Work out of my garage/driveway

[ORVietVet]

Bought a 2003 Toyota Camry SE for $1000 from the mom of the taco place/bar manager that me and my AL friends eat tacos at every Tuesday and Thursday. Going to clean it up and sell it.

Fixed a squeak coming from the steering column. Rubber boot rubbing steering shaft at the bottom of column at the firewall. Needed new headlight assemblies because the old ones were really bad.

 

[1997]

my 02 was blue, had the squeaky steering , and 3.0V6 too.
with the V6 they had lots of juice.
think 03 was the 1st yr they made Camry's in trumpy's - merica.
looks in good shape, should be able to sell that easy for the right $$.
how many miles?

 

[ORVietVet]

Ok, so today my AL friend dropped off her 2005 Tahoe LS for the brake pedal upper bushing. There was a severe rattle from the pedal, under dash area, when went over bumps.
No pics from underneath because was just too crowded and there is a few videos at you tube to look at. Here is a link to a good one:

I took the driver's seat out and laid under there and reached up but was still very cramped. Hard to take apart the pivot bolt but all nut and bolts removed, including at seat, were thread chased and was way smoother going back together. The pivot bolt is 18mm at each end. The seat nuts at front take an E18 and the back bolts take an E14.

I also installed a new brake light switch. Everything went to plan and was a 3 hour job.

 

[ORVietVet]

my 02 was blue, had the squeaky steering , and 3.0V6 too.
with the V6 they had lots of juice.
think 03 was the 1st yr they made Camry's in trumpy's - merica.
looks in good shape, should be able to sell that easy for the right $$.
how many miles?

191021 miles. Averaging slightly less than 8700 miles a year.

 

[1997]

nice work on the tahoe, definitely not a pleasant job.

 

[ORVietVet]

Even with seat out, it was a PITA to do.

 

[ORVietVet]

Did an oil change and inspection today on my dentist's assistant's 2009 Silverado K2500HD 6.0. 154435 miles. Had to remove the aluminum skid plate to keep from oil running all over. 4 bolts, 15mm head, and easy drop and reinstall. They had been told by another local shop that the transmission fluid was dark and needed changed. The fluid is bright red and clean and full. The transmission cooling lines are leaking but the other shop said nothing. The oil cooler lines are dry. Did not see any other leaks. The other shop said the shocks needed replaced because were leaking. They are bone dry and work just fine. There were numerous other "concerns" and the only thing I agreed with was when I looked under the hood 2 months ago, before she finally got it to me, that the battery was nasty and corroded badly and old and needed replaced. They had a battery store in town put a new one in. The shop said ball joints were bad, there was not any play.

I did hear a noise in the cab, windows down or up, when in reverse or drive at idle. Park or neutral and noise greatly diminished. Mechanic's stethoscope to the rescue. When she got there and could hold the brake in gear at idle, I traced to noisy tensioner bearing and idle bearing. I cleaned the stethoscope ears and showed her where to place the probe and she could hear it too. She had heard the noise in the cab but disregarded it. I told her not an emergency but will be needed soon. Her headlights housings were very clouded and showed her that. She said she thought the headlights should be brighter and now knows why.

She left happy.


BUT. Recently my VA doctor said that based on symptoms of a hot feeling, intermittently in my right groin area and what he felt with his probing fingers, that I have the signs of an Inguinal Hernia and recommended that if I continue to work on vehicles, I will, I need to do the less strenuous tasks and not lift anything heavy. That may put an end to removing and replacing tires/wheels for inspections and brake work. Any heavy steering and suspension work. I do believe my age and years of bodily abuse in the trenches is catching up to me.

That means that my upcoming work on my 2004 Silverado K2500HD, at my friends shop, may have to be a lot of my friend and less of me.

 

[Cadillacmak]

Did an oil change and inspection today on my dentist's assistant's 2009 Silverado K2500HD 6.0. 154435 miles. Had to remove the aluminum skid plate to keep from oil running all over. 4 bolts, 15mm head, and easy drop and reinstall. They had been told by another local shop that the transmission fluid was dark and needed changed. The fluid is bright red and clean and full. The transmission cooling lines are leaking but the other shop said nothing. The oil cooler lines are dry. Did not see any other leaks. The other shop said the shocks needed replaced because were leaking. They are bone dry and work just fine. There were numerous other "concerns" and the only thing I agreed with was when I looked under the hood 2 months ago, before she finally got it to me, that the battery was nasty and corroded badly and old and needed replaced. They had a battery store in town put a new one in. The shop said ball joints were bad, there was not any play.

I did hear a noise in the cab, windows down or up, when in reverse or drive at idle. Park or neutral and noise greatly diminished. Mechanic's stethoscope to the rescue. When she got there and could hold the brake in gear at idle, I traced to noisy tensioner bearing and idle bearing. I cleaned the stethoscope ears and showed her where to place the probe and she could hear it too. She had heard the noise in the cab but disregarded it. I told her not an emergency but will be needed soon. Her headlights housings were very clouded and showed her that. She said she thought the headlights should be brighter and now knows why.

She left happy.


BUT. Recently my VA doctor said that based on symptoms of a hot feeling, intermittently in my right groin area and what he felt with his probing fingers, that I have the signs of an Inguinal Hernia and recommended that if I continue to work on vehicles, I will, I need to do the less strenuous tasks and not lift anything heavy. That may put an end to removing and replacing tires/wheels for inspections and brake work. Any heavy steering and suspension work. I do believe my age and years of bodily abuse in the trenches is catching up to me.

That means that my upcoming work on my 2004 Silverado K2500HD, at my friends shop, may have to be a lot of my friend and less of me.

That's a bummer on your health issue!

 

[ORVietVet]

Moderator on the Tahoe/Yukon Forum had same surgery, so he is giving me pointers. Says when have surgery, about 2 month take it easy recovery and then good to go back at what I was doing, "wrenching".

 

[ORVietVet]

Neighbor up the street with 2017 Cherokee 3.2 V6. Called for an oil change and tire rotation. Told her about the hernia and she still wanted the oil change done. No problem. 30 minute job and $50 labor and $45 labor on the Silverado this morning. The Cherokee is one I did the oil filter cooler/housing replacement on about 1.5 years ago. Still dry as a bone. I have done about 1/2 dozen of those oil cooler/filter housing replacements. Every time I see a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep product, I look for the wet oil reflection just below the filter housing, down in the valley on top of engine. Pretty easy to do and I always always do the knock sensors.

 

[someotherguy]

Good to hear there's a plan for dealing with the hernia. My first thought was you were saying you were out of the game for good on certain activities, but it sounds like you could be OK after surgery and a healing period? Even still, you may look into using a tire dolly to R&R wheels, like the heavy truck guys do so they're not breaking their backs getting the tires off/on and the positioning required to install. There's a decent variety of these out there, probably different sizes; I haven't used one (yet) but find them interesting.



Also hate to hear of the other shop's attempts to trick her into work the truck doesn't need. What a bunch of terds. Unfortunately, seems all too common. I bet the bill for all those "necessary" repairs was a hefty one.

Richard

 

[ORVietVet]

The other shop, and a few others in the area, have that "over sell" reputation. There is only two places I trust. My shop owner friend's shop and in my driveway.

The estimate from that other shop was close to $5k. Disgusting.

I have thought about a tire dolly but there is very tight clearance on each side of vehicles. If you saw the legs of my canopy, you would understand.

According to the VA doctor and the other guy at the other forum I talked to, after the surgery, I can go back to normal movements and lifting. Two things come in to play though. I do not need the surgery yet and may never need it if I take care with what I do. Also, at 72, I may want to slow down a bit anyway. I am going to see how it goes.

Yes, I make some money in the driveway but I know for sure that most of it, 80%, is made under the hood and not on my back under the vehicle. Oil changes are easy for me and I am careful crawling under there on my soft mats my girl got for me. Working in the engine compartment is easier on me and doing fluid maintenances and oil changes are easy on me.

 

[1997]

nice work, make it a priority to take of yourself.

 

[ORVietVet]

That's a bummer on your health issue!

Is a health issue but so is getting old. I can taper down and not lift heavier things and likely miss an operation, what the doctor said, or keep lifting and count on an operation. Will not be doing any work that involves lift tires/wheels. Be doing mainly under hood work and fluid maintenances and oil changes.

 

[99Sierra2500]

Joke:

Guy goes to a mechanic: "I've got this 3/4 ton chevy, guzzles gas, harsh ride, terrible turning radius, and leaks oil from the rear main."
Mechanic: "So what is wrong with it?"

 

[ORVietVet]

Depending on what my PCP says at my VA on May 1 annual physical, my days of wrenching on a regular basis, may be over. Chance of double hernia operation and hip surgery in my future. Both are in the realm of, "If I stop crawling all over vehicles then operations can be cancelled but to continue, I may need both operations and even then that does not guarantee I can then still do the work. After May 1, other specialists may get involved. If my girl gets involved, she has a way of "getting her way". If all this happens I will have to start "scheduling my own vehicles in to shops for needed work and have to depend on the talent of someone else. I cringe at the thought. I have a shop owner friend but he can be buried for weeks at a time and it has been me that volunteered and helped get him caught up.

At that time, so that they don't just gather dust, I may be forced to sell my boxes and tools. If the time comes, I want to find a young guy that wants it all and wants in to the shop business. That way, they can make a living without having to be on the tool trucks all the time.

If anyone knows of a guy/gal that may be perfect for something like that, please send me a MESSAGE. Not saying it will definitely happen but there is at least a 50/50 chance.

Selling it all at once will save someone some money than if I piece it all out. This realization really really sucks. This is not an "I want to", it is a "might have to" situation.

 

[99Sierra2500]

Sorry to hear that about your health. You are a good guy to help out someone starting a shop, that is really cool. I know it is tough finding a good mechanic. Buying a trailer sounds good, I have thought about getting a 20' bumper pull and going on vacation, I have a friend with a cab over, and he knows a lot of places, like on BLM land, where one can get away to.

 

[ORVietVet]

Sory to hear that about your health. You are a good guy to help out someone starting a shop, that is really cool. I know it is tough finding a good mechanic. Buying a trailer sounds good, I have thought about getting a 20' bumper pull and going on vacation, I have a friend with a cab over, and he knows a lot of places, like on BLM land, where one can get away to.

We could spend an entire year traveling in the PNW and see sights that cannot see elsewhere. I still have family around KC, Mo. and south of there near the Ozarks, and that is beautiful country, if you stick to fall and spring.

I also want to be sure I am still alert enough to enjoy the drive instead of dread it.

 

[99Sierra2500]

We could spend an entire year traveling in the PNW and see sights that cannot see elsewhere. I still have family around KC, Mo. and south of there near the Ozarks, and that is beautiful country, if you stick to fall and spring.

I also want to be sure I am still alert enough to enjoy the drive instead of dread it.

Maybe it is time to do that now, sounds like a good plan, life has a way of doing that: stop doing what you are doing, and do this instead. Ozarks are pretty, Smokies also, can drive that Blue Ridge Highway. PNW is beautiful country too, the whole west. I like driving, and this Sierra is a pleasure to drive, if someone is used to 3/4 ton trucks at least.

 

[ORVietVet]

Maybe it is time to do that now, sounds like a good plan, life has a way of doing that: stop doing what you are doing, and do this instead. Ozarks are pretty, Smokies also, can drive that Blue Ridge Highway. PNW is beautiful country too, the whole west. I like driving, and this Sierra is a pleasure to drive, if someone is used to 3/4 ton trucks at least.

The 2004 Silverado K2500HD is a bit stiffer ride than the old 1990 K2500. The 1990 was the light duty version and of course the 2004 is the HD version. I have to remind my girl that the new truck will ride nicer with a load on it. Doesn't bother me but she has never owned a truck like this.