Quote Originally Posted by Gumusut_Amige View Post
just finished my 105K+ PMS. as usual, i brought all the parts except the oil because thunder had run out of stock.
with this visit, i'd included the change-out of my drive belt tensioner pulley which was left-out before.
also, i added the inspection of the front shocks mounting (an unusual noise was noticed this past 2 weeks). lo and behold, the lower mount bushing is gone, shock mount became slotted and the shocks center rod was badly worn out. i guess both the worn out shocks rod and the slotted mounting is the by-product when the rubber bushing is gone (rubbing each other without the "rubber insert"). had read somewhere that there's a recall for this, had discussed with my SA if my unit is included in the list of affected units (sadly my VIN was not included in their system list).
my next casa visit will be the change-out of the oil dip stick as advised by my SA (original dip stick is a bit "short" and stocks haven't arrive yet). note that only some TBZ model engine oil dip stick are affected with this recall, mine is included.
shocks assembly cost and labor cost: (total = 12,600.00)
> Front shock absorber - 4,500.00/set (only 3200 at thunder)
> Shock absorber mounting - 1,500.00/set (only 750 at thunder)
> Shock absorber bushing (upper/lower) - 300.00/set
> labor - FOC
i should have waited for the parts (if i'll order from thunder) but when i saw one of the shock absorber's center rod, i can't really gamble for my safety for a few thousand pesos.

Thanks for the informative reply bro.

The weather mate and the floods with contamination is the real cause, learned that the hard way before. Happened to my Montero and Fortuner too a lot. Good Ground Clearance/Wading Depth, so why not go into a 300 or 400mm flooded street or any flood that would hit the hubs? A couple of weeks later, and some errors may appear on your dashboard, like ESC/ESP Off, Traction Control, Service Vehicle Soon, ABS, Service 4WD and the list may go on and on. When this happens, know that your Wheel Bearings got shot. If grease is fresh, not contaminated, not full of dirt, chances are the bearings may last the lifetime of the car. Sealed systems are no good as well, they are more expensive too and no service can be done on them. Metal can't be left to eat in Metal without some sort of a long lasting lubrication and protection from dirt and contamination, bad news is they need frequent refresh, we just skip over it because of the labor cost and time.

Even though the SUV is built for that, the consequences sometimes are no good without immediate maintenance. Rubber is the same story, it gets brittle and acid makes it's magic with it along with road dirt as well as heat. As a matter of fact, all suspension rubber got to be washed properly, no detergents, and greased with some high end silicone based solutions or even a Lithium Complex, esp before rainy season, just to make sure. Even a Silicon Based WD-40 may do the trick, just make sure that all rubber is washed perfectly first to apply it freshly.

I also use Silicon Based WD-40 in the rubber rails of my windows, to assist in making the glass slides better, and break dirt, with less friction to not overload the motors, works like a charm.

I wish I have the place and equipment to inspect under chassis regularly myself and maintain it every 2K or so, but you know...

If you don't mind, what year/model your TB is? Unacceptable mate that they will manufacture a car with the wrong dipstick length, saw some videos about that in AUS. This is amateur hour if you ask me, either making me overload the engine with insane amount of oil, or starve the engine from enough oil. Pure negligence on Chevy part.

Happy ride bro!