Wander on highway

[booster]

Originally Posted by jjrbus

Bracket is deceiving not what I expected. I have done my own work for long time. At 75 I crawl under the vehicle and tend to fall asleep. $95 hour with 1.5 hours estimated is more than fair. They seem to be liberal in their parts markup's.

Any recommended site for OE GM parts?

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...=10481&jsn=513

Rockauto is good for variety of parts, but lately have jacked shipping up a whole bunch so Amazon commonly will beat them on price.


RA is a great place to see what is still available, though, for OEM parts as they list "original GM", Delco, and Delphi parts. Be very aware the Delco parts and not necessarily the same as OEM parts and probably more likely to be like Delphi and other aftermarket parts. The starter and alternator I got from Delco listing as "made in USA" were both from China and appeared to not be made from Delco tooling so were basically rebadged aftermarket generic parts.

[jjrbus]

Went to a couple GM sites and tried to search by vin, told me having trouble locating. Looked up parts and most are discontinued, this is an 01.

[booster]

Originally Posted by jjrbus

Went to a couple GM sites and tried to search by vin, told me having trouble locating. Looked up parts and most are discontinued, this is an 01.

Yep, that is the way it is with a 22 year out of production version of a vehicle. I have the same issues with my 1996 Buick Roadmaster.


At some point you have to pick the best of the not so great alternative aftermarket parts, or roll the dice on used ones.

[jjrbus]

Picking through the best of the worst Moog K seems to be available for reasonable money.

Should the alignment shop found worn idler arm or is that something an alignment shop would miss?? They have had it in twice recently with me telling them I have wander.

[jojobafanzi]

Originally Posted by jjrbus

Not sure what to make of this, took the RT into a shop today and they claim I need Left and right idler arms and brackets. Stopped to talk to alignment guy and he is closed till after the holidays. Isn't worn idler arms and brackets something the alignment shop should have found?? Use to hav a regular mechanic I trusted but he unfriended me when I bought the RT as it is too big for his lifts. $888.36 bill but only 1.5 hours labor if I have it done.
[IMG][/IMG]

OK, there are worn parts! You said you have over 1" of play in the steering wheel. Change the worn components. Check your steering play again. Joe

[TX-Trek]

I would never buy mevotech parts, third line offshore stuff. Lots of issues even ncluding those blue seal caps that split.

Just my opinion, if you've done your own work you know the value of paying for parts that last. Cheap suspension/steering stuff may not physically break but if/when it loosens up, it's worthless.

If you Google GM online parts, any of the first few sites that come up will give you the parts info you're looking for.

I've done restorations/repair most of my life and in more recent years I too have napped under a vehicle.

[booster]

Originally Posted by jojobafanzi

OK, there are worn parts! You said you have over 1" of play in the steering wheel. Change the worn components. Check your steering play again. Joe

I agree, but I think he needs to recheck with the engine running and while driving.


Checking when sitting without the engine running can be deceptive because you can be mearsuring the torsion bar movement. When the engine is running the bar will open the valve and turn the wheels but when not running the bar/valve can go to wide open before the wheels turn.

[jjrbus]

Been searching posts and video's on Idler arms and such. very little on the 01 3500. I go out and look at my van and it is different than anything I have seen. The idler arms are in the frame! I also noticed it is unlikely they are OE, much cleaner than the rest of the parts at 75,000 miles.

Speaking of parts as I research every brand has lots of complaints! I will never use ________ again. Fill in the blank. Then they claim you should have bought their gold, commercial, professional parts. Why are they selling low end crap?

I will not be doing anything with this till I talk to my alignment shop next week.

I am looking for a service manual, has anyone found anything they like??

[booster]

Originally Posted by jjrbus

Been searching posts and video's on Idler arms and such. very little on the 01 3500. I go out and look at my van and it is different than anything I have seen. The idler arms are in the frame! I also noticed it is unlikely they are OE, much cleaner than the rest of the parts at 75,000 miles.

Speaking of parts as I research every brand has lots of complaints! I will never use ________ again. Fill in the blank. Then they claim you should have bought their gold, commercial, professional parts. Why are they selling low end crap?

I will not be doing anything with this till I talk to my alignment shop next week.

I am looking for a service manual, has anyone found anything they like??

The holy grail is aways a GM factory service manual. 2001 seems to be rarer than the 2000 or 2002. An 02 or 00 probably is nearly identical though.


This looks to be the electronic version of the factory manual for 2001. This is probably what the dealer used as they didn't want all the books around and this would be built in to their diagnostic computers.


https://factorymanuals.net/products/...QaAnOEEALw_wcB

[TX-Trek]

For our van I use Mitchell DIY online subscription. I've had a 4 year subscription, used to be $45, now it's $60 I think. I've used it a lot, like it enough to renew. Wiring diagrams have been good, always helpful for diagnosis on wiring/module/comm issues. Has been helpful on the road too, windows went down but not up lol. Figured it out pretty quick.
Sidetrack, I've also been happy with my XTool A30M scantool. Uses a tablet or phone and is bidirectional, for me, a key feature.

[jjrbus]

Greetings. Trying to figure out which way to go on this I got hold of the mechanic at the shop that unfriended me when I bought the van. He came to the house and looked the front end over and said there is a bit of play in the idler arms but a tiny amount and he would not replace them if it was his, other than that the front end, wheel bearing etc are tight. I have been dealing with Kirk long time and trust him.

He did say that very hard to tell but that alignment does not look right to him and I should have it checked. As much as I trust West Coast alignment I will look for another shop for a 2nd opinion. Wonder if 01 Express 3500 and cut away have different spec's??

Have alignment, tire balance and inspection scheduled, will let you know what happens. Also ordered service manual.

[booster]

Originally Posted by jjrbus

Greetings. Trying to figure out which way to go on this I got hold of the mechanic at the shop that unfriended me when I bought the van. He came to the house and looked the front end over and said there is a bit of play in the idler arms but a tiny amount and he would not replace them if it was his, other than that the front end, wheel bearing etc are tight. I have been dealing with Kirk long time and trust him.

He did say that very hard to tell but that alignment does not look right to him and I should have it checked. As much as I trust West Coast alignment I will look for another shop for a 2nd opinion. Wonder if 01 Express 3500 and cut away have different spec's??

Have alignment, tire balance and inspection scheduled, will let you know what happens. Also ordered service manual.

I don't recall, did you ever post the specs they gave you for the alignment. You should have been given a before and after printout of them. Just telling you it is "in the green" or "just fine" doesn't cut it as you can be within the Chevy specs and have a horrible alignment and handling.

[jjrbus]

Thanks for the response, I think one time in my life I have seen an alignment readout.

I will request one when I have the van checked Tuesday.

[SteveJ]

I'm not sure if they work on Express vans but they do work on independently suspended Chevy P30 chassis, Josam's in Orlando. Extremely well regarded for all things suspension and they are used to working with RVs.

Give them a call.

[booster]

Originally Posted by SteveJ

I'm not sure if they work on Express vans but they do work on independently suspended Chevy P30 chassis, Josam's in Orlando. Extremely well regarded for all things suspension and they are used to working with RVs.

Give them a call.

What may be found is that there are no adjusting cams on it. I do seem to remember several members who had the previous to current revision of the Express saying that they required a "cam kit" to be installed on each side to allow for actually adjusting caster and camber. An experienced shop will know all that and how to do it, but some of the newer techs will be baffled.

[jjrbus]

A quick search shows a cam kit for the 01 express 3500. https://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/moog-k100335

[jojobafanzi]

Originally Posted by jjrbus

Have alignment, tire balance and inspection scheduled, will let you know what happens. Also ordered service manual.

Good morning and Happy NewYear! Did you ever post for us your specs for your Roadtrek? It would help to know your exact configuration, Axle weights, location of equipment that is located behind the rear axle, ect... Cheers! Joe

[jjrbus]

Trying to upload alignment specs

[jjrbus]

No idea why the after is upside down, it is right side up on my desktop?? No idea how to fix it so uploading again.

[booster]

Originally Posted by jjrbus

Trying to upload alignment specs

If these are before and after, which it appears to be, all they did was set the toe to get it better. You were at zero toe before and that will make you squirrely.


You have way too little caster and with more on the left than right which is backwards of spec.


You have different camber on each side with one positive and one negative which will often make the vehicle pull to one side.


The didn't touch the camber and caster, probably because it doesn't have the cam kits installed. This is very typical of lazy shops as they get full payment just for setting the toe. I would go back and tell them it is inadequate and they will probably say "it is not adjustable so we can't". Then tell him about the cam kits and where to get them (probably NAPA). Of course they will want you to pay for installing them, which is fair, but the realignment should be no charge to you.



They did poorly like so very many others we have seen. Expensive equipment but no skills or common sense.