Sugar Bears 2015 GMC Terrain SLE-2 2.4 AWD

[MaverickZ71]

On 6/7/2024 at 8:06 PM, Grumpy Bear said:

Milestones are fun  

 

 

2 PM CST 6/7/2024

 

 

I know not of this "km" you speak of.  

[Grumpy Bear]

250,950 Mile Service

 

6/29/2024

 

Pesky tire leak fixed.

 

Tuesday week next we are getting new rear shocks, camber/toe kit and an alignment. 

$600-$650 estimated cost. No tires just yet. Shocks $125 a pair. 2.5 hours labor at $145/hr. Alignment $130. Camber/Toe kits $$$$ 2years 24K warranty on parts, three years on alignment. 

 

Then I'll do the front a bit after and finally some CHEAP tires to see what we have. 

[Grumpy Bear]

Service Notes

 

7/2/2024

 

This got ugly in a hurry. Inner lower control arm bushings up front prevented getting an alignment and that won't stand. So, we are added lower control arms and loaded struts to the list. That begged the question about the aft ends' bushings. Yea, could use replacement. Thing is, lower arm outside bush is actually in the knuckle and that, while it could be replaced is also in peril of fracture. Which isn't a problem IF you have access to new ones. Yea, on National Back Order with an indefinite timeline. So, rear shocks, camber/toe eccentric's, front struts and lower control arms (including ball joints) plus bar end links both ends and an alignment. A day, a few days. Holiday and all. 

 

Contracted Belle Tire in Sycamore Illinois to do the bull work. Price tag, just over $2K and it will still need tires and other work once parts are available. I don't put a price on safety. 

 

So, I'll be at the "Pick and Save" soon enough looking for donor knuckles and making an arbor to press them myself. IF successful then the rest of the bushings are off the self, and I take a second bite at the apple.

 

Okay, a word on the rationality of all of this. I know I'm in for a motor not too far down the line. Likely a transmission and some bodywork as well and the unit has 250K+ miles on it. The math says I will be All In about 1/2 the price of a new Terrian. What will I have? Basically a new SUV for 50 cents on the dollar and a MUCH cheaper insurance rate. I'm good. 

 

BTW, I ran into a 65 Ford F100 300 I6 with a three on the tree and rust free. My mouth is watering.  

 

 

[Grumpy Bear]

It's going back. 

 

 

 

"Well, that's unacceptable!" popped right out my mouth. It was also 5 minutes to close and I'm down $2,200 and STILL DON'T have it right. 

 

His answer was, ready for this? "Why"? 

 

"Oh, I don't know.... because it's all over the map and out of spec?" I bark. Yea, I bark when fleeced. 

 

He wants to challenge me on it but another tech who was present on the early visits stepped in when I reminded him that I PAID FOR AN ONE SPEC alignment and detailed what that meant to me and they agreed to my conditions. "That's true" he smiles, "twice in my presents". OMG 

 

I have an appointment at 1 PM tomorrow to FIX THIS. 

 

Upon inspection this evening on my ramps I see the camber adjustment, a thing the last two shops swore was not adjustable and is, have likely never had a wrench placed on them. They installed the toe adjustment cams and called it a day. It fell where it fell and charge anyway. 

 

Note; Belle Tire marks up parts OVER 100%. Hourly rate is slightly below local market but the figure hours funny. Breaking each component out separately as if each stood alone so you get extra billing hours for jobs whose book hours would overlap. just FYI. My eyes were wide open. 

 

Update later after the next go around. 

[Grumpy Bear]

Got er Did! 

 

What I asked for was -.20 camber all the way around and +.05 toe each wheel. Up front this is not too bad, and we just ran out of room on the 1.5-degree camber adjuster on the right side. Out back it was a different story. The camber eccentrics had not been touched since the day this rig was built although it had several four-wheel alignments over the past three sets of tires. Always, "Oh the printer was out of ink.", or "I left it on the seat of my truck" or "The dog ate my homework".  What really happens is these are such pigs to get squared up no one even wants to try. Thing is I got tired of eating tires like popcorn at $1400 a set. 

 

 

Left rear camber was as good as it was going to get after 5 hours (pitting in the eccentric) and close enough to make a marked improvement in most everything. Having added toe link eccentrics complicated the adjustment process. Touch one and they all move. Front and back. Another GM better idea. The toe link is straight as can be and could have more easy had a double threaded adjuster like the tie rod adjustment up front but no.....we will supply no adjustment at all. 

 

Funny thing, after few years these parts show up in the GM data base. 

 

So, in a week or two we are going to put on a set of the cheapest asymmetrical all season tires we can find with block edge tread pattern and test this set up before I drop $250 a tire again.  

 

All in all Belle has been willing to work to meet my requirements and the people not just responsive but pleasant. Plus as their shop rate I already clawed back almost all of the fat in the billing. Sycamore, Illinois store is okay by me. Hat's off Jason and the crew. Extra shout out to Dan the alignment man. 

 

Did you note the ZERO thrust angle and steer ahead?  

 

[Grumpy Bear]

252,000 Mile Service

 

7/7/2024

 

2,000 miles OCI

35.5 of makeup oil

Quart in 1800 miles. 

 

4.5-quarts Mobil 1 Euro FS 5W40

1 pint Auto-RX

1- Purolator L15436

 

Shelves at Wally World were pretty bare. No M1-ESP in jugs and I'm not buying it by the quart at Red Line pricing. 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2024 by Grumpy Bear

[Grumpy Bear]

Effect of Alignment on MPG

 

We've seen this movie before with Pepper and with the same results. Only two tanks of data so more to come but 6.67% increase in mpg. And after lowering tire pressure 5 psig, 5W40 oil and an increase of 5 mph road speed.

 

Friday, she gets new shoes and that WILL take back some of these gains. New tires always do. 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2024 by Grumpy Bear

[Grumpy Bear]

252,891 Mile Service

Tires

 

7/12/2024

 

Retired alignment damaged Continental Cross Contact LX25 tires at 60K miles (59,348 actual)  

I love this tire but too much money to 'test' a new alignment on. 70K warranty. There was plenty of tread left and a few years on the date but edges juddered silly. Noisy. It would have covered the warranty with ease and much more with a proper alignment. 

 

4 New Starfire Solarus A/S 102H P225/65R-17

Road Force balanced and lugs torqued

TTL out the door $444.28 at Belle Tire in under an hour

 

I've never had a "Road Force" balance before and only have 16 miles, but it is smooth. No more so than a good spin balance but give the tires price point.... No pull, quite, comfortable tires. Made by COOPER/Goodyear in the USA. 50K warranty. I'm good. 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2024 by Grumpy Bear

[KARNUT]

1 hour ago, Grumpy Bear said:

252,891 Mile Service

Tires

 

7/12/2024

 

Retired alignment damaged Continental Cross Contact LX25 tires at 60K miles (59,348 actual)  

I love this tire but too much money to 'test' a new alignment on. 70K warranty. There was plenty of tread left and a few years on the date but edges juddered silly. Noisy. It would have covered the warranty with ease and much more with a proper alignment. 

 

4 New Solarus A/S 102H tires in P225/65R-17

Road Force balanced and lugs torqued

TTL out the door $444.28 at Belle Tire in under an hour

 

I've never had a "Road Force" balance before and only have 16 miles, but it is smooth. No more so that a good spin balance but give the tires price point.... No pull, quite, comfortable tires. Made by COOPER in the USA. 50K warranty. I'm good. 

 

 

 

 

 

[KARNUT]

Just now, KARNUT said:

 

My answer disappeared, I’m too lazy to redo it.

[Grumpy Bear]

253,458 Mile Service

 

7/14/2024

 

1,458 mile OCI

23 ounces make up. About a quart in 2K. 

10 of that in the last 371 miles. 

13 for the first 1087 miles. 

 

5 Quarts Mobil 1 15W50

1 Supertech ST9018 filter

Edited July 25, 2024 by Grumpy Bear

[Grumpy Bear]

P0420

7/16/2034

253,900 miles

Anyone surprised? 

[OnTheReel]

3 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

P0420

7/16/2034

253,900 miles

Anyone surprised? 

All that oil guzzling finally kill the cat?

[Grumpy Bear]

16 hours ago, OnTheReel said:

All that oil guzzling finally kill the cat?

 

No sir. And if I believe everything I'm told by the experts, it should have. It's used steady since 80K and until recently all that oil was high SAPS product. What is that, 175K miles? Longer than most keep a vehicle. 

 

Tossed the code yesterday and my gut burnt all night thinking about it. Woke up, dropped a gallon of lacquer thinner in just over a half a tank of gas and headed down the road. Put the LTFT and STFT and the O2 volt% and KR sensor. It was ugly. Pulling fuel like crazy and still pig rich.  Kicking back on every little hill and huffing worse than a three pack a day smoker. 

 

322 miles later it was purring like a kitten. Trims back to zero and O2 behaving normally. Fact is, I'd never seen it so well behaved.

 

So, before LTFT -8 to -15 and STFT -6 to -4. O2 staying on the fat side of 75%. Rarely going below 50% even downhill with the injectors turned off. Might see a quick 18% then back up. 

 

After LTFT and STFT -2 to +2 rolling with the hills. O2 0% injectors off and 22 to 77 also rolling with the hills. Slight rich bias which isn't unusual as the command AFR is 14.2 not 14.7. Idle is dead smooth and only time will tell how long this last, but I logged nearly 400 miles today without tripping the code again. I'm hopeful. 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2024 by Grumpy Bear

[Grumpy Bear]

254,938 Mile Service

 

7/22/2024

 

Slow leaking tire, valve stem, again, repaired and first rotation done. 2,047 miles. But now on the 5K markers I like to work from. 260K will be first rebalance. Hard to judge wear in this short of a distance but absence speaks well for the alignment so far.