Category: Car repair

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Driving to Texas

A Summer Road Trip

On the first of June we loaded up our Suburban with three adults and three children for a trip to Sante Fe, Texas. The trip was close to 900 miles each way.

Just before the trip, I serviced the Suburban’s AC. It was blowing nice cold air from the front vents but the rear air just blew hot air. I had not been able to get the line at the rear expansion valve off and I had hoped I would work without flushing, but I guess it did not. So the front seat passengers had to freeze to keep the rear cool. The temperature was near 100 most of the trip.

To keep the younger passengers entertained; we had a variety of electronics on board. We had two inverters running to power the video system, laptop computers, phone chargers and even a Wii. I really can’t imagine making the trip in a vehicle smaller than the Suburban. In fact, I was wishing it was bigger at times.

The big truck is very comfortable to drive on the interstate. We took I75 to I24. Then we took I59 across three states form one end to the other. At the end of I59, we took I12 across Louisiana. We met up with I10 and then took the 18 mile bridge across the swamp. We finally dropped off I10 in Texas and then followed the coast to take the Bolivar ferry.

The ferry was a very interesting ride. The DOT operates ferries 24 hours a day across the Galveston bay. These ferries are huge compared to the ones I have ridden hear on the east coast. They hold about 40 cars each. Once loaded on the ferry, we got out and toured the ship and watched the dolphins play in the water as we crossed the bay. It was a nice break in the trip.

While in Galveston, we visited the beach. Beach parking along the sea wall is parallel parking spaces. This was a challenge for me with the Suburban especially since it was loaded so that I could not see out he back window. The first time I parked, I was lucky enough to find a double spot so I could pull in forward and then back into place.

The next day, I had trouble finding a spot big enough for the Suburban. All I found was a single spot by the toilets that made backing in easier. However backing in from the high traffic Seawall Boulevard was still scary. I needed a spotter to get it not the space completely.

The next trip to the beach, I drove on west of the city and found a place where we could park on the sand for free. There were places on the east side but there was a $8 fee and they were extremely crowded. The place on the west beach was very nice and I was able to back the Suburban right up to the beach so we could access our towels and cooler easily.

The big GMC ran well and got about 16 MPG. It developed a hick up at about 65mph on the way down. I am guessing that the trouble is a dead spot in the throttle position sensor. When it started to hick up, al we had to do was speed up or slow down to get it to smooth out. It also had a similar hiccup when idling in the heat in traffic in Galveston. Sometimes it felt as if it was going to die at traffic lights but it would always keep running.

On the way home, the hiccup smoothed out but after refueling, it would bog down when trying to accelerate back up to interstate speed. It was like some sludge got stirred up refueling and it took a while to settle back out. The Suburban has a 42 gallon tank so it was quite a distance between fuel stops.

We saw some crazy things while driving 2000 miles. The two funniest were the bra on mile marker 110 in Mississippi and the pig snout sticking out of the livestock truck somewhere in Alabama.

We were all missing our Jeeps by the time we got home. But the extra space of the Suburban was really nice on the long road trip.

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Air Conditioner 1995 GMC Suburban

Servicing the Air Conditioner 1995 GMC Suburban

My Ac compressor recently failed in my 1995 GMC Suburban. Changing the compressor is relatively easy. Just three bolts hold it to the cradle. See this previous article on changing the Suburban AC compressor.But servicing the rest of the system after a compressor failure is a bit more of a challenge.

My Suburban has the dual with two evaporators. One is located under the dash and a second one is located in the rear fender. The orifice tube is not in the same palce as in the pickup and the single system SUVs. The orifice tube is located under the battery support.

Removal of the battery tray involves removing several fasteners that hold the complicated tray to the fender and to the front header. It took me a while to locate them all.

With the tray removed, the junction containing the orifice tube can be accessed with wrenches. It took quite a bit of torque to separate the nut from the fitting so a backup wrench was critical. Once the junction was separated; I extracted the old orifice tube with needle nose pliers.

The filter screen was covered in metal shaving from the compressor that had failed. I used a flush solvent to wash out the metal shavings from the lines and the condenser. I used compressed air to clean out the remaining flush solvent.

Next I replaced the valves on both the high and low pressure ports. The low pressure port has a Schrader valve that looks like a tire core. It installs just like attire core as well. The high pressure port screws onto the line as an assembly. I did not have a wrench that fit the flats on the fitting, so I just used Channel Locks.

I was not able to get the lines to separate at the rear of the truck so that I could flush these lines. I am going to take the risk and reassemble the system with out flushing these lines.

I had to make an adapter to connect my old vacuum pump to the 134 type fittings. But it pulled down quickly and held a vacuum just like it was supposed to.

At first, the low pressure switch would not let the compressor run. Even with a hot can of Freon attached to the accumulator. I checked all the wiring just to make sure but it was in fact the low pressure switch holding it out.

I made up a jumper to force the compressor to run. Very quickly it began pulling Freon from the can. Ice formed on the can to let me know it was going down. I removed the jumper periodically to see if the low pressure switch was satisfied. It took one full can before the low pressure switch would let it run at all. Then it would only run a second or two and then kick back off. I continued on with the jumper in place.

The line after the orifice tube began to ice up but the air in the vents was still not cold. I removed the jumper and let the line thaw for a while. I then added the third can. The pressure switch was letting the compressor run a bit longer but I still left the jumper in place. Finally, with the third can in, cooler air came out of the vents. I was out of Freon so I let it sit for the evening.

The next day I got another can and added it to the system. Finally the low pressure switch stayed in and the system began to cool properly.

So far, it is working well. AC will be nice in the record high temps we are having in Tennessee this week.

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How to replace the fan clutch on a Ford Explorer

How to replace the fan clutch on a Ford Explorer

My friends 1993 ford explorer was running hot when sitting still or climbing his long step driveway. He had correctly guessed that the fan clutch was not working properly.

At the parts store, we picked up a new belt and a fan clutch. Leaving the truck parked while we got parts allowed time for it to cool.

I noticed when I pulled the clutch out of the box that it mounted differently from the Jeeps I am accustomed to working on. Instead of having four small bolts, it has one big one in the center.

I dug through the tool box and I did not have any open end wrenches big enough to go over the nut. The nut on the explorer is 36mm. Even my largest adjustable wrench would not open up enough to engage the nut.

My friend made a quick call to the parts store and found that they had the tool in their loan a tool program. So back to the store we went to get the correct tool. There was a hefty deposit required but the counter guy was nice enough to simply hold his check while we used the tool.

Back at the shop, the tool set had not only the correct wrench to fit the clutch but a handy tool for holding the water pump pulley while removing it. The mounting nut came loose with much less force than I expected and I mashed my thumb between the two wrenches.

I found it was much easier to remove and replace the clutch with the belt off. It was really easy to install the belt with he fan out of the way, but I had to take the belt back off to get the clutch started on to the water pump shaft threads.

So from what I learned, here is how to change a fan clutch on an explorer:

Loosen the belt by putting a socket on the tensioner and move it off the belt. Loosen the fan shroud by removing the two bolts at the top.

Use the special tool, to hold the water pump. Then use the proper wrench to turn nut to loosen the clutch from the water pump. Spin the water pump pulley while holding the fan to remove the clutch.

Remove the shroud and fan at the same time. Remove the four bolts that hold the fan to the clutch. Place the fan on the new clutch and bolt it in place. Put the new assembly in the shroud and lower it in to place.

Hold the fan and spin the water pump to thread it into the new clutch. Tighten with he special tools. Clip the bottom of the shroud into place. Reinstall and tighten the two shroud bolts that the top of the radiator.

Move the tensioner away from the belt and slip the belt back in place. Check for any loose items or tools before starting the engine to test.[phpbay]fan clutch, 10[/phpbay]