What did you do to your V today?
04-09-2017, 12:41 PM
#1322
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Bought a little something something to dress up the inside a bit lol too excited about this not to share. Ships out Monday morning, hopefully will have it by next weekend.
04-09-2017, 02:45 PM
#1323
Guess who's kid just turned two?
Next one comes in September. Gotta get my miles in this summer. 
04-11-2017, 08:03 AM
#1325
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Let's see... finished installing the Tilton clutch master yesterday. Picked up the wheels after getting the tires mounted. Next up, motor mounts and the P/S high pressure line.
Also, the pic of my vinyl on the shifter bezel a couple folks had asked about.
Also, the pic of my vinyl on the shifter bezel a couple folks had asked about.
04-11-2017, 10:39 AM
#1326
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I'll snap a pic of it in the car when I get home today. Like I said, I think a very subtle accent somewhere near the radio display would go a long way to tying it together.
http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1kgtpjvg.jpg
http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/...psz62y6rev.jpg
http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1kgtpjvg.jpg
http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/...psz62y6rev.jpg
It's fake chrome rather than fake brushed stainless, but perhaps you could make that work?
04-11-2017, 11:12 AM
#1327
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At one point as I was scrounging through a couple V6 CTSs in the junkyard I noticed that some of the V6s had a different door on the lower cubby. Instead of the plain black like on our Vs, they have a chrome strip across the top:
It's fake chrome rather than fake brushed stainless, but perhaps you could make that work?
It's fake chrome rather than fake brushed stainless, but perhaps you could make that work?
04-11-2017, 01:21 PM
#1329
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04-14-2017, 05:47 PM
#1331
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Finally tracked down the nasty vibration / noise I've been experiencing (and that I thought I had narrowed down to something on the output side of the transmission). Well, I didn't track it down - Robert @ Lindsay Cadillac did. Turned out it was the front left hub assembly. Even Robert said he's never heard a wheel bearing sound like that, but after a test drive he found the bearing was very hot with a thermal imager, then confirmed it with a mechanic's stethoscope.
During my own troubleshooting, I had used my IR pyrometer to try to find if any of the bearings were hot, but didn't get any conclusive results. I had also checked for play in all of the wheel bearings multiple times - jacked up in my driveway, and on the lift at the hobby shop on base. Nothing. After getting the car back from the dealer (told them not to fix the bearing, I'd do it myself) I checked for play one more time before replacing the wheel bearing. Still nothing - felt rock solid.
The bad wheel bearing was in there pretty good - installed in June 2011 and corrosion had locked it in place, so I had to knock it out with my 3# hammer. Which is not to say that I was really whaling away on it, but it took a bit of effort. And once I knocked the hub out, part of it was stuck in the knuckle still!
The outer grease cap (? not sure what to call it; the turquoise bit on an SKF hub) was stuck in the knuckle, so this is what came out:
The coil of wiring is part of the ABS wheel speed sensor; that didn't come out initially, it came out as I started trying to get the stuck portion out of the knuckle. I had to use the BFH and a punch to knock the stuck part out from behind, it was in there pretty good!
Once I had it out, I cleaned up the inside of the knuckle thoroughly to remove the corrosion, then put some anti-seize on things to hopefully prevent this from happening again, and installed the new hub assembly.
So the horrible noise/vibration is gone, and now I'm back to just the relatively minor vibration from the VDC poly carrier bushing + run-out from my tranny output. Time to figure that out!
During my own troubleshooting, I had used my IR pyrometer to try to find if any of the bearings were hot, but didn't get any conclusive results. I had also checked for play in all of the wheel bearings multiple times - jacked up in my driveway, and on the lift at the hobby shop on base. Nothing. After getting the car back from the dealer (told them not to fix the bearing, I'd do it myself) I checked for play one more time before replacing the wheel bearing. Still nothing - felt rock solid.
The bad wheel bearing was in there pretty good - installed in June 2011 and corrosion had locked it in place, so I had to knock it out with my 3# hammer. Which is not to say that I was really whaling away on it, but it took a bit of effort. And once I knocked the hub out, part of it was stuck in the knuckle still!
The outer grease cap (? not sure what to call it; the turquoise bit on an SKF hub) was stuck in the knuckle, so this is what came out:
The coil of wiring is part of the ABS wheel speed sensor; that didn't come out initially, it came out as I started trying to get the stuck portion out of the knuckle. I had to use the BFH and a punch to knock the stuck part out from behind, it was in there pretty good!
Once I had it out, I cleaned up the inside of the knuckle thoroughly to remove the corrosion, then put some anti-seize on things to hopefully prevent this from happening again, and installed the new hub assembly.
So the horrible noise/vibration is gone, and now I'm back to just the relatively minor vibration from the VDC poly carrier bushing + run-out from my tranny output. Time to figure that out!
04-14-2017, 09:52 PM
#1333
Glad you're making progress. I've never seen a wheel bearing get jammed in there--is it possible that the bearing failure was caused by a rotor overheating and transferring that heat into the bearing?
Also, real quick--it always hurts to see people using Torin jack stand derivatives, because they're expensive for what you get, prone to collapsing, put L-shaped dents in the asphalt, and scratch up the bottom of your car. If you can spare the funds, consider , which are a little more expensive but a lot safer for you, your driveway, and your car.
I also recommend picking up some cheap to lay your calipers on. They're better than hooks and way safer than balancing your caliper on a jack stand. Once you're done, you can throw them away or stick them somewhere for next time. They can be squashed flat during storage.
Also, real quick--it always hurts to see people using Torin jack stand derivatives, because they're expensive for what you get, prone to collapsing, put L-shaped dents in the asphalt, and scratch up the bottom of your car. If you can spare the funds, consider , which are a little more expensive but a lot safer for you, your driveway, and your car.
I also recommend picking up some cheap to lay your calipers on. They're better than hooks and way safer than balancing your caliper on a jack stand. Once you're done, you can throw them away or stick them somewhere for next time. They can be squashed flat during storage.
Last edited by FuzzyLog1c; 04-14-2017 at 09:59 PM.
04-15-2017, 08:00 PM
#1334
Will a 1/2 inch difference between front and rear tires mess with the stabilitrac/abs?
Really wanna run a 255/45/18 Mickey Thompson. A 275 looks pretty pinched and while others have done it not sure I'm comfortable stuffing that on a stock wheel.
And while I would love to have my 2 spare wheels widened it's a good chunk of change vs running a soft tire.
Really wanna run a 255/45/18 Mickey Thompson. A 275 looks pretty pinched and while others have done it not sure I'm comfortable stuffing that on a stock wheel.
And while I would love to have my 2 spare wheels widened it's a good chunk of change vs running a soft tire.
Last edited by vroom_vroom; 04-15-2017 at 08:44 PM.
04-17-2017, 10:05 AM
#1337
If the rear tires were smaller than the front it would be more likely to trip nannies. Smaller tires, thus making it appear that the rear wheels are spinning faster than the fronts. My rears are .4% smaller, but fortunately don't cause any ill effects from traction or stability control.
04-17-2017, 11:01 AM
#1338
TECH Enthusiast
At one point as I was scrounging through a couple V6 CTSs in the junkyard I noticed that some of the V6s had a different door on the lower cubby. Instead of the plain black like on our Vs, they have a chrome strip across the top:
It's fake chrome rather than fake brushed stainless, but perhaps you could make that work?
It's fake chrome rather than fake brushed stainless, but perhaps you could make that work?
04-17-2017, 12:10 PM
#1339
They put that feature on the door because people were getting confused about where to push and driving up broken door warranty. Stuff like that is a warranty reduction enabler. With the strip being there you're more likely to push it, ie. the right spot to open the door, and have a more consistent door opening experience vs. the small hash marks that our cars came with.
