SAmadei

The T-stat and water pump were changed about 3 years ago. I think the T-stat was just an AdvancedAuto special... I never had a bum T-stat before. Anyway, before I replace the T-stat and water pump 3 years ago, the truck never overheated, in fact, it cooled so well, I had to put a piece of cardboard in front of the grill to get heat in the winter... but the water pump started to weep, so I replaced both "just in case". After having cooling trouble, I parked it. Since then, I was using it rarely to work around the yard... without antifreeze, so I drained it every winter... so its had several burp sessions since. In the few experiments I did try a long time ago, I noticed that the return lines from the heater core do have flow... I can see it in the radiator if its running. But I disconnected the upper radiator hose from the radiator and ran the truck for 20 minutes, and a drop never came out... so I was pretty sure the T-stat was iffy. Honestly, I was scared I might have installed the T-stat upside down. So, anyway, I pulled out the T-stat today, and the van ran cooler... not much, however. I did see that there was alot more flow in the radiator... I can see the water squirting out of the radiator tubes. I also removed the upper hose and ran the engine, and needless to say, alot of dirty water ended up in my driveway. What surprised me, however, is that the flow is not constant without the T-stat... so again, I wonder if something is really amiss with the pump and it caused the T-stat to not function properly. I know how simple this cooling system is, and I'm really baffled why it still runs hot. I managed to run up to Staten Island and back (200 miles), but I had be real careful. Luckily, I don't have to use the van for awhile... I'm going to squeak it through inspection and pull the front accessories off and go through it with a fine tooth comb... including a high quality AC Delco T-stat... but I think I'm going to get a 185. I'll update, if anyone is interested.

Exactly. All CAFE did was make the relatively efficient large car nearly extinct, and chased their buyers into inefficient SUVs. I already have seen the 35mpg CAFE future. Topkick/Kodiak based SUVs. There are two _really_ big pickups that prow around here... a Topkick/Kodiak with a pickup truck bed on the back and a bright yellow International Harvester with a pickup truck bed that comes around during the summer. These get, what, 3 mpg. They make a Hummer H1 look like a Prius.

Then you can add $5K to line 10 of your 1040EZ form next year (tax due). There isn't any free lunch here.

I think they will. While the politicians are publicly touting the green agenda, the fact is, they are rich, their friends are rich and their lobbyists are rich. These rich Hippocrates aren't buying 4 cylinder Cobalts. They buy the most powerful thing they can get... at minimum a V8. If your going to outlaw/outregulate the V8, _all_ marques must be governed by it. Where's Obama's presidential stretched, bullet-proof hypermiler Prius?

China will be GM's largest market until China decides that they have stolen enough technology and manufacturing techniques to be globally competitive... then suddenly SAIC will suddenly inherit GM's share and will sell them worldwide as Buecks.

Look into Greyhound's GPX service. For oversize items, its a lot cheaper than UPS/FedEx. The packages tag along in the nearly empty baggage hold of the Greyhounds wandering the country. The only hangup is that you will have to drive to the local GPX depot, which will not be a general Greyhound station... usually a larger one. For me, it was a local distribution point about 15 miles away... but my sender brainfarted and thought Newark, NJ was closer, so I got to drive 100 miles to pick it up. Still was better than UPS/FedEx. Also, since fewer people handle the package (like you bringing it in the building), it seems to get less manhandled. Keep in mind, I last used GPX in 2000 (damn, time flies!), so things may have changed, however, I know they where still cheaper a few years ago when I was investigating sending a rear axle... but that was too heavy.

Exactly. Especially when you consider that emails get instantly ignored, and written letters get some attention due to the extra effort to mail them.

They were really rusty. One was somewhat see-through. Since rust begets rust, I didn't want to plant any "rust seeds" in my shiny, expensive new parts. ;-) Of course, that silver antiseize is a pretty good rust-block, so the shim got a healthy dosing. We'll see what happens around 250K (van has 198K) when I poke around. Of course, my first 60 mile "test run" ended up being a fight with the thermostat. One reason I stopped using the van, besides its horrible gas mileage (8 mpg), was that after a thermostat and water pump change, it started overheating... but _only_ at high speed on hot days. Well, today was hot. Tomorrow, I'm taking out the thermostat... it must be screwed up. I really didn't want to start on that Pandora's box since it is going to entail removing a lot of parts eventually to get to a couple broken bolts until I got the van through inspection, but mother necessity is wacking me in the back of the head. Hopefully removing the T-stat will buy me some time.

Nobody had any shims, I searched pretty hard. Against my better judgement, I was able to scrape most of the rust off, and I reinstalled them on my otherwise spotless, shiny brake parts... and used lots of antiseize, as usual. Everything seems quiet and tight on the test drive. I just wish I didn't have a 200 round trip test drive tomorrow.

I read this a couple days ago, and didn't comment, but I have to, because I'm still trying to figure out what this skill is. Others mention the word 'sabotage', which I didn't really think of as a skill... but I suppose it is. My other thought was 'fail'... again, not what I would think of as a skill, but after reading enough FailBlog, it apparently is. And BMW's success shows that they are low in the 'fail' department. Perhaps this is a German gov'ment requirement to even the table for the other German brands... Opel and Mercedes have definitely enough 'fail' for now. I know your not on the assembly line... and you do not seem to be selling or marketing anything. You could be engineering or IT, but your much too social for that. HR also crossed my mind... GM has gotten good at laying people off, so someone could be a shining star there. That leaves management and bean counters... and I don't see how that could possibly look good on any resume.

Rockford, at least during the prime years were 1975s +/- 1. I want to say the yellow is Sunburst Yellow, but a minority of brain cells are arguing that is was something else... Its the same color as my '68 Catalina Convertible. With the black top, it is truely a "banana boat".

Uh, the Trans Am. And the 5th gen Trans Am that could have been. The GTO (1999) that could have been. The G8 coupe that could have been. Actually, I consider the G8 to be more aggressive. I can't help that GM has shot itself in the foot for a decade. Same engine is availble in the Solstice... and I can't figure out why GM wasted all the effort on the Cobalt SS when the Camaro was coming and the Cruze is the future. The Cruze SS will be as exciting to look at as grass growing, as well. I can't help that GM has shot itself in the foot for a decade. More than a MCE was needed on the G6. After driving the G8, I think it would need serious tuning down to become a Chevy. The last "real" Impala SS was a floaty boat, not a canyon carver. And where does anyone get the idea the G8 will automagically become a new Impala or Caprice. GM has neglected us with the W-body Impala for over a decade while giving the middle east what we pined for. I'm sure that will continue. So the new Skyhawk (Aveo) and Skylark (Cobalt) rebadges will make sense and will fill the old BPG showrooms with customers? Again, I'm not trying to be negative towards Buick, but its a bunch of rebadges, as well. I agree the only Pontiacs worth saving are the G8 and Solstice (at this point), but killing the brand still pisses off the faithful, and THE G8 IS NOT OFFERED AT ANY OTHER GMNA BRAND. Plus the Solstice would be offered only as a Pontiac (since Saturn is leaving)... again, I don't buy this, Sky gets restyled into a Chevy... where is the money for that? Killing Pontiac achieves nothing positive. There are no factories to close. No dealers to close. Barely any brand overhead, since it is part of BPG. All it does is signs the future death certificates of Buick and GMC. Is GM overpaying for arrowhead badges or split grills?!? I knew the arrowhead on the back of the Torrent looked involved, but is GM paying more than $1 for an arrowhead. That's what is saved here. Chrysler is different. They killed their "everyman" car... the Plymouth... granted, by giving it no new product. Dodge has been somewhat successful at being both everyman and sporty. Of course, Dodge don't come close to touching Chevy's volume. And killing Dodge would make no sense since it is Chrysler that has the problems right now (i.e., no decent cars beyond the 300). I hate to see anything happen to any of the old big 3, but I fear Chrysler/Dodge really is history... either instantly on June 1 or by prolonged disaster by Fiat. Lets look at the past "success" of European influence on US automakers... AMC-Renault. Daimler-Chrysler. GMNA puppeted by Opel. Fiat has a history of management almost as bad as the average British automaker... Fiat has had their crap together, what two years now? You're going to be upset and supporting another company when all of Chrysler is gone... just like me. GM is gone for me. So, GM makes three cars that _barely_ fit my needs (G8, CTS, Camaro). They are killing off the brand that produces the best one for my needs, and I'm just supposed to buy something else? Perhaps a nice Cobalt SS? We got specials on trucks! Keep my figures crossed for a GM to invest $2 billion into dumbing down the G8 into an Impala... for what? 2015? So if GM dumps everything into the crapper and only builds Cobalts, how many people on this forum are going to just say, "OK, well at least I can still buy a Cobalt, its a suitable competitor for the 3 series. They both have four wheels, and get you from point A to point B." I'm really done with this thread, I really can't believe that the consensus here is "Just buy a Chevy".

New pads and calipers have no shims... which is why I am leaning towards not using them. Also, I can't seem to even be able to buy new ones.

So I've overhauling a bunch of stuff on my '89 GMC G3500 Vandura. It started out as a quick quest to fix the brakes from pulling to the left, and to get it through NJ inspection, but after shaking things around, its turned into a mountain of replacement parts... new ball joints, tie rods, rotors, calipers, pads, etc. This was my late father's truck, and generally he kept things in good shape, as he was a mechanic, but I'm a bit disheartened at the condition, since I haven't put many miles on it in the last six years... I'm surprised he drove it with such a mismatching of worn parts. So, anyway, I'm on the home stretch. But after taking the brake pads out, there is a missing pad clip and both inner pads have two very thin shims. They are very rusty and were more or less bonded to the pad and caliper. I'm not sure if this was done because the rotors were too thin, or if its because this is a heavy duty van. In all my years, I've heard of brake pad shims, but I've never seen any. Since I am replacing the rotors, calibers and pads, I'm leaning towards getting new pad clips and just reassembling without the shims. They are _very_ thin... perhaps 2 x .75mm. Has anyone ever seen these shims used, and do you have an opinion on their reuse or omission?

Corvette is legacy... in 1953, GM didn't know if it was going to be a roadster or a station wagon. I have always considered the Camaro to be a bit bland. Very nice bland, but bland, nonetheless. Cobalt SS... not aggressive. Looks like every other Cobalt. Yeah, I like sleepers, but not coma. Malibu... better, higher quality... well, it better... its got a 4 year head start over the G6. GM needs quality in _all_ cars. And a cheap car can still be built with quality. When you got a '68 Biscayne with a straight six, the '68 Impala with a 427 had the same quality parts. So, what is the "everyman"? Average income is $25K-$35K, depending on your description of "average income". So, either the "everyman" spends nearly a year's income on a stripper car (going by MSRP), buys a used car or a new Aveo/Cobalt. Cheap cheap cheap. If you have a family... you got limited options for what you can squeeze three kids into. Anyway, the "everymen" I know think Chevies are cheap... and its going to take GM 20 years to convince them otherwise. Everyman=cheap... its been like that for a century. Many people buying Toyotas and Hondas THINK they are buying upmarket. I'm not an everyman... but I don't want a Buick or Cadillac yet... where does that leave me?

Its not brand autonomy that bothers me, as long as there was some brand distinction. It's the product... and Chevy can't be everything to everybody. It begs the question, why buy GM? Well, Pontiacs were more aggressive in appearance and handling once... that appealed to me. How will Chevys be aggressive when they are trying to reach the cheapest depths? It simply does not appeal to me for a new car purchase. As far as making it a mission... well, my mission as auto sage was lost years ago, since I was so foolish to recommend GM products to people who want Hondas, Toyotas and BMWs. My mission and existence is to provide for my family and enjoy cars. GM brings little joy to me anymore... and this official announcement will snuff it on Monday. If I have to eat my pride and change brands, I'm not going to do it twice. I'm going to go to one without compromise that will be around because they are not run by a bunch of idiots.

GM prefers to kill off their children personally, by tough love and starvation, rather than drop them off at the orphanage.

GM was better off with a chapter 11... they would have lost debt, the unions, but not brands. McCain would have sucked as bad/worse, but might have seen that killing Pontiac will do nothing for GM but cost sales, and the anchor of the BPG organization.

Those sports cars do have distinct design language. Those sedans? Design language is foreign to them. Oh, we put the beltline a inch higher. Do you want an upswept rear window or a downswept? Hey, what can we steal from BMW or Mercedes today? And it has gotten to the point where if Americans can't tell a Mustang from a Camaro from a Challenger or where the USA is on a map, you think they see design language. No habla designa lingua. If I wasn't so rusty in my photoshop, I'd demonstrate.

No drama. I have no compelling reason to ever buy another GM product without Pontiac. My needs... RWD, large, fast, coupe and bad ass. Must have at least four. Do I want a FWD generic designed for the graveyard-bound set, like Buick? Perhaps a Cadillac based on a decade old FWD platform... or a RWD CTS I hardly fit into. Would I like a Chevy with no personality? Naa. There were 250K members of the public who voted with their wallet in a bad market... oh yeah, now people will say how that was all fleet sales. GM has barely built anything that fits my needs in 20 years, yet I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Pontiac and Olds were my favorites. I'm a automotive enthusiast. And I'm not investing anymore enthusiasm into the black hole known as GM. Like I've predicted before, I'll invest in BMWs or Mercedes in the future (after buying a last Pontiac G8 GXP), but now the bumper sticker will say something like "I used to buy American but Obama changed that." or "I tried to buy American but America couldn't be bothered." I really do feel like I need a bumper sticker that says "Yeah I bought a BMW/Mercedes, but I'm really not a jerk. Really." I hope the BPG dealers stick it in GM's, uh, ear.

A Hyundai Genesis. A Honda Accord or Acura TL. They do. You're just blind to it. You claim the G8 just needs a nose and its an Impala SS... but in the Merc/Caddy above, you're just removing badges. Remove badges/grills/headlights/taillights and both of the cars above could be any number of generic clones.

Buick dropped. GMC dropped. Cadillac dropped. Chevrolet dropped. GM dropped. GM out of consideration for purchase in my household.

No, no, he's going to be BMW's savior with the secret W-body plans he has smuggled to the Germans. BMW will be producing craptastic FWD appliances that are fleeted and people will buy millions of them with the huge incentives. The Change Bank... “How do you make money doing this? The answer is simple. Volume." ;-)

Driven both. Golf cart was roomier and more fun... especially in the mud.

You didn't read what I wrote. I said, STOP EATING ALTOGETHER. The same mechanism that drives people to overeat at the slightest stress or hunger will kick in. Your brain chemistry will direct you to eat garbage, other people, leather and anything it thinks it can digest. If you can prove self control to the point of unconsciousness by starvation, you win the argument. In the meantime, this survival instinct kicks in and overrides a good deal of self control pretty easily in some people. You think I eat cake and french fries? Yeah, right... once in a blue moon. I don't even really like French fries. A buffet? I don't put myself in that position for two reasons, its tough to stop, and quite frankly the crappy food isn't worth the calories. I have eaten today... two cans of tunafish, almonds, peanuts, 2oz of string cheese, two apples, one orange... I'm about to cut up a large amount of broccoli. That will likely be it for the day. Hardly a McDonald's all-you-can-eat fried fest. I can only eat things that are "new". If Ben and Jerry or Doritos puts out a new flavor, I can have it... then never again. I'll be stopping by KFC soon to try the new Kentucky Grilled Chicken, then I will likely never have it again. I can't. I can drink water by the gallon... it immediately runs through my system... by the gallon. If I want to spend all day in the urinal, this would be the plan... but I'll suffer from electrolyte imbalances for the rest of the day... which can be painful. I have to bind the liquid to something... usually diet iced tea with Spenda... zero calories... says in my system for a while. Overall, it hasn't helped. It will take a minimum of one hour of vigorous exercise for me to make a significant weight change... which I simply don't have the time to do right now. Of course, exercise is another pro/con, as I put muscle mass on quite quickly... which is heavy... but granted, helps raise metabolism. BV, I know you're still quite young... you have that on your side. There are big differences in losing weight between 20 and 30 or between 30 and 40 years of age.