My L29 Laundry List

[Tom P]

Mine does the same thing. Just wondering why the shop manual says it shouldn't...

 

[Tom P]

So it was a busy week last week, puking kids, thanksgiving, family get togethers and all that. I did not get a chance to re-rent the fuel pressure gauge, however the truck has still been running very, very well. My fuel economy is back up where it used to be, no hesitant starts, no stumbling, no more rough idle. It is still my plan to rent the fuel gauge and test though and I will be posting my results when I get there. Unfortunately, my power steering pump has developed such a massive leak, that I can no longer afford to ignore it. I had my alignment re-checked (long story there), and when I went to go pick up the truck there was a 5" puddle of power steering fluid on the ground underneath it. And yes, its the pump and not one of the lines. And my brake pads are worn down to almost nothing so ordered a set of those to do at the same time.

 

[John B]

I went to go pick up the truck there was a 5" puddle of power steering fluid on the ground underneath it.

That's not good news. Did you ever see if your truck was part of the recall: Check Here

 

[Tom P]

That's not good news. Did you ever see if your truck was part of the recall: Check Here

I did. Ran the VIN through all of the checks, and made a mychevy account and all that. My truck was built for the Canadian market, so either it doesn't qualify for repair in the US, or it was already done long ago in Canada. Either way, I have a new pump on order with the EVO bypass and am hoping to replace it this weekend. A guy in our shop has the puller kit so no big deal there either.

 

[Tom P]

Turns out the last 8 of my VIN fall well above the cutoff, so my truck never had an issue.

 

[John B]

Bummer, but good you're getting it fixed!

 

[Tom P]

Yeah. Tired of my truck leaving puddles on people's driveways, especially my own.

 

[someotherguy]

That recall sounds more to me like they finally decided to address, in a very limited fashion, the pump failures for the first gen Vortec era trucks. Seems like we read every few months here about someone who just suddenly lost power steering assist. Pump still "turning", fluid doing nothing, no pressure. The shaft shears off internally and the bearing continues to support the shaft/pulley combo so everything keeps happily spinning along, except no pump action. Doesn't generally result in leaking.

Richard

 

[Tom P]

The PS pump will be here on Thursday, so Saturday morning I'll be tearing into that. Going to try and do a set of Power Stop Z36 brake pads at the same time. Pads were over 50% in May and they're at 25% or less now. I'm guessing the P/O had some real cheapos installed before they sold it. The amount of brake dust they let off is unreal.

 

[Tom P]

That recall sounds more to me like they finally decided to address, in a very limited fashion, the pump failures for the first gen Vortec era trucks. Seems like we read every few months here about someone who just suddenly lost power steering assist. Pump still "turning", fluid doing nothing, no pressure. The shaft shears off internally and the bearing continues to support the shaft/pulley combo so everything keeps happily spinning along, except no pump action. Doesn't generally result in leaking.

Richard

Yes, no leaking was ever mentioned, but if there was any chance I was going to get an OEM replacement done for free, I was sure going to try and get it done.