What did you do to your NBS GMT800 Tahoe/Yukon Today?

blueinkd said:

This is not true. Limited lifetime means as long as you own the car and no damage to the part that would come from incidents outside it's normal operating condition. Now nobody wants to just throw parts under warranty at a problem.

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"One time replacement" or "valid lifetime for original purchaser only"... Doesn't matter, it's still just a guaranteed piece of shít.

I learned my lesson on my 74 scout, bought a "lifetime" warranty starter from Autozone, it lasted all of one day. While I changed it in the parking lot I swore never to buy garbage parts again.

iamdub said:

"One time replacement" or "valid lifetime for original purchaser only"... Doesn't matter, it's still just a guaranteed piece of shít.

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Some times it's all thats available. I have Dorman driver side window switch, shift solenoid, Dorman door handles and other ends. Working great so far. Everyone always throwing parts at issues and not fixing the original root of failure. I dropped the gas tank to blew out lines when I replace charcoal canister, purve valve and vent solenoid. Went all AC Delco on that job just for good measure. But I hear you, in sure most of us here have preferences on brands based on past experiences and habits.

latvius said:

I learned my lesson on my 74 scout, bought a "lifetime" warranty starter from Autozone, it lasted all of one day. While I changed it in the parking lot I swore never to buy garbage parts again.

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i got 3 alternators in one day, each one was over charging. i used up the only two they had in stock and then had to go to another one of their stores to replace it again. like they say, 3 times a charm lol thank god these alts are cake to swap out.

blueinkd said:

Some times it's all thats available. I have Dorman driver side window switch, shift solenoid, Dorman door handles and other ends. Working great so far. Everyone always throwing parts at issues and not fixing the original root of failure. I dropped the gas tank to blew out lines when I replace charcoal canister, purve valve and vent solenoid. Went all AC Delco on that job just for good measure. But I hear you, in sure most of us here have preferences on brands based on past experiences and habits.

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I get that. I just had to seize the opportunity to use a Tommy Boy reference. Dorman does have some 'good' stuff and, in some cases, improved over OE. The aluminum Y in the heater hose/surge tank hose, for example.

Finally got around to washing The Beast inside and out. It’s been used for a lot of hauling lately from a ton or two of rocks to asphalt shingles so it was bad inside. Plus we are having the wettest spring in recorded history here so there hasn’t been much reason to wash it good. There hasn’t been any longer streaks than 2-3 days without rain for months. Sigh. Ill do the engine bay in a few days when the new coolant reservoir arrives and I install it. The old one is stained and some members here influenced me to buy a new one.

Stressed out last night!
Went for ice cream. Hopped back in and no crank/no start...
I thought, GREAT!!! I might need to use my last AAA tow.

Then, I calmed myself down and looked at what I had going on.
Just drove fine and parked. Came out and no crank/no start. But... Wait! No power to anything?!

Battery was only about 18 months old and is a HD Optima red top, but I better see what is going on. Turns out the + battery cable was loose.

I have top post to side post adapter clamps. The bolt attaching the cable to the adapter clamp was loose. I had pliers in the truck, so I was able to get it a little tighter but was not great. The volt meter would start going down at idle and the engine wanted to die. I made it home, then it dipped again and dies at the end of the driveway.



Checked the clamp and the threads were stripped. Of course, it was 9:00 PM on a Saturday night! Would be me, if something happened when stores were open.

MacGyver to the rescue!!!
I inserted a couple of pieces of flat tooth pick into the stripped out lead bolt hole on the adapter clamp. It gave the bolt threads enough meat to hold onto to make the connection with the cable tight again. The cable makes good contact with the butt end of the adapter clamp now. This fix probably can't be used with other battery terminal configurations, but it worked in my case with these adapters.

After stalling in the driveway... It still wanted to die at idle. I ran the engine up at 2k RPM for a while. Then it ran and idled as expected. Maybe the computer had to re-learn air/fuel?

I used my Tech 2 to check some things after I got it running again. Ignition was seeing 13.7 volts. I used my Zurich scanner to test alternator functions and battery health (because I am still learning the Tech 2 and I already knew how to do that with the Zurich Scanner). Both tested good.

Was able to hop in this morning and get to work. Avoided a tow, free repair and all was good in the world! Had I panicked, I might have wasted a tow and lost a day of work for nothing.

I really hate that we have side terminals. So inconvenient and a royal PITA.

Tonyrodz said:

I really hate that we have side terminals. So inconvenient and a royal PITA.

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I bought the battery for about $300 just over a year before I got my Tahoe last October.
Great battery.

The Tahoe had an Optima Red Top that worked, but felt a little wimpy. I knew nothing about its condition or age at the time, so I wanted to swap it out for the Red Top that was in My Jeep. Even though it was not a side post, at least I knew it was just over a year old and a super-strong battery. It has 1000 cranking amps and 800 CCA. No way, was I going to let that go with the Jeep!

The tired Optima Red Top I pulled out at time of sale... Had a Sept. 2009 sticker date on it! It lived a good life and was still ticking (tired, but ticking after 12 years). If mine lasts half that long, I'll be happy!

There’s nothing wrong with side posts. Top posts seem old technology to me. I like the fact that the bolts will strip before the threads in the battery, so if you overtighten them all that’s needed is a new bolt from the closest auto parts store. Side posts look cleaner too.