List of Repairs - DIY or Mechanic?

[zwanzon]

Hey guys,

I recently had a full inspection on my 07' Tahoe LT. It has about 165,000 miles on it.

I'm wondering which of these repairs I can do myself and which are worth having the mechanic take care of. I would consider myself an intermediate level DIYer. I already did the Serp and AC belts which took like 15 minutes, super easy. Obviously, the last item, engine shield is no problem either.

Thanks in advance!

 

[shreksbrother]

Hey guys,

I recently had a full inspection on my 07' Tahoe LT. It has about 165,000 miles on it.

I'm wondering which of these repairs I can do myself and which are worth having the mechanic take care of. I would consider myself an intermediate level DIYer. I already did the Serp and AC belts which took like 15 minutes, super easy. Obviously, the last item, engine shield is no problem either.

Thanks in advance!

If you are ok with diy, you can do all of it except the alignment.

Does it have leaks? Just curious about the gallery replacements mentioned. If the leaks aren't too bad, just monitor your fluid levels until you're ready for the project.

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[swathdiver]

Jordan, since you're mechanically inclined, belong to this forum and are physically able, you can do it all save for the alignment as Adam said. I don't think they press on ball joints anymore, just get new control arms with them already in it.

What do you all think, two Saturday's worth of work here? Of course, if time is money and you make $900+ a day, then it might pay to have the work done!

 

[zwanzon]

If you are ok with diy, you can do all of it except the alignment.

Does it have leaks? Just curious about the gallery replacements mentioned. If the leaks aren't too bad, just monitor your fluid levels until you're ready for the project.

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Gallery replacements? So there aren't any signs of leaking/drops on the ground, but I'm guessing there is residue near the parts they want to replace though?

 

[swathdiver]

Ohh, if your heater hoses aren't leaking real bad, you can get on the list for having them made from brass.

@kbuskill has been spearheading this project with Gruven.

 

[Hi-psi]

Ultimately you know your situation, and what is at more of a premium, time or money.

Some questions to ask yourself...

Do you have the place to do the work yourself? I.e do you live in a home with a garage/driveway as opposed to an apt complex/condo, etc.
Do you have all the requires tools, ability to borrow them, or ok with buying anything required?
Can you endure having the vehicle down for several days to a week to perform the work? Not knowing your work situation, as in if you could only work on it a couple hours each evening, only on weekends, etc.

If your time is more valuable than money, then just pay someone else to turn wrenches for you.

None of the work described is rocket science. Bolts are bolts, nuts are nuts. Doesn't really matter what they're on or what they attache. It really just comes down to a time vs money debate.

I'm mechanically included enough that short of rebuilding the transmission I could tackle most anything. But, I also live in an apartment complex that frowns on vehicle maintenance and my Denali is my primary daily driver. So, sometimes I just have to bite the bullet for the sake of simplicity and time and pay to have somethings done.

 

[Hi-psi]

Short of the oil pan gasket job, I'd say all the others could be split up and done in a bunch of 1-3hr sessions so as to minimize down time. That oil pan gasket job would be the one I'd most like weigh all the time/money options on.

 

[zwanzon]

Jordan, since you're mechanically inclined, belong to this forum and are physically able, you can do it all save for the alignment as Adam said. I don't think they press on ball joints anymore, just get new control arms with them already in it.

What do you all think, two Saturday's worth of work here? Of course, if time is money and you make $900+ a day, then it might pay to have the work done!

Well good to know, thanks James. I actually love working on my cars, I'm just new to the Chevy/SUV game. It was amazing to see how much room there is in the engine bay to work compared to my 350z.

I think the item that has the most priority is the heater hoses? He mentioned they are turning brown which is a good indicator they should be replaced.

It's just hard to find a DIY on all those heater hose parts. Is a 07-14 Silverado 1500 DIY video applicable to the 07 Tahoe?

 

[zwanzon]

Ultimately you know your situation, and what is at more of a premium, time or money.

Some questions to ask yourself...

Do you have the place to do the work yourself? I.e do you live in a home with a garage/driveway as opposed to an apt complex/condo, etc.
Do you have all the requires tools, ability to borrow them, or ok with buying anything required?
Can you endure having the vehicle down for several days to a week to perform the work? Not knowing your work situation, as in if you could only work on it a couple hours each evening, only on weekends, etc.

If your time is more valuable than money, then just pay someone else to turn wrenches for you.

None of the work described is rocket science. Bolts are bolts, nuts are nuts. Doesn't really matter what they're on or what they attache. It really just comes down to a time vs money debate.

I'm mechanically included enough that short of rebuilding the transmission I could tackle most anything. But, I also live in an apartment complex that frowns on vehicle maintenance and my Denali is my primary daily driver. So, sometimes I just have to bite the bullet for the sake of simplicity and time and pay to have somethings done.

So my questions isn't really regarding the time, money, space, tools, etc (which I have). It's the difficulty of the jobs. I guess I should have been more clear on this. If all of these repairs are very much doable for the average home wrencher, then awesome. I just didn't know if there was something in there, such as the oil gasket replacement - where someone would chime in and say, "That replacement is a huge pain and very messy. It's worth letting a mechanic do it!"

That's kind of what I was looking for.

 

[ivin74]

To me the oil pan gasket was a walk in the park, you don't have to remove the front axle just lower it. Its alot easier if you do drop it. It also helps if you have air tools

 

[dnt1010]

Here is my thoughts but keep in mind I am highly influenced by what happend yesterday (Sunday) My 2009 Tahoe had a bad drivers side wheel bearing. New MOOG hub bearing came in on Saturday from RockAuto. I have changed a couple in the past so I am thinking no big deal book says 2.5 hours and I should be able to beat that easily. Confidence is high. Set my timer on my phone when I unlocked my shop door. Everything is going pretty good until one of the hub bearings bolt heads stripped off. DAMNIT Had to get the torch out which is of course is out of Oxy, sigh a run to tractor supply to gte a Oxy tank. Get back and succeed in removing the bolt. Hub bearing is stuck/rusted to the yoke (9yrs old and 200k miles) finally had to break out the slide hammer now 3 hours into this little project I check the CV Axle and the ujoint is bad. OMG Research on computer and find one locally, another trip to town for parts including 3 new hub bearing bolts. Get back and have absolute heck getting the CV axle out "total PITA". Had to remove the shock and stabilizer end link. When I finally get everything put back together and torqued plus the last tool put back in its place and the area cleaned up the phone timer reads 6hrs - 35 mins. If I worked as a mechanic for a living I guess that I would probably starve to death since it always seems to take a lot longer than planned. Hahaha I guess the morale to the story is if you intend to do tha work yourself allow a LOT of extra time for the unexpected.

 

[kbuskill]

Ohh, if your heater hoses aren't leaking real bad, you can get on the list for having them made from brass.

@kbuskill has been spearheading this project with Gruven.

Actually they are supposed to be made from billet aluminum.... if we can ever get enough preorders to get them into production.

Paul @ Gruven emailed me the other day and said they have 7 preorders and they are in the queue at the CNC shop waiting to be made.

If he gets a couple more orders they will get moved up the line and be done sooner.

 

[swathdiver]

Well good to know, thanks James. I actually love working on my cars, I'm just new to the Chevy/SUV game. It was amazing to see how much room there is in the engine bay to work compared to my 350z.

I think the item that has the most priority is the heater hoses? He mentioned they are turning brown which is a good indicator they should be replaced.

It's just hard to find a DIY on all those heater hose parts. Is a 07-14 Silverado 1500 DIY video applicable to the 07 Tahoe?

Good video. As for the oil pan and o-ring, there are videos on youtube and guys on here have taken photos while doing there own.

 

[shreksbrother]

Gallery replacements? So there aren't any signs of leaking/drops on the ground, but I'm guessing there is residue near the parts they want to replace though?

Sorry, phone autocorrect. Gasket replacements... If there aren't any leaks (other than possibly some weeping that doesn't reach the ground), then those tasks can be put off for sure until you're ready to devote the time.

If you do the work yourself, you have the added benefit of getting to know your vehicle better from a mechanical standpoint. Always helps if you plan to keep it long term.

Good luck!

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[gooffeyguy]

Actually they are supposed to be made from billet aluminum.... if we can ever get enough preorders to get them into production.

Paul @ Gruven emailed me the other day and said they have 7 preorders and they are in the queue at the CNC shop waiting to be made.

If he gets a couple more orders they will get moved up the line and be done sooner.

Price?

2001 Yukon SLT
2012 Yukon XL Denali
2011 Yukon Denali RIP 5/20/18

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[kbuskill]

Price?

2001 Yukon SLT
2012 Yukon XL Denali
2011 Yukon Denali RIP 5/20/18

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

$59.99 each... 2 required

http://www.gruvenparts.com/billet-gm-heater-core-coolant-tees/

 

[zwanzon]

Sorry, phone autocorrect. Gasket replacements... If there aren't any leaks (other than possibly some weeping that doesn't reach the ground), then those tasks can be put off for sure until you're ready to devote the time.

If you do the work yourself, you have the added benefit of getting to know your vehicle better from a mechanical standpoint. Always helps if you plan to keep it long term.

Good luck!

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Great to know. Are there any items on this list that should be taken care of asap? Or do most of them seem like preventative maintenance? I only ask because I'm taking it out of town for the holidays next weekend (about 6 hours one way). I'm guessing it would be hard for anyone on here to know since I don't have details on why these repairs are recommended...

 

[shreksbrother]

Great to know. Are there any items on this list that should be taken care of asap? Or do most of them seem like preventative maintenance? I only ask because I'm taking it out of town for the holidays next weekend (about 6 hours one way). I'm guessing it would be hard for anyone on here to know since I don't have details on why these repairs are recommended...

They recommended bleeding the brakes... Are your brakes spongy? If not, the list seems pretty preventative to me.

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[zwanzon]

They recommended bleeding the brakes... Are your brakes spongy? If not, the list seems pretty preventative to me.

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Not at all. The brakes were done just last year (rotors and pads).

 

[Bill D]

Those are some insane labor rates. The ball joints are just ball joints, no control arms in the quote. Once the truck was up on the lift any decent mechanic could remove and replace those ball joints while simultaneously flipping the pages of his ******* and finish the whole job in 30 - 45 minutes flat. I just replaced the control arms with ball joints , stabilizer links, tie rods, struts, pads and rotors all at once on my Cadillac DTS. Definitely different vehicle, but I can tell you any garage mechanic can do it. However I will predicate it on this, its a fair amount of work you are proposing. It took me 3 weekends to do all the work I mentioned, because a. I am not inclined to do it all at once, and b. I didn't need the vehicle. I worked 2 - 4 hours each day, total of 4 days out of the 3 weeks.

My advice: 1. You need to know what you are doing when you start out with regards to safety. You need torque wrenches and torque tables. You need more than simple wrenches to do this type of work. It takes planning to have everything ready. You need ramps, jack stands, jacks, etc. You need the parts, and all the tools, you need the time and a place to do it. Finally , although the people on forums like this will tell you its simple, it because they are experienced. If you are experienced you will still have a challenge ahead of you , but of course its doable.

If it were me I would not want to tackle it this time of year, cause I like relaxing during the holidays, but if I was 20 I would eat it up!