Wow I'm in a pickle. (Broke down truck) and a story.

[Grumpy Bear]

6 hours ago, Atlas said:

Because I couldn't find someone to do a root canal without anesthetic on me, I decided to replace the door pins on my sagging driver's door to fill my Sunday afternoon instead.

 

Nothing makes a vehicle feel more like such a huge pile of crap than a sagging driver's door, especially when it creaks/groans. Procedurally, it's not that hard of a fix. Practically, it is a learning curve and you really should have someone there to help position the door when it's unhinged. Caution: spouses may become unhinged if you don't clearly communicate expectations or start moving the door without announcing to line up holes, etc.

 

I'm happy to report the hinges are just fine, but the old pins were severely worn, and the bushings had basically broken they were so bad. New pins and new bushings have it opening/closing level with the striker. These are pretty janky doors/latches from the factory so we don't get a "pop/thud" open/close like with a Mercedes. More of a clacky/latchy sound with a jiggly door handle. But it's as-new, good as it's going to get.

 

One more item checked off the list. The passenger door "could" use a new set of pins. 50/50 on whether I do it or not as it's fairly involved. At the very least I'll wait a week because I was down on my hands/knees and I'll need to wait a few days to recover from that!

 

I'm free and FREE to do that root canal 

[Atlas]

18 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

 

I'm free and FREE to do that root canal 

 

I have an old dental chair in my shop. Something I got for free and apparently it has more than scrap value? People collect them although mine isn't restored or anything. It's visually interesting (1930's Ritter) which is why I like it. And it IS decently comfortable if you kick back.

 

When a good buddy of mine saw it he said, let me guess, Atlas. It's a conversation piece? As in, you ask the questions, they do the talking?

 

Where do you hide the jar of teeth?

 

I would never. 

 

[Grumpy Bear]

6 hours ago, Atlas said:

 

I have an old dental chair in my shop. Something I got for free and apparently it has more than scrap value? People collect them although mine isn't restored or anything. It's visually interesting (1930's Ritter) which is why I like it. And it IS decently comfortable if you kick back.

 

When a good buddy of mine saw it he said, let me guess, Atlas. It's a conversation piece? As in, you ask the questions, they do the talking?

 

Where do you hide the jar of teeth?

 

I would never. 

 

 

Why does that not surprise me?  It is more creative that a crowbar on a kneecap. Did it come with the mounted overhead lighting? 

[Atlas]

My office is slowly filling with Blazer parts. Getting ready to do the big bang of repairs. Intake (second time), water pump, radiator, hoses, and I'm going to re-seal the timing cover where someone went hog wild with silicone. Might as well, because I don't think that's done right.

 

There's a local tow yard that I didn't realize also has quite the inventory of junk vehicles. This is an old school junkyard. No waivers. Cash only, you were never here if anyone asks. Don't piss off the owner, or you'll end up in the back of one of those cars, headed for the shredder. And if you see something, don't snitch. Cars stacked double high, wasps nests, trip hazards and junk everywhere. I found a few little odds/ends for my Blazer. The $20 I spent was worth the experience alone. But I was never there. What yard?

 

I officially love/hate this truck. It's so out of my wheelhouse, roughest vehicle I've ever owned. Every. single. repair. -is so hard-fought, everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. Currently in a hate phase, and kind of wish I was closer to sending it down the road with a lucky new owner, to be honest. Preparing for the day when I tear into this thing...lots of pre-funk with Ibuprofen.

 

Rock Auto sent me a bad reman rear wiper motor. It was a bear to install. The tailgate in these things has about eleventy-billion fastners and pieces and things that need to be uninstalled/moved just to access the shoddy rear wiper motor. The casing on mine was cracked clean through, btw. Nice, GM, nice. SO I got this new motor installed, hit the switch, I see it wig-wag (without the arm installed) and think I'm golden. Reassemble everything. With the wiper arm installed I gave it one final test. Time to clean up and take the other half out to dinner, collect a paycheck, right?

 

Nope. I hear the plastic worm gear stripping as the arm hung up. Just like my broken motor. Weak/old and shredding itself internally. I can assist the arm and the range of motion is normal, and it parks correctly. It just doesn't have the poop to actually sweep the arm with a blade on it. Oh, hell. Turned the key off and shut the shop door behind me. I get to do that over again, too.

[Grumpy Bear]

Sunroof on Dizzy was like that. Fix it, break, fix it again, break.. Fix it again RTV it shut.  Plastic gears. 

 

Love yards like that and they are few these days. Going to the mall before there were malls. 

[KARNUT]

16 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Sunroof on Dizzy was like that. Fix it, break, fix it again, break.. Fix it again RTV it shut.  Plastic gears. 

 

Love yards like that and they are few these days. Going to the mall before there were malls. 

The Avalanche leaked, glued it shut. The Genesis was never used one day a grand kid hit the button it went crooked. Got it back in place. I put tape across the buttons. There’re about as useless as in dash navigation.

[Atlas]

"Teardown" is complete. Head surfaces are clean and ready, new intake is prepped and ready. Coolant drained and water pump is removed, radiator is removed, new hoses and pump are ready.

 

The replacement intake is also from a '95 (with I think 260k, the odometer said). Noticeably less pitting where it covers the rear coolant passages. I'm not sure if that's a tribute to more frequent use, more frequent coolant changes/upkeep, or if the intake was machined at some point. But it appears I found a good one.

 

My coolant hoses were original, and the lower hose still retained the factory spring inside. It's not really rusty, but it's got deposits all over it. Unsure if I should re-install it (will thoroughly clean it first). Someone said hose technology has gotten better since 1995 (has it?) and I don't need the spring. I think modern EPDM is what made those hoses last from 1995-2026, so it's a question of how much suction can the water pump really pull, and will it collapse the hose without a spring?

 

I'm stopped and waiting for parts, however.

 

When I first brought the truck home, the fan was intermittently hitting the radiator shroud. I could see someone had monkeyed with the shroud (put a bunch of cardboard as a spacer between the upper/lower shroud halves. Someone said the motor mounts have likely failed and the engine has sagged. I wasn't sure I believed that. The engine is really solid in its mounts: To remove the old intake I *just* nearly permanently welded to the heads with freshly cured RTV and gasket snot two weeks ago, I literally had to use the arms on my lift and a chain with a bolt attached to the intake to pull it loose. It almost picked the front of the truck off the ground before ....scuuuuuuuuuuup.... I could actually hear the gaskets tearing and it broke loose and the whole truck settled back down. Motor barely moved.

 

SO, those parts I'm waiting on... The lower radiator mounts/bushings had completely failed. The radiator needs to be insulated from the rad support, and the bushings help the rad stand at the correct height. The plastic "baffle" was also destroyed at some point. Someone had attached the shroud to it incorrectly, overlapping a joint that should have been underlapped, creating another suspect issue potentially causing things to hit the fan. Broken tabs, side is busted off, and it's perma-formed/bent where it was jimmied incorrectly.

 

The baffle? Unobtainum. Long since discontinued from GM, of course. Aftermarket/capa/chinese? Also unobtanium. In GM's infinite wisdom, it appears there are at least two different variations whether the Blazer is 2 or 4 door, and I can't yet tell if they shared the same part with the S-pickups. Plan B, if I can't find a viable used one, will be to create a bracket to re-assemble the critical joint I need to seal a gap with the shroud. But that will bug me, it won't be...perfect.

 

The water pump bolts appear to have been installed with...plumber's putty. I guess, sure, if it works...? I've found a few "backyard fixes" like that. Someone's been here before....

 

If I can't find someone to jam bamboo under my fingernails to fill my free time this week I think I'll install the driver's power window motor and replace the rear door speaker that's inop. I've got a genuine GM "9.5" ohm working replacement. Why GM used a non-standard resistance....nevermind. Of course they did, you can get more sound from a cheap factory amp that way.

 

And the saga goes on...

[Atlas]

Getting greedy...

 

The AC pump has been replaced at least once per service records, and it's been recharged twice since 2018 or so, in approximately 2 year intervals between those charges.

 

It was done at the same shop...clearly they were enjoying the revenue of recharging the system periodically versus actually tracking down and fixing the leak. I learned that the owner was 88 years old when she passed in 2023, so maybe they assumed only a temporary fix was needed anyway.

 

The system is basically empty now, the compressor spins freely, so I'm guessing it "just needs a recharge".

 

I vacuumed it down, and it has basically held overnight. Doesn't appear to leak under vacuum, check! So it must leak under pressure. I don't have a way to pressurize the system and pressurizing it with shop air wouldn't be great for the air dryer (which is probably toast anyway?)

 

The dryer (accumulator? I'm not an AC expert) has a Schrader valve, but the high side has an old ball-type valve, which are notorious for leaking. It's clearly had schmutz blown out of it at one point because the line/area next to the valve is coated old black crud, which I assume is AC refrigerant residue/oil, or maybe even dirty dye. I think I'll roll the dice and replace the valves. I have a black light around here somewhere so I'll find it and shine it around the engine bay in the dark to see if there's any dye.

 

I can't think of another way to track down the leak other than injecting some dye (if it doesn't have any) and having it charged up. We can't buy R134a off the shelf here anymore, so I'll run it up to Jiffy Lube and have them do it. I think I have a coupon. At the very least, the charge should last long enough for a year or two, according to history. I think this truck will be long gone by then. But cold AC is a selling point.

 

 

Edited July 21 by Atlas

[richard wysong]

Next time you're on a road trip to a state where you can still buy it stock up on 12oz cans, you might look into getting certified so you can buy it where you are as well. When they switched from R12 to R134a the test for certification was easy, they basically just wanted the $25

[txab]

Doing the right thing, replacing both valves is the way to go. The valves with the ball leak far more often than the schrader. Never cared for them. The accumulator really should be replaced if the system has had no pressure in it and it was a keeper, but since you're looking to sell it, bet you can get by. Did you pull the orifice screen and see what was there?

 

Shame you can't get 134a. Hopefully the previous repairs included dye.

 

Some of the R4s I messed with developed leaks where the line sets connected or the front seal. Had one where the HPCO was leaking. Front seal would only leak under pressure. See any obvious oily spots?

 

I've got nitrogen I use to test pressure and to help dry the system prior to evacuation.

 

Keep up the good work

[Atlas]

Dear diary,

 

Not much to report, but the re-assembly started. New intake is smooshed down and torqued, ready for CPI leak testing again. 24hrs cure for the RTV will be completed this evening, so I'll fill it with fluids tomorrow and try to fire it off after getting all the little bits bolted back on. I hope this little truck thinks of me late at night and in the early morning after rising, too. (LOL)

 

The greasy trench: The front crossmember is a gravitational force/black hole for dropped bolts, sockets, souls. It also retains leaked oil and coolant. It's awful when something actually falls inside of it. There's a thick greasy goo in there. I need to clean it out somehow because, fingers crossed, the engine shouldn't leak anymore. Douse it with brake cleaner? Get a pressure washer on it? It's freaking nasty.

[txab]

I still use kerosene and a brush for clean up since it's easily available to me. Then pressure wash if possible. Seems like on the really thick goo, brake clean doesn't work so well, at least for me.

 

have also used simple green or similar on light coatings of oil/dirt. Again brushing it and agitating 

[Black02Silverado]

Dawn also works well.  I also use Simple Green.

[Atlas]

Blazer is all put back together. Another hard-won battle. The 4.3 is not easy to work on in such an archaic and narrow chassis originally designed for an inline 4.

 

My baffle issue is solved. I returned to the OG junkyard but was ready for a fight. The Blazer I had picked from was stacked on another vehicle so I had no idea how the heck I was going to get myself to working height to pull the front end apart. I had seen an S10 pickup on the ground so I was hoping the part would be the same, AND, I couldn't remember if the S10 still had a front end or not. But I didn't need to worry because it turned out to be my lucky day. The yard had just taken in a '98 Blazer, sitting right up front, on the ground, with room to work around it, and the front end hadn't been hit. The baffle and all the clips were factory perfect. I also scored another good handful of odds/ends and the whole shebang only cost me $20.

 

Got everything back together and it fired right off, sounds good, runs good. I've got a little coolant drip from a lower water pump bolt (D'OH!!). I did the right thing and snugged it down a little bit, and of course that didn't fix it. Yet again, I will have to soak everything in coolant to drain it down to the water pump, remove the bolt, and attempt to re-seal it. Nothing is easy on this truck. Nothing. But now all the radiator plastics are correct, snug, and fully functional. No more rubbing on the cooling fan. It runs, drives (took it for a 30 mile drive last night), no Check Engine lights, EGR is working, no vacuum leaks. We're getting closer...

 

The replacement wiper motor arrived yesterday. The tailgate was already disassembled and waiting, so I threw that in. It works! Sort of. Two new issues on the list. While the motor is strong enough and the gears aren't stripped, the wiper is hanging up on the bottom of the rear glass. This is the old style where the lower half folds down like a truck tailgate, and the glass swings up, and they meet in the middle when closed. The glass isn't sitting flush with the tailgate, now that I look at it. No rubber bumpers that I can see for adjusting, so I'll have to look at the hinge adjustment to see if I can correct it. Also, the washer/squirter just dumps fluid underneath the truck. The lines actually run inside on the floor so I'm guessing the tailgate is soaked at the rear trim and the line is disconnected. There's also a drain there....probably for this reason.

 

The leaky water pump bolt was really disappointing. JUST STOP LEAKING...OMG!!

 

Replacing the window motor and a rear door speaker are still to do, and then everything will work. I want this to feel like a "good" vehicle worthy of dropping $600 for new tires before I do. That means no leaking first. I hurt, and I'm kind of cranky, so I'll probably take a day of rest and do the water pump again tomorrow.

Edited July 25 by Atlas

[Grumpy Bear]

You are winning more than battles. You're winning the war!  Nice.