This is a perfect example of how something starts so small and ends up being massive by the time you blink. This time I’m talking about doing work on my SUV.
Last week, I had some time to devote to performing maintenance on my truck, which I do myself because it’s not that hard if you have the skills, tools, and time. I normally have 2 of the three.
So I decided to replace some AC gear, and get the AC cranking, now that July is almost here. So I installed an AC resistor, an actuator blender door, and a new blower. But then I had an electrical gremlin, so I laboriously tested for a parasitic draw and found one and fixed it.
But not before I killed a cell in a rather new battery. And I only have one vehicle, of course.
So I had to go get a new battery, which I did. I took an old work truck to the store to get it, and as I left, the U-joint busted all over the place, and the drive shaft fell out while speeding down the highway. Nearly killing me and those around me.
So, after calling an Uber and walking to the grocery store, and doing my shopping with a battery in my basket beforehand was necessary. If you can even picture that. And it simply went downhill from that already bottomless point.
I got home, installed the new battery, and went to bed satisfied, if not a bit poorer. The dash was still apart, because I decided to clean it up and make it look new.
The next day, I was driving into town, and the truck wouldn’t go out of 2nd gear. WITW!? Anything could be causing this, especially since I was playing with the battery and electricals. So I began diagnosing. And researching. I am learning a LOT about cars, GMCs in particular, and mechanics. And I already knew a lot.
I still had the dash off from the blend door replacement. And I thought maybe the cluster gauge wasn’t sending the right signals to the brain of the car. I didn’t think the BCM was the issue. So I removed the gauges.
Don’t ever remove your dash gauges and drive your car.
That wasn’t the problem. Next was to replace the ignition switch, which required disassembling the steering column area and removing wires. Plus, I have to order everything online and wait for it to arrive because I live in BFE and only have one car. I have a friend who takes me where I need to go when I’m stuck, but I don’t want to bother other people with my miseries. People don’t like that.
I replaced the ignition switch, but it still wasn’t behaving. So I needed to have the transmission codes pulled. Those codes are available on more expensive OBDII readers than I have. Which meant a trip to “nearby” O’Reilley’s auto parts, in 2nd gear the whole way. That’s not good for your engine.
It didn’t matter then, because about a mile from the house, the truck conked out on the side of the road. In the middle of nowhere on a 100-degree day. So I summoned another Uber(this is getting $) and left my truck there, which made me VERY nervous. I took all valuables out before I left, just in case something like that happened, in a rare moment of foresight.
It turns out I ran out of gas. Gas gauges in those vehicles are notoriously inaccurate, plus I just had the cluster out, which could have screwed with it as well.
My friend came to the rescue and brought me gas the next day and followed me to O’Reilly’s. Of course, the road there was out and we had to take about a 5-mile detour on a 2-mile journey. Nothing is easy, ever.
So I get to OReilley’s(I now know the guy that works there and the assistant manager, and they don’t know anything about anything. He tried to tell me O’Reilly’s has an app, until I showed him they do not, for example.)
So I had him pull codes, and got a ton of solenoid problems centering around the transmission housing. Time to get messy.
Next step: replace the transmission wiring harness, solenoids, and gasket. And I got a new pan and plug since I was doing it all anyway. This was a big, messy job. I had to order everything from all over the place.
The pan I waited and waited for, which I was assured would fit, was the wrong size. And since I couldn’t use the pan, I couldn’t use the $15 plug, and the firm I bought it from won’t take it back. That annoyed me. ATI Performance if you’re interested. Poor customer service. (I was able to return the pan to Summit Racing. They have great customer service. I know the auto parts places now well. Advance Auto has tricky pricing where they offer a discount on everything using their code GETGEAR or something like that. I avoid them if I can- they’re more expensive. O’Reilleys has little in stock but good prices, but their staff is incompetent. If you dont need them, it’s a good choice. Amazon has a lot, but the times to get them can be long, although the selection and prices are interesting. eBay is hit or miss and depends on your expectations for both the quality of goods and service.)
But the reason I got a new pan was because the gasket was stuck on the old one with RTF, which means it was WELDED to the pan. It took me 2 days of scrubbing and scraping in acetone and paint stripper before cleaning it. Photos below. I should have used a wire brush attachment on my drill, but I was afraid of scarring the metal. So by hand it was. For 2 days.
So that saved me some money, at least since I could return the pan. And I got it all back on and was quite happy. And I figured, “As long as I’m under here, I may as well change the oil.” Easy job, especially after what I just did. Normally.
Somehow, my scrawny arms bent the spindle the oil filter screws onto so it wouldn’t sit flush. I had already drained all the oil. I didn’t realize it was bent until I filled the thing with oil and backed off my ramps 10 feet. 5+ quarts of oil went EVERYwhere. The photo of the disaster is the main photo of this post. A total mess.
So, I tried to bend the spindle back. No good because it is part of the adapter. Plus, I wouldn’t ever be able to bend it EXACTLY where it needed to be, and the tolerances for this are tight.
So, I had to replace it. After a guy (a stranger on Facebook)said he’d come over to help and made me wait 5 hours, then never showed up. I’m still reeling from that stunt. He has nothing better to do than antagonize desperate strangers on Facebook.
So I ordered a new one @ about $130. And had to buy all new oil because my last 5 gallons were in the driveway now. Oh, I also ordered a new oil filter from Amazon, and ChatGPT ASSURED me once again would fit. After waiting for it to arrive, it did not. And there’s oil all over it now, so I cannot return it.
Luckily, depending on how you look at it, 6 new filters in the garage DID fit, after all that. That’s been a pattern here: I buy something I need, then end up finding my dad bought 50 of them he never used and hid them away under a pile of rubble. Breaker bars, sockets, you name it. So I have a pile of things I bought that need returning like that.
So I crawl back underneath to change out the adapter myself. I have to remove another skid plate in the front. NBD. Then 6 bolts on the adapter. Easy! The first 5: fine.
But the sixth. Will.not.budge.
I’ve been working on loosening it for 4 days straight now. F-O-U-R DAYS. And it’s not budging. I’ve done so much research and watched so many mechanical videos and chatted with ChatGPT, it’s not funny. And remember: I’m stranded at the house until this is fixed. I have things to do and places to go! Business! Doctors! Food! Etc!
So, now I am about to have to cut the aluminum crimp connectors that keep the coolant hoses onto the short, bent pipes that receive the coolant from the adapter, just so I can at least remove the adapter and get at that bolt better with an impact wrench or torch. Fingers crossed. And I cannot damage the hoses while doing it. I will perform the operation with a Dremel, just to make it more harrowing. And then reclamp with worm-drive hoses, if I make it that far.
So that’s where I am a week later. Unreal. And I still don’t even know yet if replacing the solenoids and harness, and new fluid, made any difference. My worry is that the clutch pack needs replacing, or more likely, the piston in the tranny needs replacing, which is common in these transmissions when it won’t go into 3rd gear. L460E Transmission.
I didn’t see a lot of metal and trash in the fluid when I dropped the pan, though, and it didn’t smell. I can do such a job if I had the tools and space, and layout. I did a few months ago, but now I do not, so a shop will have to drop the transmission and rebuild it. That is NOT cheap. If you have a shop and the tools, and the parts on hand, it can be done in “no time.”
I don’t have many miles on it, but BOY are problems lining up like dominoes. That oil change should have taken 10 minutes and cost less than $30. Instead, it’s at about $230 and going on a week.
These photos don’t do the annoyances and frustrations justice. My patience is truly being tried. It’s not over yet, and before it gets worse, it will only get worse. More to come…
