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  #46  
Old 03-20-2017, 02:58 PM
Electronic M's Avatar
Electronic M Electronic M is offline
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I swapped out the relay then the starter yesterday. I could not initially find the starter, and was trying to check if the relay was firing. I pulled the relay had some one crank it and plugged the relay in and it started...I swapped the relay for a new one thinking it was the cause and then it would not start again...At that point I found the starter motor and was able to confirm correct crank voltages to it while it was refusing to crank. Swapped in a new motor (amazing it costs as much as the one in my Lincoln despite being under half the size), and it now seems to be starting reliably (knock on wood). Check engine light is back out too(IIRC this car leaves it on till the engine starts). The old starter had one of the big terminals on the plastic terminal board rip out as I was removing it.

They gave a decent amount of space to work on it, but it still is awfully cramped. A few times I wished I had an air wrench where the bolt was nice and loose, but the ratchet only had 2-4 clicks of swinging range...That is the kind of work that cramps one's whole arm especially in ~45 degrees.
The back ache from servicing a friend's TV Saturday flowed right into Sunday and got fed then.
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Last edited by Electronic M; 03-20-2017 at 03:06 PM.
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  #47  
Old 03-20-2017, 04:45 PM
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MadMan MadMan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electronic M View Post
At that point I found the starter motor and was able to confirm correct crank voltages to it while it was refusing to crank.
Well hey, that's a perfect confirmation. Glad you found the problem. A starter with a dead spot can have very weird intermittent problems like you had. I've had lots of terminal lugs break out of starters. It's usually bakelite, made extra brittle by years of high temperatures and hot/cold cycles. New ones don't break easily, but it's always important to know your medium when you're tightening a bolt.
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  #48  
Old 07-21-2017, 05:06 PM
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Electronic M Electronic M is offline
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Well the red albatross has worn out it's welcome...Back in early June on the way to a swap meet I spun it on a sharp turn a block from my house. It started to slide putting me on a collision course with a phone pole, I corrected hard to avoid taking it out (I hear phone poles are expensive), which resulted in my avoiding it* and colliding with a guard rail on the other side of the road. *I avoided the pole, but it's guy wire hooked the rear fender folding it back and hooking under the rear bumper cover ripping that cover off and messing it and the tail gate (bottom edge was mostly painted bondo) up a good bit. The front bumper cover and grille sustained damage. Not to mention damage to the dial bezel of a radio I had fixed for someone (it's always the thing you feel most guilty about that gets it worst).
I think what I blame most for the accident is the driver side front sway bar linkage being broken (it likely was before I owned it given the rust on the break) and the rear tires being baldy. I was only going 30 (the speed limit there) and there was some morning dew on the pavement.

This accident at once makes me like the vehicle platform much more, and like the particular specimen I possess much less. The frame and metal bumpers are remarkably solid and the vehicle took the impact well (the guard rail and plastic parts took all the damage). (Contrast that that to my parrents' previous honda CR-V that did not even have a bumper under the cover as sold from the factory)

I recovered rear the bumper cover (minus a light mounted in it) and after beating the hidden fender metal it mounts over back roughly into shape me and a friend got it back on...It ain't pretty, but it looks better with it on.

All that body damage pretty much kills the resale value...
As much as the new linkage makes it about as drive-able as it was; I've lost all faith in it....Doing the repairs I did made it obvious this was not it's first front end collision....Doing a very thorough inspection of the front end reveals that this was not it's first front end crash, and the last was much worse....On top of that whoever the previous owners hired to fix the front end last time did an appalling job...Most of the visible front end body parts were affixed with zip ties and or drywall screws (where they bothered to fasten it) EVEN in the places where the factory mounts still lined up right! With how much old work that I can see was done wrong I'm too concerned about the stuff I can't see to want to fix it.

I actually decided I was done with it before the accident when changing the front pass wheel bearing did not fix the bad grinding sound on low speed 90 degree right turns....Between that, the worsening air suspension issues, the 4DW issues, the bad door seals creating noise, drag and a drivers floor foot soaking pan when parked on an incline in the rain, and a dozen or so other issues of varying import I decided it ain't worth the time/money to bring it up to my standards.

I've been and still am saving up for a better SUV. Once that is done, I'm either going to sell the GMC cheap (as is), or if a dealer has a good Push-Pull-Drag sale, trade it in on the next one. ....If both of those options fail I have half a mind to park it in the middle of the previous owner's (cough*swindler's*cough) gigantic lawn late at night, set fire to it, and walk away.

I may end up buying a better example of the same model....I can tell it's a great platform despite owning the worst (cared for) example of it I've seen on the road.
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  #49  
Old 07-21-2017, 07:18 PM
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Sandy G Sandy G is offline
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I have never ENTIRELY understood why the car companies have, at best, a LOATHING for their customers as evidenced by most of this posts in this episode. It goes way beyond using dealers for any/all repair, & getting "Jacked Up" by them. It would seem to me that at least ONE way a company could get & KEEP customers would make the repairs straight forward & reasonably simple.
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  #50  
Old 07-21-2017, 07:30 PM
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lnx64 lnx64 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandy G View Post
I have never ENTIRELY understood why the car companies have, at best, a LOATHING for their customers as evidenced by most of this posts in this episode. It goes way beyond using dealers for any/all repair, & getting "Jacked Up" by them. It would seem to me that at least ONE way a company could get & KEEP customers would make the repairs straight forward & reasonably simple.
I can't even get Chevrolet to fix my 94 Caprice's recalls. I've had to fix most of them by myself, because they claim "they don't fix them after a certain amount of years", which as my understanding is, that's not true, the government requires them to fix it no matter how old.

But this is Chevrolet.
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  #51  
Old 07-22-2017, 10:21 AM
dieseljeep dieseljeep is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electronic M View Post
Well the red albatross has worn out it's welcome...Back in early June on the way to a swap meet I spun it on a sharp turn a block from my house. It started to slide putting me on a collision course with a phone pole, I corrected hard to avoid taking it out (I hear phone poles are expensive), which resulted in my avoiding it* and colliding with a guard rail on the other side of the road. *I avoided the pole, but it's guy wire hooked the rear fender folding it back and hooking under the rear bumper cover ripping that cover off and messing it and the tail gate (bottom edge was mostly painted bondo) up a good bit. The front bumper cover and grille sustained damage. Not to mention damage to the dial bezel of a radio I had fixed for someone (it's always the thing you feel most guilty about that gets it worst).
I think what I blame most for the accident is the driver side front sway bar linkage being broken (it likely was before I owned it given the rust on the break) and the rear tires being baldy. I was only going 30 (the speed limit there) and there was some morning dew on the pavement.

This accident at once makes me like the vehicle platform much more, and like the particular specimen I possess much less. The frame and metal bumpers are remarkably solid and the vehicle took the impact well (the guard rail and plastic parts took all the damage). (Contrast that that to my parrents' previous honda CR-V that did not even have a bumper under the cover as sold from the factory)

I recovered rear the bumper cover (minus a light mounted in it) and after beating the hidden fender metal it mounts over back roughly into shape me and a friend got it back on...It ain't pretty, but it looks better with it on.

All that body damage pretty much kills the resale value...
As much as the new linkage makes it about as drive-able as it was; I've lost all faith in it....Doing the repairs I did made it obvious this was not it's first front end collision....Doing a very thorough inspection of the front end reveals that this was not it's first front end crash, and the last was much worse....On top of that whoever the previous owners hired to fix the front end last time did an appalling job...Most of the visible front end body parts were affixed with zip ties and or drywall screws (where they bothered to fasten it) EVEN in the places where the factory mounts still lined up right! With how much old work that I can see was done wrong I'm too concerned about the stuff I can't see to want to fix it.

I actually decided I was done with it before the accident when changing the front pass wheel bearing did not fix the bad grinding sound on low speed 90 degree right turns....Between that, the worsening air suspension issues, the 4DW issues, the bad door seals creating noise, drag and a drivers floor foot soaking pan when parked on an incline in the rain, and a dozen or so other issues of varying import I decided it ain't worth the time/money to bring it up to my standards.

I've been and still am saving up for a better SUV. Once that is done, I'm either going to sell the GMC cheap (as is), or if a dealer has a good Push-Pull-Drag sale, trade it in on the next one. ....If both of those options fail I have half a mind to park it in the middle of the previous owner's (cough*swindler's*cough) gigantic lawn late at night, set fire to it, and walk away.

I may end up buying a better example of the same model....I can tell it's a great platform despite owning the worst (cared for) example of it I've seen on the road.
You don't need another one of those dogs! Stay away from Craig's list!
If you're going to buy another used SUV, go to a licensed used car dealer. They're required to, at least look over the car to see if it's road worthy.
PM me and I'll let you know the name of the dealer where I bought three good used cars, reasonably priced. I drove each one a good long time.
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  #52  
Old 08-05-2017, 10:28 AM
dieseljeep dieseljeep is offline
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Originally Posted by dieseljeep View Post
You don't need another one of those dogs! Stay away from Craig's list!
If you're going to buy another used SUV, go to a licensed used car dealer. They're required to, at least look over the car to see if it's road worthy.
PM me and I'll let you know the name of the dealer where I bought three good used cars, reasonably priced. I drove each one a good long time.
No replies!
I hope, our man MR. Carlson isn't PO'ed at me! I always like meeting with him and his Father at the WARCI meets.
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  #53  
Old 08-06-2017, 12:07 PM
WISCOJIM WISCOJIM is offline
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No replies!
I hope, our man MR. Carlson isn't PO'ed at me! I always like meeting with him and his Father at the WARCI meets.
Dave, don't worry, it's nothing to do with you. And I also enjoy talking with both of his parents.

Tom's alive and well, I talked to him and his buddy Chris yesterday at the Illinois Radiofest.

He apparently was naughty (again) here on the forum, and he clearly understands that the boss was forced to give him an appropriate "time out".

His advice on the forum here was very valuable to a lot of members. I suspect he'll be back before too long. Tom just has to learn to avoid arguments on here, especially those that don't involve him directly. He's young, he'll learn from this, he'll come back better than ever.

I, for one, am looking forward to his return.

BTW, Tom just picked up a Chevy Suburban. I hope he has better luck with this one.

.
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  #54  
Old 08-08-2017, 12:01 AM
Electronic M's Avatar
Electronic M Electronic M is offline
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I've got a burban alright.

Still have the Envoy....It is kinda odd to realize you own more cars at once than your parents have in all the years you've lived...

The Envoy is gonna go soon...It's on CL.

If you want a good laugh how about a quote from me and a friends first draft of the ad (we were hoping for best of CL status).

Quote:
Sad lonely 2002 GMC Envoy looking for home. Gently used and expertly serviced by kindergardeners. Runs and dives by some miracle/ fluke of physics. Plenty of power to knock down trees and pull stumps (as has been successfully tried). mostly complete. needs minor body work and service. AC blows cold. makes fun noises. Cassette and CD (sorry no 8-track, and biber's CD stuck in player on auto repeat, have pulled radio fuse did not help). I'm not handicapped, but the previous owners were, mentally. air ride suspension. tires slightly tired. faster than a speeding dodge neon. Anything you find in the car including is yours to keep....Ladies. Seats have great lumber support. With this Envoy you will be the envy or your neighbors. Act now before I park it in lake Pewaukee!
That joke draft was not posted, but we had a great laugh writing it.
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  #55  
Old 08-08-2017, 07:09 PM
Electronic M's Avatar
Electronic M Electronic M is offline
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Caribou Gone!--->https://youtu.be/M3-51DhOzHE?t=2m21s

Good riddance.
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Zenith: The quality stays in EVEN after the name falls off!
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  #56  
Old 02-03-2018, 09:33 PM
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KentTeffeteller KentTeffeteller is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electronic M View Post
I've got a burban alright.

Still have the Envoy....It is kinda odd to realize you own more cars at once than your parents have in all the years you've lived...

The Envoy is gonna go soon...It's on CL.

If you want a good laugh how about a quote from me and a friends first draft of the ad (we were hoping for best of CL status).



That joke draft was not posted, but we had a great laugh writing it.
Reading that made my back hurt reading it. An honest CL ad for once.
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  #57  
Old 02-03-2018, 09:57 PM
Electronic M's Avatar
Electronic M Electronic M is offline
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So glad that red albatross is gone! I lost my shirt selling it, and the new owner who plans to fix it and flip (said he does a lot of that) it is going to have fun...

My Burban has been a good winter driver, new tires, new drivers side wheel bearing (to fix ABS light), steering knuckle (bearing was rust fused to the knuckle badly enough to make it NECESSARY to replace both), and the CV axle (a casualty of the bearing work), front and rear brakes too. AC held a charge for a couple of days in the fall. The heated seats are awesome!...It even sold the folks on wanting heated seats in their next car.
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Zenith: The quality stays in EVEN after the name falls off!
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  #58  
Old 05-31-2018, 11:27 PM
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KentTeffeteller KentTeffeteller is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandy G View Post
I have never ENTIRELY understood why the car companies have, at best, a LOATHING for their customers as evidenced by most of this posts in this episode. It goes way beyond using dealers for any/all repair, & getting "Jacked Up" by them. It would seem to me that at least ONE way a company could get & KEEP customers would make the repairs straight forward & reasonably simple.

What you and I wish, and what they think of is different. What is an annoyance to Mr Biped, is much more to an adapted vehicle owner who must use hand controls and adaptive equipment. And increase the rent to 10X or more over normal for us.
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  #59  
Old 06-01-2018, 10:38 AM
Electronic M's Avatar
Electronic M Electronic M is offline
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It wasn't like the envoy was ridiculously hard to service or impractical to service. The problem was that the previous owners beat it to hell had it serviced by hacks who should not have been allowed to so much as look at a car, they weren't honest with me about it, and inadequate lighting made it hard for me to see that when I bought it... That SUV had too much wrong with it to be worth my fixing especially after that swaybar linkage caused me to spin it... My general opinion of the Envoy platform is favorable, and I feel that if I had bought a better example to start with that I'd still be driving it.

Repairability depends on the platform. I've heard people I trust talk plentyof trash about serviceability and reliability of GM cars that I have not owned, and my family has owned and rented some GM lemons, but the Envoy struck me as a decent platform reliability and design-wise.
The suburban I replaced it with strikes me as an even better vehicle reliability and repairability wise...I know people with suburbans of the same generation with 2 and 3 times the mileage mine has that are still going strong with no drivetrain rebuilds needed (rust is starting to affect those though). Also, they made some jobs MUCH easier on the suburban...The CV axles in the front, for instance, don't use those wacky snap rings that the Envoy has...Instead, they attach to the front differential with only 6 bolts...IMHO a much more serviceable design. The Suburban also seems to have more room to access things in the engine compartment.

My family and I took my Suburban up to our cabin up north last week and at the beginning of the month I took it to the ETF...Between those two trips, I've put 2K of highway (with heavy cargo) on it easy this month and it has been handling it like a trooper. Heck, I got the AC to hold a usable charge for the whole week, and the AC is the only common weak point on these trucks (the plumbing likes to develop leaks every 100k).
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Zenith: The quality stays in EVEN after the name falls off!
What I want. --> http://www.videokarma.org/showpost.p...62&postcount=4

Last edited by Electronic M; 06-01-2018 at 10:42 AM.
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