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What did you do to your Avalanche today?

Finished treating/cleaning/psinting my trailer hitch and all of the underbody frame stuff around the bumper area up to the spare tire, and then reinstalled the hitch on Wed. Today, pulled the rear sway bar and end links off, treated them with Rust Dissolver. Used the wire brushes and needle scaler to attack some more of the rust on the. frame and differential housing. Have new Energy Suspension stuff to be delivered tomorrow. Will paint all and get new bolts. Getting there…
 
yes you do..

Also you have a FREE MEDIA ALBUM to store pics and then you can post links to them in your posts.

Good Luck
 
don’t have enough posts to do pics yet 🙃
When you are composing your posts, look for the insert image button on the tool bar.

Click that and search for the picture you want to place into your post.
 
I recently added 3" torsion bar keys but then lowered them to 2-1/2 inches. Changed the upper control arms to make room for the increased travel, replaced all the front suspension bushing with urethane ones. New ball joints of course. Custom-made adjustable front sway bar links and adapted Tundra links in the rear. Bilsteins at all four corners. Rear 2-12 inch coil spacers with custom urethane spacers. New HD rear springs with advertised 70% payload increase. New Bump stops. Recent drilled and slotted brake rotors with ceramic pads
 
Id like to know where the third brake light cover came from. Never seen one like that.
Actually, it's a tailgate light bar that I fiberglassed in after adding some aluminum bracing

 
Finished out stage 1 of the LED transformation. Daytime Running Lights and Reverse lights were swapped out.

this picture was taken at ~10pm, and the only lights are from the truck itself. I really love how she lights up when I press the unlock button.

View attachment 232866
Great job. I like white LED light. When I did my puddle lamps I found the largest LED I thought would fit. They are directional so had to pinch the contacts a bit to keep them in place. Worked for for me. By the way, old lamps were the original ones from Nov 2001 and still working, just not bright enough. I will wait to 10 PM and edit this thread and post a shot like yours. Still have Club Ambers in the DLR's so only puddle lamps are on. Yours might still be brighter, will see in a bit. Brighter than I thought so maybe the same.
 

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How do I change the cabin air filter on 2012 Avalanche?
There is no cabin air filter, unless someone added it later. GM did away with it. Here is the retrofit kit https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-259-201-Carbon-Cabin-Filter/dp/B00NF1SK1M

Many have added it, myself included. To install, you have to cut a hole where the filter goes. You'll gain a small access window to the evaporator core when you cut the hole, which gives you a chance to clean the evaporator. The procedure goes something like this:
 
Thx BainMan . That will go on my list. Unfortunately, I don't think that will give me cold air. But I would like a cabin filter.
Went to a wrecker Pick n Pull yesterday. They had 4 avalanches, 1st gen. and they had been picked nearly bare. Was in search of a Temp Control Unit but no luck. Only got a washer fluid resevoir. Mine leaks and maybe cracked.
Today I went to change heater hose connections. Of course it couldnt be that easy lol. Changed the connectors at both ends and both hoses. Flushed the core and then the radiator. Had some old dirty green coolant. Added new 50/50 DexCool coolant.

I first noticed stain from heater hose leak onto a coil.
hoseleak.jpg

Kit of rings to release connections.
Also works for heater, a/c and fuel lines with quick connects.
heaterhose4.jpg

Y-connection at the water pump. Mine broke from a slight pull.
Buy this as a molded piece, already connected.
This is pump to heater core and pump to reservoir.
hose connect.jpg
 
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While (still) waiting for the engine to be fixed, over the last few days:

Buffed up the sails.
New labels on the heater controls.
Replaced one of the cigarette lighters with QC3 USB chargers (The other needs the hole enlarging fractionally to fit).
Installed a Android head unit.
Charged up the dead battery by jump leads & running the donors engine. (Battery completely expired Saturday, its last act was to open the doors, but not lock them)

These tasks were done outside the garage it's held at as the temperature dropped from +30C to a more amenable +20C.
 
Our first outing last July. Lost a vent cover on the trailer and the rear cover on the Avy. Caught the end of a big hail storm.
Setting up the trailer seen the cover gone on the Avy. (was not glued down) Then notice the vent cover was gone. Had to borrow
a ladder and Gorilla tape the hole in the trailer the rain was coming.
Installed the new cover.
 

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Just finished installing GM extending tow mirrors. Purchased them for the 1500 so
they been here for sometime.
 
worked on de-rusting the middle of the truck from the rear control arm brackets, up the frame, and cross members to just behind the front wheels. Got the trans skid pad off and painted so I could get to the crossmember. Used the Rust Desolver gel, rinsed, cleaned, and after lunch I’ll hit it with Rustoleum Rust Restorer spray. Tomorrow, the Fusion.
 
I just recieved a panel bag i bought on ebay last week. Brand new oem, $50, not the worst deal imo. I've felt bad just letting the panels rest on their edges when needing to remove them. Now.. just to figure out how to install the thing once I get my avvy back xD
 
Putting the three panels into that bag can be a challenge.
Panel arrangement should be shown on attached label inside the bag.
Hang the bag to bed side with top hooks only.
Keep the straps unlatched and as loose as possible.
Do not connect the bottom hooks until all panels are in the bag, then tighten and latch the straps.
I think this is how I have done it, but it has been a while.
 
I just recieved a panel bag i bought on ebay last week. Brand new oem, $50, not the worst deal imo. I've felt bad just letting the panels rest on their edges when needing to remove them. Now.. just to figure out how to install the thing once I get my avvy back xD

My EXT also came without a panel bag and I also found a new one on eBay back in 2012 for $50.

There should be instructions sewn onto the bag to show how to load and mount.

To be completely honest, my bag sits unused in a closet inside the house after I found out how much space it takes to store the thing inside the truck.

If have to take my panels off, I try to leave them at home stacked inside the garage.

BedPanelBagInstructions.JPG

BedPanelBagMounted-02.JPG

BedPanelsInstalledOpen.JPG

BedPanelsInstalledClosed.JPGBedPanelBagMountedUpperRightAttachment.JPG

I found it interesting that the panel bag I bought on eBay was a leatherette material and the original OEM bag that came with my 2003 Avalanche was a cloth type material.

Both were the same design, just different materials.
 
My EXT also came without a panel bag and I also found a new one on eBay back in 2012 for $50.

There should be instructions sewn onto the bag to show how to load and mount.

To be completely honest, my bag sits unused in a closet inside the house after I found out how much space it takes to store the thing inside the truck.

If have to take my panels off, I try to leave them at home stacked inside the garage.


I found it interesting that the panel bag I bought on eBay was a leatherette material and the original OEM bag that came with my 2003 Avalanche was a cloth type material.

Both were the same design, just different materials.
Yeah, the one I have is a really heavy canvas style which I think is preferable to avoid tears in the outer material. This is awesome info though, thanks!


I seemingly always need to remove my panels when i'm away from home. Usually unplanned cargo from my family. I just dont want the panels resting entirely on their gaskets and at risk of moving around. (i need to buy a quality set of straps. In hindsight it looks like i still need them for the bag, i just assumed it was self containing. xD)
 
The straps on my EXT bag are sewn onto the bag itself and can not be removed, as far as I can tell.

And you would really have to treat that bag badly to tear it up.

I don't think body bags are built that good.

Front:

BedPanelBagFront.JPG

Back:

BedPanelBagBack.JPG

Inside:

BedPanelBagInside.JPG

I went to look at the canvas bag that came with my Avalanche for any included straps and I can't even find were I stored the thing.

If it turns up, I'll have a look.

The second gen trucks all came with a set of straps only and not a complete bag.

Maybe that would work for you since the straps just hold the panels in the same spot back in the bed.
 
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