GMT400 Front End Rebuild (Part 1)

[@NickiLasse]

somebody, give the man a sandblaster cabin. =)

[@boherrmannsen8219]

you would think sponsor would stand in line..... maybe as fans we should poke the sponsors and say :"hey this great dude could use some stuff"

[@wmichaels362]

Disposable ear plugs work great for plugging off threaded/untreaded holes when sandblasting and/or spray painting.

[@SuperSecretSquirell]

Was going to post exactly this.

[@jonathancurley6594]

Huh, never thought of that

[@jerrykinnin7941]

Neat I'll have to try that.

[@benzmansl65amg]

I have replaced all these parts on my 1996 Tahoe. I remember watching you working on hondas over a decade ago on a creeper in a tiny garage with poor lighting. That's what got me into DIY mechanic work. Happy to see you working on an obs GM. Thanks for what you do Eric.

[@ericthecarguy]

Thanks for the comment.

[@scottt3269]

I don't own a car that I know how to work on, I've never even had a vehicle on a lift before. My expertise ends at changing fuses, air filters, tires, and wiper blades. And yet, I watch all of your videos. Why? Because you have a nice way about you and the way you explain cars and the process of working on them makes it accessible to me. You make me confident that, one day, when I finally grab my own project car, that I'll be able to do some or most of the work myself (with some screw-ups along the way). So, thank you, Eric.

[@ericthecarguy]

I love your comment! Thank you for watching and for sharing that with me. I really appreciate it.

[@aserta]

Four minutes in and Eric is pouring hate and discontent on the shock already. Awesome! :D

[@wobblysauce]

Dude... one job...

[@JWimpy]

Great tip for removing the inside rotor bearings. Thanks for that.

[@bizbot1655]

That can damage the wheel seals. I always reuse wheel seals. Just a soak in gasoline and dawn soap and they're as good as new. Besides, the auto parts stores never give you the correct ones anyway.

[@tunespt]

Eric, I have a very stupid guetto method to avoid spring injury, I don't trust any compressors, one way or another, most of all have exploded, even good quality ones, hit the spring somewhere, it vibrates and the compressors tend to move, well, plastic rope, 5mm, two meters of it, I lower the car without wheels and put a stand beneath the ball joints, compress the spring with the car weight, pass the rope all over the spring and make a few blind knots on the rope, the tension will be split along the rope, as they also rated to 300Kg, so a few laps with rope, can hold very big springs. Then I just store the spring away and it's ready to assemble again. This method never failed on me and I've been using it for over a decade, besides, a full 300 meter rope costs peanuts :)

[@ericthecarguy]

Great idea, thanks!

[@landmanhall]

To get shock nuts off, I use a long extension to get my hands and tools away from moving suspension parts. I put one shoulder against the hood to stop it from moving. I place the socket, extension and a fast impact on the nut, put your free hand on the fender to push the vehicle up and down while intermittently triggering the impact. Ive done hundreds of shocks like this and it works 99% of the time. If you time it right, it will come off in the first couple pulls. Learned this in the late 80s!

[@astrangeparrot]

21:00 Mini heart attack and I'm nowhere near Ohio. Jaysus those springs are scary. Seen one bust through a brick wall once, glad you're okay, Eric.

[@hawkdsl]

@Dark Coven The sad thing is, vids like this all over Ytube make spring removal look like no big thing. They are the single most dangerous thing on a car/truck.

[@yourface8698]

I just got a 94 Chevy Silverado and I'm trying to rebuild it and bring it back to life your videos are a huge help thanks so much

[@toddtedder5095]

One trick I’ve done on GM front shocks is to put a good size pair of locking pliers on the shock rod so that when it turns the pliers will contact some part of the suspension

[@xxRamD3yruxx]

unless your trying to save them

[@Mister006]

Aye the Local Smythe! I've been needing to do the EXACT SAME THING to my truck, with a VERY SIMILAR suspension setup (Tacoma 2WD) and buying parts and tools to get it done! (I got the exact same coil spring compressor too! Uh Oh!) OMG!!! This is helping me TREMENDOUSLY! (and maybe even saved my life!) THANK YOU!!!

[@ericthecarguy]

I'm very glad to hear this video series will help you. Good luck with your truck!

[@colechisholm3554]

Your so lucky everything isn't rusty and seized. I have a 94 GMC Sierra just like yours, super rusty... This video was very helpful. Thanks!

[@justinhayward5027]

Eric’s welded hammer single handily is the most icon tool he’s got for Eric the car guy!

[@petercookies5302]

I've never seen a GMT400 frontend as clean as what you started with! :O

[@kenc.9067]

Me neither

[@DanielRichards644]

Today on Eric the Car Guy, Eric sets dads truck on fire, just a little bit.

[@th0ut]

14:37 - what do we say to death? - not today! 😂

[@troy1672]

Eric, those caps for masking are very handy. We use them in manufacturing for paint prep. Companies like www.stockcap.com carry them and other stuff. They also have ones that are a tapered cone that goes well in threaded holes. The taper does a good job of keeping paint out of threads. Another poor man trick is to take a bolt a couple sizes smaller and wrap a taper on it with masking tape then push it in the hole.

[@Suzieash82]

I always have put a jack under the lower control arm and slowly lowered it once I break the ball joint loose and relieve the spring tension that way. Knock on wood I have never had the spring come flying out on me doing it this way. But almost every time I try to be safe and use a spring compressor they pop apart or break and scare the hell out of you when they go.

[@peteroberstar1407]

Trick to take out springs. Leave shocks in. take torch cut spring coil in half. Can't come out because of shock. Then spring will fall out when shock comes out

[@DUNEATV]

I have never seen somebody Mangle the top of a shock mount more than you did in my lifetime!

[@stevetenerovich-CFLAgency]

Thanks for doing all these videos about #ETCGDadsTruck. I'm just starting a project with my son on a 1988 Sportside that I owned when I was 17 yrs old and happened to find and decided to buy it for my 13 yr old son. My first truck will be his first truck. We'll be using a lot of your vids for guidance.

[@gshok]

Really appreciate the time and effort to make these DIY vids. The quality of the final cut is just great. Good angles and lighting too.

[@MiamiZombie2012]

Both these project build are, as the kids say, fire. Literally

[@blueZsilverado]

I remember you showing the bearing trick on a customers s10 back in the day! Glad you made this video though my 92 c1500 needs some front end work . It’s a extended cab with a 5 speed trans

[@michaelblacktree]

@ 21:03 YIKES! 😮 Glad you didn't get hurt.

[@brendanbradyfan02]

Thank you for continually giving us fresh content I really enjoy all your videos I don’t always comment mainly because I watch you on my tv app and it doesn’t have the comment function on my tv software for KZbin.

[@ericthecarguy]

Thank you!

[@brendanbradyfan02]

EricTheCarGuy 😊

[@brendanbradyfan02]

r laze Eric is an awesome guy indeed his fixing it forward series is just one example of his nature

[@tjeick]

When you need hearing protection, so do we! Thanks for another great video Eric!

[@brayden5599]

3:40 lol Ever heard of a fire extinguisher? ...Nice video, you rock!

[@Iloveyhwh_1974]

I like the light on that cordless impact

[@mr.nobody4900]

Camera Brian was back for the shooting of this video according to the credits, learning a lot, waiting on Part 2 when available. Thumbs Up

[@thomasira62]

These were always my favorite trucks now I have a C1500 5.0 and K2500HD 5.7 (both vortecs) so thanks for making these videos (although I rebuilt both front ends a year or two ago lol) and I liked the differential video even though I'm running stock as long as I can for now to save $$

[@OnlineAutoRepairVideos]

LOLOLOL, yeah at 3:42 that doesn't work for me either, it's like one of those trick birthday candles!

[@matad311]

Those brake line brackets are nice, when i did stainless lines on my gmt400 I used gorilla tape that is the same width of those brackets and wrapped it around the brake line in the correct holding spot and then re crimped it down in place. The tape acts kinda like a rubber insulator and the stainless line wont get trashed by the rusty bracket.,

[@FrenchValleyAirport]

21:03 ouch what a pos, it sparked up too

[@wobblysauce]

Felt feisty.

[@restlessjack0042]

That truck has been kept well!

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Great video Eric

[@sirnik84]

I had a spring compressor of a similar design, made by Snap-On, release on me when I was in suspension class in college. When that spring jumped out at you a saw it coming! I made my own spring compressor from some 3/8" plate and some 1" all thread. My suspension instructor though it was great. The other professors though it was the most dangerous thing ever because it wasn't made by Snap-On. I can tell ya, any time I see a spring compressor with a ~1/2" threaded rod as the compressor, I don't trust it! I don't care who makes it. I'm not bashing Snap-On most of their tools are excellent, but when it comes to springs, size matters.

[@rickoddon9511]

yea autozone gave me this fork type compressor, its gonna hurt somebody but I got one similar to Erics at Advance auto, worked perfectly but, you're right, these can be kinda scary

[@jayyoutube8790]

Love how you made sure the calipers were hanging by the hose... awesome

[@wobblysauce]

Noose.

[@AveryExcavating]

that thing is in such great shape to begin with! You got lucky on the pitman arm. I've taken a few off and they can be a bear. The shocks are just annoying to get off lol. Great videos. thanks!

[@alanw5812]

Easy to do with the ball joint tool

[@gary_lav]

So much for the part number on that spring compressor 🤣

[@RAVES5803]

Thanks for this series. Just bought one of these trucks and will be doing similar work to it

[@JayTdub13]

Eric you should try a Renegade parts washer. They work awesome here at our shop. Solvent free, smells good, you can use it on just about anything. Doesn’t harm rubber at all, it’s a “Green” product that actually works well.

[@WazZappening]

Got to work, going to make it a productive day....oh ETCG uploaded a video working on his Dad's truck....there goes my morning.

[@callmenortnortin467]

I'm not sure about now but in the good old days when shocks with a spike top were being obnoxious to remove here's what we did. The metal in the shocks spike isn't as tough ( or wasn't anyway) as one might think. We used to find a piece of ordinary steel pipe that fit fairly close to the shock spike. The thing was to slip that pipe down over that spike and just plain rock that spike back and force until it broke off,,,and!! it didn't take much work !!. You might know the trick but if not you can experiment with an already expired shock. Used to work for us,,made the job merely minutes long.

[@adamb7912]

ya but Eric you're letting the caliper by the brake hose!!!!! LMAO love the videos man been a fan since the long hair days keep up the good work

[@wmarhaug]

Brilliant. Thanks for sharing. I hope it ends up to be a high quality, high value build, or that you Go Big/broke before you Go Home. Great work.

[@BlakeMcGuire]

5:59 The dad jokes are strong with this one.

[@uncleben4536]

Excited to see what you do with the old Chevy 350. Maybe consider doing a dyno before and after mods. Also consider an electric fan setup. I hear you can get some benefits like more power and colder AC

[@ericthecarguy]

The engine is already back from the machine shop. I wasn't able to get any Dyno readings before. Let's just say it sucked and when I'm done, it will be better. Also, I already have the upgraded radiator and new cooling fans. Thanks for the comment.

[@jaredstrehlein5605]

Another old school tip: Inner hub bearing/seal removal. I remember doing that 25 years ago. A tip that still works today

[@ZEVONLIN]

Upper shock nut just snap off with socket and extension. twist back and forth til it snaps! it works!

[@MadeofSpareParts24]

Me and my buddy saw you at the sharonville car show but we didn't want to bother you haha. I never realized you were that close to me

[@ericthecarguy]

Sorry I didn't get to meet you. Maybe next year. I'll likely bring this truck.

[@deepsquat600]

next time you use a spring compressor .. run a chain over 3-4 coil reattach chain to itself ,,even just a nut and a bolt.... this will limit the explosive release of the tension ...you could also throw a blanket over it to help limit travel if no chain .... but a few feet of chain is safest

[@ericthecarguy]

Thanks for the tips!

[@chestermoriarty]

Thanks for this! Late to the game, I know, but this process is the closest thing I've found to a 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe LS, 5.7L, RWD. I have coil springs like this setup, and every other video I've seen for a 1999 chevy Tahoe doesn't, or the springs just "fall out" and are under no pressure when removing. This even looks like the same control arm design.

[@jasonyoung6420]

"Please go into my shock hole" is something you want to hear on a first date from the person you are out with.

[@hectortheinspector]

Your videos definitely help me with working on my truck everything is very detailed.

[@5533851]

Fantastic build, this will be a killer truck Eric. Well done.

[@hondofourfivetwo9347]

That shock was a Great example of it can’t be stuck if it’s liquid 😂😂😂😂

[@builtbydylan8315]

Hondo fourfivetwo been there had to use a plasma cutter

[@OficinaMasterdey]

Aí na sua oficina tem bastante coisa complexa Parabéns aí por tudo que você faz aí na oficina

[@peteroberstar1407]

I would like to see you take out those control arms like that in Cleveland! Good Luck!

[@SvcGlobal]

Nice video Eric, thank you.

[@jeanvi52]

Figured you would upgrade the front braking system since your almost doubling the horsepower output of the vehicle. Just my thoughts. Love this series. Thanks Eric

[@ericthecarguy]

The series isn't over yet. ;)

[@jeanvi52]

Well you had me fooled haha, can’t wait!

[@haqitman]

I love that refillable, compressed air sprayer for the brake cleaner stuff. Feel free to tell us more about it.

[@cmwmichael4835]

If I'm not working on a car I'm watching videos of working on cars

[@fila1445]

Same here :p

[@ilikeboost4764]

I'm taking a break at the moment. 😂 Sitting in the car right now.

[@rudysarcade]

Thanks this video came at the perfect time. I'm going to do the exact same thing to mine this weekend. Hope all goes well.

[@anthonyburkman2463]

3:40 in and already…” you piss me off”😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@fordwindsor351]

Check Ebay, about 4 months ago there was a pair of calipers for this gen of truck for 230 plus S&H

[@jamespn]

I remember that techs at Sears used to use an air hammer and chisel off the top bolts on the shocks and just drop them down.

[@da-ry7nu]

Instead of a spring compressor, I have always found it much easier, and more effective, to put a jack under the lower control arm, disconnect the ball joints, remove the spindle/knuckle, then slowly lower the jack. 9 out of 10 times the coil spring simply falls out with no drama but I always tie up or cover the spring just in case. Also, I find that a ball joint separator of the correct size is easier, faster, and better for the vehicle, than "hitting what it goes through" with a hammer. - Ray

[@DoRC]

If you can get to it and aren't reusing them a pair of visegrips on the shock shaft will hold it still for nut removal.

[@captaincarl7963]

I didn’t know Ingersoll Rand made electric impacts. I’ve only seen their pneumatic ones. Sweet!

[@AlexM-tx2vr]

Eric, since you got new springs, I am surprised you didn't heat up the old springs with the touch. Not to cut through the spring just enough to take the tension off.

[@Chuck-U-Farlie]

Eric, someday i hope you remember to ask your dad about that brake job. I'm so curious to know whether that was done at a shop, or at a friend's house over beers LOL.

[@williamdyckman9704]

Eric, thanks for video, must take alot of time. I am just amazed, how do you remember about how to put all parts back together again correctly.

[@ericthecarguy]

Well, Im not always successful with that as you'll see later in the series.

[@EdwardAlcala]

Happy Friday

[@Ivan-lx2ly]

We're did you buy that blue sprayer at 34:45 and also what solution are you using Thanks great video and clean Truck by the way

[@kingmayhem4448]

On the brakes hoses brackets I would try and find some fiberglass tape and put it on the hose so it won't chafe against the brackets and keeps your hoses protected

[@herrbela84]

I gotta get along with my project. Nice inspiration.

[@rvvanlife]

Thank you Eric, you have a cool channel

[@jschaddock9]

A heavy duty drill, like 1/2" or bigger, would do wonders for turning those compressor, puller style bolts. I know you are hesitant to use impact as it does cause wear on the tool but a non-impacting drill help reduce personal wear as long as it is strong enough to do the job

[@miketambini8747]

Thanks dad!

[@TheTarrMan]

I'd say you almost could use one of those Harbor Fart sand blasters with all the work you're putting into making your cars beautiful underneath.

[@bgd73]

your shock chore had me laughing.. there is a cheap high speed cutoff wheel (90 degree) at harbor fright just for stuff like that. I keep a dozen 3 inch discs ready by habit

[@artgibbens1730]

Try bouncing the truck, and switching forward and back with your air gun to remove the top shock nut on the front of any GM rear drive vehicle. Way easier to get the nut off. (The next time you need to do this chore.)

[@crazyryan2689]

Have you used the OEM tools spring compressor? I'm going to a front suspension rebuild on my wife's base model 2003 mustang. Read a lot of comments on different spring compressors and this one had the best comments.

[@Joepopa12]

Ive had pretty good luck throwing some vicegrips on the shaft of struts to loosen the nuts. This will damage the shaft but if its being replaced np.

[@andrewgardner1702]

Someone tell this man no truck needs to be dropped unless it was previously jacked up.

[@dcguenter]

Great video series. Shouldn't you use some rubber (split a hose, or something) to put around the steel braided line before you put it into the stock GM hose bracket? Money saving tip, I've used regular Tremclad paint (made by Rust-oleum, just more popular up here in Canada) for 25+ years on brake calipers with no problems. Given this tip by a guy who owned a brake caliper rebuilding company, said it will last just as long as caliper paint and it does! Cheers

[@ericthecarguy]

The line already has a plastic coating. Thanks for the tip about the paint.

[@mattbickford2640]

3:32 "you piss me off!" ETCGDadsTruck:" 3:42" lol!

[@r.marcosroel3604]

You rule Eric!

[@406nova6]

You could tell you worked at a Honda/ Acura dealership for a long time I'll give you little secret to take top of shocks off The front of Old cars For cars with S LA suspension The socket that fits the top nuts take a long extension the longer the better two foot is ideal Wiggle the nut till the top of a shock breaks off the metal is hardened and once you're past the hardening is very easy to break It will also work on the end links of sway bars Have a nice day😁

[@demontech06]

Hey Eric, why don't you powder coat your parts? It takes a little longer, but the finish is better and does last longer! This video brought back very fond memories of the S10 project. Not a single fastener came off easily on my truck. I'm really surprised you didn't replace the control arms. I replaced EVERYTHING!

[@ericthecarguy]

Like you said, it takes longer. I simply don't have the time for that. This truck needs to be rebuilt and running before the Power Tour at the beginning of June 2019.

[@rickgaine3476]

Eric, you did everything wrong, you should have done everything differently. Yeah, yeah, you didn’t do it right. Just kidding, but I thought I’d throw out a negative comment out there covering any other negativity. Nice job and again, this is a wonderful project because you are doing it for your dad

[@1717jbs]

Good stuff! Thanks.

[@twopumpsandimdone309]

I hate those spring compressors with a passion, same thing happened in the shop with another tech dang thing came apart flew off the shop and headed straight for me...

[@caddyguy5369]

I would recommend some sort of insulating rubber or something between the brake line and the bracket.

[@MrRandomcommentguy]

2:24 Eric this is poor man's EFI. Fix immediately. ;)

[@hawkdsl]

Chevys Throttle Body EFI is a bullet proof simple system that works really freaking well. There are comps out there that sell upgrades for it, but this is one thing GM engineers got spot on right.

[@fbbc6495]

Nice job dude thats my spring project I have a 92 c1500 but why didn't you drop the springs and spindles? Cuzz new springs and drop spindles will be the same height as it is now no . Just saying

[@jerrykinnin7941]

After watching this. I miss my 1970 straight axle Leaf spring Dodge. I just bought a 2000 Chevy 1500 It's a little squirrelly above 60 mph. It's got 175000+ miles on it. Tires are wearing even.

[@aserta]

But you can't deny that as locking castle nuts go, the finishing nail is the superior alternative.

[@ericthecarguy]

Agreed.

[@wobblysauce]

Yep, not going anywhere.

[@clevelandmaker386]

@@ericthecarguy but Eric.....we all know that the nail in spindle is an extra 10hp.... .020 off the saloms and a guaranteed 49 flat at the Nuremberg

[@rolfbjorn9937]

@@clevelandmaker386 49 flat at the Nuremberg? Nuremberg was a few years before '49 ya know. I guess Nurburgring is what you had in mind

[@clevelandmaker386]

@@rolfbjorn9937 yes.....auto-correct