axles slide out of the hubs like butter. And on another forum I follow (dieselplace.com), it's been suggested to periodically remove the front wheel speed sensors, and inject wheel bearing grease in the hole...

It's not that this particular engine is more prone to blown head gaskets, but in general, perhaps because they see more miles, or that they are more expensive, so people are more likely to repair vs replace, but diesels seem to have blown head gaskets more frequently than gas engines, and a head gasket repair is more expensive compared to the same problem with a gas engine. And, for the 3.0 engine, I believe there is that belt at the back of the engine that has to be periodically replaced every 150k, which is a fairly expensive thing to replace...

...there are injectors and glowplugs instead... The higher compression also may result in a higher likelyhood of blown head gaskets.

I would suggest contacting the DMV, your state police, and/or the DOT for that info. Do you really want to get into an argument with a DOT guy starting off with "Some guy on the internet told me...."

GM wants them to have at least one nice trip to see the country before someone drives the truck into the ground... ?

They do sell just the bushings, so they are designed to be replaced. A ball joint press should work ok, as it can generate a good amount of force, might be awkward to hold steady if you don't have a vise or something to hold the LCA while you are cranking on the press, and maybe need to use a socket or a short section of pipe if the smallest included tube is too large for the bushing. You probably can even use a hammer on them to get them out.

No, he's not. Your bicycle example is comparing different braking systems, with different brake material, size of shoes on the braking surface, and even the braking surface itself. Take some mechanical engineering courses, or even just think about it more, and you'll understand that for the same clamping force on the disc brake, if it is applied on a larger disc, there is more braking force applied to the wheel.

Wouldn't surprise me if the specific tone and decibel level is regulated now.

When bleeding all 4 corners, fluid comes out easily?

Not sure exactly how a fuse prevents overcharging...

There are crush metal o-rings (at least on my 3500) on the exhaust manifold to exhaust pipe junction that need to be replaced each time you disconnect them. I didn't have to disconnect the exhaust to do my lines, I believe I did have my front diff out. I did my oil lines and oil pan gasket at the same time, just to make a big mess once...

Yeah, it's straightforward, particularly since you have a 2wd. If you are replacing the whole line, I would suggest replacing both, as the other is going to leak as well. Some hints/tips -get new clips for each end of the line, as GM recommends they be replaced whenever the line is disconnected. -put something over the ends of the lines while you are installing them (as in, while getting the lines routed properly), so you don't get anything in them -make sure you get the lines fully inserted so the clip that you replaced snaps into place. If you don't have the end lined up quite right with the fitting, you won't be able to do this.

I would look at the wiring you did, and the wiring around it, that you may have moved, maybe you hooked up to the wrong wires, or worked some connector loose, or something along those lines.

If you are by yourself, I would suggest leaving one side bolted up, prop up the front and the other side with pieces of wood and some rags along the bottom edge so it doesn't scratch anything (any more than things already are), replace the parts on one side, leaving the bolts slightly loose, then repeat on the other side, then once both sides are replaced, start tightening things down and checking that the hood is aligned with the side panels and the latch up front. You may want to remove the grille as well, just in case there's an alignment problem, and it jams in the latch, so you have a chance to get at it to work it free (I can't say for sure if you will be able to, but with the grille in place you won't).

Most likely, the second latch didn't get set, so only the first latch was holding it, and vibration from driving released it.