Everything is an adventure, but it doesn’t all involve travel.
Jordan loves to tinker with vehicles. He pretends like he’s annoyed sometimes, but he secretly loves it all. We are prepping to travel south in just a few short weeks and the last thing we want is vehicle issues. We’ve been stranded roadside in the middle of the night and we have no desire to be there again.
In this video, Jordan goes through the DIY of replacing the front brake pads and rotors on our 2014 Chevy Silverado 3500 Dually.
Who else hates the dreaded check engine light?
I know it is something that I can’t stand! Don’t get me wrong, I am glad it lets me know when something is wrong. I just wish that you didn’t have to go to a shop or own one of the scan tools in order to pull the code. Wouldn’t it be nice if the code would show up on your dash? You would think that with todays technology, that they could do this!! Maybe its a racket that they have going in order for the stealerships, I mean dealerships and shops to make a little extra money… There are auto parts stores and some shops that will pull the code for you at no charge. This is what we ended up doing when our check engine light came on.
They pulled a P0420 code Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1). This has a myriad of causes. I initially set out to clean the NO2 Sensors. What I ended up pulling was the EGT Sensors. The threads on one of them got mangled up so I ended up replacing it. I ended up filling the DEF reservoir with new DEF because I had read where a bad batch of DEF could cause this code. We had the light reset and it stayed off for about three weeks. At the time of writing this, the light recently came back on. I have an appointment with a shop that can run some more diagnostics to determine what the cause is. I am leaning towards deleting the EGR, CAT, and DEF to get rid of all the emissions headaches. We will see what the shop says though before I make a decision just in case it is a cheap and easy fix for now. UPDATE – The shop ended up replacing the 9th Injector to the tune of $900. This solved that P0420 code and it never came back on.
If you are in need of new brake pads and rotors then keep reading.
These are a crucial part of your vehicle. Especially when you are pulling 16k + pounds. We live in our RV and so all of our belongings are in there. I take pulling & STOPPING very seriously. The reason I wanted to replace these was because I could feel a little pulsing when I would step on the brakes. Mainly in the front end. This is usually caused by warped rotors. If you have time, you can take your old rotors to most auto parts stores and have them turned. This will save you a few bucks but generally means you will be without your vehicle for a day or two. I decided to buy new rotors for the sake of saving time and they aren’t real expensive anyways. I do most of my shopping for auto parts at Advanced Auto Parts. They make it super simple and offer in store pickup. For the rotors I went with their brand of Carquest Platinum Plated. I have used these on several vehicles and have been very pleased. If you replace one side, you need to do the other so order two sets. These links are for a 2014 Chevrolet 3500. For the pads, I went with the Carquest Wearever Frontline brand again. I go for the severe duty pads. This should be all you need in order to do a complete brake job on the front wheels. Update – We still had a little pulsing after doing this. A few months after this I replaced the rear rotors and pads and that solved our pulsing issue.
The install is super simple and can be done in just a couple of hours. After installing your new rotors and pads be sure to start the vehicle and pump your brake pedal until it becomes firm before you try to drive. Failure to do so will result in you not being able to stop.
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Catch You Down the Road,
The Drake Family