Meet Tatanka, my 99 Suburban K1500

[tedly]

Had to do some running around today, and again the handling is not much different than when the broken sway bar was on there. It's enough to notice, but only slightly and only in turns. I'm very interested how the big girl feels when the new one is on.

Interior noise level has dropped enough that it is a double edged sword for awhile. The overall level is down significantly from when I got it which makes driving more pleasant in general, and things like having a conversation or listening to the radio are much easier. The squeaks, rattles, and such that are still there stand out more though. Before everything melded together into a formless baseline. Now I can hear and locate individual sounds. Going to make them easier to fix and I guess the annoyance gives me more motivation to get things done.

In the meantime I'm claiming another small victory and ignore the fact that there's no sway bar for the time being.

[SuperBuickGuy]

lol @ feral grandmothers..

[tedly]

Sway bar, mounts, and links came to $99, so total is now up to $2412.

[tedly]

I was so worn out I just couldn't get the new one to go into place so I shelved it for the moment. Had a pack of feral grandkids over this weekend and spent time with them, but I got tomorrow off and I'll get it figured out with a rested, fresh mind and body.

Hopefully...

Not surprisingly, it doesn't drive much different with no sway bar than it did with half a sway bar.

[tedly]

I started dousing everything with PB Blaster early in the morning and kept at it on and off throughout the day. By the time I got started, that magical elixir had been doing it's thing for at least 8 hours. Air tools are a no go for this, I don't want to risk snapping anything and being stranded as this turns into a days long clusterf#@!.

I used a regular old ratchet and socket for the most part, but had to use a bolt saver socket for the link nuts, they were rusted enough to start rounding almost immediately. Going slow, I'd break the bolt loose, then back and forth some, then douse with Blaster again, then loosen until it started to get tight (sometimes only a 1/2 turn or so), rock it back and forth some, back it off, hose it down... Lather, rinse, repeat.

6 bolts took me over 4 hours and half a can of PB Blaster, but I got every one of those little bastards out intact. Wore me out to the point I accidentally put some random bolts in my triumphant victory display instead of the nuts from the links.



This accursed thing has kicked my ass!!!

[tedly]

So I got some parts in the mail yesterday.



Even with shipping Rock Auto was over $30 cheaper than anywhere else for the good sway bar, mounts, and links. This may seem like an odd choice given my penchant for only fixing what is immediately wrong with the big girl, but it is a necessary purchase:



I found this awhile back. Apparently it is not that uncommon to have sway bars rust through and snap at the mounts. Snow, salt, and general grunge gets caught in there and do their work over the years. Known about this for months, but since it does run and function as is, I wanted to get other stuff taken care of first to insure she stayed on the road. Now that I'm looking more at taming noise and comfort issues it seemed like the right time.

Looking everything over, this is going to be a bitch to get the old one out without snapping any bolts or rounding off the heads!

[Beagle]

there ya go Tedly, a system! Eventually it quiets down so much you have to put a 3" dual exhaust on it! Keep after it man, they get better with love.

[tedly]

Pulled the panel off the passenger rear door and found the plastic liner gone and none of the switches connected. Explained a few things, but it confused the hell out of me because the power window worked when I did it from the drivers seat. If the switch is unplugged the window motor won't work at all.



I started to look closer and noticed the switch connector looked weird.



Somehow the top part of the switch with the button on it had been taken off the bottom part with the electronics, then everything was just stuffed back together. Trying to figure out why things were done the way they were by other people can help me understand the problem and how to solve it. Sometimes it just gives me a headache and confuses me though.




The top didn't want to stay snapped into place on the bottom so I ran a bead of superglue around the edge and squished them together long enough for it to set, then checked it still functioned. All was well, so moved on.

The interior door handle assembly was shifting around and closer inspection found that the rivet holding it in place had been taken out. New one put in, and another annoyance and noise source vanquished.

[tedly]

Similar thing on the drivers side, same spot even, but not completely broken. Pulling the panel off I found one of the mounting tabs snapped off as well. More glue and an hour to kill while they set.

[tedly]

The window surround trim on the back passenger side door was broken right at one of the screw holes, cracked completely in half. Not a huge deal, but again an annoyance and a noise source. Pulled the panel, inspected it and looked everything else over, wiped it clean, scrounged up some superglue that was laying around and glued it back together. Not the prettiest or most elegant solution I'll admit. There are a few bubbles and a bit of a drip, but it worked and you have to really look at it to see the mess. Tatanka is never going to be a show truck, good enough for me.

[tedly]

Interior noise or mechanical noise?

Good question, and exactly what I was trying to figure out. My hearing is bad enough that everything just blends together right now, but I'm sure it's both.

I drove a bunch of new interior screws into the door panels on the 300k mile F250, helped tremendously. I found the spots where the door panel had rubbed the paint off the door and clamped them down with sheet metal screws through the panel. It's not noticeable unless you are looking for it and there's plenty of other ugly things that get your attention first on my truck. YMMV.

Very similar idea. Right now I'm just going through and seeing what needs attention and looks like it's making noise. There's a few little things I've been meaning to get to, and now looks like a good time.

First off, Drivers rear window doesn't roll all the way down, it's snagging on something about halfway. Nothing huge, but if something's blocking it, something's probably loose. Plus it irritates me. Time to check it out.

Forgot to snap pics when I first started, but after pulling the panel and nosing around I end up finding the door lock actuator had it's rivets drilled out and was flopping around loose. Everything was still connected to it and it functioned, so why it was broke loose in the first place is beyond me. Someone thought it was a good idea at the time I guess.



The actuator had rolled onto its side, and being taller than it is wide, it was catching the window when it was rolled down. This also explained why the door lock never worked. I could hear it "thunk" when I hit the button, but it wouldn't lock. The rivets I had on hand were just a hair too small, but they'll do for now. Finally remembered to snap pics after I got the first rivet in.




Nothing else jumped out at me while looking around, so I grabbed some duck tape to hold the plastic liner in place, slapped it back together, and tried it out.

Door lock is a little stiff but fully functional, and window goes up and down fully with no issues. One annoyance knocked out plus probable noise reduction.

[Beagle]

It sucks, but remember 4.00 a gallon gas? I don't miss having to run the credit card twice to fill my truck (36 gal)

Interior noise or mechanical noise? I drove a bunch of new interior screws into the door panels on the 300k mile F250, helped tremendously. I found the spots where the door panel had rubbed the paint off the door and clamped them down with sheet metal screws through the panel. It's not noticeable unless you are looking for it and there's plenty of other ugly things that get your attention first on my truck. YMMV.

[tedly]

Quick shot before hitting the road.



I love this truck, but damn if filling her up doesn't hurt. 40 gallons, so this got me a little over half a tank.



Good news is, without the brakes dragging, she actually gets close to her rated 13mpg with highway cruising. I never really looked at the mileage before, but it is up noticeably. Heat and noise are reduced as well, but they are still more than I like. Back and forth to work or trips under an hour it's not that bad. After a couple hours solid noise started to get on my nerves pretty bad plus it's difficult to isolate specific noises to pinpoint problems with an elevated baseline of constant squeaks, rattles, and such.

Time to address some of this.

[tedly]

6 hour round trip completed, not a hiccup to be found, but quite a few things to investigate further. Most of which I already planned on.

And the cruise works!

[tedly]

Today is Tatankas biggest test yet, a 3 hour one way trip. I'm confident she'll do ok, but still a little nervous. I've put a lot of work into her, and this will be a preview of things to come. Full report when I get back.