Rocket Man's 2008 Bagged CC Silverado Build AKA "THE MACHINE"

[Tonyrodz]

Well the axles shipped today and I also got a notice from TurboTax that the govment extended the deduction for mortgage insurance premiums and I might need to file an extended return so I checked it out, and I'll be getting almost what I paid for the axles back as an extra refund. That worked out pretty good.

Lucky dog. Good for you. I saw a pickup that had what looked to be the same rims that you have on the Silverado. Couldn't get a pic tho.

 

[yates ™]

Well the axles shipped today and I also got a notice from TurboTax that the govment extended the deduction for mortgage insurance premiums and I might need to file an extended return so I checked it out, and I'll be getting almost what I paid for the axles back as an extra refund. That worked out pretty good.

More interested in the more money for mortgage insurance.

 

[Rocket Man]

More interested in the more money for mortgage insurance.

If you paid mortgage insurance, it was deductible in 2016 if you itemized. But in 2017 that deduction wasn't extended until after most people had already filed. TurboTax let me know that since I used that deduction in 2016, and they added that deduction back in after I'd filed in 2017, I should look at it to see if I'd get a bigger refund if I re-filed.

 

[yates ™]

If you paid mortgage insurance, it was deductible in 2016 if you itemized. But in 2017 that deduction wasn't extended until after most people had already filed. TurboTax let me know that since I used that deduction in 2016, and they added that deduction back in after I'd filed in 2017, I should look at it to see if I'd get a bigger refund if I re-filed.

I am pretty sure I was late in the year or my tax guy didn't tell me

 

[Rocket Man]

The axles will be here tomorrow and it will be a race to get them in before the storm hits. It's supposed to blow 70-80 on the coast and up to 50 here in the valleys starting tomorrow night. And alot of rain of course. Sometimes it's hard to be a driveway mechanic.

 

[Rocket Man]

Well...the axles were definitely different. You can see in the pic that the wide part of the axle is about 1 1/2" longer so the ABS reluctor can grab it. they seemed to measure just about 1/16- 3/32 different in one of the length measurements so I was a tiny bit concerned. Then when I tried to install the passenger side one, it didn't want to go all the way in. I tried the old ones and they slid right in on both sides. But neither new one wanted to go all the way in on the passenger side. It felt like it was air pressure though; it wasn't hitting any metal. I used a quick clamp on it and it went in. It was just hard to push in for some reason. Weird. Once it was in though, it meshed and rotated fine. When I was installing the calipers, the driver side was tight and the axle didn't want to rotate easy. I was afraid it was the axle length. I started the truck after I filled the diff and put it in drive but that side wouldn't move unless I tapped the brake. I went ahead and installed the wheels and spacers and went for a drive. Everything seems fine; brakes work good and after a short drive the driver side seems to be OK; it wasn't too hot. I think the brake pad just needs to wear a bit if it hasn't already. But the best thing is the ABS, Traction Control, and Stabilitrack are all working and there's no more warning lights on. And I have disc brakes in the rear.

 

[kbuskill]

Well...the axles were definitely different. You can see in the pic that the wide part of the axle is about 1 1/2" longer so the ABS reluctor can grab it. they seemed to measure just about 1/16- 3/32 different in one of the length measurements so I was a tiny bit concerned. Then when I tried to install the passenger side one, it didn't want to go all the way in. I tried the old ones and they slid right in on both sides. But neither new one wanted to go all the way in on the passenger side. It felt like it was air pressure though; it wasn't hitting any metal. I used a quick clamp on it and it went in. It was just hard to push in for some reason. Weird. Once it was in though, it meshed and rotated fine. When I was installing the calipers, the driver side was tight and the axle didn't want to rotate easy. I was afraid it was the axle length. I started the truck after I filled the diff and put it in drive but that side wouldn't move unless I tapped the brake. I went ahead and installed the wheels and spacers and went for a drive. Everything seems fine; brakes work good and after a short drive the driver side seems to be OK; it wasn't too hot. I think the brake pad just needs to wear a bit if it hasn't already. But the best thing is the ABS, Traction Control, and Stabilitrack are all working and there's no more warning lights on. And I have disc brakes in the rear.View attachment 196388 View attachment 196389 View attachment 196390

Good job man.... this is turning out to be an excellent truck since you have worked out most of the bugs.

 

[Rocket Man]

Good job man.... this is turning out to be an excellent truck since you have worked out most of the bugs.

Thank you. It seems almost too good to be true that this worked, especially after I thought it was fixed after the steering position sensor was replaced. That lasted until I drove it and all the warning lights came back on lol . But then when I discovered the reluctor flopping around inside the axle tube I was like wth.

 

[Rocket Man]

I took some pics of the rear wheels without the spikes. I like these lugs better.

 

[Tonyrodz]

I took some pics of the rear wheels without the spikes. I like these lugs better. View attachment 196421 View attachment 196422 View attachment 196423 View attachment 196424

Looks alot like your setup.

 

[Rocket Man]

Man I hate doing things twice. I was pulling into my driveway and looked over at the CC and saw the RGB strip that runs across the top of the grill was hanging. I used a heat gun when I applied it and it was 3M tape on it but I must admit I had just painted the grill when I installed it. So I removed the strip, hit that area with 80 grit sandpaper and alcohol and then applied RTV. I masked it, ran a bead and tooled it flat, installed the strip and pulled the tape. It came out pretty clean looking even though it can't be seen once the grill is installed. I know it's there so it needs to look good.

 

[iamdub]

Just a thought on those brakes:

When I converted to discs on the rear of my S10, I kept reading about having to space out the abutment brackets. I never saw what anyone was talking about and mine seemed to go together just fine. A few years later, I had everything apart to install braided flex lines and then I saw what they were talking about. When added to a drum brake axle, the disc setup was off center to the rotor. It was located more outboard so it wore the inside pad much faster than the outside. Anyway, I bought a pack of quality Grade 8 washers that were consistent in thickness, and spaced the abutment bracket so that it was centered over the rotor.

I can't find the pic showing the head-on shot of the before and after, but a few millimeters made a huge difference. It was enough that you could tell in a cellphone pic. The amount of correction needed was more than the thickness of one washer but less than two, so I used a flap disc on a grinder to shave the bosses down a hair to fine-tune the adjustment until the bracket was as perfectly centered as best as my eyes and precision metric ruler could tell:

 

[Rocket Man]

Just a thought on those brakes:

When I converted to discs on the rear of my S10, I kept reading about having to space out the abutment brackets. I never saw what anyone was talking about and mine seemed to go together just fine. A few years later, I had everything apart to install braided flex lines and then I saw what they were talking about. When added to a drum brake axle, the disc setup was off center to the rotor. It was located more outboard so it wore the inside pad much faster than the outside. Anyway, I bought a pack of quality Grade 8 washers that were consistent in thickness, and spaced the abutment bracket so that it was centered over the rotor.

I can't find the pic showing the head-on shot of the before and after, but a few millimeters made a huge difference. It was enough that you could tell in a cellphone pic. The amount of correction needed was more than the thickness of one washer but less than two, so I used a flap disc on a grinder to shave the bosses down a hair to fine-tune the adjustment until the bracket was as perfectly centered as best as my eyes and precision metric ruler could tell:

View attachment 196487

I thought about doing something like that but I was thinking that since the caliper floats on the pins, doesn't it automatically apply equal pressure on both pads? My passenger side looked to be off about the same as the driver side, but in the opposite direction. One needs to be spaced out less than 1/16" , the other needs to go in the same. At least that's where they sat when I first installed them. So on the driver side, I'd need to grind a bit off the bracket and then add a thin washer on the passenger side. I have disc brake shims from my Harley builds but those setups are different and the calipers don't float. I'll take a look at it after some miles. I only had time to drive around the block a few times that night , and it's been raining ever since. I don't want to drive it in the rain since I just detailed the whole truck. Tomorrow it will be nice so I'll have more time.

 

[iamdub]

I thought about doing something like that but I was thinking that since the caliper floats on the pins, doesn't it automatically apply equal pressure on both pads? My passenger side looked to be off about the same as the driver side, but in the opposite direction. One needs to be spaced out less than 1/16" , the other needs to go in the same. At least that's where they sat when I first installed them. So on the driver side, I'd need to grind a bit off the bracket and then add a thin washer on the passenger side. I have disc brake shims from my Harley builds but those setups are different and the calipers don't float. I'll take a look at it after some miles. I only had time to drive around the block a few times that night , and it's been raining ever since. I don't want to drive it in the rain since I just detailed the whole truck. Tomorrow it will be nice so I'll have more time.

Correct. The piston (inboard) side pushes the pad against the rotor which makes it pry the caliper away, pulling the outboard side against it's side of the rotor. That's why the pads on floating calipers wear unevenly if the slides aren't well-lubed. There is always a bit of drag, though. If the caliper is off-center, then the inboard pad will contact "too soon", causing a hair more drag at almost all times. That 1/16" isn't even worth worrying with unless your inboard pad is "at rest" less than 1/16" away from the rotor, and I doubt that's the case. Fudge it. Maybe it was just cuz it was all fresh.

 

[05alive]

Looks alot like your setup.View attachment 196425 View attachment 196426

AF octanes

American force is for beginners. Real ballers rock intros. Most highschool kids want "fawces" but ain't never heard of the steeze that is intro Twisted Vistas.

That being said, I want that truck lol

 

[Rocket Man]

Took it for a long drive today and everything is still working; no warning lights and TC actually kicked in when I went around a corner and the road was wet. Brakes seem to work real good, better that ever since ABS is working. It used to activate the right rear brake once in awhile since it thought it was spinning faster than the left and that weird sensation is gone. I removed the rear access cover under the bed and started the process of crinkle painting it and installing it better. It was sitting too high and it made it interfere with the tailgate because that pushed it back and there isn't room for that. I plan on sliding it between the bumper cap and the body instead of sitting on top of it. That should allow me to lower it to just under the corrugated bed part and hopefully the tailgate won't hit it. I think the paint people might have lost the original because in the build pics it looked different and fit better. The tailgate didn't even open when I bought the truck without lifting it up on one side because the HD bumper cover was too tall. Anyway, the damn crinkle paint is being a pain. Usually it sets up in a few hours and if it's uneven I just hit the bad spots with a bit more paint. I've done that twice now and one side is taking forever to crinkle right. I'll wait a few more hours and then I'm gonna install it. It should be fine.

 

[NathanJax]

one day I'll steal, I mean see this truck in person...

 

[PG01]

So, they just take the bedsides off and shorten the inside and rehang the bedsides... that about right?


And obviously tub it...

 

[Rocket Man]

So, they just take the bedsides off and shorten the inside and rehang the bedsides... that about right?


And obviously tub it...

It looks like they cut the entire bed at the top edge, shortened the sides and rehung it if that's what you mean. They did a pretty good job.

 

[Rocket Man]

I had to trim the bumper top at the outside edges in order to let it slide down but it worked. Barely. I had to tap it down with a deadblow. When I take it out again I'll have to pop off the bumper pads but that's OK. The thing's kind of hard to get in; I have to bow the center way out so the gas filler part clears the top of the bed while getting the sides and bottom to slip in. The top edge was about 1/2" higher before and was held out by the top metal, and it had 1/4" hex head screws so it made it even worse. You had to slam the tailgate to close it, and it was hard as hell to pull up on the handle to release it.