Sparksalot
Elite Member
Use a dental pick to carefully straighten those and keep going.
Back in the dark ages, when radiators were repairable, we used to see this a lot. You want to straighten them as much as you can to allow the best airflow.
Want to take my 2010 Yukon XL Denali with 180,000 miles for a family trip from Michigan To Florida
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Back in the dark ages, when radiators were repairable, we used to see this a lot. You want to straighten them as much as you can to allow the best airflow.
How about a post where I'm not asking for help?
So, here's a pic of my garage right now with everything everywhere. You now have to think about where you walk around to get through the maze.
This has been a pretty fun process. Have learned a lot from all of you. My fingers on both hands still feel raw from trying to push down on those darn white tabs on the heater hose Ts while pushing in, twisting, and then pulling back. I even resorted to cutting the lip that those white tabs hang on to. I finally got them.
Back in my early days, I was actually a technician working on heavy truck axles in a prototype development shop, so I know my way around tools and the sort. I'm an engineer by trade, so I can eventually figure things out. But it's a lot different when working on a truck in confined spaces in my garage whereas when I was working in the shop, I had enough space to bring out our 4 ft pipe and put it on a wrench and pretty much break any stuck fastener where I couldn't use an impact. Working at home is a lot more intimidating!
One day, my best friend, who is also my wife, is going to wake up from this nightmare and realize that she could have done a lot better. Pretty blond, loves football, has a fantasy football team every week, makes her $1 sports bet, drinks bourbon and wears heels. She was actually out with me for at least half the time I was working on the truck. She was climbing over the engine bay turning wrenches and spent a lot of time trying to get those heater hose Ts out. She helps out on EVERYTHING - the most complicated house project to fixing our vehicles. Sometimes have to pinch myself to figure out how I lucked into finding her.
When we were putting the new water pump assembly in, and being careful with the gaskets...well, they both fell off and went somewhere into the abyss. You should have seen our faces. I said something that shouldn't be repeated and she One upped me. One ended up in the tray of old coolant under the truck and the other one had to be plucked out of a very thin passage around the engine with a pair of needle nose pliers - it felt like the game Operation for those of you that remember it.
My daily driver (Chevy Impala) got an engine code yesterday. Took it to O'Reilly's and they put a scan tool on it which showed "exhaust camshaft position system performance P0014). They they sold me a new camshaft position sensor only to have the DTC disappear today. Not sure what to do with that.
You all have a preference for coolant? I went to O'Reilly's and AutoZone and it seemed like the choices were pretty limited and the most prominent were house brands that were "generic" covering all vehicles vs some good old dexcool (if it still exists).
I'm out of town for the next couple of days and hope to get the heating/cooling system done this week and then move to rear shocks.
Thanks again to all of you that have lent a helping hand here. It truly is appreciated and I hope you enjoyed a quick story.
So, here's a pic of my garage right now with everything everywhere. You now have to think about where you walk around to get through the maze.
This has been a pretty fun process. Have learned a lot from all of you. My fingers on both hands still feel raw from trying to push down on those darn white tabs on the heater hose Ts while pushing in, twisting, and then pulling back. I even resorted to cutting the lip that those white tabs hang on to. I finally got them.
Back in my early days, I was actually a technician working on heavy truck axles in a prototype development shop, so I know my way around tools and the sort. I'm an engineer by trade, so I can eventually figure things out. But it's a lot different when working on a truck in confined spaces in my garage whereas when I was working in the shop, I had enough space to bring out our 4 ft pipe and put it on a wrench and pretty much break any stuck fastener where I couldn't use an impact. Working at home is a lot more intimidating!
One day, my best friend, who is also my wife, is going to wake up from this nightmare and realize that she could have done a lot better. Pretty blond, loves football, has a fantasy football team every week, makes her $1 sports bet, drinks bourbon and wears heels. She was actually out with me for at least half the time I was working on the truck. She was climbing over the engine bay turning wrenches and spent a lot of time trying to get those heater hose Ts out. She helps out on EVERYTHING - the most complicated house project to fixing our vehicles. Sometimes have to pinch myself to figure out how I lucked into finding her.
When we were putting the new water pump assembly in, and being careful with the gaskets...well, they both fell off and went somewhere into the abyss. You should have seen our faces. I said something that shouldn't be repeated and she One upped me. One ended up in the tray of old coolant under the truck and the other one had to be plucked out of a very thin passage around the engine with a pair of needle nose pliers - it felt like the game Operation for those of you that remember it.
My daily driver (Chevy Impala) got an engine code yesterday. Took it to O'Reilly's and they put a scan tool on it which showed "exhaust camshaft position system performance P0014). They they sold me a new camshaft position sensor only to have the DTC disappear today. Not sure what to do with that.
You all have a preference for coolant? I went to O'Reilly's and AutoZone and it seemed like the choices were pretty limited and the most prominent were house brands that were "generic" covering all vehicles vs some good old dexcool (if it still exists).
I'm out of town for the next couple of days and hope to get the heating/cooling system done this week and then move to rear shocks.
Thanks again to all of you that have lent a helping hand here. It truly is appreciated and I hope you enjoyed a quick story.
Lol, you have to be careful when stuff drops there is a twilight zone on these trucks where things disappear forever and ever
iamdub
Full Access Member
I go to Walmart and buy a couple gallons of the orange Prestone "Dex Cool compatible" concentrate and a couple gallons of distilled water. Pour one gallon of each into the surge tank then use the empty water jug as a mixing jug for the rest of the concentrate and water to fill and top off. When you buy the pre-mixed stuff, you're just paying for the convenience, but also overpaying for water (half in that jug is just water). They're fine if you're out and about and need to top off your system, like from a small leak.
I must be living under a rock or something, because those inverters would have saved me over the years when I was on the road!The
There are a lot of choices out there. Couple of questions:
1. Is there a point on power output that you don't want to exceed on a mostly stock truck?
2. Do they shutoff when not in use or if they are left plugged in, do they drain the battery?
I actually just got my first dashcam and started to install it in the Yukon, but stopped and prioritized all this other stuff I'm working on now.
I also need to find a good phone nolder...what I do today isn't the best (just put it down on the center console).
unless it has a on/off switch then those inverters run 24/7, I am not sure at what wattage piont but ya they can melt the cigarette power adapter and/or burn the fuse up, usually the melting happens after extended use they were not designed for high power. unless you really need it for something while on the road then you don't need it.....
I have a few of them that we used to use for kids handheld games that did not have car charging ability. none of them will work for things like a hair dryer or something beyond 50w they may say 200W but that is PEAK and you will find out quickly it will not work for a 200w draw. if you need more power get a real inverter that connects directly to the battery.
the newer trucks like my 18 silverado has a inverter built in and it is only 100w max, so more like 25w continous....
I have 2 of these - one for each Yukon, and I love them:
You just pair the mounting base with the right holder for your phone and it works like a charm. Not cheap but you get what you pay for. Easy install as well with no trim removal needed. Looks like a professional install and holds it at exactly the right spot to see without taking my eyes off the road for long.
swathdiver
Full Access Member
The accessory power outlets are limited to 20 amps. The inverters I purchased are limited to 15 amps. They do run continuously but do have a run-down protection feature to prevent draining the battery. My habit is to unplug them.
Thank you for this! It's actually exactly what I was looking for, but never knew it existed. I just bought one!I have 2 of these - one for each Yukon, and I love them:
You just pair the mounting base with the right holder for your phone and it works like a charm. Not cheap but you get what you pay for. Easy install as well with no trim removal needed. Looks like a professional install and holds it at exactly the right spot to see without taking my eyes off the road for long.
I don't think I need it for anything other than charging work/school laptops in a pinch. I cannot think of another major reason to have it, but it would have bailed me out a few times in the past for those purposes.
I'm the same way - I tend to always unplug...but I do forget on occasion like I did a week ago when I left my car at the airport for a 10 day trip and my charger was still plugged in when I got back.
Cheers! We share this experience of marriage. My wife is THE BEST partner I could ever ask for in every possible way. She loves to travel, drinks her whisky neat, is brilliant in her work, loving in her relationships, and about a billion other things that would take me a year to write here. We are blessed.
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I have an inverter.... If I use it, it attaches directly to the battery with clips. ( I use an extension cig lighter cord to rewach inside the cab. I run the extension behind the passenger door hinge.
Sparksalot
Elite Member
Couple more questions:
1. Hoping to finish up the heating/cooling system over the next few days. When pulling the transmission oil cooler lines from the radiator, I lost a little fluid. Where/how do I top these off?
2. I removed and thoroughly cleaned the throttle body. It was pretty dirty. I've read that I may need to do some recalibration after this to get the idle RPM back to normal. Does this require an advanced scan tool? Are there any shops like O'Reilly's or AutoZone that will do this? Or if I put some miles on it, will it just take care of itself?
1. Hoping to finish up the heating/cooling system over the next few days. When pulling the transmission oil cooler lines from the radiator, I lost a little fluid. Where/how do I top these off?
2. I removed and thoroughly cleaned the throttle body. It was pretty dirty. I've read that I may need to do some recalibration after this to get the idle RPM back to normal. Does this require an advanced scan tool? Are there any shops like O'Reilly's or AutoZone that will do this? Or if I put some miles on it, will it just take care of itself?
iamdub
Full Access Member
Pour it in through the dipstick tube. Gonna need one of those funnels with a long and skinny spout.
I think the ones that get "out of calibration" are the ones that were so dirty, the PCM has the idle location of the blade with it at what should be a partially open position. There's so much gunk built up that it seals the blade to the TB as if that's the fully parked position. After a good cleaning, this gunk "dam" is removed so now you have a blade that is cracked open too far at the idle position. The extreme cases could be because they were handled too roughly, like flicking open the throttle blade too fast. Maybe the gear inside jumps a tooth or something. I would say this is a damaged TB and not just "out of calibration". As for resetting (or attempting to), this is GM's procedure without a bi-directional scan tool:
GM IDLE RE-LEARN PROCEDURE
Perform the following relearn procedure for the on-board computer to adjust to the new idle position on the electronic throttle body.
1. Start and run the engine in PARK for 3 minutes.
2. Turn the engine OFF for a minimum of 60 seconds.
3. Start the engine and run for another 3 minutes.
4. Engine should idle normally after 3 minutes.
After having performed the relearn procedure and the engine still does not run within normal idle speed, it will be necessary to drive the vehicle above 45 mph (70 Km/h) including several decelerations. Also ensure that after driving the vehicle, let the engine idle for a minimum of 5 minutes.
If the engine has returned to normal idle speed, the relearn procedure is completed.
I've never known the big chain stores to use or loan out any bi-directional scan tools. A shop would have one. No clue on what they'd charge to force a reset. I've always reset the older 0411 PCMs ('99-'02?) by turning the key to 'ON' and pulling both PCM fuses. Turn key off, reinstall fuses and crank the engine. They'd often die and I'd have to restart them multiple times until they relearned idle well enough to go for a regular drive to let it adjust the other items.
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I definitely didn't move the blade, just worked around it, so hopefully I'm in good shape.
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iamdub
Full Access Member
You shouldn't have anything to worry about, then. You also didn't accomplish much of anything as that ledge of metal in front being clean isn't gonna make a lick of difference. But, that's fine. Leave it alone.
Just add approximately what was lost when you had the lines open. If just a few ounces, I wouldn't bother. If half a quart or more, add some. The proper way to check the level is with vehicle parked on level surface, engine idling in Park and after going through all the gears.
I actually made sure the ledge was completely clean. I used a toothbrush on both sides to loosen the dirt at the ledge, then used the red plastic nozzle that came with the cleaner to target blast the spray at the ledge until every particle of dirt was gone all the way around the ledge, then wiped all of that up with a rag. The blade position when I pulled the throttle body was in a very, very slightly opened position where I could get the ledge cleaned with a toothbrush. I'm guessing at this position, PCM is showing closed at idle like you mentioned because the dirt at that ledge allowed the blade to pretty much seal. After cleaning, I could see all the way through the throttle body because there was no dirt at the ledge anymore. I guess we'll see when I start it up.
I didn't lose much transmission oil visually, but I'm also unsure how much was in the old radiator itself. Is there a recommended oil to use here?
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Any fluid that meets the GM Dexron VI spec will do. I run Valvoline MaxLife.
