cadillacbob

I'm glad your pitman arm/idler arm switch went fairly smoothly... My pitman arm was a BEOTCH!!! Broke a 'snap-on" puller, and had to grind a groove in my pitman arm to get it off... and my steering wheel still shakes ...so its tie rod time, inners and outers....i tugged/pulled and pried everything, and all seems tight...i lube the parts at every oil change with synthetic grease...The parts that came off where loose, but not worn out... one thing though...it only gets the 'death wobble' (bad) when it is colder outside (below 40), and the truck has been sitting...hmmmm at over 210k it probably all needs to be replaced....bearings/tie rod ends/control arm bushings/cv axles/ball joints...time to work a Sunday huh? The old girl needs tires too...cha ching!

Pm'ed....and I'm local :-)

I agree...

my .02... The blue truck looks good, because of the grills... Wondered why no one ever tried adopting/adapting a set from a Trailblazer SS....to fit into our lower grill...

207k.... And was pulling a trailer 400 miles just last weekend...

I won't...but a few of the cars that I painted will be.... Camaros/Sonics.... I hope you all enjoy them...

Are they 'HELLAS"?

or order the 2005 and up RWD front brake stuff....with the additional cost of new calipers\mounting brackets...(about $150),,,,and go to 13" rotors,,,, noticable improvement...

I am in Clarkston,,,Work at the GM Technical Center Design Paint Shop in Warren,,, WELCOME!!!

After a day of waterpump, idler, belt tensioner replacement ...I noticed the connector on my air intake to throttle body looked dry rotted...I had the stock one on a shelf, so I decided to replace it... Well the old one must have been leaking as my idling, gas mileage,and throttle issues disappeared!! I chalked those issues to my truck having high mileage, but I was wrong... Drivability is much better, trans shifts...everything feels like a new truck!!! I have had the air intake tube off a few times to clean carbon out of the throttle body a few times...and I must have installed it wrong...looked good, but must not have been fully seated... I marked lines on the tube,maf, and throttle body this time to make sure everything was plugged in good....and it made a word of difference... I guess those connections between the maf and throttle body are VERY important... I feel stupid writing this, but I don't want you all to possibly over look the obvious like my dumbass did...;)

It was leaking at the waterpump gasket where it attaches to the engine block on the heater hose side...I suspect it was from not rinsing off the engine clean chemicals enough...the o-rings where wasted...I changed the pump, idler,and tension pulleys while I was at it...thanks again!!!

Thanks guys! I'm going to buy a waterpump. I have 190k on the old girl, and might be a good time to change it anyways ....I will post what it was when I fix it .

Hoses are dry...no slinging off belts... Wondering if there is a sensor leaking from the block...maybe a loose bolt leaking? Even wondering if GM still recommends those old tablets to stop leaks ... I loose about 1 quart of coolant every other day...hmmm

I have a coolant leak from the lower right front of my engine. My a/c compressor is wet, but I can't see where it is coming from due to all of the stuff in the way. Has anyone has this issue? I hate to pull everything out of there if I might know what to prepare/look for. Thanks in advance !

Just did the 2005+ front brake upgrade to my truck yesterday... A noticeable difference so far after about 100 miles I drove yesterday ( but thats a relative to the driver) EBC 3G rotors/7000 series pads... I consider myself a consevative driver 95% highway...my original pads lasted 90k... for my first brake replacement, I went with new stock rotors and EBC pads and noticed a slight improvement, but still not acceptable for hard braking...and the stock replacement/ebc 6000 pads lasted 100k, not too bad...pads still had life left in them, but the stock caliper on the passenger side seized and was only applying half pad to the rotor...I will go heavier withe the caliper grease next time as it was dry and rusted when I removed them... I bought my truck new, and I agree with Mr. P, after one or two panic stops, you will realize stock brakes on a2003-2004 AWD SS are PATHETIC... The stock brakes are no where near where they should be regarding stopping power...most cars are much better... $250 rotors ebc 3g (slotted/dimpled) 13"" stock 2005+ RWD SS $120 pads ebc 7000 braided lines...russel $40 synthetic fluid... $15 $110 for two pbr2 calipers (stock on 2005+ 2wd ss) The sizes of the original components are very noticeable...the new style calipers are bigger, the rotors are 1" bigger...pads are about the same size...I assume the braking is better due to leverage/better hydraulic clamping power... results? Better feel, less pedal effort, less afraid to tow something now...but still not as good as any good 'car/crossover' brakes...I have not hammerd them hard yet, as I bed my pads slowly... I went this route due to my mileage on my truck,,,190k I will convert to hydroboost for an additional $200 or so in the summer, and I think it will give me acceptable braking...but less than what a 14"/15" kit would give me... I bought everything locally except the pads... Overall I am not disappointed as I did not spend big bucks...my gut feeling tells me the hydroboost mod will give me better results...with these components and after watching/learning from all of these posts on brake upgrades the hydroboost mod should suit me well... If I had a low mileage SS< and/or I was going to keep it for a long period of time or do big mods, or go fast, I would save my milk money and go big...

No...based on prior posts...a 2005+ rwd caliper 13" and rotor will bolt right up... BUT my problem has been finding the GVWR 6,200/7,000/7,200 the correct caliper mounting brackets...maybe we should post this question in general??? figured it would be easier for me to get some take offs from one of the people who did the bigger upgrade, and still has the original stuff laying around...

Want to buy calipers AND caliper mounting brackets to upgrade my 2004 AWD SS to the bigger 2005 + RWD (13" rotors)...I already have 13" rotors (but will take used if local), but they are so heavy, might not be worth shipping used rotors.. . Please send p.m. with price shipped to 48348 ...or will pick up within 2-3 hours of Metro Detroit, Michigan... THANKS in advance!

Finding the internals will be a p.i.t.a....at least that was my experience...it is a '149' case...and are getting hard to find...thank goodness that they are virtually indestructable... i ended up just 'rear halfing' my case (due to the pinhole leak issue), as the internals where like new...

Mobil 1.. changed when truck tells me to Synthetic EVERYwhere... Trans valvoline syn dex 6? at 100k... trans case awd...auto trak II and syn trans fluid (switched back and forth a few times)... Synthetic oil filter... Power steering valvoline suck out what i can with a baster...and top off with fresh power steering fluid every oil change diffs mobil1 every 25k or so... antifreze dex2 with water wetter...every other year and 185,00 miles no noise

Thanks for the reply and advice ... After the reading of the countless pages of brake info here, I am sure there would be improvement...but only based on leverage and slight mass...the disadvantage would be the small caliper... I most likely will convert to 2005+ RWD FRONT calipers/rotors... and eventually convert to 14 inch rotors... bang for buck it may be the best deal for me... The Baer Alumasports would be the easiest...but would cost $870ish new...$500-600 used IF you can find them used... Does anyone know what the Oreilys/Autozone part number is for caliper brackets? What is the GVWR so I know which caliper bracket to buy? Is there really a difference in caliper size from the awd and rwd front calipers? I think in this case there is too much information...lol

I am looking to upgrade my front brakes...which are pathetic... I was looking at the Baer aluma sports...but they are a little far from my budget of about $500 (a little plus or minus)...best price I saw was $875... I have done searches regaurding upgrading to 2005 and up SS RWD brakes...but the Oreillys/Autozone sites confuse me with the choices for calipers/brackets...and the gvwr of the rear drive trucks???... is it 6000/7000/7200/9000??? I have over 181k miles on my 2004 AWD truck, and thats why I feel spending over $500 might be unrealistic (the old girl is getting tired ) Thanks in advance... and please excuse my confusion... which way should I go???

My truck threw those codes a few weeks ago...after some informal reasearch I found out it could be a few things...but not limited to... bad wiring at throtle control...(dealer sells a repair harness) low voltage at start up...

you could GIVE me goodyears for free, and they would go on ebay...not my truck... I would go Michelin... I have 168k on my truck...3rd set of tires...i am running pirelli atr radials and love them...just thought the michelins where a little pricey to put on my million mile truck ;)

yep... but he would not know it...they would not have z-28 badges....but would have manufacturer plates...hint hint...

[ probably needs a a/c cut out switch that mounts near the firewall... common issue on our trucks,,,do a search...