OP
OP
Snowbound
Jim
I don’t think I’ll be raising my hand again any time soon. Lol
02 Base for my son
- Thread starter Snowbound
- Start date
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OP
OP
Snowbound
Jim
So the real reason for me updating here does actually pertain to the Escalade.
The odometer and gear selector display sometimes doesn’t light up when you start the vehicle. Jack said something about it one day and I tapped on the display and it lite up. He said it’s annoying because he doesn’t know what gear he’s in when it’s not on. I explained to him how to tell without seeing it but I agree, if should work. Asked him about it a few weeks later and wanted to pull cluster but he didn’t have time and said it’s fine, it works when I tap on it.
Well, now that I have the vehicle back I can see he did a little more than tap on it. The clear lens was cracked in a few places. I couldn’t find the bezel for the Caddy, only Tahoe or Yukon. It was a discontinued part from GMPartsDirect. I did however find the clear cover but it needs to be glued on after old one is removed. So I ordered it. It was $40 or something in that ballpark. Tonight I pulled the cluster to check it out.
It came off in pieces and some stayed stuck to the bezel that I’m gonna have to carefully remove.
It looks like it’s been replaced once before and they broke the bezel in more than a few places.
Somehow I’m gonna have to build it back up by plastic welding to it and then sanding down. That’s gonna be fun. Here you can see the gap with the new cover sitting on it. But it’s also sitting on some of the old lens that needs to be removed. It’s still a good gap.
The odometer and gear selector display sometimes doesn’t light up when you start the vehicle. Jack said something about it one day and I tapped on the display and it lite up. He said it’s annoying because he doesn’t know what gear he’s in when it’s not on. I explained to him how to tell without seeing it but I agree, if should work. Asked him about it a few weeks later and wanted to pull cluster but he didn’t have time and said it’s fine, it works when I tap on it.
Well, now that I have the vehicle back I can see he did a little more than tap on it. The clear lens was cracked in a few places. I couldn’t find the bezel for the Caddy, only Tahoe or Yukon. It was a discontinued part from GMPartsDirect. I did however find the clear cover but it needs to be glued on after old one is removed. So I ordered it. It was $40 or something in that ballpark. Tonight I pulled the cluster to check it out.
It came off in pieces and some stayed stuck to the bezel that I’m gonna have to carefully remove.
It looks like it’s been replaced once before and they broke the bezel in more than a few places.
Somehow I’m gonna have to build it back up by plastic welding to it and then sanding down. That’s gonna be fun. Here you can see the gap with the new cover sitting on it. But it’s also sitting on some of the old lens that needs to be removed. It’s still a good gap.
OP
OP
Snowbound
Jim
While it’s off I needed to find out why the display was intermittent. I started by removing the back cover and then the circuit board. Being very careful not to break this 20 year old plastic board I gently pried it from the stepper motor pins.
These are the pins for the stepper motors.
Got it without breaking it.
These are the pins for the stepper motors.
Got it without breaking it.
OP
OP
Snowbound
Jim
Everything looked good besides the top pin going to the display was a little loose. Seems like a bad solder but it’s on the bottom of the display. I had to gently pry on the plastic pins and carefully lift the display while bending the pins so I could expose the underside. Very nerve racking but it had to be done.
That’s it! Solder came loose. Hard to see it pic but it’s the one all the way on the right.
Soldered it back together and ever so gently bent the display back into place over the plastic clips.
Put it back together minus the clear cover and put it back in the dash and it works. I’ll pull it back out when I get home and then I’ll have to do some major surgery to repair the bezel and get the lens cover back on and sealed up. I don’t like stuff like this, I’ll have more hours in it than it’s actually worth. I’ll keep looking for a used bezel but for now I’ll do what I can to repair it. Good thing is I’m not in a hurry.
That’s it! Solder came loose. Hard to see it pic but it’s the one all the way on the right.
Soldered it back together and ever so gently bent the display back into place over the plastic clips.
Put it back together minus the clear cover and put it back in the dash and it works. I’ll pull it back out when I get home and then I’ll have to do some major surgery to repair the bezel and get the lens cover back on and sealed up. I don’t like stuff like this, I’ll have more hours in it than it’s actually worth. I’ll keep looking for a used bezel but for now I’ll do what I can to repair it. Good thing is I’m not in a hurry.
OP
OP
Snowbound
Jim
I don’t get political on here because I believe there’s a time and place for everything and this is not it. But with everything that is going on in this country I decided to add another toy to my arsenal. I got an email from Palmetto State Armory and seen they had a Radical Firearms AR15 .223/5.56 with a 16” barrel on sale for $399. I couldn’t pass it up. It’s a very basic firearm without any thrills but it’s still a decent unit. I spent more on the accessories than I did the rifle itself but overall I’m happy with it.
Added a Sig Sauer Romeo5 red dot with a M3x flip out magnifier.
I replaced the bolt carrier group (BCG) because that is a known failure point on this rifle. Dropped in a PSA 4lb trigger, got a magpol grip, trigger guard and stock that I have yet to put on. Added a Mlok 1200 lumen flashlight with a top mounted pressure switch and put on the aluminum ergonomic tool with hand stop to help shoulder the rifle.
The 1000 rounds of 5.56 NATO and 10-30 round magazines was just over $600. I bought a 2 point sling with QC mounts and a new flash hider/compensator and a laser bore sight that is a bullet you chamber to sight in the optics. Haven’t dialed it in yet but that’ll happen this weekend if it doesn’t rain. Starting to get my collection up before we can’t buy these things anymore.
This thing doesn’t feel as good as my PSA AR15 but this one is a direct impingement where the PSA is a piston. But the price was too good to pass on. If any of you have been on the fence you better get ‘em now before you can’t.
Added a Sig Sauer Romeo5 red dot with a M3x flip out magnifier.
I replaced the bolt carrier group (BCG) because that is a known failure point on this rifle. Dropped in a PSA 4lb trigger, got a magpol grip, trigger guard and stock that I have yet to put on. Added a Mlok 1200 lumen flashlight with a top mounted pressure switch and put on the aluminum ergonomic tool with hand stop to help shoulder the rifle.
The 1000 rounds of 5.56 NATO and 10-30 round magazines was just over $600. I bought a 2 point sling with QC mounts and a new flash hider/compensator and a laser bore sight that is a bullet you chamber to sight in the optics. Haven’t dialed it in yet but that’ll happen this weekend if it doesn’t rain. Starting to get my collection up before we can’t buy these things anymore.
This thing doesn’t feel as good as my PSA AR15 but this one is a direct impingement where the PSA is a piston. But the price was too good to pass on. If any of you have been on the fence you better get ‘em now before you can’t.
OP
OP
Snowbound
Jim
This week was another fiasco with that Ram. After the springs and shocks went on I drove it out of the shop and it had a horrible vibration. I felt it slightly before the spring change but we had plans to bring it in for alignment and oil change since the alignment was never done since I changed the front end. I told the supervisor to have the shop check out the U-joints in rear shaft. But now since it’s really bad I can’t let one of our guys drive this thing to the shop, it might spit a joint with how bad it vibrated. So here we go again. And by “we” I mean “I”.
I thought the bolts were gonna break at the pinion and the center support bearing. Had to spray them and work them in and out to keep them from breaking. Finally got it though.
I’ve had some joints that didn’t want to come out but these had to be the worst. Beat ‘em, heated ‘em, beat ‘em some more and was only denting the yokes. Had to bring in my ball joint press had put tension on the joint while heating the yoke to get them to move. And this was after every retaining clip broke and had to use a chisel to knock out the clips piece by piece. Why do I do this to myself?
2 days to get the joints out. Ridiculous!
Going back together was just as bad. Had to spread the yokes a little because I didn’t have room to get the clips in like I went thru that time on her Esky. Took all night to get this shaft back together and put back in.
On a good note, I finally broke down and bought a gun safe that holds 26. Got tired of having all my gun cases piled in my closet with boxes of ammo everywhere. If someone would have broken in they could have had my entire arsenal very easily. Getting this 400lb safe into the basement was no easy task. I was scared that my basement stairs wasn’t gonna support the weight but my brother and I managed without nobody getting killed or any damage. After I got where I wanted, I installed some LED lighting. Running the wires into the safe was fun, let me tell ya. Still need to put in my handguns and ammo. I keep my Springfield XDS .45 under the corner of my mattress, my Remington 870 tactical 12 gauge next to my dresser and I have my Glock 20C 10mm on top of my grandfather clock in dining room. Those are my “go to” protection that won’t be in my safe.
I have my 2 AR15s, AK, semiautomatic shotgun and ammo in the safe now. I like that they are secure now and I actually feel like a responsible gun owner somewhat. I say somewhat because I still find myself being drunk and using the Glock as a flashlight when I take the dog out at night. And if you think the look on her face is something when I point the light at her using the trigger mounted light switch, you should see the kids when the power goes out and dad likes to hold the flashlight under his chin and tell spooky stories!!
And I still have a few toys up north too. I should find a smaller safe for up there.
I thought the bolts were gonna break at the pinion and the center support bearing. Had to spray them and work them in and out to keep them from breaking. Finally got it though.
I’ve had some joints that didn’t want to come out but these had to be the worst. Beat ‘em, heated ‘em, beat ‘em some more and was only denting the yokes. Had to bring in my ball joint press had put tension on the joint while heating the yoke to get them to move. And this was after every retaining clip broke and had to use a chisel to knock out the clips piece by piece. Why do I do this to myself?
2 days to get the joints out. Ridiculous!
Going back together was just as bad. Had to spread the yokes a little because I didn’t have room to get the clips in like I went thru that time on her Esky. Took all night to get this shaft back together and put back in.
On a good note, I finally broke down and bought a gun safe that holds 26. Got tired of having all my gun cases piled in my closet with boxes of ammo everywhere. If someone would have broken in they could have had my entire arsenal very easily. Getting this 400lb safe into the basement was no easy task. I was scared that my basement stairs wasn’t gonna support the weight but my brother and I managed without nobody getting killed or any damage. After I got where I wanted, I installed some LED lighting. Running the wires into the safe was fun, let me tell ya. Still need to put in my handguns and ammo. I keep my Springfield XDS .45 under the corner of my mattress, my Remington 870 tactical 12 gauge next to my dresser and I have my Glock 20C 10mm on top of my grandfather clock in dining room. Those are my “go to” protection that won’t be in my safe.
I have my 2 AR15s, AK, semiautomatic shotgun and ammo in the safe now. I like that they are secure now and I actually feel like a responsible gun owner somewhat. I say somewhat because I still find myself being drunk and using the Glock as a flashlight when I take the dog out at night. And if you think the look on her face is something when I point the light at her using the trigger mounted light switch, you should see the kids when the power goes out and dad likes to hold the flashlight under his chin and tell spooky stories!!
And I still have a few toys up north too. I should find a smaller safe for up there.
OP
OP
Snowbound
Jim
Finally! Now I just need to 1/4 turn the garage and get it moved over. They took out my tree that was there but I’m ok with that.
Where the tree used to be.
Where the tree used to be.
OP
OP
Snowbound
Jim
Where to begin!
Instead of all the BS garbage that has kept me running every day I’ll get into the major things because I don’t have much time tonight. I just need to sit for a little while and I wanted to check in with you guys so here we go.
As I mention earlier, the concrete pad got poured up north but I can’t get anyone to come out and even give me a quote to move the garage. Talked to my brother and we decided that if we had to, we would just move it ourselves. I didn’t even realize at first that when the concrete guy sent me the photos, he didn’t pour the pad all the way out to the south where I wanted it. I think I was just so happy to be getting concrete I overlooked it.
I need this out here because it’ll be an apron for the south facing door. Without it, the existing pad will be half way into the garage door opening so it’ll be like half an apron and also I need it for when the garage is on rollers I’ll have something to roll that corner on instead of trying to shore it up with plywood.
My brother and I headed up last Friday after he got off work. I picked him up from his job site in his truck and we got up there about 9:30pm. I was tired from being up since 8pm Thursday and was in bed by midnight.
Saturday morning I’m up at 5am. I’ve just come to the realization that I don’t sleep sound or very often. I went out on the back deck with my coffee and enjoyed some quiet time. Just me the clean brisk morning air and the birds chirping.
It felt so peaceful but I knew I had a lot of work to get done and only one day to do it so as much as I would have liked to sit there, I woke my brother and off we went to Menards in Wausau which is a 45 minute ride one way.
Picked up 38-60# bags of concrete, 4x8 wire screen, rebar, epoxy, 2x6s for framing and some stakes. No sooner we get loaded and on the road heading back, it’s starts pouring.
It rained on and off all day long! I checked the weather before we went and it wasn’t suppose to rain until Sunday afternoon. I’m used to rolling with the punches so we started digging. We ended up having to dig down about 22” to find solid ground. I don’t think it was as important for just an apron but since I’m gonna be rolling the garage over this I wanted a solid base. We threw 2-3” of dirt back on the solid ground and tamped it down. Then repeated that process until we were 10” from the top of the concrete pad.
Instead of all the BS garbage that has kept me running every day I’ll get into the major things because I don’t have much time tonight. I just need to sit for a little while and I wanted to check in with you guys so here we go.
As I mention earlier, the concrete pad got poured up north but I can’t get anyone to come out and even give me a quote to move the garage. Talked to my brother and we decided that if we had to, we would just move it ourselves. I didn’t even realize at first that when the concrete guy sent me the photos, he didn’t pour the pad all the way out to the south where I wanted it. I think I was just so happy to be getting concrete I overlooked it.
I need this out here because it’ll be an apron for the south facing door. Without it, the existing pad will be half way into the garage door opening so it’ll be like half an apron and also I need it for when the garage is on rollers I’ll have something to roll that corner on instead of trying to shore it up with plywood.
My brother and I headed up last Friday after he got off work. I picked him up from his job site in his truck and we got up there about 9:30pm. I was tired from being up since 8pm Thursday and was in bed by midnight.
Saturday morning I’m up at 5am. I’ve just come to the realization that I don’t sleep sound or very often. I went out on the back deck with my coffee and enjoyed some quiet time. Just me the clean brisk morning air and the birds chirping.
It felt so peaceful but I knew I had a lot of work to get done and only one day to do it so as much as I would have liked to sit there, I woke my brother and off we went to Menards in Wausau which is a 45 minute ride one way.
Picked up 38-60# bags of concrete, 4x8 wire screen, rebar, epoxy, 2x6s for framing and some stakes. No sooner we get loaded and on the road heading back, it’s starts pouring.
It rained on and off all day long! I checked the weather before we went and it wasn’t suppose to rain until Sunday afternoon. I’m used to rolling with the punches so we started digging. We ended up having to dig down about 22” to find solid ground. I don’t think it was as important for just an apron but since I’m gonna be rolling the garage over this I wanted a solid base. We threw 2-3” of dirt back on the solid ground and tamped it down. Then repeated that process until we were 10” from the top of the concrete pad.
OP
OP
Snowbound
Jim
Drilled the concrete to pin it with rebar and then set up the forms sloping to outside corner for runoff.
Next we put down the sand. Filling 2-3” and tamping that down until we had our 4” from top of forms for the concrete.
Next we blew out the holes drilled, filled with epoxy and hammered in the rebar. Put down the screening and wired it to rebar and supported it so it was 2” off the sand. I forgot to take picture before we started to pour concrete but you can see the screen here.
It took every bag of concrete we had but thankfully I figured it just right. Having brought up the concrete mixer from work was a life saver. There’s no way I would have been able to do this in a wheelbarrow.
Because it was raining on and off it took forever before I was able to float it out. While I was letting it sit I pulled 2 sleds off my 2 place tilt trailer and dragged that around front. A buddy at work gave me his drop in bed liner from his truck and I cut it into strips to attach it to my trailer for ski runners so they don’t scratch up my new decking I put on trailer. No pictures, I’ll get some later.
Last trip up I brought some corrugated plastic sheeting with me so we could attach big to the top of the portable garage that collapsed on me last year. The wet heavy snow tore the canvas so I wanted to try something to give it a little more support and hopefully the snow will slide off. So we did that while the concrete was setting up.
I was going back and forth between plastic sheeting and floating the concrete to keep standing water off of it. I didn’t stop moving all day long!
Next we put down the sand. Filling 2-3” and tamping that down until we had our 4” from top of forms for the concrete.
Next we blew out the holes drilled, filled with epoxy and hammered in the rebar. Put down the screening and wired it to rebar and supported it so it was 2” off the sand. I forgot to take picture before we started to pour concrete but you can see the screen here.
It took every bag of concrete we had but thankfully I figured it just right. Having brought up the concrete mixer from work was a life saver. There’s no way I would have been able to do this in a wheelbarrow.
Because it was raining on and off it took forever before I was able to float it out. While I was letting it sit I pulled 2 sleds off my 2 place tilt trailer and dragged that around front. A buddy at work gave me his drop in bed liner from his truck and I cut it into strips to attach it to my trailer for ski runners so they don’t scratch up my new decking I put on trailer. No pictures, I’ll get some later.
Last trip up I brought some corrugated plastic sheeting with me so we could attach big to the top of the portable garage that collapsed on me last year. The wet heavy snow tore the canvas so I wanted to try something to give it a little more support and hopefully the snow will slide off. So we did that while the concrete was setting up.
I was going back and forth between plastic sheeting and floating the concrete to keep standing water off of it. I didn’t stop moving all day long!
OP
OP
Snowbound
Jim
The new canvas cover showed up on Friday so I was able to bring it up with us. But it got too late Saturday to put it on and the mosquitoes were killing us!
It wasn’t until around 9pm when I was able to finish the concrete and edge it out. It still wasn’t set as much as I would have liked but I wasn’t gonna stay up and fight the bugs, it’s only an apron! Before we called it a night we had to cover the slab with plastic sheeting. The lightning was getting closer and I wasn’t gonna let it pour on this all night. Threw down the plastic sheet and I could see it was gonna be ugly so we pulled it back off and had wrinkled lines on concrete surface. This sucks! Hit it once more with the finishing troll and then we set saw horses on garage pad, laid sheets of plywood on an angle with one side on ground and other on horse then covered the plywood with a big tarp. Kept the concrete covered without touching it. That was it for the day! Went in about 10pm, showered, stuffed my face and passed out.
5:15 Sunday morning. Back out with my coffee and morning smoke enjoying the view once more.
If you notice the sleds on the right side of picture, they are on the ground compared to the day before they were on a trailer.
I sat out there for 45 minutes soaking up the fact that I can’t hear traffic and something about that northern atmosphere that puts me at ease. I was sore, tired, still had stuff to get done but somehow didn’t care about anything at that moment. I need more of that in my life.
Being the shark that I am, I had to keep moving. Went out front and attached the bed liner pieces to the trailer, walked out to my enclosed trailer and put the clutch back on my sled, removed the tarp and plywood from the concrete and cleaned up tools and put everything away. Went inside, packed up my stuff, made my bed, cleaned up the kitchen and did the dishes, ran the vacuum and wiped down the bathroom. 11:30am everything going home was staged in garage and then my brother finally decided to crawl out of bed.
This was about 12:30pm and here came the rain again.
We hooked up trailer to truck and drove around back and put his and my sled on trailer to bring home to do our maintenance because I wanna make sure that is done before season starts. Loaded the truck, shut down the house and locked it up and pulled out at 2:15pm.
Made it home after dropping brother off at his job site to get his work van about 8:30pm. Just enough time to hug the dog and kick the wife before having to go to work Sunday night. Another day with no sleep!
Got off at 7am, went to my brothers and pulled his sled off trailer then home and dropped trailer with my sled and he took off with his truck. Finally got to bed at 11am Monday from being up at 5:15 Sunday morning.
Now time for vehicles. My wife sent me this when I was up north. Is it just me or did she make it sound like I was dead?
I’ll be back in a little bit to fill you in on what I have done since Monday.
It wasn’t until around 9pm when I was able to finish the concrete and edge it out. It still wasn’t set as much as I would have liked but I wasn’t gonna stay up and fight the bugs, it’s only an apron! Before we called it a night we had to cover the slab with plastic sheeting. The lightning was getting closer and I wasn’t gonna let it pour on this all night. Threw down the plastic sheet and I could see it was gonna be ugly so we pulled it back off and had wrinkled lines on concrete surface. This sucks! Hit it once more with the finishing troll and then we set saw horses on garage pad, laid sheets of plywood on an angle with one side on ground and other on horse then covered the plywood with a big tarp. Kept the concrete covered without touching it. That was it for the day! Went in about 10pm, showered, stuffed my face and passed out.
5:15 Sunday morning. Back out with my coffee and morning smoke enjoying the view once more.
If you notice the sleds on the right side of picture, they are on the ground compared to the day before they were on a trailer.
I sat out there for 45 minutes soaking up the fact that I can’t hear traffic and something about that northern atmosphere that puts me at ease. I was sore, tired, still had stuff to get done but somehow didn’t care about anything at that moment. I need more of that in my life.
Being the shark that I am, I had to keep moving. Went out front and attached the bed liner pieces to the trailer, walked out to my enclosed trailer and put the clutch back on my sled, removed the tarp and plywood from the concrete and cleaned up tools and put everything away. Went inside, packed up my stuff, made my bed, cleaned up the kitchen and did the dishes, ran the vacuum and wiped down the bathroom. 11:30am everything going home was staged in garage and then my brother finally decided to crawl out of bed.
This was about 12:30pm and here came the rain again.
We hooked up trailer to truck and drove around back and put his and my sled on trailer to bring home to do our maintenance because I wanna make sure that is done before season starts. Loaded the truck, shut down the house and locked it up and pulled out at 2:15pm.
Made it home after dropping brother off at his job site to get his work van about 8:30pm. Just enough time to hug the dog and kick the wife before having to go to work Sunday night. Another day with no sleep!
Got off at 7am, went to my brothers and pulled his sled off trailer then home and dropped trailer with my sled and he took off with his truck. Finally got to bed at 11am Monday from being up at 5:15 Sunday morning.
Now time for vehicles. My wife sent me this when I was up north. Is it just me or did she make it sound like I was dead?
I’ll be back in a little bit to fill you in on what I have done since Monday.
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