MaverickZ71

Always refuel when it gets down to 1/4 tank, especially in hot weather. Anything lower than that just wears out the fuel pump faster. And that way, you won't have to worry if you can make it to the next gas station or not.

7 May 2026 2009 Silverado 1500 Z71 4x4 5.3L 113,162 miles, 5125 engine hrs. Changed oil and oil filter with 6 qts Valvoline Restore & Protect 5W-30 and AC Delco Ultraguard UPF48R, replacing same oil and filter installed last September, approx 1600 miles ago. This was the second fill with Valvoline R&R. Drained oil was dirtier than usual for the mileage and actually had a few tiny sludge clots in it, and the oil filter felt heavier than new. Guess that's the VR&R doing its job.

2009 Silverado 1500 Z71 4x4 5.3L with automatic transfer case and 3.42 gears. Owners manual lists both 80W-90 non-synthetic and 75W-90 synthetic. Which was factory fill? Which would a GM dealer use for a current day drain and fill?

FYI. Multiple new AC Delco/GM oil filters becoming available, since First Brands, owner of Champion Labs went bankrupt:

THIS. GM can't build oil cooler or transmission cooler lines worth a damn, since the 1990s. We're on the 4th set on our 09 Silverado. In our experience, they sweat in a year or two, and then immediately proceed to dripping and worse. If you have skid plates, they act as catch pans and help to hide the extent of the leaks. The NAPA ones last longer than the genuine GM parts.

Still do, Grump!

GM issued a TSB that said using an AC Delco Ultraguard oil filter UPF48R (available at GM dealers, some parts stores. or online) may resolve this situation. The problem seems to happen the most on coldest weather startups. Be sure to use a Dexos-approved 5W30 synthetic motor oil, or equivalent. From what has been said here, it sounds like the UPF63R may be the best of both worlds, then.

Cheap service manual (NOT the manufacturer's factory service manual) says you must use silicone dielectric grease in the boots and put anti-seize on the spark plug threads and tighten them with a little torque wrench. I'm old school and have never done any of that crap before. Hell, I've never changed spark plugs in aluminum heads before. Is all that REALLY necessary? Can't you just snug them with a ratchet and be done? My only torque wrench is a big one to tighten the wheel lug nuts to 140 ft lbs.

Gotta love AI. Apparently the whole front end flipped upside down, but they were somehow still able to remove the transmission from the front. And that's not a dirt floor like most GM dealers around here.

I mean...a $9995 Chevy Aveo came with one in 2004...just like everything else...so...

Only ~$70K+ for those vehicles. So the General can't afford to throw manuals costing them $10-15 in there. Cheap grifting bastards!

I want one.

A homeless guy asked me for money today, so I looked in my pocket for change, but all I had on me was a $100 bill. I thought to myself "Do I really want this $100 going towards alcohol, gambling and wild women?...Nope, not today!!" So I gave him the $100.

Rarer than a Bigfoot sighting

Travis Kelce, a professional football player invited his girlfriend, Taylor Swift to watch him play in last year super bowl. She had great seats, right behind her boyfriend's team bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked it. "Oh, I really liked it," she replied, "Especially the colorful uniforms and all the big muscles, but I couldn't understand why they were killing each other over .25¢ cents?" Dumbfounded, her boyfriend asked, "What do you mean?" "Well, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game all they kept screaming was... 'Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!' I'm like hello, it's only 25 cents!”

"You don't have to agree with everybody and everybody doesn't have to agree with you" AFTER 2+ YEARS, THE FINALLY AGREES WITH US! Note from mod: (Can't use the "R"word". That's one that is frowned on)

I was at Walmart, scanning and bagging nearly $300 worth of groceries, while the employee who wants $15 an hour "monitored" me. Then this happened: Her: Why are you double-bagging all your groceries? Me: Excuse me? Her: You're wasting our bags! Me: If you don’t like how I’m bagging, feel free to come over and do it yourself. Her: That’s not my job! Me: Okay, then I’ll bag my groceries however I please. Her: Why are you using two bags?! Me: Because the bags are weak, and I don’t want the handles to break or the bottom to rip. Her: That’s because you’re putting too much in one bag. If you took half out and used a separate bag, you wouldn’t need to double-bag. Cue 10 seconds of me just staring at her. Me: So, you want me to split these items in half and put them in two separate bags instead of double-bagging? Her: Exactly. Me: So I’d still be using two bags for the same number of items. Her: No, because you wouldn’t be double-bagging. Me pressing two fingers to my left eye, trying to stop it from twitching. Me: Okay, so here’s a jug of milk and a bottle of juice, double-bagged. If I take the milk out, remove the extra bag, and put the milk in one bag and the juice in another, I’m still using two bags for two items. Her: No, because you're not double-bagging them—it’s not the same number of bags. Me looking around at about 10 other customers, all enjoying the show. Me: Is this that Common Core math I keep hearing about? Her: Never mind, you just don’t get it. And with that, she went back to her little podium to continue texting, playing games, or whatever she was doing before deciding to critique my bagging skills.

GM is now discontinuing parts less than 10 years after the vehicle manufacturing date?? Isn't that against Federal law?

Just spent 45 minutes on the treadmill… Tomorrow my goal is to turn it on.

Any landing you can walk away from, was a good landing.

People ask me all the time, "Most people who are good looking don't have any money, but you somehow have money and looks. How is that possible?" Well, fine, I'll tell you the story.... Years ago, my buddy Dave and I went on a skiing trip, and after driving for a few hours, we got caught in a terrible blizzard, so we pulled into a nearby farm house. We asked the attractive lady who answered the door if we could spend the night. "I realize it's terrible weather out there and I have this huge house all to myself, but I'm recently widowed." she explained. "And I'm afraid the neighbors will talk if I let you stay in my house." "Don't worry." I said. "We'll be happy to sleep in the barn, and if the weather breaks, we'll be gone at first light." The lady agreed, and we found our way to the barn and settled in for the night. Come morning, the weather had cleared, so we got on our way and enjoyed a great weekend of skiing. But, about nine months later, I got an unexpected letter from an attorney. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but I finally determined that it was from the attorney of that attractive widow we had met on our skiing trip. I dropped in on my friend, and asked, "Dave, do you remember that good-looking widow from the farm we stayed at on our skiing holiday about 9 months ago?" "Yes, I do," said Dave. "Did you happen to get up in the middle of the night, go up to the house and pay her a visit?" "Well, um, yes!" Dave said, a little embarrassed about being found out, "I have to admit that I did." "And did you happen to give her my name instead of telling her your name?" His face turned beet red and he said, "Yeah, look, I'm sorry, buddy. I'm afraid I did. Why do you ask?" "Well, she just died, and left me everything.”

Someone needs to be the bigger person.