CarMech1969
Full Member
Hello Avy fans!
CarMech1969 back at you with another Avalanche repair adventure.
The 'adventure" is mainly due to the fact that parts availability sucks these days.
Especially up here in Canada, the so-called Great White North.
Our winters beat the crap out of vehicles.
This past winter was an exceptionally bad and very snowy one (we even beat Montreal QC for total snowfall accumulation...which rarely happens!).
The Avalanche has soldiered through it all like a champ.
Anyhow, the other day - I had the wheels off to swap back on my aluminum wheels (which I use for summer), and while I was at it, it was the perfect opportunity to inspect the brakes, grease the zerks, change the oil etc. For some weird reason, the inside surface of my left front rotor was a jacked up pile of rust. I found out that this condition is known as "rustjacking". The brake pad on that side got a ton more wear (rust is brittle, but very hard (as many of you probably already know).
Due to the fact that I was not planning to do anything with the brakes, I had no parts on hand - so I did a redneck resurface of the brake rotor to make it useable.
And...imagine that....my galloping brake pedal is now gone!
This of course is just a temporary measure to make the truck driveable until I get around to putting new brakes on it.
Then - if that wasn't enough, I go to inspect the rear brakes, and find a broken leaf spring. Oof...
I then find out that the leaf spring pack for the Avalanche is a unique part number, and not common to other Chevy trucks (of course they had to make it different).
As a result, zero availability - and if you DO find it, they want a king's ransom for it (a.k.a. "stupid money"). Seems to be a perpetual theme in this day and age.
Several days later, I went down to the local spring shop just around the corner from where I live.
They were able to make a new leaf for it, and repair the spring pack.
Parts and labour was $250 Canuck bucks (which is probably $100 US now lol).
When life hands you lemons, gotta make lemonade....
Get Er Dun...
CarMech1969 back at you with another Avalanche repair adventure.
The 'adventure" is mainly due to the fact that parts availability sucks these days.
Especially up here in Canada, the so-called Great White North.
Our winters beat the crap out of vehicles.
This past winter was an exceptionally bad and very snowy one (we even beat Montreal QC for total snowfall accumulation...which rarely happens!).
The Avalanche has soldiered through it all like a champ.
Anyhow, the other day - I had the wheels off to swap back on my aluminum wheels (which I use for summer), and while I was at it, it was the perfect opportunity to inspect the brakes, grease the zerks, change the oil etc. For some weird reason, the inside surface of my left front rotor was a jacked up pile of rust. I found out that this condition is known as "rustjacking". The brake pad on that side got a ton more wear (rust is brittle, but very hard (as many of you probably already know).
Due to the fact that I was not planning to do anything with the brakes, I had no parts on hand - so I did a redneck resurface of the brake rotor to make it useable.
And...imagine that....my galloping brake pedal is now gone!
This of course is just a temporary measure to make the truck driveable until I get around to putting new brakes on it.
Then - if that wasn't enough, I go to inspect the rear brakes, and find a broken leaf spring. Oof...
I then find out that the leaf spring pack for the Avalanche is a unique part number, and not common to other Chevy trucks (of course they had to make it different).
As a result, zero availability - and if you DO find it, they want a king's ransom for it (a.k.a. "stupid money"). Seems to be a perpetual theme in this day and age.
Several days later, I went down to the local spring shop just around the corner from where I live.
They were able to make a new leaf for it, and repair the spring pack.
Parts and labour was $250 Canuck bucks (which is probably $100 US now lol).
When life hands you lemons, gotta make lemonade....
Get Er Dun...
