Getting too old for this stuff .

[Jlaws]

Time was that I could change out a fuel pump in an afternoon , anymore it takes me 3 days ....LOL

A few weeks ago I broke a brake line on my 04 Silveraldo , while under the truck I noticed that they all looked badly corroded and soon found out after talking to a friend who works at an auto parts place that it was a common problem that should have been a recall item , but wasn't . I guess they weren't recalled because not enough peoples been killed because of brake failure .
The problems so bad that my neighbor who owns a business and owns two 03 Silveraldo's , broke metal lines on both of his trucks last year ....
Chevy know of the problem and make's a complete 7 piece metal brake line replacement kit for around $100 that has a plastic coating on the outside .


So anyway I'm thinking that I got lucky cause I was going to plowday in a couple of weeks , I got plenty of time to fix it .

Anyway 3 weeks ago when I was under my truck removing my old brake lines , I was noticing a slight smell of gasoline . I checked but couldn't find anything leaking and there was no drips on the pavement . When I went to pick up my brake lines at the auto parts place , my friend commented I'd be changing fuel lines in a couple of years , because as he put it , they were selling a lot of each and the original brake and fuel lines were probably made in china .

Well fast forward to last weekend . I'm actually backing my loaded truck up to the trailer to hitch it up that is also loaded with 3 cubs getting ready to leave for Ohio plowday in just a couple of hours when I notice the gas smell , except its smells stronger . I get out and look under the truck and gas is just pouring out on the ground .....

After a few choice 4 letter words , and I settled down , I called my dad and luckily he lent me his new truck so I could attend plowday .

Sorry for the long winded post , but my luck has been really lousy lately and I needed to vent .
I guess I should feel lucky that the fuel pump pressurized line didn't fail about half way to plowday on the Interstate .
Anyway heres how my truck looked this afternoon waiting on a new back ordered fuel pump .

[albie]

Jess raising the bed is the way we always put pumps in when I was at the car dealer. There are kits available with all the brake lines in stainless steel. The coated lines are ok but still are steel and if the coating gets nicked they will rust. I also like using copper/nickel brake line when I make them from scratch.

[Jlaws]

Albie , when I was a young man , I would have called 3 of my buddies and we would have got on the 4 corners of the bed and just lifted it completely off .
And it would have only cost me a 12 pack of beer .
I did a Youtube search for Silveraldo fuel pump replacement and a bunch of video's popped up . One gentleman who does auto repair for a living posted a nice 3 part video on his 07 Silveraldo in which he used the tilt bed technique that one person can do . Since I didn't have any help and mines a very similar model to his it worked great .

I also noticed more than a few video's on people that cut a rather large and ugly hole in their truck bed to change a fuel pump , which I find crude and lazy .

[dag1450]

Jess....looks like....u r the true "shade tree machanic" The way I see it......autos must b built with a ten year life expectancy. The simple brake line....they have been used on cars for years! U would think (for safty) should b built to last a real long time. I have fords and the same problems with brake lines and I bet the fuel r not far behind. On the 98 ford expedition i had to have all the brake lines and hoses redone a few years back.....after two leaks I did not feel safe. And on the o3 cargo van same thing.....although I did not replace every line yet I have done my share. Very frustrating that we can't build them a little better! I sure you'll get her all fixed up so....Good job! Its fun working and messing w the cubs.....cars not so much anymore! Oh...I forgot to mention, where I live in eastern PA...a 1998 car is concidered an antique! Dave

[Jlaws]

Dave , I can't get over the fact that some of the trucks metal parts still look new (no rust) and other parts look 30 years old . Like the rear brake dust plates which are rotting off a 10 year old truck . You can tell that not all the parts are US made or of the same quality metal .

I have always worked on my own vehicles , (oil changes , tuneups , etc. ) even complete overhauls , mainly because I didn't have the extra money to have someone else do it and partly because I don't trust other peoples work . I remember one time changing my exhaust in the snow when I was in my 20's .
I've also seen some of the shotty work some garages do .

I learned how to work on cars from my grandfather when I was a young boy ( he used to work at a GM Fisher Body plant building Firebirds and Camaro's ) and he was a shade tree mechanic because he never had a garage and I would help him often ) .

I'm also a true shade tree mechanic and consider it a compliment . But between the fact that I'm staring 60 years old in the face , have arthritis , and because of the complexity of the new cars , working on your own vehicle is going the way of the Dodo .
I won't be doing it much longer .

[dag1450]

Yea Jess....about 10 years ago I was reduce to tune ups, brakes, and oil. Then came my new friend called u tube! Two of my cars needed extensive intake manifold work w leaking interior bolts. They were leaking air and throwing a code that would not pass emissions testing. Anyway.... I found new skills w the power of some guy walking me through each step on his utube video. That sweet guy saved me thousands! The more guys I talk too....the more we r all turning to the tube to work on new cars. Let us know how u make out. Dave

[Tom Scott]

Jess - I know your pain on the brake lines. I had a 2002 Chevy truck, and they all rusted bad. I went with the copper-nickel brake lines, can't rust and would outlast the whole vehicle if used by the factory.

Can't use copper for brake lines, it must be the copper-nickel (Cu-Ni) alloy. One brand is "Cunifer" (copper-nickel-ferrous abbreviation; there is a little bit of iron in the alloy). In addition to not corroding easily, Cu-Ni bends much easier than steel. And btw, stainless steel is miserable to work with, harder to bend than regular steel.

I was able to replace all the brake lines as one piece runs using the Cu-Ni. I wasn't easy, but i was able to do it. Made the double flares at each end right underneath the truck.

LInk for Cunifer brake lines for research, but you can buy it much cheaper from Amazon if you just search for copper nickel brake line... link: http://www.fedhillusa.com/

[Klapatta]

According to what I have been told the fuel pump units last for about 120 k miles. Mine went further than that. Another failure point is the filler neck assembly, these will rot out in high salt areas. The brake line issue is well known as well and I suspect that the kit is offered for a hundred bucks as hush money. It's a pretty complete kit. The two rear axle outer lines are not included and cannot be purchased at GM, they must be bent up. All of those issues I had addressed at my local garage, the brake line change was $400. with my parts and was accomplished by NOT disconnecting the bed, that as well as the fuel pump change. When I took one good look at that set of brake lines I decided that it was no job for me. Of course, all the bleeder screws snapped off and I replaced the rotors, pads, and calipers myself before having it towed in for the new lines. That while expensive, was a money saver. Check those bleeder screws first, if they don't budge things get worse. I bent the two axle lines myself. The problem with the disc rotor shields cannot be overlooked because they hold the emergency brake shoes. They are about $25. each at GM and are powder coated. Factory replacements require removal of the axles, there are after market ones that are two piece which will leave axles alone but I can't attest to them. The limited slip diff is tricky to work on- I veered off from that one as well. Another tender spot with them is the rocker panels and cab corners, they are real salt catchers.
That's a pretty rust free truck. It's not from New England

[Klapatta]

One other thing, when your fuel pump fails on the interstate on a Winter morning in a no cell phone area, you will know all right- just start walking until the police pick you up and bring you back to where you started

[Jlaws]

Ken , I was pleasantly surprised that the complete 7 piece brake line set was only $100 , I was expecting it to be a lot higher , somewhere in the $200 to $300 range . You may be right about the hush money....LOL.....My front bleeder were almost rotted off and so bad that I had to used Vice grips on them to get them out , surprisingly the rears ones looked good , which figures since I had to put new rear calipers on it anyway as my old ones were sticking after the new pads were installed . That's another common problem with calipers after a brake pad change .

As for the brake line kit not containing the two rear axle lines after they T off the main brake line , My theory is that those two lines may have come with the rear axle before they were installed on the truck at the assembly line . The reason I think that is because the two rear axle lines on my truck are rust free and don't look like the other rusted up lines running along the frame ....I'm thinking they are from another brake line manufacturer .

The fuel pump didn't fail , it was the metal high pressure outlet line coming out of the fuel pump assy. on top of the fuel tank that rusted out just like my brake lines did . And my truck has about 120 K on it .

[Klapatta]

While there's a shop around here that will pass most anything with lower rust I decided it was time to do something about that.
Aside from the outer rocker panels and cab corners it was in pretty darn good shape. And really the cab corners could have been trimmed much lower. I was not looking for pretty or correct- the truck is fourteen years old. The thing feels much more solid now and the doors close perfectly.

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[vince_o]

Just another reason I moved south!

[Doog M]

Jess that was quite the job you got into.
I had a brake line rust out on my 2001 F150. Garage said it was the only line that wasn't coated.
Last fall I replaced the rocker panels. But on a good note I haven't had a truck payment in 10 years.

[Klapatta]

Around here as little as two years ago it was very common to see all kinds of rust repairs. I'm talking old license plates pop riveted on and covered up with tar, fence latches for hood hinges- all kinds of stuff like that. The inspection shops have really been clamping down on that sort of thing lately because of pressure by the DMV. One local here lost his license and his shop over poor inspection and that sent everyone else running for cover.
Now my Wife took her seven year old Trail Blazer to the dealer today for inspection and it failed for rusty front rotors. And it has only 55K on it. Last week I had it at the tire store for four new tires and while it was up on jacks I looked over the brakes and they seemed more than good enough to me so I expected it to pass. Looks like new rotors and pads this weekend. It's all right, she deserves the best anyhow