Venting - me, not the Yukon

[KVacek]

Bought our 2005 Yukon Denali XL in January 2008 as an off-lease vehicle. Noticed the oil cooler lines were weeping and had them give me a set with the deal. FInally got around to changing them yesterday - yes, 14 years later.

I've done this job with a 4WD 93 Suburban and had NO IDEA what an ordeal I was in for on this vehicle. Changed rear coolant and AC lines on this, the old Suburban, and evern a (pardon my swearing) Caravan, some more than once. Not that bad to do.

But this Yukon... So many places where they put things together on a stand and then drop the whole engine into the vehicle and have unskilled workers snap things together. Things that are SO much fun to find, let alone get to to work on.

I see many people actually drop the front differential to do this job. I have the driveshaft disconnected now and think with the radiator out I can get those LOOOONG front hard lines clear and get it all out the rear. But this is just inexcusable. So little is made to be serviced. One-way plastic fasteners all over, hose retainers that just don't come undone without breaking things, fighting quick-connect fittings that make assembly quick but disassembly really tough.

Grrrr - been working on all of my cars, motorcycles, airplanes, and lawn equipment since the early 60's, but I just hate this job.

Rant off. I apologize to anyone who actually read this.
;-)

 

[S33k3r]

Well, in their defense... The original design did last 17-18 years. I know that doesn't help -- it is NOT meant to troll you. I was hoping to give some perspective: "Yep, it's a PITA, but you only have to do it every 15 years." I don't know if that helps, either, but I tried.

 

[4WDTRK]

Pretty sure we've all been there at some point. I know I have, I feel you!

 

[SnowDrifter]

Curious

I did my trans cooler lines a couple years ago. Can't say I had any real complaints with difficulty. They just sorta.... Pulled out. Jack it up, pop the grille of, pop off all the clips, take off the hangar, and just drag 'em through. I replaced the quick connectors at that time too.

I think my biggest complaint on this vehicle with respect to care and feeding is replacing burnt out interior control bulbs. Like, steering wheel lights and such.

Pretty much anything under the hood, I've found, is SUPER easy compared to like... Any other vehicle on the road.

Sorry to hear it gave ya such trouble! But hey, now you're good to go until 2035 before you need to think about it again

 

[Blackcar]

I wouldn't blame this on unskilled workers the company (GM) makes these parts for fast assembly and workers do what company wants. We have vehicles lasting years and 200000 ,300000 miles. Get service manual (Helms) for your year truck will help complete these tasks good luck.

 

[MassHoe04]

We used to have a 1931 Model A Ford.
At the time that Ford was made, it was expected that many owners would need to make their own repairs on the side of a desolate road; and be able to do that with a couple of common wrenches, a pair of pliers, a screwdriver and a jack.

I don't think any auto manufacturer designs anything with the intent of making it easy for DIY repairs. Now days, it seems they have gone out of their way to make it difficult or impossible. Proprietary tools are required for certain procedures an so many vehicles now.

Even though GM did some of that at the time our rigs came off the assembly line, we still got in on something that was still relatively easy to work on. As @SnowDrifter mentioned, ours are a lot simpler to work on than many others.

"Modern" vehicles are constructed so that you need to go to a dealer to do almost anything. Some won't even tell you what specific code is tripping a CEL without having to get a dealer to read it (and probably fix it, too).

I count my blessings every day with my 04 Tahoe! I am sure I'll have my moments of pain and frustration, but my odds of being able to still complete a repair with success are still pretty good. I would even attempt anything other than brake pads and rotors on my wife's 2019 Honda CRV!

On that Model A... I did a distributor rebuild on the side of the mountain in VT and swapped out water pump on the road to Mystic, CT.

 

[KVacek]

Curious

I did my trans cooler lines a couple years ago. Can't say I had any real complaints with difficulty. They just sorta.... Pulled out. Jack it up, pop the grille of, pop off all the clips, take off the hangar, and just drag 'em through. I replaced the quick connectors at that time too.

I think my biggest complaint on this vehicle with respect to care and feeding is replacing burnt out interior control bulbs. Like, steering wheel lights and such.

Pretty much anything under the hood, I've found, is SUPER easy compared to like... Any other vehicle on the road.

Sorry to hear it gave ya such trouble! But hey, now you're good to go until 2035 before you need to think about it again

These are oil cooler lines. Other side of the engine and heavier. Routed right over the front diff.

I eventually worked the old ones out the back and the new ones, probably helped by being more flexible and also the fact that I'd just pulled the old ones and knew it was possible, went in pretty easily.

 

[KVacek]

I wouldn't blame this on unskilled workers the company (GM) makes these parts for fast assembly and workers do what company wants. We have vehicles lasting years and 200000 ,300000 miles. Get service manual (Helms) for your year truck will help complete these tasks good luck.

First vehicle where I haven't bought the factory manual. Unobtanium now.

But the quick assembly comes at the cost of some real PIA disassembly jobs. I'm an old guy and have turned wrenches since the early 60's actually longer with go-karts and lawn mowers. I understand efficient assembly but somebody eventually has to fix it and threaded fasteners work easier and mostly can be reused. Kinda hard to replace some weird plastic doo-dad that goes in with a Christmas tree fastener that breaks off unless a dealer has it or willl order it and you don't mind waiting and paying big $$ for a little piece of plastic.

 

[Blackcar]

Ebay still has service manuals (Helms) in some auctions for 2008. If you take plastic fasteners to your local parts house, they will be able to match up at most part houses a lot cheaper and in stock. Take your time if you have turned wrench's you'll do just fine good luck.

 

[Rocket Man]

First vehicle where I haven't bought the factory manual. Unobtanium now.

But the quick assembly comes at the cost of some real PIA disassembly jobs. I'm an old guy and have turned wrenches since the early 60's actually longer with go-karts and lawn mowers. I understand efficient assembly but somebody eventually has to fix it and threaded fasteners work easier and mostly can be reused. Kinda hard to replace some weird plastic doo-dad that goes in with a Christmas tree fastener that breaks off unless a dealer has it or willl order it and you don't mind waiting and paying big $$ for a little piece of plastic.

You can have access to the service manuals with a subscription to www.alldatadiy.com for about $30 a year iirc.

As far as replacing those lines, the front diff can be unbolted and let hang/droop for easier access. It’s just 4 fairly large bolts, 2 on each side. This also makes it possible to remove the oil pan without removing the whole front diff. The quick connect clips-pull the plastic cover back and use a small hook tool to remove them. It’s easy, and if one or two bounce away like they usually do, there’s assortments of generic ones available at any auto parts store in the Dorman “help” section. I suggest buying these first. When installing, put the clip into the fitting first and then just push the oil line into the fitting until it clicks into place.

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

We used to have a 1931 Model A Ford.
At the time that Ford was made, it was expected that many owners would need to make their own repairs on the side of a desolate road; and be able to do that with a couple of common wrenches, a pair of pliers, a screwdriver and a jack.

I don't think any auto manufacturer designs anything with the intent of making it easy for DIY repairs. Now days, it seems they have gone out of their way to make it difficult or impossible. Proprietary tools are required for certain procedures an so many vehicles now.

Even though GM did some of that at the time our rigs came off the assembly line, we still got in on something that was still relatively easy to work on. As @SnowDrifter mentioned, ours are a lot simpler to work on than many others.

"Modern" vehicles are constructed so that you need to go to a dealer to do almost anything. Some won't even tell you what specific code is tripping a CEL without having to get a dealer to read it (and probably fix it, too).

I count my blessings every day with my 04 Tahoe! I am sure I'll have my moments of pain and frustration, but my odds of being able to still complete a repair with success are still pretty good. I would even attempt anything other than brake pads and rotors on my wife's 2019 Honda CRV!

On that Model A... I did a distributor rebuild on the side of the mountain in VT and swapped out water pump on the road to Mystic, CT.

With all due respect, comparing a 2000+ modern vehicle to a ‘31 Model T is like comparing a punch card time clock to an iPhone.

Your 31’ model T couldn’t go 200k miles, couldn’t go 3000 miles without an oil change, and you couldn’t/wouldn’t want to drive it for 500 miles non stop. You also probably wouldn’t survive a head on at 20 MPh.

I get there are some places that are difficult to work on, but reality is, most any vehicle these days is reliable, needs very little service/repair, and provides a level of comfort and safety not even in the realm of anyone’s thought process in 1931.

The fact most need to go to a shop is that all this extra function and reliability came at the cost of more complexity and parts. But, of the millions of miles driven daily, what percentage actually require a side of the road fix?

Besides, it’s good for the economy to have mechanics and repair shops!!!

That said, you want a rant, do plugs and wires on a 2007-14 model….it’s all sunshine and roses till you get to Cylinder 8…ask me how I know!

 

[Tonyrodz]

You can have access to the service manuals with a subscription to www.alldatadiy.com for about $30 a year iirc.

As far as replacing those lines, the front diff can be unbolted and let hang/droop for easier access. It’s just 4 fairly large bolts, 2 on each side. This also makes it possible to remove the oil pan without removing the whole front diff. The quick connect clips-pull the plastic cover back and use a small hook tool to remove them. It’s easy, and if one or two bounce away like they usually do, there’s assortments of generic ones available at any auto parts store in the Dorman “help” section. I suggest buying these first. When installing, put the clip into the fitting first and then just push the oil line into the fitting until it clicks into place.

I bought this just for those clips.
Lisle 22930 3/8" Low Profile Disconnect https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AZW8PD...t_i_PQ1APE5909T07NDX2EZN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[MassHoe04]

With all due respect, comparing a 2000+ modern vehicle to a ‘31 Model T is like comparing a punch card time clock to an iPhone.

Your 31’ model T couldn’t go 200k miles, couldn’t go 3000 miles without an oil change, and you couldn’t/wouldn’t want to drive it for 500 miles non stop. You also probably wouldn’t survive a head on at 20 MPh.

I get there are some places that are difficult to work on, but reality is, most any vehicle these days is reliable, needs very little service/repair, and provides a level of comfort and safety not even in the realm of anyone’s thought process in 1931.

The fact most need to go to a shop is that all this extra function and reliability came at the cost of more complexity and parts. But, of the millions of miles driven daily, what percentage actually require a side of the road fix?

Besides, it’s good for the economy to have mechanics and repair shops!!!

That said, you want a rant, do plugs and wires on a 2007-14 model….it’s all sunshine and roses till you get to Cylinder 8…ask me how I know!

Apologies, if my post came across as a rant.

My primary point was that engineers do not sit around the design table, thinking: "How can we make this easy for the DIY mechanic to work on in their driveway with common tools?" Their job is to find a way to take all the stuff the consumer wants, find a way to stuff all of that into the vehicle and do it at the lowest possible cost for the manufacturer. They have a tough job meeting the fine balance between form, function and budget. I do not envy them one bit.

My intent was to simply highlight that the ability of a DIY mechanic is most likely not part of that design process.

I agree, a Model A from the 20's or 30's is not an apple to apple comparison with today's vehicles.
What I was describing earlier, was that Henry Ford and his engineers of the day, purposely built components that were mostly serviceable in the field or on the roadside with a minimal set of tools.

If my post came across as a rant, that was not my intent.

Cheers!

 

[Doubeleive]

With all due respect, comparing a 2000+ modern vehicle to a ‘31 Model T is like comparing a punch card time clock to an iPhone.

Your 31’ model T couldn’t go 200k miles, couldn’t go 3000 miles without an oil change, and you couldn’t/wouldn’t want to drive it for 500 miles non stop. You also probably wouldn’t survive a head on at 20 MPh.

I get there are some places that are difficult to work on, but reality is, most any vehicle these days is reliable, needs very little service/repair, and provides a level of comfort and safety not even in the realm of anyone’s thought process in 1931.

The fact most need to go to a shop is that all this extra function and reliability came at the cost of more complexity and parts. But, of the millions of miles driven daily, what percentage actually require a side of the road fix?

Besides, it’s good for the economy to have mechanics and repair shops!!!

That said, you want a rant, do plugs and wires on a 2007-14 model….it’s all sunshine and roses till you get to Cylinder 8…ask me how I know!

number 8 is super-easy providing, you use the right combination of adapters, so many people fight it, that it's almost comical.

 

[Rocket Man]

number 8 is super-easy providing, you use the right combination of adapters, so many people fight it, that it's almost comical.

Exactly. And it’s the same on a 2000-2006 as a 2007-2014. I don’t find it a challenge at all anymore.