Gracias Senor.Tegnus said:I have had ceramic pads on Astro and other vehicles that I owned previously, they work fine - no problems or complaints. Just don't buy cheap ones as with anything else...However when time came to change our Astro brakes (front) I went for AcDelco rotors and Hawk Performance LTS pads and they work fantastic. Much better braking power and 25k miles later still haven't had a problem.
HotWire's AWD Camper Build
Hi all!
I just bought a 2003 GMC Safari 94k with plans for 3" mild lift, 235/70/16 ATs, a folding bed, kitchenette, dual battery setup with smart charging/isolation controller, and eventually a GTRV V-Top.
Minor additions will be:
-Front tint to mach factory rear
-Black out GMC logos
-Performance air cleaner
-Rear spare tire and jerry can brackets
-Safari rack on top
-Fogs and a rear-facing spot
We have begun building the kitchen and purchased quite a few components.
I just bought a 2003 GMC Safari 94k with plans for 3" mild lift, 235/70/16 ATs, a folding bed, kitchenette, dual battery setup with smart charging/isolation controller, and eventually a GTRV V-Top.
Minor additions will be:
-Front tint to mach factory rear
-Black out GMC logos
-Performance air cleaner
-Rear spare tire and jerry can brackets
-Safari rack on top
-Fogs and a rear-facing spot
We have begun building the kitchen and purchased quite a few components.
Attachments
361 - 380 of 577 Posts
Well....................
Where to begin?
My Birthday month turned into a complete goat rodeo! My BDay wknd trip to go mountain biking in a new (very hilly) area lead to a bunch of van decisions. While passing a Semi 2 miles from our destination one of the tranny cooler lines blew spewing the entire contents of the transmission onto the hwy :screaming:
I attribute this to inferior quality hoses that came with the aftermarket cooler (I have Gates now). Connections were solid and there was no rubbing, the hose simply burst. Sooooooo I pull my bike down to ride to town for parts; leaving the wife, baby, and boy on the side of the road. A Sheriff pulls up and offers a ride to the auto parts store which I gladly accept.
$118 later I am pulling my grill and headlights off to change out the hoses. A buddy who was joining us on our trip pulls over to help and we get it done. Ok, now for the moment of truth............I run the shifter through all the gears, put it in 'D' and double foot it to build pressure; all good!
Now to find a coin operated carwash for the EngineBrite and Brakleen. None in town; ok, fine. On to the campground..............SHIT! No pass. side brakes (doused in tranny fluid) Ok, hose down with brakekleen and ride the brakes hard down a hill. OK, all good.
Ride, camp, drink, pack up camp and head to the next trail. All good. Ride the next trail and head home. After reaching the top of the first large hill I lose 4th gear, then 3rd. Ok, check fluid level. All good, but HOT! We look for any town of size close by......nothing.
Head to first town of size that might have a mechanic/tow/auto store and find the road is out and detoured MANY miles. Turn around; get lost; lose GPS signal.......
Limp the 100mi home in 2nd gear; only got pulled over once on the 7hr journey. Warning for speed on shoulder.
SO here I am. Decisions. Decisions.
Just ordered $500 worth of parts for the van while its down. New rear PowerStop brake pads and rotors to match the front, All new steering components from Detroit Axle, Sky Jacker steering stabilizer, upper and lower ball joints with intent to relocate the uppers, ChassisTech re-indexed torsion keys, Energy Suspension sway bar links and bushings, Prothane control arm bushings, and Energy Suspension control arm bump stops.
I have a Buddy and GM tech comparing his "dealer" cost of a 4L60-E, 4L65-E, and 4L70-E GM Performance transmissions. Second choice is a local rebuild.
The current plan is to yank the tranny and front end this weekend and leave the van on stands while rebuilding the control arms and steering. Depending on price for the new one, we'll either drop the tranny off this upcoming week for the rebuild or pallet it up for storage.
I also plan on a new set of OEM cooler and lines, along with S10 HD springs once I find the part number, belts, hoses, and fluids.
Anything I'm missing?
Where to begin?
My Birthday month turned into a complete goat rodeo! My BDay wknd trip to go mountain biking in a new (very hilly) area lead to a bunch of van decisions. While passing a Semi 2 miles from our destination one of the tranny cooler lines blew spewing the entire contents of the transmission onto the hwy :screaming:
I attribute this to inferior quality hoses that came with the aftermarket cooler (I have Gates now). Connections were solid and there was no rubbing, the hose simply burst. Sooooooo I pull my bike down to ride to town for parts; leaving the wife, baby, and boy on the side of the road. A Sheriff pulls up and offers a ride to the auto parts store which I gladly accept.
$118 later I am pulling my grill and headlights off to change out the hoses. A buddy who was joining us on our trip pulls over to help and we get it done. Ok, now for the moment of truth............I run the shifter through all the gears, put it in 'D' and double foot it to build pressure; all good!
Now to find a coin operated carwash for the EngineBrite and Brakleen. None in town; ok, fine. On to the campground..............SHIT! No pass. side brakes (doused in tranny fluid) Ok, hose down with brakekleen and ride the brakes hard down a hill. OK, all good.
Ride, camp, drink, pack up camp and head to the next trail. All good. Ride the next trail and head home. After reaching the top of the first large hill I lose 4th gear, then 3rd. Ok, check fluid level. All good, but HOT! We look for any town of size close by......nothing.
Head to first town of size that might have a mechanic/tow/auto store and find the road is out and detoured MANY miles. Turn around; get lost; lose GPS signal.......
Limp the 100mi home in 2nd gear; only got pulled over once on the 7hr journey. Warning for speed on shoulder.
SO here I am. Decisions. Decisions.
Just ordered $500 worth of parts for the van while its down. New rear PowerStop brake pads and rotors to match the front, All new steering components from Detroit Axle, Sky Jacker steering stabilizer, upper and lower ball joints with intent to relocate the uppers, ChassisTech re-indexed torsion keys, Energy Suspension sway bar links and bushings, Prothane control arm bushings, and Energy Suspension control arm bump stops.
I have a Buddy and GM tech comparing his "dealer" cost of a 4L60-E, 4L65-E, and 4L70-E GM Performance transmissions. Second choice is a local rebuild.
The current plan is to yank the tranny and front end this weekend and leave the van on stands while rebuilding the control arms and steering. Depending on price for the new one, we'll either drop the tranny off this upcoming week for the rebuild or pallet it up for storage.
I also plan on a new set of OEM cooler and lines, along with S10 HD springs once I find the part number, belts, hoses, and fluids.
Anything I'm missing?
Attachments
Decision to be made by this Weds. My buddy is getting the price on a GM Performance 4L65e for me. If he doesn't get back with numbers by Wednesday I will have it rebuilt locally. I've got the old one out, along with most of the front steering and suspension. Did the rear brakes today. Tomorrow he frontend will go back together.
Attachments
HotWire said:
Hot... just wanted to say. Sideways and Upside-down Photos are OK w/ me. Really.HotWire said:
I was only pointing it out as the rest of your shots were oriented OK.
Just wanted to let you know.
There are quite a few people that are shooting w/ "Smart" Phones and the like and this "Old-School" Tech. site has no way of fiddling w/ them just as the "New Age" shooter is not using "Old School" cameras and playing w/ the photos like we used to. It's just that now not as many folks will click and some other guy's shots are downright hard to figure the true orientation or they don't help when someone is trying to figure out what ya' shot.
Back in the day - that's like Last Year ( or even today w/me ), I would NEVER have thought to upload my photos directly to the site w/o resizing, playing , swiveling, etc, blah, blah.
And Please - don't let me Babbling on stop you from posting ANY photos.
Mike :blah: :dunce:
oke:
No worries. I actually needed a break from this site as there had been so much BS recently. Either new poster or picture problems. I definitely had my fill of worthless posts.sixsix said:And Please - don't let me Babbling on stop you from posting ANY photos.
Mike :blah: :dunce:
I'll be looking to get some sort of app on my phone for editing at some point, but it's not on my priority list at the moment. My PC doesn't get much use any more.
Today my SkyJacker steering stabilizer went in. I ordered one for a K1500 (GM IFS). I had to heavily modify the bracket that came with it as it was designed for a vehicle with way more space in the front-end.
![IMG_0633.JPG]()
![IMG_0630.JPG]()
![IMG_0631.JPG]()
I pulled the pictures off my phone, so Here are a few of this past week's work. All new steering components, new upper control arm bushings, drivers side wheel bearing, welded the split sway bar ends, new sway bar bushings and links, SkyJacker steering stabilizer, CV axle seals and new PowerStop brakes to match the front.
I pulled the pictures off my phone, so Here are a few of this past week's work. All new steering components, new upper control arm bushings, drivers side wheel bearing, welded the split sway bar ends, new sway bar bushings and links, SkyJacker steering stabilizer, CV axle seals and new PowerStop brakes to match the front.
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Sandblasting complete!
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After:
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361 - 380 of 577 Posts
