When simple jobs turn ugly...

[Agent Ronin]

So... let me set the scene. My truck needs new brakes, no problem i've done it before. But i also need new rear dust-shields since mine are... well missing

So i get the dust shields, a 18$ GM part. And then the adventure begins to replace these pieces of stamped steel. (Cough, the GM Tech manual says 2-3 hours!)



So, to remove these shields requires:
- Disassembly of Rear Differental
- Removal of rear axle half-shafts.
- Disassembly/Removal of Parking Brake assembly.

Just to replace a stinking 18$ part!



There is the culprit next lying on the driveway...

[jsb889]

Ewwwwwww! Is it back together yet? I'm curious how much over that 2-3 hours it took ya. Looks messy!

It took me and my dad two days to get a radiator in a Caviler. I pray that you're not stuck with working in any small spaces!

[RocketFoot]

Dude, I feel for ya...I spent 3 hours trying to back off a caliper on the back of my Taurus when I finally decided to get a reman on instead!

There's 2 things I don't do well...auto mechanics and carpentry! Don't ask! LOL

[knight0334]

d00d!! That vehicle doesn't look that old... What the hell did you do to the rear dust shields for them to look like that? You ride your brakes? Have a brake fire then put out the fire with saltwater?

I've had cars that were 30-40 years old that had dust shields that looked a hellava lot better than that.

[Azzy]

Easy.. the OEM ones probably were not coated well. Didnt that thing come with a rust warranty?

[Mike45]

Hey AR, that's my every day, a simple job goes bananas. Thank God I have a great mechanic for a brother. Same here on the lousy carpentry, I'll hire one...Mike45

[RandomTask]

I know what you mean... I have to contort like a Thai hooker to do just about anything on my truck. A simple job isn't so simple when it takes 20 minutes to remove a fastener, one click at a time.

[Agent Ronin]

d00d!! That vehicle doesn't look that old... What the hell did you do to the rear dust shields for them to look like that? You ride your brakes? Have a brake fire then put out the fire with saltwater?

I've had cars that were 30-40 years old that had dust shields that looked a hellava lot better than that.

Heh yea, its not old at all... However its kept outdoors and has had many, many trips to Vermont during the winter months. Oh and i did take it on a beach once, but avoided the salt water. I blame PennDOT for excessive use of road salt as well.

Anyway i got it all back together, except for bleeding the brakes which i'll do tomorrow morning. As for how long it took, well if i actually had a garage big enough to work in and all the parts available at the beginning it would have probably taken me 5-6 hours. But i never took apart a differental before so that went slow and had a few parts that i had to run out and get a few times. So it took me all day

[jsb889]

Glad you got it all back together. Just in time too it seems

[jdlv4_0]

But think about how much your saved by doing it yourself