so waht ya doin today?

[Ian]

@CZ93X62, Disconnecting battery power also resets all of the learned adaptive strategies and mode 6 non-continuous monitors in your engine and transmission computers, which is far more of a concern than clock or radio settings.

Next time, take a 9 Volt battery and hook it in parallel with the 12 Volt battery via small alligator clip jumpers before you disconnect power. You can find a main power bus stud in the underhood power distribution block or a "jump start" stud and hook the 9V up there, or if there is a power supply plug inside the vehicle which remains powered when the key is out, you can buy a doohickey which plugs in directly to feed power backwards into the main system and provide keep-alive memory to all the computers while you do your terminal work. This is SOP in the industry to we don't piss off your wife, either. Just make certain not to open a door after the main battery is disconnected, and unplug your underhood lamp to reduce draw on the 9V.

 

[fiver]

Eagles do the winter time roadside cleanup around here.
get them and a few Ravens on the job and you only have a pile of bones left in a day or so.

 

[CZ93X62]

Ian--yeah, I figured that engine & trans puters wouldn't like the power-down very much. I let a shop do the battery renewal in my truck in 2017, and will again this year. Once Marie's Jeep has need of battery R&R (one year away), I will let a shop do that too. Automakers have succeeded in making their products practically impossible for an owner to maintain at home, so I have stopped fighting it and just let the shops take care of it. I have been physically unable to do much of that anyway since July 2018 when this leg amputation sequence started, so there's THAT too.

 

[Ian]

Not impossible, you just need a little simple info for some things.

My "favorite" at the dealership was the boomerang comeback complaint of "You just (insert repair involving battery disconnection, which is pretty much EVERY repair if you follow manual procedures) and now my car (shifts funny, hesitates, runs rough, lacks power, etc)". The problem is a full drive cycle is required to restore all the learned parameters and monitors, and that might take 200 miles and a week of driving under specific conditions. You done screwed it, hope the service advisor is able to convey that info to the customer so they understand what's going on.

When you do take your vehicles to the dealership, specifically request that your keep-alive memory is maintained during the repair. Well, unless they're doing something which requires the whole system be powered down for safety, which can be part of a lot of common, minor repairs too.

 

[fiver]

surprised they don't recommend it for checking the oil now days.

 

[uncle jimbo]

Went to town this morning in a snow storm to sign off on a piece of property I have a lien on so it can be sold, stopped at the flower shop and the wife and I found her some nice flowers, came home in the snow storm and feed and cared for the goats, grabbed the empty garbage can off the road and came in the house and it is still snowing. Called it a day and not going back outside. Find something to do in the house.

 

[Bret4207]

More like $16.50, plus retirement and insurance, and all the OT you can stand during the rut.

Our town guys make more than that, plus healthcare. State and County make over $20@ hour I'd imagine.

 

[Bret4207]

Got me another 'Burb! A '02 with 104K! I'm a happy camper now!

 

[JonB]

@CZ93X62, Disconnecting battery power also resets all of the learned adaptive strategies and mode 6 non-continuous monitors in your engine and transmission computers, which is far more of a concern than clock or radio settings.

>>>SNIP

How new of a vehicle is this "disconnectedness" to be concerned with?

I didn't notice anything with my 2005 Toyota Matrix...and I am one of those people who notice changes in vehicle driving/handling/response.

 

[Rick]

That'll be my back 40................will be heading over to Rick's place to load it to bring it here. After, I have a sandwich, that is.

Yep, John came over & we loaded Bambi into my truck & it's now over at his place. Seems John has pity for hungry yotes. Or something.

 

[Ian]

Jon, anything with OBD II, i.e. 1996 and newer.

Bret, you'll like that 02 'Burban. Hopefully you got the 5.3L engine in that one, very solid engine. You'll do a transmission in the next 50K miles, maybe have to replace the cats (especially left side upstream) and probably rebuild the driver's seat and front end as well, but parts are cheap.

 

[Bret4207]

We'll see Ian. The trans and rust was the issue with the '95. The 5.3 is the small block 350, right? Can't understand why we can't stick with designation people are familiar with! This one is a NY vehicle, so rust will probably get it before anything major happens. The price was right though AND this one is 4wd. Sadly it wears 16" tires, something I have none extra of. There's a whole set of 15's on Chebby rims in new condition off my old Burb in the shed. Tires are decent, body is decent, it's all decent. Not minty, but not a rust bucket. Solves several problems for me and my family...and the price was right! The Escalade was nicer but a Caddy with a bit over 100K and a couple dent for $3K in this area...something fishy there.

Long as we're talking cars, and you being in the biz, what is your preference- having an auto tranny rebuilt or buying a rebuilt tranny? A lot of guys have rock solid opinions in both directions. I haven't a clue in either case, but I lean towards a name brand rebuilt.

 

[Mitty38]

Getting things together thanks to a fine band of fellows.

 

[KeithB]

just got back from teaching my first class. Went OK and I have six students interested in working for us to help move the shop. I'll talk to them more about it Friday when we have our first lab.

The apprentice and I spent this morning getting the machines ready to move. Got a call at lunch from the movers, they will be here tomorrow at 7 am. If it was bolted down it's now unbolted, if it was wired in it's disconnected. We secured the axes on all the CNC machines before we pulled the wiring.

Tomorrow morning the first thing we need to do is take the roll up garage door off and remove the material above the door so we can get the CNC mill out. We had to do this to get it in, now we will do it to remove it. Got a guy hired who wil replace the header, siding, interior panels, and the door so we will try to minimize any damage.

Once the door is off I don't think we'll have any problems moving stuff out. I only hope it doesn't rain for the next dfay and a half.

 

[Ian]

Bret, the 5.3L is a completely new generation of smallblock engine called third generation. Extremely good engines in every way, will make you throw rocks at the old TBI 350.

4L60 and 4L80E transmissions. Here's my experience: It's all a crap shoot. Unless you know a really good transmission tech personally and know how he handles tools and delicate parts, go factory reman. With factory reman you're buying a warranty and nationwide service at any dealership. You'll oribably need that warranty because my recent experience with GM rebuilt transmissions is the units are recycled junk. Most reputable independent rebuilders won't take a GM reman in for a core, the bad ones with warped stuff, deep scratches across the case lands, worn out bores, internal cracks, and porosity just keep getting rebuilt and boomeranged back into the system over and over again. Good independent builders check this stuff and do upgrades. Key is GOOD independent rebuilder. Price is about the same either way for a turnkey job. To get the GM 3/100 warranty you have to pay a dealer or approved independent to install it and will likely need to buy a radiator and cooler as oart of the job.

Most transmission guys I know, and I've known a hundred or more at least, think they're God's gift to the craft and pride themselves on how fast they can slap a unit together more than anything else. I can think of exactly two that I would hire to do work for me personally. There are real pros out there who genuinely care about the quality of their work and have superior knowledge and attention to detail, but you have to find them and it's really hard to judge them unless you see them work. Most rebuilding outfits will tell you how great their product is but the truth is the bottom line drives the whole deal and all they care about is their unit making it past 12K miles, which means $7/hr monkeys slamming stuff together on an assembly line with the cheapest parts on the market while they daydream of beer and broads after work.

I just finished building another a 4L60E for our shop and took in 4L80E from one of our customers to do sort of on the side, will be tearing it down tonight for inspection and ordering parts. Short version, I'm the parts department manager for a truck shop and the only units I can recommend to our customers while looking them in the eye, based on comeback history alone not to mention a ton of other factors, are the ones I put together myself. Having the original, unmolested unit and the vehicle it came out of for diagnosis eliminates inheriting some other rebuilder's problem. Yes, I am God's Gift to the GM automatic transmission! (JUST KIDDING!!!)

 

[KeithB]

Just for nostalgia I did a quick video of a walk through of the shop we're leaving. Might help illustrate what I mean by crowded.

 

[Rick]

Gonna have more room than ya know what to do with.
Now with all the extra room you have you'll have to buy a whole bunch of new machines to filler up. Kind of make the new place like home don't ya know.

 

[KeithB]

Well, I'm watching the machinery auction sites. I'd like to have a slightly larger CNC mill with a 10,000 RPM spindle and a small turret lathe. Gotta pay for the building for a while as our business grows but if I could get a big job that would pay for a substantial part of either one I'd get a loan and go for it. I've seen several of each for $35 to 50k. In an age where a new contractor's work truck costs about the same I don't have any trouble justifying the purchase

 

[Bret4207]

Turret lathes seem to go pretty cheap up here Keith. Of course these are older machines and may not be what you think of as desirable at all, especially if you mean computerized. I'm happy for you finally getting moved. This has been a long trip for you and you showed a lot more perseverance than some would have at times. Best of luck for a quick and trouble free move!

Ian, you paint a rather gloomy picture of the rebuilt trans world. I know one guy, retired cop I used to work with, that has a good rep, but he works when and if he feels like it. I've seen him putting an auto trans together and it's like a surgical unit. Hope I never need to cross this line.

Thanks for the info on the 5.3. This truck will need a little tweaking and adjustment, I'm sure. If I can get a few years out of it I will be happy. I really can't tell you how much I despise this states "bare roads" policy. The amount of salt they spread is staggering, and it all ends up in the water system eventually. The things is does to cars and trucks is just awful. But, the insurance industry makes sure the politicians that work for them stay in office long enough to ensure these policies remain in effect. After all, people need to be able to drive 70-75mph in January on a rural 2 lane, even if the speed limit is 55! Gotta lower the bar to cover the idiots and lousy drivers. Any car more than 6 or 7 years old is going to show the effects, and many far newer cars have plenty of rust that just hasn't broken through the paint yet. I really want to get a Fluid Film kit for doing our cars and trucks. The hard part is you have to have the warm weather to get up inside the frame rails and blow out all the sand/salt and dirt. When weather like that is here I'm usually so busy I tend to forget the projects like that. Oh, for a large heated garage with a lift!!! The things I could do!

 

[freebullet]

A lift in a shop just means you'll have more projects & less time. There will be a non running vehicle on it every time you need it for another vehicle. Ask me how I know.

5.3 is purty good, know of a couple here that made it nearly 400k. Watch for lifter noise. If you hear any lifter noise fix immediately. Know of 4+ that fragged the motor due to bad lifters sending bits through the motor. I prefer the 6.0 but they have their own issues to.

The 4l60e is good for 150-200k & the 4l80e is getting 200-300k. Have 2 4l80e with 200+ still going strong. The 4l80e was mostly 3/4 tons or bigger. I ain't taking either apart!

I've taken to cleaning them up underneath. Wire brushing the crusty bits & spraying or brushing chassis saver on. Only way to stave off the effects of salt brine. Best performance been from the silver aluminum chassis saver. It uses aluminum as a filler (rather than organic fillers) in a polyester resin much like the hammerite Ian used on his fence.

Not a fun process! Worthwhile if you use trucks hard & don't like rust.