Hint Hint ............ EM ?????

I don't even care if ya change who started the thread.....

Just add content !

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https://derpicdn.net/img/2013/5/27/334690/full.jpg

I don't even. What's going on?

What is life?

I'm confused...... :nerd:

Yeah......whuuuuuut? :stupid:

Electronic-M mentioned he bought a Suburban in this thread: http://videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=268040&page=4

I think Squirrel Boy wants to see pictures, etc...

Hint Hint ............ EM ?????

I don't even care if ya change who started the thread.....

Just add content !

.
Thought you bought one based on thread title.

It is the middle of winter, everything here is covered with salt (except the Lincoln which has been parked all season), tomorrow ~5" snow is supposed to come, and I don't know if I ever took decent pictures....The WARCI.org swap meet photos might have a better pic of it than I do...

Also, I've been demoted from mod, and don't want to glomb on to a topic with a gigantic pony meme....

I'll try to make a topic when I can.

It's always good to say what you meme and meme what you say.

Reasonable.

This thread makes as much sense as a screen door on a submarine.
Maybe its just an age thing ?

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

I'm pretty sure it never made sense from the get-go.

It makes perfect sense to me. After I've made 2 threads on my other cars with similar thread titles to this one, but never got to making one for my third car, Squirrel boy who is curious about my third car wants me to make a thread about it too.....So much so he kindly made a thread for me in my style with its content being a request for me to make this into the thread he wants to read....If this wasn't the lousy part of winter I might have done what he wants quickly. (part of me wishes he'd made this poke privately via PM)

This ain't exactly the time of year I feel like going outside to take pictures/do anything unnecessary (not to mention my camera has gone internally 'snow blind' from frost on days like this before).

To make a squirrel happy here is a pic of the snow-capped Mt. Suburban in my driveway (taken from my bedroom window so I don't gotta shiver).
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4676/39483805634_4e2236a4d0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23a3PPy)
Tis my winter daily driver for work and my swapmeet hauler...She ain't cherry, but if my envoy was a 3-4 overall condition wise then the burban is more like 7-8.

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:)


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Cool 'burban.

Cool 'burban.

Literally.

huehuehuehuehue

Cool 'burban.

He could've bought a Cadillac Escalade and showed us some real class.
I'm disappointed that my newer model Prius only gets 44-46 MPG, where the old one always got 50+. :sigh:

He could've bought a Cadillac Escalade and showed us some real class.
I'm disappointed that my newer model Prius only gets 44-46 MPG, where the old one always got 50+. :sigh:

The target was under 150K on the clock, under 20 years old, and under $5K so I could buy it cash...It was %20 or more under all limits. The only Escalades I found (I would have preferred one) were ~double the milage or well over budget...Also, I feel better scuffing up a burban with a load of electronic junque than I do treating a caddy or Lincoln the same.

Also my burban came with the only options an Escalade has (aside from general looks) that I would want to pay for: Leather interior and Heated seats.:thmbsp:

The target was under 150K on the clock, under 20 years old, and under $5K so I could buy it cash...It was %20 or more under all limits. The only Escalades I found (I would have preferred one) were ~double the milage or well over budget...Also, I feel better scuffing up a burban with a load of electronic junque than I do treating a caddy or Lincoln the same.

Also my burban came with the only options an Escalade has (aside from general looks) that I would want to pay for: Leather interior and Heated seats.:thmbsp:

I just wonder how much more the glorified burban called the Caddy costs new? I always think "a fool and their money".

He could've bought a Cadillac Escalade and showed us some real class.
Or turned it into a super fly ride with tinted windows, glitter paint and 22" chrome rims with spinners. Know what I'm sayin' homie?

Or turned it into a super fly ride with tinted windows, glitter paint and 22" chrome rims with spinners. Know what I'm sayin' homie?

Sorry but, 'That's not me!' -->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CurONBAJnk

I just wonder how much more the glorified burban called the Caddy costs new? I always think "a fool and their money".

They were quite a pretty penny more when new, and tend to hold their value much better than their chevy/gmc counterparts... pretty much solely because of their popularity with a certain demographic.

I will say, I quite like the Escalades more than their counterparts, at least when they've been well taken care of, and not butchered with 22s and tints and aftermarket radios. Very comfy and luxurious.

Also, I once walked into a friend's body shop, and found him putting Escalade body trim onto a Tahoe. I asked him what he was doing. He said "I'm making a Escahoe."

Sorry but, 'That's not me!' -->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CurONBAJnk
My bad T, I forgot the hydros. I must have been totally tripping.

Well, I did something stupid yesterday. :no: :stupid: :withstpd:..Pa woke me up a bit early yesterday and said "come down quick I left a light on in my car yesterday and it won't start" After a brief futile attempt to start it off a charger I pushed it outa the garage and started my burban to jump it off of and whilst turning my burban around in the driveway half asleep I backed into a tree (that bird outhouse AKA dead tree woulda been gone last fall if ma hadn't asked me to hold off).

From a distance, you can't tell, but I now need a new rear bumper and factory hitch... The structure under the plastic step in the bumper busted free on one side and got punched in ~2.5" (the plastic step mostly hides it), the hitch also got pushed in some distance, is now a bit crooked and the metal tube that is it's biggest piece of metal split open in a couple of places (If It hadn't cracked I'd probably have tow chained it to the lincoln and tried to yank it straight).

The good news is the frame appears to be fine...So I just need to find the right parts to bolt on...I'm probably going to leave it for now. I'm about a week out from paying off a student loan, and once I do that I'm going to have to save all my money for the ETF to be able to buy anything I haven't committed to yet.

I'm nota happy camper.

I'm not a happy camper.

But did you get your dad's car started?

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But did you get your dad's car started?

.

Yeah, eventually.

...I'm not a happy camper.

If you are a camper, happy or not, I really recommend replacing that trailer hitch with a real one, instead of the factory issue version. That is, if you plan on towing anything and not just toting bikes or something.

I have an '03 2500, and had contact from someone from the NHTSB about those hitches. Evidently quite a few failures due to bad welds.

Just a glance when first looking at it convinced me to replace the OEM hitch with one from a real hitch mfg. and not the exhaust pipe vendor (according to the guy at NHTSB.) I opted for both high capacity and extra tongue weight capacity, because I both tow and haul things on a hitch carrier.

I had a 3/5 tonne Urbanizer 4X3 & a Wiesel to boot. You could only get the Weasel w/a 4.11 back in '82, 45-50 MPH was the realistic top speed. 65 was possible, but it was in Major Patne at that, & anything beyond the valves wanted to float Me & Generous Motors put 3 motors in it B4 I hollered "Calfrope ! & got a Wagoneer Limited in '88. But except for the verdammte motor, its TOUGH to beat a Urbanizer, for what all they can haul. In fact, if you CAN'T haul something in one, you gotta aks yrself "Do I REALLY need this ?!?"...Boy, we had Big Fun in Sandy's Suburban Social club back in the day, too-I'm pretty sure a couple kids were conceived in it. Mine had Captain's Chairs, but I could still get a good 8-10 people in it. They'd all get in the "Back-Back"behind the 3rd seat where I couldn't swat 'em. I bought a Blaupunkt Berlin & 4 Jensen Triaxials & THAT tickled everybody, too. Had more fun in The Urbanizer than I've had in any other vehicle, before or since. Just wish that 6.2 litre Weasel hadn't been such an unmitigated POS-I might still have it...

Gotdangit, Fat Fingered Freddie- 4X4 & 3/4 tonne... This is what happens when you have "Cadillacs" & CAN'T EFFIN' SEE.....(GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...)

Well I ended up buying a used bumper and hitch off of a Yukon. The corner cross brace brackets were rustier than the ones on my old bumper so I performed the punishing act of swapping them....the carriage bolts they used have such a small squared off shank that removing them with anything other than a grinder is barely possible. End result turned out nice though.

Then the weekend before the 4th and into the 4th I ended up re-repairing the driver's side rust out on the rear quarter and rocker panel. The rocker had rusted out before and had a Bondo patch with a empty bag of cheese puffs and a purchase order ticket from a crummy Mexican body shop that did the the repair. They also fixed the quarter being mashed in in a collision the previous owners were in by covering it in 1/2" thick layer of body filler....

Seeing the old repairs failing and not wanting to fill holes bigger than a quarter with body filler, but not wanting to spend $500 on buying a welder or the time to learn to weld I came up with a unique solution. I cut squared off holes removing the rusted through sections of sheet metal and grinding the edges to bare metal. I then took the bare edges and tinned them with my 80W soldering iron in roughly 1/4" perimeter around the hole, did the same for a piece of 26guage sheet steel cut bigger than the hole, painted the untinned inside surface of the patch then soldered it on and covered it with body filler and paint to hide it...it went great on the quarter (no one can tell it was patched). The rocker was tough because the bottom section I was patching had a sharp bend that my initial approach could not properly duplicate, and it is not perfect but much harder to spot than a over 2' long rust hole... I considered re-doing it but with vacation (that truck went with on) under a week away I was lucky to complete it at all...
Passenger side is the same but the rust is a bit worse... I'm probably going to fix that too.

Well I ended up buying a used bumper and hitch off of a Yukon. The corner cross brace brackets were rustier than the ones on my old bumper so I performed the punishing act of swapping them....the carriage bolts they used have such a small squared off shank that removing them with anything other than a grinder is barely possible. End result turned out nice though.

Then the weekend before the 4th and into the 4th I ended up re-repairing the driver's side rust out on the rear quarter and rocker panel. The rocker had rusted out before and had a Bondo patch with a empty bag of cheese puffs and a purchase order ticket from a crummy Mexican body shop that did the the repair. They also fixed the quarter being mashed in in a collision the previous owners were in by covering it in 1/2" thick layer of body filler....

Seeing the old repairs failing and not wanting to fill holes bigger than a quarter with body filler, but not wanting to spend $500 on buying a welder or the time to learn to weld I came up with a unique solution. I cut squared off holes removing the rusted through sections of sheet metal and grinding the edges to bare metal. I then took the bare edges and tinned them with my 80W soldering iron in roughly 1/4" perimeter around the hole, did the same for a piece of 26guage sheet steel cut bigger than the hole, painted the untinned inside surface of the patch then soldered it on and covered it with body filler and paint to hide it...it went great on the quarter (no one can tell it was patched). The rocker was tough because the bottom section I was patching had a sharp bend that my initial approach could not properly duplicate, and it is not perfect but much harder to spot than a over 2' long rust hole... I considered re-doing it but with vacation (that truck went with on) under a week away I was lucky to complete it at all...
Passenger side is the same but the rust is a bit worse... I'm probably going to fix that too.
I saw the repair job you did on the one side and I was very impressed with your workmanship. Keep up the good work!

I saw the repair job you did on the one side and I was very impressed with your workmanship. Keep up the good work!

Thanks! That patch on the front passenger fender was the trial run preceding the refresh of the drivers' side. The rear quarter patch I did I actually got better than the repair I showed you (the rocker honestly ended up worse though).

The one you saw I could find the patch with light at the right angle...the one I did since then I can't even figure out exactly where the patch is anymore. :thmbsp:

The last time I did backyard hack bodywork was on a crappy van that I kept as a junk hauler , but it needed an inspection sticker that it couldn't get due to the rot holes . I knocked out the rot , backed up the holes with chicken coop wire , and then slathered the Bondo on . After a few layers were slathered on and knocked down smooth a bit of paint hid the butchery and the all important inspection sticker was granted . The Bondo rot disguise lasted the final few years I had it till the engine died and off to "Pick & Pull" it went :D

Well I finished the body work just over 2 weeks ago. I was planning to fix the low speed nusiance ABS trips it's had since summer, but something more pressing came up...
Hit the auto window opener today at Portillos drive through and my window stopped 3/4 way down with a metalic crunch... It will open a bit farther and go back to that point, but it won't close...
I'm guessing the motor is still OK and the regulator failed... won't be sure till I get it appart tonight.

Looks like I'm going to loose an evening of watching TV and sorting Sam's manuals...

Still say you really HAVEN'T lived until you've been the Daddy of an Urbanizer. or an Excursion... Go Big, or Go Home...No how much you think you've put in either one of them rigs, you HAVEN'T really filled one up... Guarantee it..

Still say you really HAVEN'T lived until you've been the Daddy of an Urbanizer. or an Excursion... Go Big, or Go Home...No how much you think you've put in either one of them rigs, you HAVEN'T really filled one up... Guarantee it..

Day after I finished the body work I got 29 file cabinet drawers full of Sam's plus a few boxes of overflow using the burban 200mile drive each way. I filled it. 3 people and all the drawers (I briefly considered strapping some of the cabinets to the roof, but didn't have enough rope and left them) that is pretty much the limit for cabin space and definitely close for the suspension (thing had a gangster lean and I had to top off the back tires). I averaged over 17mpg that trip...best mileage and closest to factory rating it's ever given me.
I did similar on the way back from the ETF in spring I bought over $3k worth of junk there and packed it as full as it would go before asking for help from a friend who I'll let choose whether to identify himself.
It's been to the family cabin a few times too... normally we come with 2/3 of what a Honda CR-V can shlep and come back with an overstuffed Honda... we've essentially done the same thing with the burban, but only because 2 of the trips I happened upon BIG TV consoles (the Sylvania slide theater and one of those big ass Corinthian CTC9s that used to live in the oval office) only 1 hour out of the way on the trip...those things eat a surprising amount of space...
I've had it near full going to swapmeets too. One Radiofest it was, me dad, my buddy Chris, and an older fellow from my local club I've done some resto work for who wanted to tag along plus 3 radio consoles and other junk to sell...I had to do 80-90 much of the way to make it semi on-time due to elderly guest being an hour late....
for all the empty commutes to work I make up for it by getting the max out of it on trips (and I still wish I had a trailer occasionally).

I did similar on the way back from the ETF in spring I bought over $3k worth of junk there and packed it as full as it would go before asking for help from a friend who I'll let choose whether to identify himself.One word: TRAILER!

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One word: TRAILER!

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Only reason I don't own one is ma... I'm completely forbidden from parking one on the property.
A few weeks ago I talked to her about going to buy a 46 Olds up near Appleton and discussed where I'm going to keep it on the property (and she was surprisingly happy with it) and then a week later when I'm about to go look at it she, without reason, changes her mind and goes to war with me.

I gotta get some more money together and move the hell out...The way things are going they are going to retire broke and I'm going to hate them enough (for the BS they are doing now) to stick them in the worst retirement home I can find when they come crawling to me for help...

Nothing sucks more than thinking everything has lined up and your going to look at and probably buy a car you've wanted since you were 9 years old (and have been shopping for for nearly the whole time) then having that stopped and the weekend turn into an argument... Except maybe ones fiancee getting shot the day before a wedding.....And this ain't the first time they pulled this rotten stunt!

a 46 Olds up near Appleton

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=199448&stc=1&d=1570656442

Yup.

Suh-Weet Oldsmobubble... Don't feel like the Lone Ranger, Tom... I lived at home for a long time after college to be a Helpful Son, did the yard, washed cars, this kind of stuff... What did it get me ? Nada. My dad made my Sweet, Loving sister the executor of the estate, & I basically ended up w/what the Little Boy shot at-Nada damn thing. I would NOT have treated her the way she treated ME, 'cause I still gotta Live With Myself. I WILL, however, hopefully someday get to tell her exactly what I think of her. She was into horses, they bought her umpteen horses over the years, tack-Saddles, bridles blankets, hospitalisations, medicines, trailers, trucks lodging at the finest hotels when they went to shows, an army's worth of hangers' on, lodging for those dead beats, trainers... There's a LOT of money in the Equine world, & my parents & sister sure as hell put their share into it... And I caught unbridled SHIT 'cause I Wasted Money by bringin' a Radidio or TV home every so often. Wastin' Yer Money, aren't you, son ?!? And I could turn off a TV or radio, not worry about it for a month, turn it back on, & chances are, it'd start sweetly singin' away to me. Do that w/a Hoss, & you'll have a smelly rottin' corpse to clean up...Horse GOTTA have 2 squares a day, LOTSA water, & it still is subject to keel over on you, for no apparent reason. And no matter how nice & loving you are to the futhermuckin' thing, it can get a wild hair, & kick the FIRE outta you, bite yr ear off, or R'ar up & possibly KILL you. A TV or radio can kill you, too, but if you use a sliver of sense around one, you'll likely be fine & dandy..

:D Sandy's post about Horses made me laugh , the Horse having a mind of it's own is the #1 reason the only Horse I ever trusted was Mr. Ed . For real , I wouldn't get on a real horse because of the whole mind of it's own thing , so I rode iron Horses (motorcycles) instead .

;) With a motorcycle there was only one brain , mine , in control of the throttle !

:) PS , Tom , I'm sorry as Hell to hear about not getting the car , "the one that got away" always sucks ....

Back when I had the body shop we changed so many of those regulators that I almost started keeping one in stock. They didn't break as often as the inside door handles, though. (though I can't remember now if it was this generation that ate handles or the mid/late 90's). Hardly ever a bad motor, always the regulator.

Thinking of old cars, I've had some I didn't keep long but it no case has there been a vehicle that I now regret owning. I liked them all one way or the other. And, yes, there are quite a few that I regret not buying.

I got it changed just fine. The motor survived, but barely. The motor just barely had the guts to close the window with the new regulator (I did try to work it closed a few times before getting the parts) so I replaced both the motor and the regulator (seems to be working good and fast albeit the factory motor was quieter). The steel bike cable in the regulator was frayed and jammed up the works (the metallic crunch I heard). It seems like crummy engineering to me using what amounts to a beefed-up motorized radio slide-rule dial string system in duplicate for a window regulator...If I had infinite time/money/motivation I'd probably try to take a gear arm mech like whats in my lincoln and adapt it.

I'm also beginning to better understand why the audio system sucks really bad (I remember renting one of these new in 03 and it sounding good). The driver's side woofer has no cone suspension left, and the coil is open...Darn thing has probably been entertaining me mostly on tweeters for the past 2 years. I think the rear passenger woofer only has bad foam since it distorts at highish volume...There is probably an intermittent voice coil or two because I've had channels lose and gain strength and change tone on me.
I couldn't find anything at the auto parts store with the same size normal metal speaker frame to pop into the plastic mount bracket...I'm going to have to shop around a bit, or hack up the mounts, but I'd like to minimize hack work...For now there is no drivers woofer...Not like it makes any difference from the last few months of there being a dead lump of metal mounted there.

Those cable-drive regulators started showing up a lot in the late 90s and I guess most everyone uses them now. Lighter weight and maybe their cheaper to make. Notorious for self-destructing, though some brands hold up better than others. I used to save the good motors when I replaced a hole assembly but found that I hardly ever had a regulator outlast a motor. One time I installed an aftermarket regulator and a year or so later the motor failed. That's when I discovered that the manufacturer used a different style gear and the OEM motor wouldn't fit. They didn't sell their motor separate so we had to replace the whole works again! I'd say as far as longevity the best you can do is keep things lubed up.

I'm not a fan of the cable regulators, the ones in 00s GM passenger cars are objective trash. The ones in my Miata are holding up 18 years later, and the metal scissor ones in my other car/truck are fine of course. All my Toyota cars had metal scissor regulators and worked fine 20-30 years later.

I've been using my Pug 505 wagon as a fragile cargo hauler lately, I took some condenser mics, stands, cables and some rackmount gear up to work for a live gig on friday, my supervisor called and said the his exploder wouldn't start and you'll have to pick up the double bass we rented for the gig (A traveling Argentine Tango Cuarteto that can't haul a bass with 'em). So I folded the seats down and had plenty of room for that 7 ft tall $30000 overgrown fiddle, not to mention the soft suspension able to float over the duke city's sh!tty roads like a magic carpet........

Damn replacement window regulator failed (this morning) in under a month after install...I'm considerably annoyed.
It came from Autozone and was a Doorman part IIRC...I gotta try and find a different brand...I refuse to be in a position where I gotta change the damn thing once a month.

I've always been told to opt for used parts when Doorman is the only source for new parts. They are typically OEM matches but the quality is not there.

I've always been told to opt for used parts when Doorman is the only source for new parts. They are typically OEM matches but the quality is not there.

I don't have time for tracking down used. I have to drive it tomorrow, and I don't want to deal with a taped shut or stuck open window...I already had to drive more than 50 miles with it stuck open today...I don't want to do that again.

Well, they gave another one free under part warranty...I have slightly higher hopes for this one. The factory part had been sprayed with white lithium grease some years ago (someone hit the door hinge pins with the same stuff) before I bought it. The replacement that died only had grease in the cable sleaves and would not rise as fast as it would drop...I added a ton of white lithium grease to the slider tracks of today's replacement where the metal cable rubs against them (like the factory original had) and the current replacement seems to rise and fall at the same speed and do so more freely than the last replacement...At the very least I hope it holds till spring...If it fails again in under a year I'm just returning it for a refund and looking for factory used or a different make replacement.

I don't have time for tracking down used. I have to drive it tomorrow, and I don't want to deal with a taped shut or stuck open window...I already had to drive more than 50 miles with it stuck open today...I don't want to do that again.

It sure was great for hauling large things yesterday. :thmbsp:
Dave.

Get one of the real Buses:

(this one is a real factory 1 ton)

Get one of the real Buses:

(this one is a real factory 1 ton)

I sort of like the older burbans (especially the late 40s-60's models) but ma hates the older ones than mine to the point where I'd be evicted if I got one.... granted if I keep saving I'll have a place of my own in a year or two. Besides it is good to have one car made within my life time to be a reliable winter commuter.

Things were going well till they weren't...
So today I tried to fix the 4WD and rear window and had 2 very different results.

I suspected the front differential actuator was bad and when I tried to remove it it snapped in half leaving the threaded portion in the axle... This video shows how it should have gone if it didn't snap...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8zz3-dMjqLc

Not sure what to do about it now...part of me thinks I should heat the metal till the threaded portion of the old plastic actuator melts and peel the soft plastic out with a screwdriver driver but I'm worried it might damage the front diff/axle assembly. Is that a good move? Is there a better way? Should I just take it to a mechanic and let it be their problem?

I decided to replace the actuator after getting all 4 wheels off the ground on jack stands and running it. This was prompted by it behaving like the front wheels weren't receiving power in snow last winter.
With all 4 wheels off the ground in 4wd mode(s). The rear wheels and front drive shaft were spinning but the front wheels were dead still. The front drive shaft also spins in 2WD mode and I believe that the actuator disconnects the front wheels in 2WD mode.

The successful thing I did today was make my first visit to a junkyard to get a new rear lift window and install it. I went to the Milwaukee LKQ rip-a-part (atleast that seems to be what some folks are there for) and found a good rear window. I was looking for some other interior parts (like a spare OEM window regulator) but nothing seemed to be present or an improvement on what I had. I ended up exploring the truck and GM sections and a bit of the Japanese section... Would have liked to explore more but didn't want to waste too much time.
The new window needed a defroster contact resoldered to the glass but otherwise was in good shape and a pain free install....

Why replace the rear window you ask....well last winter I was using it as a heated lacquer drying room and wanted to air it out when I drove it so I drove a few miles with the rear window open and the passenger hinge broke off....it is factory glued to the glass and I decided (now that the weather is nice enough to fix it) that regluing would be less reliable than a good used part....now that annoying rear window air leak is fixed.

So it's been pretty good since then. One of the tail gate gas struts failed and got changed. The transfer case rear cover corroded a leak hole from the outside in and I had the FUN of pulling the transfer case and swapping the cover... Discovered the transmission rear main seal was leaky but instead of fixing it or properly replacing the gasket between the transmission and transfer case that stopped the rear main seal from leaking onto the ground I put it back together and have been adding around a quart a month to it...I need to fix that this summer.
My rust repairs are starting to bubble so I'll have to address those again.

But what's really driving me nuts is a fuel system problem...A few years ago it used to be that on -20 winter days if there was less than 1/4 tank it wouldn't start because it wouldn't have fuel to the injectors. It's gotten to the point it won't start at any temp if there's less than 1/4 tank. Now if you start with more you can drive it to a hair above Empty and it'll be fine, but if you park it for a day even with 1/8 tank it won't start till you add 2-5gals. Anyone ever seen this before on this era of GM truck?
I'd like to find the root cause rather than load up the parts cannon.

So it's been pretty good since then. One of the tail gate gas struts failed and got changed. The transfer case rear cover corroded a leak hole from the outside in and I had the FUN of pulling the transfer case and swapping the cover... Discovered the transmission rear main seal was leaky but instead of fixing it or properly replacing the gasket between the transmission and transfer case that stopped the rear main seal from leaking onto the ground I put it back together and have been adding around a quart a month to it...I need to fix that this summer.
My rust repairs are starting to bubble so I'll have to address those again.

But what's really driving me nuts is a fuel system problem...A few years ago it used to be that on -20 winter days if there was less than 1/4 tank it wouldn't start because it wouldn't have fuel to the injectors. It's gotten to the point it won't start at any temp if there's less than 1/4 tank. Now if you start with more you can drive it to a hair above Empty and it'll be fine, but if you park it for a day even with 1/8 tank it won't start till you add 2-5gals. Anyone ever seen this before on this era of GM truck?
I'd like to find the root cause rather than load up the parts cannon.

I have absolutely seen this before on a GM car, the fuel pump was weak and eventually failed outright. A new pump got the car running again, and able to start reliably no matter how little fuel was in the tank (above empty, of course). Just for the hell of it, have you put a fuel pressure gauge on the injector rail to see what the pressure reading is (or isn't) when it won't start?

All I have is a vacuum guage... I'll need to buy or rent the correct equipment to check pressure.

I started looking in the Chilton's and it seems like there's only one pump and it's in the tank. So either the pump is failing or the pickup is damaged. I'll be getting to the bottom of this soon.


I forgot an amusing tale from the 2021 June ETF...The AC compressor siezed about 3 hours in going there in 87 degree weather. It ended up having monsterous belt squeak. After driving back with NO AC in 90 degree weather with a monsterous sunburn I got at the meet I changed the compressor/got the AC working and figured out how to change the serpentine belts...good times.

So it's been pretty good since then. One of the tail gate gas struts failed and got changed. The transfer case rear cover corroded a leak hole from the outside in and I had the FUN of pulling the transfer case and swapping the cover... Discovered the transmission rear main seal was leaky but instead of fixing it or properly replacing the gasket between the transmission and transfer case that stopped the rear main seal from leaking onto the ground I put it back together and have been adding around a quart a month to it...I need to fix that this summer.
My rust repairs are starting to bubble so I'll have to address those again.

But what's really driving me nuts is a fuel system problem...A few years ago it used to be that on -20 winter days if there was less than 1/4 tank it wouldn't start because it wouldn't have fuel to the injectors. It's gotten to the point it won't start at any temp if there's less than 1/4 tank. Now if you start with more you can drive it to a hair above Empty and it'll be fine, but if you park it for a day even with 1/8 tank it won't start till you add 2-5gals. Anyone ever seen this before on this era of GM truck?
I'd like to find the root cause rather than load up the parts cannon.

I have a 2003 tahoe that i bought new at around 60,000 miles it started the no start at 1/4 fuel in the tank. i never let it get below 1/4 tank but if i do 1 gallon will get it started. it now has 86,000 miles on it and runs great never had a problem with it, not going to fix untill it will not start .

I've owned three Suburbans since 1993: 1984 (diesel), 1990 and 2002. I thought about my battle with the radio speakers in the 2002 after reading Tom C.'s post on the subject.

It started the day I bought the 2002 used in 2007. The RF main speaker had an open coil. Since then I have replaced all four of the speakers in the doors, all due to the same problem: open voice coils. I took a couple of then apart. It looks like the person winding the voice coil put a serious bend in the wire just as it comes off the coil form. After many vibrations back and forth, the wire fatigues and breaks. I have also replaced the foam surrounds. There is a company that makes replacements in FL and they are quire easy to replace. I even replaced the surround on the big sub-woofer in the very rear of the vehicle. Try finding a 2 ohm speaker that big!

I have finally started to replace the inferior GM speakers with some from Crutchfield. They are still going strong.

We'll leave the diesel for another post. It's a story unto itself.

You're reminding me I never posted about my 2 repairs this summer.

Before going on vacation I embarked on the nightmare changing the sending unit because rust. A 2 hour job became a 4 day job. I rented a fuel pressure gauge and after a couple weeks trying to catch the problem (found it would often go away on the second consecutive long crank when I installed the guage between cranks).
Ordered the expensive Delphi Flex Fuel pump (because my truck supports flex fuel and I wanted to try E85 as it was the only thing close to affordable this summer that didn't involve siphoning). Found some YouTube videos that made it look easy. It went well till I tried to separate the plastic tank line quick connects from the rusted steel lines on the chassis. They were SO badly stuck together I ended up bending the steel and making it leak. I finally figured out that if I unclipped the tanks lines from the sending unit (easy) and from the tank line hold down clips (also easy, but not intuitive) I could have saved myself breaking leaks into the rusty line.
Unfortunately that metal fuel line is a discontinued part that is out of stock everywhere.
I got lucky on the pressure line in that it's only about 1' with 2 bends between the plastic tank line and the filter wasn't too hard to make a new line... Doorman had a kit with 2 pipes one with the filter screw fitting on one end, and a second pipe with a quick connect fitting on both ends. A 3/8 compression union fitting and some bending got me a convincing replacement. Side note bending 3/8" steel without kinking it is like asking an Olympic body builder to lift a truck by the sheet metal with denting it. My bending tool did more bending than the stinking tubing I was using it to bend!
Speaking of the filter, I planned to replace it, but there isn't enough room between the body of the filter and the quick connect fitting to insert the quick connect removal tool...How the hell does a shop technician change the darn thing?...Magic?
I was praying the return line which I hadn't snapped off with gorilla strength didn't have enough damage to leak...My prayers weren't answered. I then started looking for a place on the steel line where I could install a union fitting. (Insert sarcastic laughter) there was a place near the filter that MIGHT have been clean enough to install a union but it was so close to the frame and rusty bends between that I knew if I tried to bend it out an inch to attach a union it'd snap and leak at the bend...the next clean place was above the transmission...I was able to make it work but in-between there was a crimped in flex line I had to somehow replicate...I was smart enough to use nickel-copper brake line for everything but the quick connect end (more steel HARD line from doorman) I ran the hard line to the points where the flex line should be and used a brake line flaring tool to double flare the ends then slipped generic rubber fuel hose over the flares and hoose clamped it down.....Ooh did I mention I did better than half of the return line outside, at NIGHT, IN THE RAIN....I had good times contemplating my life choices a few days before I had to pack the Burban for vacation.

I almost tried to fix my transmission leak before vacation (had to pull the from drive shaft to install the return pipe union so I was roughly 1/3 of the way in to the leak fix work), but I was worried I didn't have enough time and after fixing the fuel system shortly after finishing the transmission swap on my Oldsmobile I had had entirely too much of doing involved auto repair...
Then due to 4th of July fireworks being delayed 5 days (due to predicted rain we never got) we pushed vacation back enough I almost did it anyway.
I ended up wishing I had fixed the leak because I put more than 4 quarts in over vacation, and the repair (dropping the transfer case and replacing a seal) was easier than the blasted sending unit job... Despite having to remove and install both drive shafts, half a dozen electrical connectors and a 30-50lb transfer case from under the car on jack stands...I had done this basic job once before to fix a transfer case leak from corrosion so I remembered how to do it, and probably was more efficient than the first time. I literally got it done in a day. I was lucky....in a way my truck has the 4L60... Apparently the the 4L60 4WD trans has no rear shaft seal (the 4L80 does) so I had only one seal instead of 2 to change...The bad news about that was that basically the seal between the transfer case and transmission was the only thing that kept the trans fluid from leaking out the back of the trans....I really have only my self to blame that leak. Back IIRC in 2019 when I fixed the transfer case leak I hadn't realized I needed the seal, was on a time crunch, and couldn't find an open parts store that stocked it the night I put it back together so I added some sillycone to the old damaged gasket bolted it up and said "if I have a small transmission leak I can live with monitoring it and topping it off from the engine compartment dipstick, and it's better than a transfer case leak I can't even check the level of without jacking up the truck and wallowing under with a wrench"... Of course that leak was much smaller a few years ago.
Glad it's fixed anyways. My truck didn't leak a drop of fluid for a couple months since then, but I'm worried I might have an oil leak or oil consumption....Since a week ago it was low enough to trip a warning light and it never lost measurable oil between changes before.

It's always something...
Though it gets points, for never leaving me stranded. Last year when the battery failed in winter It had the courtesy to do the warning die at an oil change place that could jump me, and then the "okay time to fix this" second time in the driveway.

Tom C., Too bad we don't live closer. We have almost identical Suburbans with two exceptions. Mine is RWD and has always lived in the South. I, too, have Flex Fuel which has the screwy fuel filter. I was lucky, I have a friend who is a professional mechanic and has all of the specialized tools. I had already bought two different tools trying to get the fuel filter off to no avail and finally borrowed the right tool. It's a Lisle 35000 Fuel Disconnect tool for GM. Amazon wants $15.99. Well worth it.

Before you try E-85, check the 12% Ethanol Rule. You will get 12% less mileage with Ethanol than with gasoline. If E-85 isn't at least 12% cheaper than gasoline, it won't be to your financial advantage.

I've also replaced the fuel pump, so I feel your pain. It's a bear to get that large (31 gal) fuel tank out, even with help.

Tom C., Too bad we don't live closer. We have almost identical Suburbans with two exceptions. Mine is RWD and has always lived in the South. I, too, have Flex Fuel which has the screwy fuel filter. I was lucky, I have a friend who is a professional mechanic and has all of the specialized tools. I had already bought two different tools trying to get the fuel filter off to no avail and finally borrowed the right tool. It's a Lisle 35000 Fuel Disconnect tool for GM. Amazon wants $15.99. Well worth it.

Before you try E-85, check the 12% Ethanol Rule. You will get 12% less mileage with Ethanol than with gasoline. If E-85 isn't at least 12% cheaper than gasoline, it won't be to your financial advantage.

I've also replaced the fuel pump, so I feel your pain. It's a bear to get that large (31 gal) fuel tank out, even with help.

Thanks for the info.
I've been basically using E85 or half a tank of it and half regular every fill up since independence day. For the worst parts of the ongoing gas spike there was close to a dollar a gallon difference here. I'm starting a new job soon and will be less worried about going Bankrupt on gas going forward, but you can bet I'll take advantage of E85 if the price difference is advantageous...Out here they pretty add 10-15% ethanol to all gas so for stuff NOT designed for ethanol there's no escaping it.

Since the old pump still worked albeit begrudgingly on less than 1/4 tank what I did to make the tank less strenuous to move was unhook the return line from the regulator on the engine (apparently half way through our generation of suburban they moved the regulator to the tank and eliminated the return line), from the return line clamp a piece of rubber hose over the regulator outlet and run it into a 5gal fuel can (I had a second identical can and a couple 1 gal tanks Incase 1/4 tank was more gals than expected), started the engine and let the truck drain its own tank mostly into the external fuel tanks. The internal tank is a LOT lighter bone dry. I did have to add 2-3 gals for on the ground leak testing so it's final reinstall was a bit heavier than removal.

It did once give a struggling start with the new pump. It probably has 2k miles on the new pump now. If it does it again I'll probably get that tool and swap my filter. Thanks for telling me about it.:thmbsp:

In Georgia, Ethanol is only about 10 cents a gallon cheaper than regular gas so it is not a bargain considering the decrease in gas mileage. We also get 10% ethanol mixed in with the regular gas. The only good thing is that our Suburbans have sensors to tell the amount of ethanol in the fuel and adjust the rate of injection accordingly.

I struggled for a long time before I went to see my friend with the good fuel filter tool. Literally one flick of the wrist and he had the filter removed with the Lisle tool.

I used a transmission jack to lower the partially filled tank. Why did they eliminate fuel tank drain plugs? I know, I know, money. I hope i never get a batch of contaminated gas! A 31 gallon tank is a beast.

I own two diesel automobiles. Diesel is about $1 more per gallon here due to our fuel tax structure. At least they get good fuel mileage.

It's possible they eliminated drain plugs to prevent fuel theft too. A locking gas cap only stops the dumbest of thieves if one can just reach under with a wrench and drain the tank.

Never heard of anyone stealing gas via the drain plug. You could get covered in gas trying to put the plug back in. I guess you could just let all the gas flow out of the tank. Most folks stealing some gas for joyrides use a siphon.

So it's been awhile. To jump straight to the point anyone know where to get a ~7" long 3/8" high pressure fuel supply hose with the quick connect ends that will replace the one that goes between the fuel filter and the flex fuel sensor?

Yesterday I noticed that the car was leaking gas badly when running . I traced it to a section of 5/16" rubber fuel hose that I used to replace a flex section of the return line...That new fuel hose rotted in 3 years (yeesh) but I had some fnew stuff from fuel system repairs I had done in my Lincoln earlier in the week and was able to replace it to stop the gusher.... However while I was under there I noticed that the adjacent fuel supply pressure hose segment between the filter and flex fuel sensor had significant corrosion on the metal crimps that hold the quick connect ends to the hose and that those crimps are damp. They're not measurably leaking yet but that quick connect hose needs to be replaced. Anyone know what those quick connectors are called so I can search generic, or know of an affordable off the shelf generic?

I was able to find a hose kit on rockauto that appears to contain the piece I need....But it comes with FAR more than that and costs $300....I don't feel like spending that much on a large kit that I only need one piece from.

As far as other goings on with it. I gave it a new set of plugs and wires last year...The old set was original and survived 1.75x it's rated life.
I installed some manifold clamps to deal with manifold leaks from snapped bolts...
The window regulator failed this spring and I popped in a used factory part to avoid the AutoZone doorman window regulator roulette I deal with last time.
The flap on the second row seats that makes the floor flat when the seats are down is only holding on by 1 rivet (which is an annoying failure) and the radio and temp compass display on the mirror are starting to flake out.
Last fall instead of bondoing the rotten front fenders I found a junkyard set that only had rust in the inner fenders, patched that, painted them to match and installed them... Also found a color matched hood that wasn't peeling clear and installed it.
A few years ago I replaced the muffler and this spring the hangers for it rotted apart and the body of the muffler busted free of it's input pipe...I was able to weld it back together (except for a mostly rubber hanger that also rusted in half and was replaced) managed to weld the break in the muffler on the bottom half which shut it up... kinda annoyed a newer muffler would fail like that.
I changed the driver's seat leather for a new reproduction off Amazon and it's probably the best thing I've done for the truck.

The list is endless. I kinda want to get a rust free southern Escalade of this generation for a summer car and keep the Burban for a winter beater until it rusts in half... which I'm guessing will be in the next 2-7 years depending on how much winter driving I end up doing. Road salt sucks!