Jsdirt

Got a first-hand demonstration yesterday of the differences between a Duramax and a 5.3. My brother's '02 D-max died out in NY, 3.5 hours plus from home. Crank, no-fire deal. Electronics strike again, of course ... but that's another rant for another day ... We used my flatbed trailer and my dad's '09 D-max to go get it. My truck has been making some driveline noises since new that are getting pretty loud as of late with 76k on the clock, so towing 9k lbs all that way wasn't a good idea. MAN what a difference - night and day! I'd have been screaming redline on every hill - the D-max just chugged right up all of them without even breaking a sweat! Amazing. I guess spending another $30k on top of $30k nets you some results, lol. Too bad they're all junk after 10 years though, at least in this part of the country. If only GM could build the rest of their trucks as good as they build drivelines. I stepped on the E-brake in the '09 - SNAP. Stupid thing breaks. 81k on the clock, WTF! Our '86 Grand Marquis that's almost 30 years old, 222k miles, and been in our ownership for 12.5 years still has the original e-brake and cables. May fool the younger guys, but us guys that have been around know things can be done better. GM ... are you awake?? Anyway, I still don't tow enough to justify the added expense, so I'll be running my lowly half ton until it snaps in half or rusts out completely.

In winter, I empty mine after every road trip, and check it every time I fill up. Thing is only 3oz., so you have to watch it.

Good info there, Spur. Some of these cans are REAL small - won't take a whole lot of oil or water to fill it completely. Yeah, that would be an ugly scene in the sky, losing an engine due to a gulp of sludge. No place to pull over up there ...

Gotta love GM for keeping things consistent ... I used the same Amsoil in my tranny & transfer case. Been in there since '12. I have the NQH (MP3023) Auto, but that's the correct oil for mine.

That's exactly what my drain plug looked like when I took it out - lots of metal.

That's the first I've seen of that mini RZR - nice! That's a sharp lookin' catch can too. Like that one.

HAHA! Don't look too bad from here. At least not many will see under there either way.

They sure are purty when they're new.

I replaced a latch in a '09 Ford Escape. Not only did it take me a solid 45 minutes to extract the POS, but the replacement was over $350 at Ford!! WTF!!! My '72 El Camino had the original latches in '11. Replaced the original hinges in '10. There's going to be ZERO availability in the used car market in 30 years. I think that's part of the manufacturers plan ...

Back when mine was still under warranty, I had pipes, & a K&N cold air intake - they never mentioned any of it ... and I had quite a few warranty claims - mostly pulsating brakes and incessant interior squeaks and rattles. Then there were 3 or 4 recall items too, one of them for the heated washer fluid system, which after the 3rd visit on that they just disconnected it permanently.

They'll never be able to compete with the sheer volume that comes out of the ground. I won't hold my breath on that one ... until they can convert my 2 acres of dandilions into fuel. I'll be curious to see how the lab engine test goes. Just because they made it certainly doesn't mean it's any good ...

Wow - most are over $3/gallon up here again (at least the name brand stations) ... and rising every day.

As long as the taper is fully seated, it'll be good safety wise ... but it's gonna puke grease constantly, & collect all kinds of trash in that space. Might be good to shim it up with large washers just to close it a bit. Kinda sucks if you already cranked the nut down though ... It also might close up once the weight is on it too.

Never seen a hood wear out from use .... but this is the 21st century. We used to never have engines burn oil right off the showroom floor either ... And door hinges used to be a bolt on replacement that lasted 30-40 years, give or take. Best to lube them OFTEN with the best you can buy. Even then there's no guarantees these days. I haven't checked my catch can in a while. Last I checked I had gone about 600 miles or so, and only had maybe an ounce in there. Now that the warm weather is here, there's alot less fluid in the form of moisture. A 615 mile trip at the end of March netted double that amount, alot of it water.

Nice - that's the first time I've actually seen a picture of an adjustable one. That gives you some big camber options, looks like. I'm kicking myself for not going with the silver higher-end Bilstein's when I did my struts a couple years ago. I've got the yellows now - they ride great, but would've been nice to have the best of the best. Maybe next time ... if there's anything left of the truck by then ...

Yeah turbos are fun ... but as far as reliability goes, I'll take a big n/a V8 any day of the week. Those are tried and true for well over 60 years. Can't change the laws of physics. 400 HP out of a small engine or 400 HP out of a bigger engine - much less stress on the bigger one. No way around physics.

Can't remember what I did with mine ... but I can't think of one good reason why I'd ever want to return to the stock "intake manifold oiling system" ...

Oh man! Did that separate while you were driving? Seen that happen only a handful of times around here. So sick of front end work - did both at 2 different times. First the lowers & struts, then the uppers & hub bearings.

I've got a set of Bridgestone Dueller Alenzas on mine in 275/55-20. For the past 5 years they've worn damn good given my front end issues (ball joints and hub bearings). Also stick like glue for a 6k lb. pickup! I've pushed this thing around corners that no vehicle this big should be able to take, and it's taken it. I've yet to reach the absolute limit of these tires on any of the roads around here when dry. They also ride nice and are quiet as a mouse. I may buy them again if I can't find anything earth-shattering performance wise. Around here on 90% of the roads, you'll slide off the road and crash due to loss of traction from bumps before loss of traction of the tires alone.

I think GM knocked it out of the park with the last one - was a much needed redesign over those gawd awful looking ones from the 90's. I wasn't surprised the Camaro name died after that. I still hate those even today. I hate how manufacurers always feel the need to mess with what works as far as styling goes, but I guess people like that sort of thing. Don't look bad from here, aside from the gaping lower grill that looks odd on that car. I'd have to see the new one in person. With the prices on these things, if I can't tow with it or make money with it, I ain't buyin it, so it's all a moot point I suppose. When the '10 Camaro came out, I wasn't moved by the pics at all. Thought it looked good, but wasn't anything earth shattering for me. After I saw my buddy's, I said HOLY S*** ! Thing is just friggin beautiful in every way. WAY more impressive in person. I was expecting a car about the size of a '83 Ford Escort, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a somewhat normal sized car with not just a V8 under the hood ... but a decent sized one at that! I'm not a big fan of all this computer crap on everything these days, but that car makes me actually like it a little bit ... especially after all the money he's sunk into the engine, driveline, and tuning.

You'll lose quite a bit of power, on top of the poor mileage. My truck is set up for E85, but I'll never put that crap in my tank. The stations around this state rip us off diluting the regular fuel enough as it is - I've read alcohol levels on my scan tool well OVER 20% in regular gasoline, when it's posted at the pump to be no more than 10%! This is outright THEFT, and yet you don't hear a peep about it. Most people in this state wouldn't know what a spare tire looks like, let alone how to operate a scan tool. Sad reality of this part of the country. Most probably wouldn't even care if they knew the truth. The reason I checked that day was because my mileage sucked, and the truck clearly lost a substantial amount of torque. I was expecting some pending codes for some type of sensor failure. No wonder ... and that was only at 23% or so! This is the main reason I have a job! I clean carburetors, flush tanks, and replace fuel lines all day long on motorcycles, weedwackers, chainsaws, lawn tractors, & push mowers. The stuff is constantly causing problems for people. It's got so bad that lots of equipment has gone back to adjustable carburetors (they hide the screws sometimes though), to keep them from burning up. What's our government doing about this? Pushing for E15 ....

Ethanol absolutely sucks as a fuel, unless the engine was built specifically to run ONLY ethanol (high compression helps). It has less bang per gallon, so you'll use more of it - ALOT more of it than pure gasoline. Here in MA we can't even get that ...

I hear ya there - I'm the same way.

This is true .. but it is a Ford Expedition ... LOL. Just screwin' around. Out here those things rust so fast it amazes me. I just did rear brake lines on an '04. The rockers are nearly gone on it. A buddy of mine sold his '02 for $800 - he paid $14k for it 5 years earlier - there was nothing left of it.

But, did you reach your destination before it completely rusted out?