What did you do with your GMT400 today...or yesterday....

[dbrannon79]

Drove the ‘94 Suburban up to Big Bear Lake and back to check on the dock. Clocked 198 miles roundtrip with no issues. Took the front route 330 up. On the steep stretch from the Ranger Station to Running Springs, the temp stayed on the cold side of the 210 tick and would drop back down after I got out of it. Overall, the truck runs pretty damn good. It needs a new set of tires as they are dated 2014 and the side walls are cracking. This was due to it sitting for 3+ years. Looks like there’s about 15K miles left on the tread.

Was up there to move the dock but was unable to do so as it’s still being held by the pole. Top of pole is now in line with the top of the dock. Looks like the water rose about 8” from last Tuesday (first pic). It should clear the top of the pole in a little over a week. I purchased two 1.5” OD x 10’ galvanized pipes, plus two dock augers that attached to the poles and screw down into the lake bed. I set one pole to the east and tied off a dock line to it. Now it will be trapped between the neighbor’s dock and that pole. I’ll keep an eye on the water level as they measure and post it on Mondays. Can’t get down to the bottom of the drive with the truck as it’s not cleared. Upper part is cleared to one lane and the berms are overhead in spots.View attachment 80574View attachment 80575on Mondays.

Tires dated from 2014!! you got your money's worth out of those!!!

 

[J_dude]

Didn’t do anything on my 6.5, but I’ve been finishing up the intake manifold gasket job I started on my dad’s ‘96 Vortec, and I spent pretty much the whole weekend flushing the cooling system. (some of you maybe saw that other thread lol) I flushed and refilled that thing more times than I can count, and it still came out kinda orange, so I said heck with this, and flushed it a couple more times with distilled and then filled her up with coolant. I think I probably need some of that additive/cleaner sort of stuff to get all the sludge/orange crap out, but the truck has been out of service too long and I need it out of the shop so that will have to wait

 

[dbrannon79]

got the temp probe in that I ordered to start diagnosing on my power steering issues. took it out for a drive to the grocery store. temp of the oil only got up to 150 in a 15 minute trip. I will see what happens on an extended trip soon.

 

[Big T]

Tires dated from 2014!! you got your money's worth out of those!!!

Unfortunately, still some good tread left. The spare is brand new, but hard and cracking. Give it a month or so and the heat will kill them.

 

[jrsavoie]

Unfortunately, still some good tread left. The spare is brand new, but hard and cracking. Give it a month or so and the heat will kill them.

Our Honda had 2013 tires and 50,000 miles when we changed them a year or 2 or so ago. They didn't have any cracks yet.
Kept them and sold them at a street sale for a few bucks instead of paying the disposal fee

 

[dbrannon79]

I took my old idler arm bracket / shaft assembly that bolts to the frame apart this weekend. ground the end off where the grease goes in at and shoved the cap off and slid the shaft out. cleaned up all the grease inside and low and behold these things are assembled in such a way there was slop in it from the get to!

I will have to take some photos for show and tell, but both ends of the shaft have a taper on them with the inside having two tapered bushings in it to center the shaft and hold it from moving side to side. the bushing in the top end (opposite of where the idler arm connects) was sloppy in the hole it sits in making the shaft wobble side to side. on top of that when I put it back together without any grease to check for play, I found the shaft also has up and down play where these type of taper bushing need to be slightly pressing on the shaft to hold it centered.

so both the up down play and the sloppy end where the bushing sat was making for a lot of shaft movement causing the center link in my steering to move up and down, also caused my passenger tire to have a lot of left / right play with that movement in it. No wonder I could never get my toe end adjustment right!!!


I have already got an idea on how I can hopefully improve on this to make it hold with minimal to no play. Since Super-steer no longer makes the one that uses roller bearings anymore. There is a threaded hole already in the side right where the top bushing sits. since that bushing has slop in the housing, I am thinking of putting a set screw there to hold the bushing. also before tightening the set screw, I will apply some pressure downward on it sandwiching the shaft and bushings to give a little tighter effect on it.

For grease, I can drill and thread a hole in the center of the body for moving the grease zerk from where I install the set screw to new spot.

Once I get this done and see how it will hold up. I will have the current one on my truck which is an actual AC Delco one to mess with. maybe it has a better design, but right now it has play in it too. it's the 4th one I have replaced in a short time frame. something has got to give here!!

I will post some pics later tonight.

 

[Husker6.5]

Have you considered tapered Torrington bearings pressed into the cavity the bushings are in with some compression pre-load to hold the shaft vertically?

 

[dbrannon79]

Have you considered tapered Torrington bearings pressed into the cavity the bushings are in with some compression pre-load to hold the shaft vertically?

Honestly that is what I want, but the housing ID and the shaft size there isn't enough room for a bearing. before I tore it apart I was thinking about having a buddy weld a pipe machined out to accept a couple of bearings to a plate, drill out the same bolt pattern and then trying to use the same shaft or even having something fabbed up. basically re-creating what SuperSteer created for these trucks.

the bushings are maybe 1/4" thick from the OD to ID on both ends. the upper one is about 1" tall and the bottom one is maybe 1/4" tall. both are tapered where the shaft is also tapered in both ends to match the bushings. the kicker is when I looked it over and inspected it once the grease was all cleaned up. it's design would have worked fine if there was some preload holding it all in place vertically.

SuperSteer does show the tube section with the shaft and bearings, something I could have welded to a plate to mount, but I can't find any specs on them as to the size shaft and it's taper to know if that will match the one I need.

as soon as I get home after work, I'll snap some pics of the whole thing and it's insides for everyone to see.

 

[MrMarty51]

Honestly that is what I want, but the housing ID and the shaft size there isn't enough room for a bearing. before I tore it apart I was thinking about having a buddy weld a pipe machined out to accept a couple of bearings to a plate, drill out the same bolt pattern and then trying to use the same shaft or even having something fabbed up. basically re-creating what SuperSteer created for these trucks.

the bushings are maybe 1/4" thick from the OD to ID on both ends. the upper one is about 1" tall and the bottom one is maybe 1/4" tall. both are tapered where the shaft is also tapered in both ends to match the bushings. the kicker is when I looked it over and inspected it once the grease was all cleaned up. it's design would have worked fine if there was some preload holding it all in place vertically.

SuperSteer does show the tube section with the shaft and bearings, something I could have welded to a plate to mount, but I can't find any specs on them as to the size shaft and it's taper to know if that will match the one I need.

as soon as I get home after work, I'll snap some pics of the whole thing and it's insides for everyone to see.

I can not remember the details.
On a 2 wh dr, maybe about a 1995 or so.
On the job, replaced one of those drag links.
It had slack like that.
I can not remember just how I managed to eliminate the slack but it sticks in my head that the portion that bolts to the frame had to be spun in a certain direction and the nut tightened up.
I can remember the slack and I can remember it was a lot tighter after I installed the drag link.
Or maybe I’m just imagining that.

 

[dbrannon79]

I can not remember the details.
On a 2 wh dr, maybe about a 1995 or so.
On the job, replaced one of those drag links.
It had slack like that.
I can not remember just how I managed to eliminate the slack but it sticks in my head that the portion that bolts to the frame had to be spun in a certain direction and the nut tightened up.
I can remember the slack and I can remember it was a lot tighter after I installed the drag link.
Or maybe I’m just imagining that.

the drag link on mine is just a bar with holes for the pitman, idler, and tie rods. that is the only part under there that has not been replaced!

I really wished they had designed the draglink to have the inner tierods fused to it and be just a straight solid bar with only the outer tie rod ends. I think that alone would have eliminated a lot of ways the steering linkage could move making the wheels have play. similar to how the steering components are on a big rig. a big rig only has two outer tie rods, a drag link ( threaded long tube) and the pitman arm with an arm that links over to the left spindle. only three pivot joints that could cause slop, not 6 plus a rotating shaft on the frame.

 

[MrMarty51]

the drag link on mine is just a bar with holes for the pitman, idler, and tie rods. that is the only part under there that has not been replaced!

I really wished they had designed the draglink to have the inner tierods fused to it and be just a straight solid bar with only the outer tie rod ends. I think that alone would have eliminated a lot of ways the steering linkage could move making the wheels have play. similar to how the steering components are on a big rig. a big rig only has two outer tie rods, a drag link ( threaded long tube) and the pitman arm with an arm that links over to the left spindle. only three pivot joints that could cause slop, not 6 plus a rotating shaft on the frame.

I have seen some that did not attach to the frame at all. On the big rigs.
A short link from the steer gear box to the left side spindle arm and a drag link all the way across to the right side spindle arm.
Of course though, without going out and looking, there might be obstacles between the left and the right side spindle knuckles.
If so then the reason for all the pivots would be the need to get the drag link higher to avoid them obstacles, and or, to clean up the looks.

 

[MrMarty51]

If the elevated drag link was merely for looks, then, find a drag link about the right length to reach from one spindle arm to the other and eliminate the elevated unit.
If I get to the garage I will take a leak, oooops, look, to see if there is some way through the under carriage.
Or, change to a solid axle front end.

 

[dbrannon79]

I know a straight one would run into issues but they could curve the ends at about the frame towards the spindles, then have the ends threaded to accept the tie rod ends and adjusting sleeves. then the idler arm wouldn't be needed, but maybe only as a guide. with the joints at the inner tie rods, the drag link tends to want to move up and down when the wheels are turning

4x4's I think are setup different especially on a solid axle like the square body trucks. mine is only a 2x4, they used this same design even on the older GM cars. three bars essential, the two outer ones consisting of the inner and outer tie rods with the center one being a long bar that only reached about the length of width of the frame.

 

[dbrannon79]

I guess one could look at this a different way as well, with a solid bar from one spindle to the other, you would have to replace the whole enchilada at a higher cost but with the separated pieces like they are now, you can get away with a little here and there LOL.

but as long as the bar didn't have any joints attached to it and only the tapered holes in it, it would rarely go bad unless it was bent somehow.

 

[MrMarty51]

I know a straight one would run into issues but they could curve the ends at about the frame towards the spindles, then have the ends threaded to accept the tie rod ends and adjusting sleeves. then the idler arm wouldn't be needed, but maybe only as a guide. with the joints at the inner tie rods, the drag link tends to want to move up and down when the wheels are turning

4x4's I think are setup different especially on a solid axle like the square body trucks. mine is only a 2x4, they used this same design even on the older GM cars. three bars essential, the two outer ones consisting of the inner and outer tie rods with the center one being a long bar that only reached about the length of width of the frame.

Yup. Thats the way it is IIRC. Then tie rod end extending outwards.

 

[dbrannon79]

Well I have to apologize for not getting the pics I promised posted. we had some excitement this afternoon! First I have to give credit to the infamous ford engineers for this one...... (sarcastic remarks welcome)

Just as I rolled into the driveway coming home from work I get a call from my wife... she's at the school picking up our son and proceeds to tell me she heard a loud pop and the AC went hot and the battery light came on.... LOL I tell her to get out and look and make sure nothing is leaking out from under the car... I already had my suspicion that the belt had snapped but wanted to make sure it wasn't anything worse.

Then she tells me the temp is starting to climb, I said yep shut it down in a safe location quickly and wait for me... I get there and open the hood, sure enough the belt snapped. I look around and see shes parked on the side of the school where your not supposed to be parked so I tell her crank it up and haul arse to the parking lot (a block away) and shut it off quick.

We go and snag up on a new belt at the auto parts house and return, me thinking this should be a simple fix to install in the parking lot.... OH, HELL NAW... after looking at the pulleys and realizing there is no tensioner and nothing to loosen to slip the belt on, all the while wondering why the side wall of the new belt ways self tensioning on it. I go back and sit in my truck to load up something on youtube or online about this car and see it Ford REQUIRED a special tool to stretch the belt. the only way to install it is to jack it up, pull the tire and the plastic inner fender, then slip on the tool to the crank pulley and while holding the belt on the other three pulleys rotate the crank with a ratchet to stretch the belt over guiding it on all the grooves.

WTF... How on earth can someone do this out in the middle of the road even if they carried a spare belt in the trunk!! Ford takes the cake on this one... they really want a feller to have it towed to them for the simplest things.

I grabbed my tow chain and towed it home. sadly it took me all of 2 hours just to tow it only because that car has absolutely nothing under the front end to attach a tow strap or chain to. the only thing I could safely attach to was the lower control arms. I had to go slow at about 5-10 mph and had to stop about 5-6 times to re-attach the chain on one or the other control arm. then just as we crossed the rail tracks getting close to the house, by friend who offered to drive it while I pulled hollered at me that something was making noise. I stopped maybe 100 yards past the tracks to looksee real quick. he puts the car in park and we quickly realize the battery had gone flat causing the ECM to go bananas. NO key hole by the shifter to override the shifter lock ether. to top that off i had left my jump pack in the Jetta... crap... Luckily my wife was following in our friends car, so I sent here to to fetch it. got the jump pack on and got it back in neutral. we finally made it home just as it got dark...


Ok rant over. I'm hoping for a better afternoon tomorrow.

 

[MrMarty51]

Well I have to apologize for not getting the pics I promised posted. we had some excitement this afternoon! First I have to give credit to the infamous ford engineers for this one...... (sarcastic remarks welcome)

Just as I rolled into the driveway coming home from work I get a call from my wife... she's at the school picking up our son and proceeds to tell me she heard a loud pop and the AC went hot and the battery light came on.... LOL I tell her to get out and look and make sure nothing is leaking out from under the car... I already had my suspicion that the belt had snapped but wanted to make sure it wasn't anything worse.

Then she tells me the temp is starting to climb, I said yep shut it down in a safe location quickly and wait for me... I get there and open the hood, sure enough the belt snapped. I look around and see shes parked on the side of the school where your not supposed to be parked so I tell her crank it up and haul arse to the parking lot (a block away) and shut it off quick.

We go and snag up on a new belt at the auto parts house and return, me thinking this should be a simple fix to install in the parking lot.... OH, HELL NAW... after looking at the pulleys and realizing there is no tensioner and nothing to loosen to slip the belt on, all the while wondering why the side wall of the new belt ways self tensioning on it. I go back and sit in my truck to load up something on youtube or online about this car and see it Ford REQUIRED a special tool to stretch the belt. the only way to install it is to jack it up, pull the tire and the plastic inner fender, then slip on the tool to the crank pulley and while holding the belt on the other three pulleys rotate the crank with a ratchet to stretch the belt over guiding it on all the grooves.

WTF... How on earth can someone do this out in the middle of the road even if they carried a spare belt in the trunk!! Ford takes the cake on this one... they really want a feller to have it towed to them for the simplest things.

I grabbed my tow chain and towed it home. sadly it took me all of 2 hours just to tow it only because that car has absolutely nothing under the front end to attach a tow strap or chain to. the only thing I could safely attach to was the lower control arms. I had to go slow at about 5-10 mph and had to stop about 5-6 times to re-attach the chain on one or the other control arm. then just as we crossed the rail tracks getting close to the house, by friend who offered to drive it while I pulled hollered at me that something was making noise. I stopped maybe 100 yards past the tracks to looksee real quick. he puts the car in park and we quickly realize the battery had gone flat causing the ECM to go bananas. NO key hole by the shifter to override the shifter lock ether. to top that off i had left my jump pack in the Jetta... crap... Luckily my wife was following in our friends car, so I sent here to to fetch it. got the jump pack on and got it back in neutral. we finally made it home just as it got dark...


Ok rant over. I'm hoping for a better afternoon tomorrow.

Whaaat inna world ever enticed You to buy a flocking ford ?
Thats ass bad ass this toyodah thing my wifey just hadda have. After about $1500.00 it does finally run, fuhr the moment.
Now she wants to sell the 08 Maliblue and buy a subooobarooo. WHAAAAT !
Well, so phart we still have the Maliblue.
Hauled another gal and my sister to church a couple Sundays ago. My sister must have got in a position to read the odometer from the back seat.
She asked what year is this car. Told Her 08. She responded with 08 and only 78,000 miles ? I hadda ask Her, is that good, she said good, thats excellent.
Well I dont know. I seldom get to driveum, only fixum.

 

[dbrannon79]

I tell ya one thing. never again will I do a ford. her just had to have it for here deliveries. LOL she is pure HELL on a vehicle. we went through 3 other used cars each one only lasting 6 months before something major broke! the last one that was still good we swapped to get my truck was a 2006 honda civic. LOL my buddy has it and it still runs and drives.

I told here were gonn pay this POS ford off as fast as we can and get rid of it. no more new ones on top of that. gonna look for a older used chevy or maybe I'll consider another jetta. but I told her were gonna get something that I can work on and something that can be fixed on the side of the road when the simple things try leaving you stranded.

 

[dbrannon79]

As promised, I got the photos attached and posted. I started a new thread here. maybe you guys can give some tips on making this better.

GMT400 Idler Arm Bracket

Good morning. as you probably have already heard, the heavy duty idler arm bracket with shaft that SuperSteer made is now discontinued. part number SS170. My truck has been eating these factory designed idler arms for dinner. Replaced 4 of them over a span of 2-3 years now. Currently I...

www.thetruckstop.us

 

[J_dude]

but I told her were gonna get something that I can work on and something that can be fixed on the side of the road when the simple things try leaving you stranded.

Maybe don’t get a Jetta then...

Trust me I love my TDI and I would get another any day, but I only recommend them to certain types of people
They can be great cars but require very specific maintenance if you want them to treat you well. German engineering y’know...