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Apr 30, 2020 22:23:06 GMT
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Well, I’ve been a reader for some time, but decided to put a toe into the water and see if I could author something that would be informative and not be too hard to understand. I was inspired by glenanderson and his Land Rover thread, and Grizz. A formidable standard to aim for, I know, but let us see what comes about.
The vehicle in the spotlight is a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado, a 1500 almost base model. By that I mean it has manual windows, manual locks, manual transmission [5 speeds] and a rubber floor. I am not sure about the rest of the world, but in U.S.A., those are frowned upon shortcomings.
On the other hand, and contradictory to the norm, it has AM/FM with 4 speakers Stereo. [No tape or C.D.] It has dual control HVAC, power steering with tilt.
2 wheel drive, but 4 wheel disk brakes [albeit, single disk calipers] and 16.5 road wheels with 6 lug of a heavy half or a 3/4 ton truck.
Engine is a 4.6L V-6, fuel injected and with 154k+ miles, still gets 21MPG.
So, what happened?
For the last year I have noticed the driver’s side rubber floor was wet. I don’t drive the truck that much since retiring 3 year ago, and the thing would mist the windows just sitting in the drive. I would roll down the windows [all 2 of them] and drive around til the damp smell went away and the floor dried up. Never got around to investigating; always too busy with yard work, and buying /selling a house and church. I teach Adult Sunday School, and my wife and I are very involved with Deaf Evangelism. We are both HH [hard-of-hearing] and we taught a sign language at our church and did our best to become part of the Deaf community. Hence, the move to Jacksonville, Illinois, home of the state school Illinois School for the Deaf.
Here we are, busy as the proverbial bees, when of all things everything came to a halt and we are ‘confined to quarters’ for the duration! It was okay at the first, lots of reading and too much internet. Then this past week the weather broke and it was nice outside. Back outside!! Yay! I built a workbench in the garage and got some tools out of the storage facility [from moving 80 miles across the state] and set up the lathe and my collection of tool boxes and all the little projects I collected the last couple of years.
I went to the truck to run an errand [actually to see what was sent curbside on trash pick-up day!] and noticed the dampness of the foot well was now standing water!
My adventure with tracking the source of water and its subsequent relief is the topic of this thread. I hope I do justice to the great threads on this forum.
So, that is day 1…
John
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Apr 30, 2020 22:27:31 GMT
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 This is Truck; sometimes My Truck, often times Your Truck but casually The Truck. |
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Apr 30, 2020 23:29:22 GMT
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But before we get to rambling on....this is for glenanderson:   Coal mining in Illinois. Nice hat. John |
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Personally, I like a good basic truck like that...I would not frown upon it at all!....except maybe for the water ingress.
Have you found the source? plugged vent holes?window moulding?
jP
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I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
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And here we go… removed threshold plastic trim and lifted up the rubber mat. Ooo, looks wet and is wet and oily. Thought first to avoid out of it by attempting to dry it out. Then lifted the mat and a puddle of water and some surface rust. You can see some rust in the cable tray especially the pressed nuts holding the tray to the floor.     So, had to do it…remove everything. The worse leak was indicated to be to the drivers foot well. I’ll call this LEAK ONE.  Here you can see the rust damage to the cable tray. It is not deep, so I think it is recent.  First theory by observation; the windscreen was changed out 3 years ago and I began to think shoddy install. This was supported by Photo 7 of similar but less severe water intrusion to the passenger foot well and threshold cable tray.  I removed the sound deadening mat from the cab and made my first POSSIBLE mistake. I unplugged the airbag module and then discovered I had failed the first rule of auto mechanics…the battery was still connected!!  My son is the service writer at Chevrolet dealership. I texted him with photo of the unplugged module and said “did I make a mistake?” He fired back “as long as you disconnected the negative lead at the battery, no problem”. My reply “I’ll do that now…” [more on this later, when I try to start it] And so dear reader the evening light is fading, the sky is trying to rain so we say goodnight to another day in solitary…all the interior of Truck are in the garage.  The soggy saga will resume tomorrow… John |
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Paul Y
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,951
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As you have the interior out I would swap the v6 for a v8. With a turbo. Seems like the sensible thing to do as you are there.... P.  |
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Nice truck, there's nothing wrong with base spec, less things to go wrong, a lighter vehicle so in theory better fuel economy. it looks to be in really nice condition. I will be following your thread with interest,
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ilwynogmon, Thanks! I agree! Truck is 2004, I bought it in North Carolina in 2006 with 21K miles.It has been my daily driver until 2017 when I retired.It has 153K now and I want to restore it.
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Love a truck like this. Although I do agree with the V8 suggestion - either with or without turbo! |
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Hello everyone, welcome to day 2 as the search for the source of the Nile continues… Well, having stripped the interior of obstructions I was ready to do a water test. I flowed water at the center of the roof using a garden hose [garden pipe] for less than 2 minutes. Then opened up and looked for water…and found it:  I’ll call this LEAK 3. Here is the cable tray at the passenger door threshold. The water is not coming from the front [windscreen theory] but from here:  Here is the area behind passenger seat where the plate to hold the jack is located as seen by the two studs. Notice the water beads.  Next, LEAK 2. This is the cable tray in the threshold of the driver’s door. Quite a surprising amount of fluid! Also, notice the puddle comes from the back not the front…photo also shows a large amount of water [top of photo] that comes from LEAK 1! The two leaks have not joined yet, but this is only 2 minutes of water flow; imagine what the amount entering the cabin is over a 2 or 3 hour rain!!  Looking to the source of the water traveling to the driver’s foot well, I find this:  This item is called CABIN PRESSURE VALVE. I’ve heard different reasons for it being there, but basically it is to relieve pressure when you close the door with the window up [duh!]. But wait! There’s More!! There are 2 of these puppies, one for the passenger side, too. Here is a photo of the lake area where water accumulates in the corner of the cab. No wonder the cab corners are a popular replacement part. Photol2 cab press deposit. Here is photo of the expired seal for the CAB PRESS VALVE:  Okay, here is the biggy! I call it LEAK 1. The water from the windscreen drains [no, that’s not the word…dumps!, yeah that’s it…] haphazardly dumps into the engine compartment and is “allowed to flow, where it lists no man knows”.    Well it follows somewhat the contours of the cab front. The cab is made of parts welded together and then SEAMED WITH CAULK. Just have a look at this unprofessional video [taken by a 69 year old man on a cell phone while wearing tri-focals and trying to breathe while bent over]: Water test is over, plans are coming together, two CAB PRESS VALVEs are on order from the local Chevy Garage [$79USD]. I purchased new bolts and nuts to mount the seats [Napa], found replacement pressed nuts for the cable tray [Napa]; Got a rattle can of black rust paint for the cable trays and jack plate [Family Dollar]. Truck is bundled up in preparation of 2 days of rain forecast.  Will continue when the sun shines again! John |
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Last Edit: May 1, 2020 20:00:18 GMT by Deleted: Forgot a picture
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Hello everyone got some good weather and made progress on the problem at hand. Here is the condition found for the submerged cable trays. No rust on the floor sheet metal, so glad that I got to the problem early enough. Most of the water came through the caulking on a front cab corner as tried to portray in the epic video. I gouged the putty out of the weeping hole area and re-caulked it with Silicone Bathtub Caulk/Sealer. This was suggested by the auto tech at the Chevy garage; also used it to replace the gasket on the 3rd brake light, as the garage could not list a separate gasket but the whole light assembly could be had for $186USD. I’ll try the caulking first!   And here is the drivers cable tray painted.  Installed with plastic cover, drivers threshold. Also used new pressed nuts to fasten; originals were water-logged!   And the passenger threshold cable tray painted and installed with cover.  Reinstall the now dry sound deadening pad  And finally! The rubber mat back home. The refreshed jack and tire tools behind passenger seat.  Last thing I did was connect the battery and it started no problem. Test drive showed no damage or loss of airbags and everything worked fine. I have some comment and observations that I will post in a day or two. John |
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andyborris
Posted a lot
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Posts: 2,220
Member is Online
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"but this is only 2 minutes of water flow; imagine what the amount entering the cabin is over a 2 or 3 hour rain!!" So, Illinois isn't a dry state then?  Nice job on a nice truck, trucks should be simple and uncomplicated, just like a truck. |
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andyborris, Thanks! No, Illinois is not a dry state. It is called a "Mid West Plains" state; our average altitude is 650 feet above sea level, with a water table of about 50 feet. The soil is about the Blackest Sandy Loam that supports grain crops of Soy beans and Corn. There is only one large city, Chicago, tucked up in the far Northeast corner.
We are bordered on the West boundary by the Mississippi River and the East Boundary by the Ohio River. Half way up the East boundary the Ohio turns East and the State shares a land boundary with Ohio.
The state is shaped like the holster for a pistol, at the point is the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. This area is called "Little Egypt" and the town at the tip of the state is Cairo. 2/3 up the Mississippi from Cairo is Saint Louis, Missouri, right on the River and it sort of overflows into Illinois and there you have East Saint Louis, Illinois.
A lot of geography happens at Saint Louis; the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois Rivers. Starting in Chicago is the Chicago Sanitary Canal, which flows South and it becomes the Illinois River. Along the way of the Illinois River, it is joined by the Kaskaskia River, the Sangamon River.
On all these rivers, there extreme amount of Barge traffic moving grain from the farmland to Saint Louis and on to the mouth of the Mississippi at the delta in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. Going the opposite direction is oil and refined gas destination Chicago and the Great Lakes, through the Erie Canal and on to the Atlantic Ocean.
Our winter is low humidity with moderate snowfall and numerous SEVERE WINTER WARNING on the cell phone, summer is average temperature of 80 degree F., with TORNADO warnings and RIVER FLOODING warnings.
I find great joy in standing at the edge of a 2000 acre corn field in a light breeze and listening to the rustle of the corn, some say you can hear the corn growing!
The roads and highways are mostly asphalt due to the freezing and thawing, and constantly under repair. So you sometimes get free undercoating! but in winter beware of the salt!
As for the trucks!! Farmers don't put a lot of miles on a truck and the new generation like to drive a new truck. So, lots of low mileage beauties come on the used car lot at the dealer. The big 3 are Ford, Chevy and Dodge in that order. My son, mentioned earlier, works at a dealers garage and has some very nice examples of truck.
Well, I am a rambler, hope I answered your question...you really ought to arrange a visit if you can!
John
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andyborris
Posted a lot
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Posts: 2,220
Member is Online
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John
Thanks, I'm currently refurbishing a Mitsubishi truck with idea of building a camper onto it and I'd love to ship it to the USA when I retire and spend a few years drifting around the lesser known parts of that great country.
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Drains on the door bottoms of mine used to block up for a pastime and make things wet.
That's not base. That's SPECIAL ORDER base. V6, manual everything- manual gears was a specific factory order. They stopped offering it as an option on everything but the diesel in 05... Someone hated their life.
Phil
Edit: Funny to think I could get in a boat at the end of my street and get to your town in it without getting out (apart from at Donaldsonville to get by the sluice).
Phil
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Last Edit: May 5, 2020 3:08:04 GMT by PhilA
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Some observations of the job. I used this to try and restore the appearance of the rubber mat. This was probably not the best idea. The mat, though shiny and clean; looks like new; is in fact SLICK!. Too slick in fact, getting into and out of the truck one must be careful of your footing as your feet go out from under you very quickly. No help that the floor mats are rubber, too, and slide under the pedals and turn with you feet. Any one have a better product?  I found some treasure under the seats and squirreled into the corners; one was a 5/16 Craftsman raised panel, made in USA wrench. Timely, too, as it is the proper size to disconnect the battery terminal that I failed to do early on!! And the I found this. A Mexican coin of $2D or 2 Pesos. It takes about 10 of these to make a US Dollar. But, the amazing thing to me is that it is very fine to un-circulated and it is dated 2004. Same year as Truck. However, I think Truck was assembled in 2003 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA. Face:  Obverse:  I have a short list of things to do to Truck and will go over that list next time, John |
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Soft cloth (old teeshirt or similar) and 50/50 mix of 409. Dry off with cloth.
You'll not get rid of the discoloration too easily but that'll stop then being so slippy without doing funny things to the plastic. Don't leave it on for a long time though, it's got bleaching agents in.
Phil
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Thanks PhiA, I'll follow your tip!
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Well...and now for something different! Start with the traditional photo in the filling station on the way home with a project...  OOPS! Can't see much there...try this...  ...and...  ... So, there's that. |
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I do like a nice truck. They're as popular in Australia as they are in the US although they call them utes over here and they're mostly made in the Far East.
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