OR VietVet Is Still Throwing $$$ at 2005 Z71

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OR VietVet

GMT800 2005 Tahoe Z71
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Ok, final numbers as promised after my 15 day across country trip. I went from Eugene, Or., to Paradise, Ca. to KC, Mo. to Warrensburg, Mo., back to KC, Mo. then from there to Dallas/Fort Worth area in Euless, Tx., was gonna go back to KC, Mo. but went from Euless, Tx. back to home in Eugene. The trip home from Texas took 3 long days. From Tx. thru Ok., thru Kansas and then west on Interstate 70 to Burlington, Co. where we spent the first night, then to Denver and then up to Cheyenne, Wy. across to Salt Lake City, Utah and then up to Idaho to Twin Falls for second night and across to Oregon and then still on Interstate 84 all the way to Portland, Or. and then down Interstate 5 to Eugene. Tahoe performed flawlessly the whole way on this entire trip, up and down passes at 3 to 4 thousand rpm when climbing and maintaining speed. Never ever once did the temp climb over 200 and that included using a/c in over 100 degree weather in several places. Was 112 degrees our second day in Euless. The charging system was solid, oil pressure at idle was 40 psi and up to 65 when floored up passes. The fluids remained great color and only had to add 1 quart of oil during the whole trip. Trans temp never climbed over 180 on the hottest days and up the passes. I averaged 15.6 mpg on the whole trip with 13.8 mpg to 17.8 as low and high mpg. I could not be happier with this rig. The exact miles traveled on Interstates and in town driving added up to 5529 miles. One thing that also made me feel real great about this trip is how the trans performed. Never once did it fail to kick down when needed, fluid remained clean and full. Performed flawlessly. I have a c-h-u-b-b-y about this rig right now. Right now my girlfriend is yelling at me TMI...TMI...TMI, but she also knows that if I needed help out on the road I could have posted here and likely received help from some kind soul here at the forum....Love you guys.
 
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By the way, @Tonyrodz, great call about the Cooper AT's + tires. Load range E and 80 psi max pressure. I run them at 42 psi. Handled flawlessly and performed great. I am doing 80 mph thru the mountain curves that say to go 50-60 mph. I know the Hellwig bars are a big help but those tires stuck like glue and the wear is flawless. Thanks for the heads up on those tires.
 
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Tonyrodz

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By the way, @Tonyrodz, great call about the Cooper AT's + tires. Load range E and 80 psi max pressure. I run them at 42 psi. Handled flawlessly and performed great. I am doing 80 mph thru the mountain curves that say to go 50-60 mph. I know the Hellwig bars are a big help but those tires stuck like glue and the wear is flawless. Thanks for the heads up on those tires.
I did lol?
 

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@Tonyrodz, I asked if ANYONE had comments about the Cooper tires I was thinking about and you chimed in with a positive reaction. I jumped and am happy I did. You gave me superb info.
My memory is terrible lol. Glad I could help. Cooper makes really good/nice tires. Had them on my 03 when I 1st got it and loved them.
 
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Well, I just bought all new AC Delco park brake cable assemblies. At the end of my recent trip, last two days, I noticed a rhythmic moan/chirp noise coming from the rear as I would accel from a stop. Did not affect safety of the brakes and I kept driving home and paid close attention to any changes. The noise was intermittent at best. Went to see my friend at his shop and he sent me a pic of what we found, so I could forward here. The left rear park brake cable had not completely released and caused a dust buildup in the drum hat. The drum hat was not damaged and neither was the rotor. All cleaned out and found that the cable was not releasing properly in the cable housing. Pushed the cable back and have not used parking brake at all since then and noise is gone. I like to set my park brake and so I ordered all new cables and they have arrived from RA. Shipping and parts and TYF 5% discount brought it all in at around $105. Gonna do the replacement on Aug. 9. Next big job on my rig will be complete blend door actuators replacement and new heater parts and a/c parts. Gonna make sure to replace the rear a/c-heater hose assembly that runs under the rig. The way my rig performed on my 5500 mile trip recently, I still love it and see no problem updating these components as I have done so far. I know that my long trip went as well as it did because of my TLC I have done so far on this rig.



IMG_20220730_121215.jpg
 
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Well, I just bought all new AC Delco park brake cable assemblies. At the end of my recent trip, last two days, I noticed a rhythmic moan/chirp noise coming from the rear as I would accel from a stop. Did not affect safety of the brakes and I kept driving home and paid close attention to any changes. The noise was intermittent at best. Went to see my friend at his shop and he sent me a pic of what we found, so I could forward here. The left rear park brake cable had not completely released and caused a dust buildup in the drum hat. The drum hat was not damaged and neither was the rotor. All cleaned out and found that the cable was not releasing properly in the cable housing. Pushed the cable back and have not used parking brake at all since then and noise is gone. I like to set my park brake and so I ordered all new cables and they have arrived from RA. Shipping and parts and TYF 5% discount brought it all in at around $105. Gonna do the replacement on Aug. 9. Next big job on my rig will be complete blend door actuators replacement and new heater parts and a/c parts. Gonna make sure to replace the rear a/c-heater hose assembly that runs under the rig. The way my rig performed on my 5500 mile trip recently, I still love it and see no problem updating these components as I have done so far. I know that my long trip went as well as it did because of my TLC I have done so far on this rig.



View attachment 376717

Does yours take the center cable with the threaded adjuster, or does it have the non-threaded cable with the auto-adjusting pedal?
 

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GMT800 2005 Tahoe Z71
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Ok, that's the one I got, too, from RA. No nut, and no new dual cable connector, though. The bag had been opened, so I'm not sure if either should have been there. My old ones are in good enough shape.
Mine is just the cable
 
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Ok, I had the annoying rub noise from the rear park brake cables not allowing retraction and shoes rubbing inside drums for the parking brake. I bought all the cables from the park brake actuator under the dash to the rear. Turns out the front cable and the intermediate cable were in excellent shape and in no need of replacement. The only problem cables were the rear cables. We took them off and actually had problems pushing and pulling the cables thru the housings. That was the problem even in the no salt the roads PNW. We replaced the cables at the rear and adjusted as needed and the park brake works as should and holds the truck on a steep hill, even in neutral. Could not be happier. After my recent 5500k mile trip and that noise/problem coming up, I am now satisfied with the repair. No more rub noise at all. I actually hated not being able to set the parking brake. It is a parking brake and not an emergency brake. God Dammit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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I'd be curious to see what the threaded end and nut position look like after your full cable replacement. And I assume that you had to remove the pedal assembly to replace the front cable -- or didn't you change the front ones?

I replaced both rear cables on mine but it made no difference to the cable length, and the threaded rod is adjusted all the way. I suspect that one of my other two cables (front and intermediate) is slightly stretched. But the parking brake shoes are adjusted better so it does hold for the most part.
 
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I already sent the unused cables back but the rear ones fixed the problem of noise. If I did the front cable it would have required the removal of the park brake assembly under the dash,
 

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Now let's talk about the mechanical and maintenance items. This is a complete list of what has been done so far:

1. ALL fluids changed. Brake fluid, trans fluid and filter, coolant, power steering, front axle, rear axle, transfer case, oil and filter....etc.

2. New brake rotors, front and rear and new pads front and rear. New parking brake shoes and all adjusting assembly.

3. All 4 oxygen sensors.

4. Trans Corvette servo.

5. All 4 KYB shocks for Auto Ride Suspension.

6. All cooling system hoses and new tees at the firewall and new reservoir and cap.

7. Both belts and tensioners and idler.

8. New MAF and MAP sensor.

9. New Cam and Crank sensors.

10. New plugs, wires, air filter and clean throttle bore.

11. New rear upper and lower control arms.

12. New high mounted third brake light.

13. New transmission cooling lines.

14. New thermostat.
”NEW” Rig!
 
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Those of you that read this thread know that a close friend of mine was a part owner of a two man garage and he let me use a lift at times and even did some work on my Tahoe if I didn't feel like doing it myself. Anyway, the two partners have split up because of drama problems and what my friend believes to be, money transactions that did not make sense with no explanation. My friend is now going to open another shop with another friend of his, that will be on private land owned by his friend. An even bigger garage and they are already getting it set up and have 6 accounts that will have a constant supply of used vehicles from car lots that want work done before selling the vehicles. He called to let me know that they will have a lift for me, if I need it. There may even be enough room for me to do my at home work out of that garage. Will see about that. I like having my tools here with me.
 

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I've noticed around here lately there is a huge demand for auto repair these days. A lot of the work is not the high tech stuff but more routine repair that people just don't want to pay the $100 an hour dealer shops to do. Good independent shops are super busy these days.
 
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GMT800 2005 Tahoe Z71
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I've noticed around here lately there is a huge demand for auto repair these days. A lot of the work is not the high tech stuff but more routine repair that people just don't want to pay the $100 an hour dealer shops to do. Good independent shops are super busy these days.
That is exactly why I am staying busy at my home shop. Just yesterday I spent 1.5 hours looking at a 2007 Honda Pilot for a P0301 and P0303 misfire, oil leak and rub noise at front when turning left and right. The noise was just the new aggressive tread on the tires she just bought. The oil leak was obvious from a just done, 8 months ago, oil pan seal replacement and I found a few very loose attaching bolts. I tightened all bolts and cleaned all off on the pan and all around it. Was dripping on exhaust and she could smell. Was adding about 1/2 quart of oil every month. The smell was the biggest concern. The misfire codes had been ongoing and her "mechanically inclined" fiance had already replaced all 6 plugs and all 6 ignition coils. It had started out with just a P0301 but after he did the parts replacement, the P0303 came up. I pulled both coils and plugs for #1 and #3 cylinders and they were not tight enough to compress the compression washer on the plugs. I fixed that and cleared the codes and told him to pull the other 4 plugs and inspect and reinstall and tighten enough to compress the washers. It would normally take 1-3 days to have codes come back after checked at a parts store and clear codes. i was saving this single mother money by having him do the 4 other plugs. I also explained to him/her about what I had found on you tube about the pcv and egr causing misfire codes. I showed him the pcv location and where the egr was and told him to watch the videos to address them. I did check for a vacuum leak and found none. The plugs I pulled looked pristine and so I did not do the compression test because it idled smooth and acceled smooth but was intermittently throwing the code P0301 and then the new code of P0303 after his work on plugs and coils. I had the 1.5 hours in it at $60 an hour and I gave her a break and charged her $60. She tried to pay me $80 but I would not take it. She will tell others.

Within next 2-3 days I am doing the common 2016 V6 Jeep Wrangler engine oil cooler and filter assembly, under the upper and lower intake assemblies. That will be a relatively easy job but will take some time. This job is for the head bartender at my American Legion. I am thinking about upping my labor rate from $60 to $75 an hour.
 

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