Grumpy Bear

From Peppers Project Manager Rex! GM Part # 13507547. It’s description is “Trans Fluid Thermal Bypass”. Is there a reason ‘Thermostat’ doesn’t work for these people? Cost is about $75 and I ordered one to modify. It’s less than aftermarket most expensive and doesn’t require an expensive refitting of the cooler circuit as even the cheaper than factory aftermarket units do. I’m pretty sure I will be money ahead on this when I modify the original and it will look and hook up factory stock because…well….it is factory stock. I had been told that the 2500 pickups with the 6L80 or 90 transmissions haven’t a thermal bypass in the cooler circuit but a connection block instead. It isn’t separate either and the ‘block’ is part of the cooler piping which is, again, different than the 1500’s, Nothing is going to be easy. Or interchangeable. Per my VIN and onsite inspection this trucks trans cooler in indeed and fact the passenger side radiator tank. That differs from information on this site in threads where a remote filter is installed in line. After passing through the radiator it does not make a pass through the top two rows of the AC exchanger either. Lines are standard 3/8 but the fittings shown to be on the transmission are in fact those found at the radiator. In essence not one piece of information was correct. That said I have a starting point for this project. Project Scope: 1.) Shorten transmission fluid temperature warm up times. 2.) Increase winter fluid operation temperature. 3.) Lower summer peak load temperatures. 4.) Targeting 170 – 190 F Project Method: 1.) Bypass factory 190 F thermostat. 2.) Collect data. 3.) Add cooling or control end point as needed mechanically. Dressed for Dinner

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Me. I care. According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the average American driver (Joe Average) puts in 13,474 miles behind the wheel each year. (2015 data) Stat's places the oldest trucks in this series at 54K. Any truck reporting, that logged more than 13,474 miles per year, is indeed and in fact a high mileage truck by any measure that matters. You will find that out when you sell it to a dealer or obtain financing. Ergo your condescension aimed at those that offered statistically valid information in good faith and in willing participation do not deserve the contempt and error filled oration unjustly laid on them. Opinions are not facts. Not even yours.

55,000 mile service. Quaker State 5W20 full synthetic and WIX filter. Rotate tires after pulling a nail and making a repair. Plug and boot. Thank you Deegan's. 7/32" left in tread and wearing well. Reset tire pressures to sticker 35 psig. Replaced fog lamp blubs with like and kind. Drivers side popped a week ago or so. Routine checks. All is good. Wife is a nail magnet. If there is one in the county she'll find it.

So in a short 5 year run just how many miles do you think Joe Average will (not can) put on one? How many 'war stories' can a five year old tell. Reports sound about right given the short and recent time period. I start seeing twenty current examples of the now average 2.5 years with a half million miles on them the BS meter will peg. Or is 'fake new' more the style these days. Their reporting reality. Let it be.

2015 Silverado. 56K as of last night. Pinion seal. I feel violated.

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This one just oil/filter and rotate the tires. Check fluids. Did the big one at 50K. Oil & Filter change every 5K. Redline 5W20 and WIX Transmission service. Pan and filter drop. Red Line D6 fill. WIX filter. A service I will shorten to 25K intervals. Differential service a bit less than 3 qt. Redline 75W90 (50K intervals) Brake system flush (50K intervals) Checked coolant strength and add package. Belt/hose checks etc. Rotate and balance tires. (rotate on 5K intervals, balance on 10K intervals) Checked alignment. (Every 25K) Ground up clean up.

Drove it 550 miles after it's 55K service just because it was a nice day to go for a drive.

Moving to a permanent oil filter. K & P Engineering. Temperature. Filtration. Lubricant Quality. Volume. Pressure.

55,000 mile service. 5W20 Red Line and WIX filter. (NAPA Gold). Under 30 hours on OLM. First time that’s happened that I can remember. Colder winter. Shorter drives. Makes sense. Fully flushed the brake system. Check caliper slides and grease. Lots of pad left. I had intended to do this at 50K and simply forgot. Coolant check. -32 F in the radiator, -20 F in the tank. Add pack good. Lost some coolant when the thermostat was changed. That’s about a 5% by volume difference in glycol concentration. Prepackaged 50/50 jug measured short when I checked at home later. (cheats) Rotate tires and check tread depths. Inspect sidewalls. I have two different tread gauges. A real cheap stick type and a more expensive dial type. They measure about ¾ of a thirty second different. I’ll check later with a an actual depth gauge. I have a nice one in the shop. For now I’ll take the lower number of the dial gauge. A shade over 7/32 remaining. (stick says 8/32). Under carriage inspection shows some mild pealing of the undercoating in a few spots that needs some attention. When it gets warmer of course. As careful as I’ve been there is still some light salt deposits. That’s going to get a good hosing when I get a day warm enough as well. Nothing alarming. Checking into Line-X for the bumpers. This paint chips too easy and it’s too bad now to clear bra. This will be a remove, sand blast, coat inside and out and remount when the estimate is done.

I'm not seeing the down side if well chosen. All these items totaled are far less than the difference in both price and reliability. But to each his own.

I bought a Honda 3813 that was fifteen years old about 10 years ago and ran it until the deck gave up. Traded for the new Cub. Cub crapped out in 18 months. Repair bill over $600 on steering. Did the second one myself for about a hundred. Third one, it sits in the shed and I bought a walk behind Honda self propelled. I do a half acre. Guy that bough my Honda Tractor from the Cub dealer is still using it to do a three acre farm yard. WOODS deck. I didn't know that then or I could have saved myself a world of grief and a truck load of $$$$. I really miss that Honda. It's a car motor in a lawn tractor and while rated only 13 horse works harder than my 20 horse Cub. WT...GRRRRRRRR I also owned a mid 60's Cub 70 that was a beast. Tough? I dropped a Kohler 18 in it and pulled with it after cutting grass. If they were giving away tractors at the Box store I wouldn't take it.

I bought a Cub Cadet Garden tractor. Not from a big box store but a Cub dealer. JUNK. $600 in steering repair about every other season for a $15 gear that eats every other part in the system and a bear to get at. Some bright engineer bean counter decided the it's a great idea to use an unhardened raw steel pinion gear against an even softer steel sheet metal rack out in the open under the tractor where dirt/sand and the like eat on it like ants at a picnic. All supported by the absolute cheapest spherical bearings your ever going to source. Newer ones use PLASTIC gears. Oh and this is actually a step up from anyone's MTD built big box 'lawn' tractor. Mine cost twice you budget. Second Cub I ever owned and if I would have kept the first it would still be running. So here's a hot tip. Find and old nice well cared for or re-buildable Deere 314 or 318 or early, like 70's early, 18 horse drive shaft Cub or Wheel horse. Honda also built some nice water cooled inline multi-cylinder tractors of both 14 and 18 horse about 20 years ago. Actaully just about any major tractor manufacture BEFORE the MTD consolidation. The old stuff isn't full of plastic, cooperate greed and malice. Just say'n.

Routine wash today. Blisters on the lift gate. 55K on the clock. Post the 3 year 36K corrosion warranty and it wont rust through in another 1500 miles and yet, just two winters on her. GM doesn't find this dishonorable. It's out of warranty. Lift gate? Really? Not exactly in the line of fire. Out of warranty indeed. Actually it isn't. Oh it may be out of GM"s warranty but It isn't out of my guarantee. Same guarantee I make anyone or any company I ever buy anything from. Intentionally sell me a blind horse and I guarantee you, you sell me no more horses. FORD did this to me in 1976. I've never bought another new FORD since. Looks like Dodge is next up. No, I wont run out of sellers. I'm 64.

Road Trip! It’s about a 300 mile round trip from my house to Edwards, Illinois; home of Hoerr Racing Products where I source my Redline lubricants and other odds-n-ends. Dan Lucas is the Executive Retail Specialist and my contact for all my needs truck. Pepper is ready for an oil change. I’m out of stock. The weather couldn’t be better. Rex was willing and I was too. 63 F and nearly dead clam winds. Something we don’t see around here often enough. I was going to take the Buick as it does better in the wind. There are multiple ways to get there and back and realistic routes are within 15 miles one direction the same distance. What differs greatly is time and economy. The trip can be made in three hours by Interstate and at the 70 mph posted limit in calm air Pepper is good for about 17-19 mpg or on a day like today US highways and State Routes get me there in 3.5 hours and she’s good for 28-30 mpg. Pretty much the definition of a no-brainer. We started the day heading south on I-39. There is a stretch of about 10 miles near Rochelle where it really doesn’t matter which way you go it’s going to use up some fuel. Two interchanges, hilly and no natural cover from the generally western winds. You just have to gut it out. Once past that we swung over to Ill 251. Runs parallel to I-39 crossing it once or twice in a hundred miles or so. Generally flat, smooth and not as well traveled. We have to run west for some time when we get close to I-80 but I select US 6 instead. This section between I-39 and the Iowa border is all but forgotten. You could hit a soup can with a 22 from US 6 if it were sitting in the middle of I-80 most of that distance. The small ghost towns and unincorporated community’s that dot this twisty, hilly byway speak of much better times; before Ike built his Interstate project. It’s a pretty drive if you ignore the abject poverty left in the wake of progress. Quiet and unhurried and it fair shape. Just the way I like it. We head south at Ill 40. A road built going nowhere important anymore from nowhere important ever. Runs just about dead magnetic north and south through places like Buda and others that don’t even register in the blink it takes to run their lengths all called Main Street. What they share in common outside small populations and odd names is a Casey’s quick mart and at least one bar and about two churches with boards in the windows and grass grown tall in the gravel parking areas. I break west again along Ill 17 to Ill 91 and south again to Peoria County 40 then east on US 150, down a side street and into Hoerr’s parking lot. Rex is about to burst. Quick to his business as he has girlfriends with puppy treats waiting inside. They forget me soon enough but “puppy” is a lady killer that is never forgotten. Round trip nets 28.4 mpg and 50 miles over for the oil change. What a nice day for a drive. It’s what I bought her for.

That is a great resource. Thanks!!

That would depend on when the TSB was issued and how many 18's were manufactured before that time.

Porter Cable at my house. I have both battery and plug in. I still use plug in most of the time. If it isn't the cost of the battery as you say it's a charger gone feet up and guess what. We don't make that charger anymore. It isn't a felony to steal if you have a business I guess. My plug in stuff has been rock solid.

Having years of data; trends emerge that otherwise would be unquantifiable. (55K miles) Summer fuel efficiency: 27.5 mpg +/- 1.7 mpg Winter fuel efficiency : 24.9 mpg +/- 1.2 mpg Overall fuel efficiency : 26.4 mpg +/- 1.9 mpg 9.5% seasonal variation. I know that winter/summer blends vary in BTU content roughly 2% leaving the remaining 7.5% attributed to weather and forced alterations in driving habits weather brings about. That is 80% of the winter/summer fuel debate has a cause other than the fuels seasonal RVP adjustments. Lubrication fluids viscosity chief among them.

I have the 2015 and have had exactly one repair in 55,000 miles. A pinion seal. Mine is not just nearly flawless, it has been exceptionally reliable. Love it to death. Even the wiper blades are OEM and mint.

700# vs 600#.

I had Pepper out and about today. Been about three weeks so it was like fresh eyes. Nasty you have me convinced. I'll keep the 700# springs and continue to work N2 and shims. Thanks for the help.

Drop 1.36 inches on rain on top of 24 inches of snow at 40F over two days! Roads are spanking clean the river high. Wonder if that means the boats off limits too. Pepper got some road time as did puppy and puppy pappy. All it good. All is forgiven.