76ChevyTrucker

All right, I'm going to stand on my soap box on this one. I do all my own vehicle service, and by service I mean changing the oil, checking the engine for compression with a proper compression test gauge, making sure that there are no leaks and no evidence of oil in the cooling system, or water in the lubrication system, and if there are zerk fittings (grease fittings for those of you whom might not understand) I will regrease the part every single time I change the oil at 3,000 miles. Also I've torn down engines and rebuilt them several times, each time using a Chilton or Haynes repair manual, or if applicable the service manual from a dealership (but god those are damned expensive). Each time the engines have run until something in them breaks due to unorthodox usage, or a crappy part. My oil of choice is CarQuest 10W30 (really Valvoline oil, just in a CarQuest bottle), and all my engines run smooth, clean and without problems. But thats just me and my father and grandfather cut my mechanical teeth on a '76 Chevy pickup with a 350, a '86 Chevy Celebrity with a 2.8, a 89 Chevy S10 Blazer with the 4.3.....so I learned what to do and what not to do with them and under their supervision. At the same time, I guess that's why all my friends and family members bring their cars and trucks to me to be serviced and worked on whenever they break, or reach their (self imposed, or book imposed) service intervals.

My Impala does the same thing, normal deal, no biggie. I've had my charging system checked and backprobed the wiring harness on my Impala to the best of my ability and there's no problems, so I consider it normal, its not noticeable unless you're looking for something odd.

The Chevrolet designed 3.1L and 3.4L engines are well designed engines, with no major reliability problems, the Intake Manifold Gasket problem isn't as wide-spread as it seems to be and I have not heard of a head gasket problem with the cars, unless you run them hot, then that aluminum block and head might warp a little, which I have seen them do. My parents had a '96 Buick Century that ran for 75,000mi until it was traded for their '03 crew cab S10, former girlfriend had a '95 Lumina with the 3.1 and it ran forever and a day till it met a 10-point deer. I had a 99 Grand Am with the 3.4 and it gave me no problems at all. As far as fixing the intake manifold gasket problem, Victor Rienz (Federal Mogul) makes an improved design gasket that's available at your local CarQuest Auto Parts, or anywhere that sells FM gaskets.

Yeah, that's one thing I like about mine, I had a'99 Pontiac Grand Am SE2 sports coupe before my Impy and the one thing I like about the Impala is that I can sling it into the corners like my Grand Am, but with more people in it to scare.

Bob, on that one, no soleniods to control the shift, but there is a Transmission Vacuum Modulator that's on the tranny. It should be located on the driver's side, with a vacuum line going to it. I know that on the older trannies (THM350 and 400), the modulator controlled shift points using engine vacuum pressure, if I remember right, yours does too, and it might not be getting proper vacuum to ensure a positive and firm shift, so I'd try seeing what kind of vacuum you're getting from the little hose and if that doesn't show funky, change the modulator, it might be clogged.

Just going off what you're saying, sounds like you're getting some form of condensation build-up in the spark plug wire boot and that's causing the shudder. Does it only happen when the engine is cold, or when you first crank up, or does it happen all the time? Also, if its been 133,000 miles since you've done any transmission service, get it done soon. Normal service interval for those trannys is 100k. As far as problems, if its a coil, the best thing you can do is swap the coil around to another location and see if the misfire moves. If it does, then its the coil. Mass Air Flow sensor is going to throw a CEL (check engine light) code if it goes haywire. Injectors are pretty easy to pinpoint if they're going screwy, best thing to do with them is make sure that you've got proper voltage goign to them from the harness, and make sure they're functioning (put a screwdriver or stethiscope to them and listen for a faint "click" as they fire).

Ahh, finally something to help me cure all the ricers from putting aircraft wings on a car that's going to drive in a straight line back and forth to work.......

As far as the Buick 231 90* V6 is concerned, the car only gets 205 horses in the Bonneville because the PCM is programmed slightly different to deal with the Bonnie's bigger platform as compared to the Impala, GP, etc. The engines are internally the same as any other Series II 3.8L. As far as exhaust systems for the FWD "K" code cars, good luck finding one. Since the exhaust system on our cars (2001 Impala LS 3.8L) crosses over the transmission, it'll be hard finding headers for them, but a cat back might be applicable if there's room under the car (which from what I've seen under my Impy, there is). Another good investment is a set of MSD coils for the car, and possibly an upgrade to the existing Ignition Control Module would help, but the biggest thing you could do is invest the 400.00 in getting a reprogrammer for the car (yes, they have them, I've already checked) That way you can change things like shift points, enginge cooling fan cut on temps, timing advance, etc to really maximize any changes you made to the vehicle. By the way, as far as CAI systems for the cars, K&N has one out, I've looked in my catalogue at work and gotten the part number. If you guys can wait till this afternoon, I'll be able to get the part number and bring it home with me so that everyone else will have it and not have to make the Home Depot CAI.

With comments made on the sloppy-ness of some of the interior controls, I can get in touch with the supplier of those controls and HMMA themselves and see if there's any fix or any problems with the cars, at least if they were built here in Alabama I might be able to do soemthing about it. Heck, I live about five minutes from the plant, and work about three from it.

Ohkay, where do I start. A bevy of 07 Tahoes, two Solstices, couple of C6 Vettes, '69 Camaro RS/SS restored to BEAUTIFUL condition, 2006 Chevy 3500 crew cab duallie with the Duramax pulling a 04 Dodge 3500 with a Cummins that had apparently broken... An assload of Hyundai Sonatas (guess you'd see a lot of them if you're in the town where they BUILD them). A few high end Porshes and Mercedes Benzes, that's about it.

Look at it this way, learning how to work on your own ride means that you'll be all the more aware of exactly what condition your car is really in. Just remember a good service manual is your best friend, along with tools and a good friend who actually knows what he/she is doing always helps. Kinda like what i do, since I've rebuilt/customized my '76 Chevy pickup, helped dad and grandad with all the maintenance on the rest of the fleet, and we're currently working on a '66 International 1-1/2 ton truck and then comes the '31 Model A, and the '49 Plymouth, I've gone on to teach all my friends, and even my wife how to work on their cars.

Well, as I've said before, I currently own a 2001 Chevrolet Impala LS sedan, 3.8L V6, Hydra-Matic 4T65E transaxle, leather interior, sunroof, power driver's seat, steering wheel mounted radio controls, am/fm,cd,cassette. The car has 110,000 miles on it and not given me that many problems. I've had to replace the water pump and belt tensioner pulley (both were making a very slight squeal, could only be heard with a screwdriver being used as a stethiscope (sp?), the belt's been changed once, coolant flushed and refilled, hoses replaced, air, oil, fuel, and transmission filters, pcv valve every two oil changes, one set of AC Delco spark plugs, and wires, brakes all the way around once, both front hub assemblies replaced and two front tires. As far as mechanics, the car is in excellent condition. On a regular basis, I maintain about 28-30 miles per gallon, if drive it hard, mileage drops to about 25, maybe 23 if I drive it hard the entire tank of gas. The engine and transmission perform flawlessly, with only a minor growl of the traction control system unless I turn it off. The AC keeps me cool when I need it to, and in the Alabama summer, I need it fairly regularly. The stereo unit pumps out the tunes whenever I need it to and the sound system definitely helps keep me driving the car the way I like. From the standpoint of comfort and ergonomics, the car is well designed and very comfortable for someone like me, 5'10" and about 330lbs, I know I'm a big guy and the seat supports me very well and keeps me comfortable on long drives. As far as trunk room is concerned, well as a friend of mine put it, even with the big toolbox (I always carry tools, for those, just in case, situations) in the trunk, you could still hide a family of Mexicans in there. I could only offer one major gripe about the car, and even this one is minor, with the car the way it is, why couldn't there have been some form of factory option for a dual tip exhaust set up on it. Otherwise, the car has been a great ride, smooth, comfortable, powerful, and economical. Oh yeah, one other gripe, its not paid for yet.....Here's a few pictures of it and the other rides that I have.... http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/e_gladwell/a...m/ph//my_photos

And both cars are speedbumps with wheels....grand, great, wonderful.

Well, I know that the parts are expensive because I'm in the parts business, working at a CarQuest....believe me we sell a LOT of stuff, just nothing "pretty" like badges (badges, we don't need no stinkin' badges), or stuff like that; but if you do break something mechanical, then well...we'll have it.

Since I haven't had a chance to say it, welcome to C&G, I've had a chance to work on a few Del Sols, and they're relatively easy to work on, although the parts are NOT cheap, guess that's why I drive Chevys, they're reliable and when they break, parts ARE cheap. But I'm not rashing on Hondas, there are too many in the world to whine about them. Again, welcome to C&G and, as the other guys have said on here, nice rack.

I hate to say it but the arms on the tailgates of the three trucks we have: 75, 76, and an 83 have had no problems, but I do konw that the cable-style tailgate deal have broken many times. I don't honestly know why they went from the collapseable arms like on our three to the cable-type supports anyway. They both take up the same amount of room and the arms are a helluva lot stronger and longer-lasting.

Great post Harley! I remember a couple of years ago reading the history of the Suburban and up until that time i honestly didn't know it was as old as it was, I thought it was a creation of the 1960s or late 50s, but to think that the monster was around all the way back in the mid-30s made me really think. Then I realized the first "sport utility vehicle" was the suburban, and not as I thought (misguidedly) the Jeep (as in the World War II workhorse GP)

Inner fenders took a BIG hike, along with the steering shaft got a little realigned, and there was MUCH "massaging with large hammers" that took place.....along with welding steel plating in along the frame to box it in and keep it rigid when that torque hit it.

That sounded like one hell of a day and night 68. And yes, you're right about the older Chevy and GMC trucks, my 76 is worn pretty badly and you still need to key to crank it, but once its humming along happily you can yank the key out and give to friends. And by the way, I've got you beat on the strip clubs, i'm only 22, 23 in april, and I've been to a couple already.

Happy Birthday Chris, may you have many more happy ones and keep snapping those shots and keeping us informed.

Lets see....the fastest I have been....127.8 in my truck, clocked over a 1/4-mile, and since the speedo stops at 100 on my 1976 chevy, I had no clue until a friend of mine did the e/t vs the length of the track. In my wife's Cobalt, 105, in my Impala 118, crested a hill, saw the Alabama State Trooper, slammed on the brakes, killed the headlights, ducked off onto a side road, stopped and hid for a little while.....(thank goodness for black cars)

speaking of engine stuffing, if you think that the LaCrosse is special because they stuffed the 3.9 in it, imagine stuffing a 454 into an S10

All right, ya'll, I have a question that's been nagging me for some time now and I haven't been able to come up witha concise answer, or theory. In the 1999 model year, why did Chevrolet and GMC drop the beloved 305 and 350 from their line up and move to the smaller 4.8 and 5.3 engines? I know that sometimes you can get more out of a smaller package, but why get rid of the two engines that at least three generations had grown to know and love?

You know it really doesn't look all that bad, looks kinda like a surplus CUCV Blazer, with that god-aweful damned snorkel......bad idea whoever did it. I know that it would make a perfect hunting vehicle for me, if i so chose to acquire something like that. You know, the kinda truck you can take out into the woods and bounce it off trees and not hurt the truck on bit....yeah, that's my kinda ride.

I'm not going to speculate as far as production numbers or prices, or anything else, but if this comes out and the market takes it for a run, GM definitely needs to get off its laurels and make the Camaro ready for production and get them rolling off the assembly lines somewhere and somehow so that there can be some honest competition between them.