2004 RCSB 4x4 - The Mail Truck

[TooleyOnDeck]

I apologize in advance if this accidentally makes you "excited"

Oh, we love cluster porn here!

 

[Cadillacmak]

No... that's definitely not a pipe for extra leverage on the end of the breaker bar.

LOL, on the pipe. This is a cool write up on this truck, thanks for sharing all this.

 

[INW-Iron-Steel]

Cheater pipe? I'll guess for the ball joints? Been there, done that!!! IIRC I used the jack handle, slipped over my extra long Craftsman breaker bar. Didn't help that the ball joint press set I borrowed from the auto parts had been badly abused and the swiveling tip on the screw was damaged and attempting to seize up, no matter how much I greased it. For the next go-round I just bought the tool for myself; came in handy since I had to do the wife's truck next.

Yep, cheater pipe! I see the ball-joint press in that picture, so I'd say that it was probably for the lower joints. They can be a real pain, as you know! I tend to grab a cheater pipe if I think something is going to be tight. That way I can control the momentum and don't look like a gorilla reefing on a tiny little ratchet. Since then, I've broken that breaker bar (I wonder how that happened LOL). I have a beefy craftsman now that is too big for the little green pipe. Similarly, I use my jack handle on the beefier craftsman.

What's that plastic tube setup going? Shop vac ziptied in place to catch chips from dealing with the broken bolt? Not bad.

Richard

That is exactly what is going on in this picture! I didn't want metal chips falling into the boots of my fresh ball-joints or the drive-axle. Those are still the OE drive axles, and replacement ones are junk! I looped the hose under the inner-fender so it would stay out of my way... I hate feeling restricted.

Sorry for all the individual replies - there's no "multi-quote" like I'm used to on the GMT400 forums.

So the future wife at the time had a '93 Suburban (I'll note with the appropriate '94-up grille upgrade)? Nice! This was her own doing, or with your involvement? My wife drove my old slammed '94 C2500LD ext cab for a good while and really missed it when I let it go. I keep looking for a suitable one to get her back into, but solid older 400's are getting few and far between.

No problem! Maybe that would be a good suggestion for them to add here? (If they even can?)

No, the Suburban is actually how we became close. I love telling this story. She had a flaming POS of a Range Rover, and we were working at the same place. I was always making fun of it, and I told her she should cut the losses and buy something old. She had moved down from AK, and her dad wouldn't let her take the high-mile GMT800 Suburban/Yukon XL, but helped her get something newer and "reliable". I think she was having a bad day and I was pushing her buttons. She said something like "I didn't even want the stupid thing, okay? I wanted the suburban but NOOOO." I said something like "Well, if you get something old, I'll help you get it sorted out." And.... here we are today. I think I actually told her to get a Subaru (oh how I regret those words). But, she called my bluff. We were on the way to look at a black GMT800 suburban in Tri-Cities when the guy with the 93 responded. She loved it, even though it needed way more work. We detoured to Yakima, it was beat! I distinctly remember taking it on a test-drive and immediately regretting my decisions. It was sketchy at any speed, and I took it on the interstate . The owner didn't speak any English, so I translated how to write a bill of sale through his approximately 12 year old son. I talked him down a bit with all the problems, but it was priced right to begin with (CHEAP).

Truth told, I probably wanted my truck back. I had started letting her borrow it when the Range was in the shop (which was easily more often than it wasn't).

Hate to hear about the bad experience with BOTH alignment shops, but that seems too often how things go these days. The second shop probably meant well and fully expected you'd have them do the brakes, with no way of knowing you had the parts on the way. Unintended consequences and all that. They probably figured you were a nutjob for telling them not to fix them.

Richard

It actually took 4 shops before the alignment was right. The tech at my preferred shop had retired around then, and things really went downhill after that. The last shop noticed the new steering box was set-up too tight, and wrote some words on shop letter head to help me get the brand new box warrantied. After the 2nd box and an alignment from them, everything has been good. I forgot to mention along with the front suspension I changed the steering box, steering shaft (GM genuine) and green bushing thing way up in the column (I can't remember the technical term). I wanted every component from the steering wheel down to be new.

Totally unintended consequences, and they definitely thought I was a nutjob! S*** happens, at least it wasn't a quick lube leaving the drainplug out or something like that.

 

[INW-Iron-Steel]

LOL, on the pipe. This is a cool write up on this truck, thanks for sharing all this.

Thanks for following along! This truck and I have grown together, so I love sharing things about it. This is actually my first detailed write up on anything so I'm just trying my best!

I think I still have a little more to add, so stay tuned!

 

[INW-Iron-Steel]

My 2005 Tahoe Z71 came with 17" wheels. I have done brakes front and rear on it but just went by application and did not pay attention. I have been working on a friend's 2005 Tahoe LS and know it will likely need brakes come summer or fall. I guess I can find my RA paperwork and compare. I have not paid attention and maybe her LS has 16" wheels?

I will look at my brake pads in the garage and then look at what RA lists at compatible for my 04 and we can compare!

 

[ORVietVet]

And, like any refresh, a new set of wheels. I had decided I didn't want to cut up the ball-joints this time. The tires are 285/60/18s on what I think are 10 wide Ion's with 5 inches of backspacing. They are wide, but I only rub the inner fenders at absolute full lock.

Picking them up from being mounted/balanced
View attachment 2080

I was also helping my future wife fix up her 93 burb and thought the black 5-spokes would look good on it. It needed new tires bad. If I am remembering correctly, it had the early GMT800 Silverado 16s on it. I didn't think it looked right. I "sold" her my wheels and tires for $25 a wheel, and the old coopers had about one winter left in them.

View attachment 2082

While working on the suspension I realized the brakes were pretty worn, so I ordered up some new pads/rotors/hardware for all four corners. They didn't come in time for the alignment I had scheduled, so I just took the truck to get an alignment with my fresh wheels. The first shop didn't get it right. They actually forgot to fully torque the upper control arm bolts, causing it to come out of alignment rather quickly on our pothole ridden streets. I dropped it off at a shop down the street from where I was working the next morning... and this is where it turned into a real debacle. I appreciate their diligence and willingness to include a free inspection, but I wish they would have asked first. I would have told them to save their time and just do the alignment. They 'discovered' a frozen caliper after disassembling my rear-brakes. One of the pads was almost metal to metal (I knew this) and they wanted to do my brakes. I kindly told them I had brakes on the way for the truck when they called telling me this. I'm not going to lie, I was a little confused as to why they were looking at my rear brakes when I had dropped it off for an alignment. Regardless, they re-assembled it as-was. But the act of freeing that pad allowed for some destruction. This is my brand new wheel after driving about 7 miles home...

View attachment 2076

They were not very apologetic, so I make sure to guide all my friends/family elsewhere. I never got all the metal off. It was cold outside so the hot metal from the brakes rapidly cooled when it hit the wheel. The finish was damaged. In the spots where I did get it off, they were dull and no longer glossy (I actually tried bringing it in the bathtub so it was warmer and i could use hot water). I gave up and ordered a new wheel. I figured it would be better to let them fade as a set. I kept the 'orange' one in case I severely damage a wheel and they stop making them. If you look closely at that corner of the truck, you can still see little tiny orange specks in the clearcoat. I've gotten over it, the 20 year old paint is certainly not perfect.

Here's a pic from when it was all back together. I think it does a good job of showing the offset with the tires just barely sticking out past the fenders. But it also shows the mail truck actually performing its' duties!

View attachment 2083

When you do a front end alignment, they also put alignment heads on the rear wheels to set the front alignment referencing the thrust of the rear alignment. They want to know if the rear axle is forward or back on either side and set front adjustments accordingly. When they set the head on the wheel and lock it on, they have to spin the wheel by hand to calibrate the head to the wheel. Likely heard the metal to metal brakes.

 

[INW-Iron-Steel]

When you do a front end alignment, they also put alignment heads on the rear wheels to set the front alignment referencing the thrust of the rear alignment. They want to know if the rear axle is forward or back on either side and set front adjustments accordingly. When they set the head on the wheel and lock it on, they have to spin the wheel by hand to calibrate the head to the wheel. Likely heard the metal to metal brakes.

The more you know. Thank you for your wisdom!

Interestingly, I've had shops tell me the rear-alignment on solid axle rigs is non-adjustable, so I just assumed they didn't even look at it. You know what assuming does...

 

[ORVietVet]

Yea, is not adjustable, in the factory stock form, but it can be completely fine and still be forward on one side and that would cause a push effect to the opposite side. The heads on the rear communicate to the front and adjustments made there are made knowing of the push from the rear. It can be minute at the rear. If is severe, that would be "dog tracking" and require repair before the front alignment.

 

[INW-Iron-Steel]

Okay, I went out and dug through my boxes of parts. The TRW1092 pads are the pads I have for the next brake job on the 04.


I'm bored at work, so I pulled up RA. Both screenshots are filtered for front pads only.

Here's a screenshot of application "2008 Chevy Tahoe 5.3". Looks like the 1092 pads are to be used with the 285/286 calipers and is also considered the "police package". Likewise, 1363 pads are used with 351/352 calipers and "non-police package".


Here's application "2004 GMC Sierra 1500 4.8". Looks like 785 pads are 2-wheel steer while 784 are front pads for 4-wheel steering. I have no idea what those 1053 pads would be for...

 

[someotherguy]

Correct, the "1092" pads are for the dual piston caliper used over quite a few models. When I did the '06 Intimidator, I went with Wagner Thermo-Quiet ceramics, QC1092



Richard

 

[INW-Iron-Steel]

Correct, the "1092" pads are for the dual piston caliper used over quite a few models. When I did the '06 Intimidator, I went with Wagner Thermo-Quiet ceramics, QC1092

Richard

Sweet, so it's confirmed, the SS and the "Tahoe Brake Upgrade" use the same parts! How do you like the Thermo-Quiets? I currently have those exact pads on this pickup (QC1092)

I wonder when/if GM put the "1092" pads on any other GMT800 1/2 tons? Possibly when they started doing drum brakes on the rear again? Does anyone know what year that was? I think the 1363 is for dual piston as well.

I did some more digging because the two pads look almost identical. It looks like the caliper changed at some point around/after 2008, and the casting has an extra ear. Also, the 1363 came on a lot of the newer stuff. They are listed for applications up to 2020 on 1/2 ton GMs.



1092 (left) vs 1363 (right) You can see the difference reflected in the pad itself

 

[someotherguy]

Sweet, so it's confirmed, the SS and the "Tahoe Brake Upgrade" use the same parts! How do you like the Thermo-Quiets? I currently have those exact pads on this pickup (QC102)

I wonder when/if GM put the "1092" pads on any other GMT800 1/2 tons? Possibly when they started doing drum brakes on the rear again? Does anyone know what year that was? I think the 1363 is for dual piston as well.

Can't speak for the GMT900 stuff as I've never owned one, only driven a few as work trucks in the past (3500 so-called HD's)

On the GMT800's, the only reason my 2006 SS came with drums on the rear is because it's a RWD model (the only version available in 2006) with the 9.5" 14 bolt. If it had been a 2005 you could get AWD or RWD, the AWD model would still be a 10 bolt with disc, and the 2003-2004 of course were all AWD and disc/disc.

The TQ's are OK I guess; they stop well and are quiet but still dusted more than I liked, and left a bunch of crud on the wheels that tended to pit them if I didn't get it off quickly enough. That was the whole reason I wanted ceramics, to avoid that.

Richard

 

[INW-Iron-Steel]

The TQ's are OK I guess; they stop well and are quiet but still dusted more than I liked, and left a bunch of crud on the wheels that tended to pit them if I didn't get it off quickly enough. That was the whole reason I wanted ceramics, to avoid that.

Richard

I have a similar feeling. On my 04 they have dusted more than other semi-metallics I have run. I don't really notice because of the black wheels, but interesting for a ceramic pad. Also, they seem to stop OK, but not great. They fade more and are particularly noisy in cold weather.

 

[TooleyOnDeck]

Detroit Axle ftw!

 

[ORVietVet]

Detroit Axle ftw!

View attachment 2137

I don't know why, I likely never will, but ANY TIME I see FTW, the first thing that comes to mind is "Eff The World" instead of For The Win!

I might need to lay on a couch and talk to someone about that, one of these days.

 

[TooleyOnDeck]

I don't know why, I likely never will, but ANY TIME I see FTW, the first thing that comes to mind is "Eff The World" instead of For The Win!

I might need to lay on a couch and talk to someone about that, one of these days.

wait, that's not what it means??? lol

 

[ORVietVet]

wait, that's not what it means??? lol

For some reason, my very first thought is the EFFF one. I think it is from my Harley Riding days when I thought I was gonna die young and ugly. I really have no idea how I lived thru all that.

 

[INW-Iron-Steel]

Detroit Axle ftw!

People have their own experiences, but I haven't had any good experiences with detroit axle parts. I had some hubs from them on my GMT400 suburban that didn't even last a year. The chrome lung nuts I bought from them to go with the new 18s (post 17) looked worse after one year than the chrome lung nuts that were with the 17s for like 7-8 years. The chrome on the detroit axle ones are peeling to the point that if I don't use gloves while handling them I slice my hands up.

The TRW metallics have been money on the GMT400. Only pads I've had recently on it that don't chew up rotors, make horrendous noises, or dust like crazy. I was so happy with them I ordered up a box for the 800! They sell them on that jungle website with prime shipping. Made by ZF Group, a respected OE supplier. I consider the brakes on my vehicles to be one of the most important items. I am not one to shy away from saving a buck here and there with cheap, questionable quality parts. But not on brakes. They're way too important to risk subpar quality.

 

[ORVietVet]

I have to agree with the assessment of Detroit Axle. They used to be way better. At another @Shaggy and @Griffin owned forum, Tahoe/Yukon Forum I belong to, there are some bad stories over there about the Detroit Axle parts.

I also agree that there are two things I will not cheap on, brakes and wipers. You GOTTA stop and see.

 

[someotherguy]

For some reason, my very first thought is the EFFF one. I think it is from my Harley Riding days when I thought I was gonna die young and ugly. I really have no idea how I lived thru all that.

It was stenciled in a nice fancy font on the rear fender of my '82 FLH, white on the flat black, just under the taillight. Probably still have the stencil around here somewhere.. though the meaning of the letters has changed with the times.

Richard