When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Recently I have added 2 cig lighter jacks which were installed on the cig lighter door. I put another one on the left side of the engine console to the left of the radio. This friday I qualify for a new rate plan with Sprint based on age. So I will finally be getting a smart phone. I also got rid of the am/fm/cassette radio and replaced it with an am/fm/cd radio that came out of a mid 90's chevy car at the salvage yard. Put new speakers in the dash too. Since I got the van I changed the windows to fold out ones, added a ladder to the back door, added a spare tired mount to the other back door and a tool cabinet inside for work. I've also added a rear view mirror with map lights that came from a Chevy Blazer.
The DIC on my 2013 can show how many hours the engine has. I record them whenever I take an odometer reading. I think that for engine related wear, the number of hours is more meaningful than the number of miles or km. I'll bet you that the oil life indicator factors it in. Aircraft engines are serviced based on engine hours too.
All experience has told me: keep up with PM's or you'll regret it. Nothing beats inspecting before repair. Don't buy cheap unless it can't wait. Have a proper repair manual on hand. If you don't know for sure and worried about potential damage/unnecessary wear, ask a pro.
The dumbest thing to do is nothing.
(Apologies, it's after work and I'm still cooling off)
Last edited by Beau Oszman; June 11th, 2019 at 1:53 AM.
Have you guys seen the million mile van? (1.3 actually)
Interesting bits:
- oil changed every 10,000 to 20,000 miles. "I usually waited for the oil to turn black before changing it."
- "My first serpentine belt reached 502,979 miles before I changed it."
GM is flexing their corporate muscle, and forced OEMDTC.com, a website that publishes bulletins documenting vehicle common problems, defects, recalls etc. to take down their GM material. They want to make it harder for you to find out about safety hazards that your vehicle might pose to you. Shame.
Have you guys seen the million mile van? (1.3 actually)
Interesting bits:
- oil changed every 10,000 to 20,000 miles. "I usually waited for the oil to turn black before changing it."
- "My first serpentine belt reached 502,979 miles before I changed it."
Saw one that was a delivery truck for construction parts. Bed was not I good shape. Everything worked. Their interest was the condition of the interior. Didn't look comfortable anymore.
So some chick broke my sliding door handle during a camping trip (thankfully won't be seeing her again). The replacement came from Amazon (23 USD) the other day so I decided to put it in today. It was surprisingly easy. Had it done in about 20 minutes with some needle nose pliers and patience.
The broken handle.
Removal is easy. Here's the gist. The outer handle is mounted to an inner bracket with only two nuts. One nut you can get right away. The other is behind the mechanism. Remove the inner handle (slighty spread the circlip behind). Remove the 7 torx bolts holding the mechanism so it's free to move around. Disconnect the three connecting rods (one long one in front, two little ones in the back). Be gentle so you don't brake anything because the replacement doesn't come with new rods or clips. If you push the rod tips they will pop out of its plastic retainer. Now you can shift the mechanism to reach the other nut. Remove the lock cylinder (spread the clip), and transfer to new handle bezel (clip in). Installation is the reverse but it's trickier. You'll need some needle nose pliers for reaching and also snaking your hand in from behind.
Remove connecting rods from old handle.
The new handle. Make sure the gasket is adhered properly and straight. I had to add a piece to fill a gap.
While I was replacing the slider handle. I decided to adjust the other doors. They needed a bit to much force to latch properly which results in people slamming them unnecessarily hard. Also the tension made them stiffer to open. I thought it would be easy just adjust the striker plate...
However, the holes in the body pillar were only elongated in the vertical direction (sorry forgot to photograph). Plus the mounting bolts have countersunk heads which forces them to center. Sadly this plate is only designed for adjustment up and down, and not in and out.
Countersink
I drove in a wooden wedge and tightened it down. Managed to squeeze out half a mm. I did the same with the latch. Loosened bolts, pried out, and snugged back up. Squeezed out another half mm.
It's a bit better now.
So does anybody have some clever tricks to adjust the door tension?
June 10th, 2019, 9:08 PM
