I’ve lost count of how many Avalanches I’ve had over the years !

What !  Ok I’m told this is number seven.. What can I say… I love um !

I have a post about my many Avalanches .. HERE

All I have for now is the photos from the ad..  and the Avalanche is still in Edmonton because it needs a left front hub replaced before a long trip. I’m in no hurry, and will pick it up when I get a ride up there.

It looks good in these photos..  And the body is good, the interior is also very good.  However we need a bit of mechanical work.  Oh .. runs and drives, the motor and transmission are also good.

I’ll start with the positive stuff first.  This one is a Z71 off road package with the 17 inch wheels.  The model is a ” LT ” with most of the “LTZ ” stuff.  As you can see leather heated memory seats, Bose 6 CD stereo, Power folding mirrors, Trailer towing package, Auto climate control, Steering wheel controls and all the usual stuff that Avalanches have.  And as an added bonus this one has the 4:10 rear end gears for better towing.  Roof rack and the owners manual is in the glove box too!

Ok enough of that… Now for the BAD !  The driver’s seat has a tear in the usual place..  Just kidding.. It does but that is an easy fix, and it’s cosmedic..

Let’s see where to start.. Right away I need a new left front wheel hub, and possibly CV boots on that side too.  The muffler is rusted out and the tail pipe is missing..  Too loud for me !  The check engine light is on… Told it is the O2 censer?  We will see.  The rear diff is wet from a leak..  The windshield has a big crack.. ( Alberta ! ).  Someone installed an after market remote start piece of crap.. and of coarse it does not work and the cause of the locking not working..  I suspect the AC needs work too.  The battery is old and may need replacing.  Needs a good cleaning too… But that’s just fussy old me .

The Avalanche went to a shop my daughter uses for an inspection of what’s up.. what’s wrong , what’s needed….  Here’s the quote.

“Hello Rob, here is a list of items we found during the inspection you can let me know if you would like an estimate for any of it. WINDSHIELD CRACKED, STEERING WHEEL OFF CENTRE , TRUCK WANDERS, POOR SHIFT QUALITY, PASS SIDE DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHT OUT, DRIVERS FOG LIGHT NOT WORKING, CODES FOR KNOCK SENSOR, EVAP VENT SOLENOID, AC REFRIGERANT PRESSURE SENSOR, MODE SWITCH CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION AND KEY IN IGNITION CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION ( there’s that f@%&g remote start), FRONT LEFT WHEEL HUB, MAY HAVE DAMAGE DUE TO OVER HEATING AND SEIZED CALIPER, Needs TIRES LT265/70/17 Thank you Alish.”

I corrected some spelling and added the comma’s.  Well I knew of all these things but question the caliper.  No mention of three of the things I was told by the fella selling the Avalanche. And they are.. The missing exhaust system, and the cracked CV boots. And the wet Differential ?  Sooo  The Avalanche is going to the muffler shop in Edmonton and they will also replace the hub.  Not going to fix anything else for now just want to get it home..

Sure enough they found the caliper to be damaged, so got that replaced and new brake pads.  Driver’s side axle boot is split , but I’ll fix that.  It’s funny no one is mentioning the rear differential ? The Truck should be good now to drive back home safely.  So I’m taking the bus to Edmonton this weekend and do just that.  And that worked out good.  Got all the fixes done quickly and at a very reasonable cost.  Drove the Avalanche the three and a half hours home without any issues.  The steering is still a little loose, and I think the front axles are protesting. But the truck was WAAAAYYY quieter and the cruise control worked perfectly. I could be hearing and feeling the 8 year old tires.

We are home !

And I’m taking inventory of the things I found inside..  The manuals, inspection sheets from 2021, key fobs, the proper antenna and a pair of RV mirror extenders.

I thought I’d better make sure the mid-gate works.  Sure nuff the cover has come off it’s mounting, and there’s 19 years worth of dirt too.

So there’s some cleaning to do… I’ll start tomorrow.  Mostly the interior and the motor bay..  I thought of a way to fix the broken mounting ears on the cover.

This is some kinda moulded fibre something ?  And these hold the whole thing in place.. I’ve seen this before. They brake if you jam something up front and it catches the lip.  Here’s my fix. …

Pop rivets !  and a custom metal ear.  After the cargo area was clean and dry, I re-installed the cover.. Speaking of cleaning…   How’s this..

That looks like a rust stain.. Nope it’s from heat !  And that’s what you get for not replacing the tail pipe from the muffler back.  Good thing the rubber mat is not damaged.  As I clean I’m realizing that the body and all the “avalanche” bits and pieces are in very good condition. No dents..  All the covers and cubbyholes work the way they should. While I had the pressure washer out I cleaned the door frames. Also treated some rust spots.

Looks great ! Original white paint by the way.  Someone liked those “Bose” speaker emblems a lot.. They just had to have them. The interior will get it’s turn for cleaning in the garage soon. But the motor is next while it’s outside.  Darn I forgot the “before” photo..  But anyway here’s the after.

It wasn’t super bad..  mostly dusty.  Just as long as I feel better.  I took the two headlights into the garage for a good polishing.  And then I used a ceramic coating on them..  Yup they are better too.

Now the turn and DRL’s look not as good.  Oh well…  One more thing too do while I have room in the garage..  Clean and treat the box covers.  Found a good product for fixing the faded grey.

Supposed to last a year..  We will see..  But it really did remove many years of fading.  And now they look new and so does the sail !

Looks like it’s wet.. But it’s not.  So with the messy stuff done, it’s time for the Avalanche to visit the garage…  But first here’s a new Video I made..

New post for the interior work…

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