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What did you do to your Avalanche today?

Back in the day I never put brake shields back on my trucks and never had any issues with the brakes in mud, snow, or gravel. Now, after doing some research since my shields are rusted near gone, I'm wondering if it's actually a necessary item after all. I see a lot of "it keeps brake dust off the wheels" type of arguments but that is a very minor concern for me overall. My concern is heat. I only see them as something that retains heat around the brakes. Even that isn't a serious concern.

Again, back in the day I did have stones lodge in the disc brakes very occasionally, but that was always immediately apparent by the screeching the brakes would suddenly start doing. More often than not simply stopping and backing up spit out the offending stone. I don't remember ever having to dig a stone out by hand, but my memory isn't that great anymore.

As for the brakes longevity? I doubt I'll keep this truck long enough to worry about that. It just doesn't fit me at all. I do have to keep it at least another year if it holds together that long. If I can get the seats fixed or swapped out for cloth seats I might reconsider. But these flat, hard, cold and narrow seats are the most uncomfortable things I've ever had the misfortune of having in a vehicle.
 
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The ava is at the shop. Turns out I was wrong again. :confused: It's not the front brakes that are bad, the rears are. Metal to metal on the passenger side. But the biggie that I was only partly expecting was a bad front passenger wheel bearing... :C:, THAT'S gonna cost me! I told them to forget the brakes, put all the steering parts and the wheel bearing and align it. I'll get to the brakes myself. I'ma going to have to buy calipers just because. So new brake hoses will also be installed.

It also needs new u-joints in the front driveshaft and it now won't engage four wheel drive I found out yesterday so that could be the button controller or the shift motor, or what else? I've read that the button controller is more often than not the culprit there. Any knowledge in that regard would be appreciated.

I'm going to be taking a HUGE loss when I get rid of this truck. 😵 But somebody is going to get a mostly reliable truck I think that will only need the frame worked on before it rusts away, right now it's not terrible. I towed over 10,000lbs (right at 13,000 actually) when I moved that sand and soil a few weeks ago and it didn't rip apart but I also never went over about 30mph. It's only got a class 4 hitch rated at 10,000lb equalized and 1,000lbs tongue. Lucky maybe?
 
-JRW- said:
But the biggie that I was only partly expecting was a bad front passenger wheel bearing... :C:, THAT'S gonna cost me!
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Oh man unexpected repairs(n)(n)

I am curious about the wheel bearings. How did they determine they were bad? Do they make noise or anything like that?
Are yours integrated with the hub as well? Sorry 21 questions over here.

I am asking because I have a intermittent sound coming from somewhere (like a grinding sound as something spins and then goes away) and I am thinking it could be one or more wheel hubs and bearings so I thought I would ask what your experiencing. Mine is 2005 1500 RWD.
 
JamesCasper said:
Oh man unexpected repairs(n)(n)

I am asking because I have a intermittent sound coming from somewhere (like a grinding sound as something spins and then goes away) and I am thinking it could be one or more wheel hubs and bearings so I thought I would ask what your experiencing. Mine is 2005 1500 RWD.
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Try pushing the brake shields back away from the rotors. Very common problem for all cars, trucks and suv’s.

Wheel bearings get progressively louder as u increase speed. They can fail for other reasons though not associated with noise but should throw a code on modern vehicles.
 
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NeedSOM said:
Try pushing the brake shields back away from the rotors. Very common problem for all cars, trucks and suv’s.

Wheel bearings get progressively louder as u increase speed. They can fail for other reasons though not associated with noise but should throw a code on modern vehicles.
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Thank you, NeedSOM.

The sound I hear is at lower speeds anywhere from a 5 MPH to about 25-30 MPH.
Once in a while i will hear it at higher speeds but not as loud and goes away quickly.
Its like some metal parts are rubbing.

I will check the brake shields and see if they need to be pushed back from the rotors. Thanks again.
 
-JRW- said:
The ava is at the shop. Turns out I was wrong again. :confused: It's not the front brakes that are bad, the rears are. Metal to metal on the passenger side. But the biggie that I was only partly expecting was a bad front passenger wheel bearing... :C:, THAT'S gonna cost me! I told them to forget the brakes, put all the steering parts and the wheel bearing and align it. I'll get to the brakes myself. I'ma going to have to buy calipers just because. So new brake hoses will also be installed.

It also needs new u-joints in the front driveshaft and it now won't engage four wheel drive I found out yesterday so that could be the button controller or the shift motor, or what else? I've read that the button controller is more often than not the culprit there. Any knowledge in that regard would be appreciated.

I'm going to be taking a HUGE loss when I get rid of this truck. 😵 But somebody is going to get a mostly reliable truck I think that will only need the frame worked on before it rusts away, right now it's not terrible. I towed over 10,000lbs (right at 13,000 actually) when I moved that sand and soil a few weeks ago and it didn't rip apart but I also never went over about 30mph. It's only got a class 4 hitch rated at 10,000lb equalized and 1,000lbs tongue. Lucky maybe?
Click to expand...
Newer style wheel bearings hone, if you have grinding I would lean to saying it's your front universal join when they wear they bind and make odd sounds or could be a mix of the two.
 
Casper, I don't know how THEY determined it was bad but they have the luxury of it being up in the air. Normally just rotating the tire will let you know because it will make an unusual noise that sounds different from brake scrubbing. Or you'll feel a raspy feel in the tire itself. There's many ways a bearing can go bad, they can dry out, brinnel the race, break a needle, score a race, gall, and the list goes on. If it still has a good supply of grease (doubtful) it might not make any noise at all but still be bad. My expeditions rear wheel bearing did that, made no noises while driving but was loose. I never cut the unit apart to find out the reason why it was bad.

If you just slightly jack the tire off the ground enough to get a big lever under it (with a friend as an extra pair of eyes) and lift and lower the tire there should be no in and out motion at the top of the tire, this is also how the ball joints are checked for looseness. But that brings me to the easiest way. With it on the jack-stands and the tire just off the ground push and pull on the top of the tire while someone watches the inside (sometimes it will make an obvious clunk sound - my expedition did). Any movement will be very slight and should not be confused with bad ball joints, as such the entire knuckle should not have any movement on top or bottom (which would indicate a bad ball joint) but the tire/wheel will move in relation to the knuckle. Does that make sense?
 
JRW after all the woes you have had with your rear axle it's time to crack it open and find out what is going on.

Something tells me they are going to have to rebuild it.
 
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-JRW- said:
Casper, I don't know how THEY determined it was bad but they have the luxury of it being up in the air. Normally just rotating the tire will let you know because it will make an unusual noise that sounds different from brake scrubbing. Or you'll feel a raspy feel in the tire itself. There's many ways a bearing can go bad, they can dry out, brinnel the race, break a needle, score a race, gall, and the list goes on. If it still has a good supply of grease (doubtful) it might not make any noise at all but still be bad. My expeditions rear wheel bearing did that, made no noises while driving but was loose. I never cut the unit apart to find out the reason why it was bad.

If you just slightly jack the tire off the ground enough to get a big lever under it (with a friend as an extra pair of eyes) and lift and lower the tire there should be no in and out motion at the top of the tire, this is also how the ball joints are checked for looseness. But that brings me to the easiest way. With it on the jack-stands and the tire just off the ground push and pull on the top of the tire while someone watches the inside (sometimes it will make an obvious clunk sound - my expedition did). Any movement will be very slight and should not be confused with bad ball joints, as such the entire knuckle should not have any movement on top or bottom (which would indicate a bad ball joint) but the tire/wheel will move in relation to the knuckle. Does that make sense?
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JRW, thank you for taking the time to explain that to me.
 
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MS03 2500 said:
JRW after all the woes you have had with your rear axle it's time to crack it open and find out what is going on.

Something tells me they are going to have to rebuild it.
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It'll likely be easier and cheaper to just replace it. However, I think you may have misunderstood. The bad bearing unit I had was on my Expedition. Regardless, the axle under the ava may or may not be bad.

I've replaced the u-joints but still feel a fast vib in the truck. Next up (at some point in the future anyway) will be front u-joints. If that doesn't cure the vib then the only place to look next would be the front axle shafts.

With that said, I also believe that I have a misfire although no codes have been set. I have spark plugs sitting on the dash waiting. I was actually waiting to buy a good set of plug wires before I change them out but finding the wires of my dreams 🥰😍 hasn't happened yet. :eek:🤣🤣🤣 At least the ones I can afford.

So much to do, no warm weather to do it in.

Still hoping Santa brings me a 40'x40' garage with a heated floor and hydraulic lift. Is that too much to ask for? 🤪

The new problem that just reared it's ugly head is the 4-wheel drive won't engage. The buttons flash but then reverts to 2-wheel drive. If I force the issue it says to service the 4-wheel drive system. I guess I'll start throwing money at that problem since I'll be needing 4-wheel drive sooner rather than later.

I should just trade this thing off. I was enthusiastic that low miles meant being in decent shape... but I was wrong.
 
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frito said:
I need to check my window out. I noticed the rear defroster isn’t working on mine. Thanks for sharing.
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After doing this and remounting the window, I started the engine and used my DMM to measure voltage drop from one side to the other. I got a reading of 12.8 volts. Then moved the leads to different points on the defroster grid and the voltage would change according to how far apart the leads are from one another. Seems good 👍
 
Well boys,

I've been having the famous ABS 'groaning' incidents at low speed recently, due to rustjacked wheel speed sensors... and I thought, let's get after it while I have the wheels off (was about to put on my winter wheels)... so I pulled the calipers and rotors off, and then tried to pull the driver side wheel speed sensor. I had it out before to perform 'maintenance' due to 'rustjacking'...where I pulled the sensor, cleaned the mounting surface... and reinstalled with never seize - and the problem went away.

Today?
No.
The wheel speed sensor breaks - instead of coming out.

Wheel speed sensor.JPG

You filthy pig, I thought.
Not in the mood for the BS, I just reinstalled the broken sensor with a blob of gasket maker to hopefully prevent that mess from getting any more corroded - and called it good.

Who needs ABS, anyway? At least I know the truck is going to stop when I need it to.
The last couple of ABS 'groaning' incidents the truck had recently was a little alarming. It feels like you're losing braking power.
ABS is only good when it engages when you NEED it.

Anyways - the Security light that has been staring me in the face since 2016 now has a friend!

ABS light.JPG

Christmas is early this year.
That's it for now.
Maybe I'll fix it next year. Maybe I won't. Lol.

CarMech1969
 
Dont new hubs come with new speed sensor on 2500?

I know they do on front hub bearing assys.
 
ygmn said:
Dont new hubs come with new speed sensor on 2500?

I know they do on front hub bearing assys.
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They do as far as I know.
The reason I'm pissed is that I was there simply to clean the mounting surface of the speed sensor so that it would be at the right height.
It worked last time I did that to correct an ABS engagement issue.
However, this time it failed. Those sensors are rustjacked beyond repair!
So I'll just drive with the ABS light on - and I won't have to worry about the ABS engaging when it is not supposed to.
I've had all that I can take with northern corrosion issues for a while. I'm done with it all for this year.
 
I have the same problem. I read someplace that the relay or fuse to the ABS could be pulled but never checked into that to see how many other systems are on the same circuit (electrical engineers are famous for making it that difficult). I've never found a situation where ABS has helped me even when it did work correctly, but, on the other hand my expedition has stability/traction control that DID work exceptionally well and relied on the 4 wheel-speed sensors. A catch-22 I believe. I'm pretty reasonably certain the 02 doesn't have stability/traction control however (aside from the torque killer in the ECM). I didn't see it listed in the RPO codes at any rate.

Edit to ask - Has anyone simply removed the ABS unit and/or patched or replaced all the brake lines to circumvent it? I know most places have inspections that would prevent that but for us folks who live in a free country (despite federal law which I'm not worried about in this discussion) is it a viable alternative, for example strictly off-highway use?
 
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-JRW- said:
I have the same problem. I read someplace that the relay or fuse to the ABS could be pulled but never checked into that to see how many other systems are on the same circuit (electrical engineers are famous for making it that difficult). I've never found a situation where ABS has helped me even when it did work correctly, but, on the other hand my expedition has stability/traction control that DID work exceptionally well and relied on the 4 wheel-speed sensors. A catch-22 I believe. I'm pretty reasonably certain the 02 doesn't have stability/traction control however (aside from the torque killer in the ECM). I didn't see it listed in the RPO codes at any rate.
Has anyone simply removed the ABS unit and/or patched or replaced all the brake lines to circumvent it? I know most places have inspections that would prevent that but for us folks who live in a free country (despite federal law which I'm not worried about in this discussion) is it a viable alternative, for example strictly off-highway use?
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No traction control on my 2002 2500 AV. So pulling the fuse could work to disable it, but not 100% sure. In my case, the broken wheel speed sensor has created a hard code, so now the ABS light stays on. The brakes however work normally so I'm not worried about it. I just don't have ABS anymore.

There is a TSB on this issue that I followed to fix it successfully the first time. However, no such luck for me this time around.
Here is the TSB:
https://gmtnation.com/forums/threads/brake-are-wonky.12845/#post-408577

In regards to bypassing the ABS module, it has been done successfully. You will however need an adjustable proportioning valve for the rear brakes to prevent rear wheel lock-up.
I found an interesting thread on the subject here:
https://armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=23878.25

Let's just say that the minute this ABS system starts causing me too much grief, it's going to get bypassed.

CarMech1969
 
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I had previously replaced both front door main weather strips on the EXT, so I just now did the same on the Avalanche.

Those 20+ year old pieces were well worn and had long since lost their effectiveness.

I'm hoping this is the only time I will ever need to do this on either of these trucks.

Even though it is one of the easier projects for anyone to do.

I may look into other weather strips, as well.

We shall see.
 
Pretty simple project today.

The lock on the Avalanche's tailgate had become a bit finicky lately, not wanting to lock or unlock without some undue effort.

I popped off the rear handle bezel and applied a liberal amount of spray lube to all of the mechanical bits inside.

Slapped everything back together and all is working as expected once again.

Sometimes, the small victories are enough for one day.

:) (y)
 
Yesterday replaced the rear diff cover with on from Yukon. Today put in a midgate sub box with 2 12s and an amp. Damn door started acting up so looks like new lock actuator as soon as it comes in. Have a to do list in the works...relocate oil pressure sensor, relocate knock sensor, replace valley cover with knock sensor delete cover, valve covers....whatever else while chasing the good ol oil leak issue. Soon I will breakdown and convert to front coilovers.
 
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