Hey 355Nation,
I supposed after doing a fair bit of thread browsing I should introduce myself.
My name's Mason and I hail from the not so white or north part of Canada; Vancouver Island. (Though I lived the majority of my life in the Okanagan Valley)
I come from the world's of mountain biking, camping and just general fooling around in the woods.
I've got myself a 2005 Colorado Z71 LS Crew Cab. Its my first vehicle and I always wanted a small truck or SUV. After test driving some clapped out Dakotas and being quite disappointed I was approved for a loan from the Bank of Mum and bought my coly for a hair over ten grand. It was clean when I bought it; 164 000 km on the clock and the only changes being home-sewn front seat covers, the stock alloys plasti-dipped black and some mild AT tires. I absolutely loved the truck and couldn't be happier that working the previous four years meant I could drive a nice truck at 17.
Fast forward two years and forty thousand clicks on it and it still makes me smile everytime I get behind the wheel. (Call it adolescent excitement or what you may, but I sincerely think these are damn fine trucks) In that time I've done a bit of work, alot of learning and a fair amount of breaking things.
The first upgrade and the first time I found this forum was redoing the sound system. All but one rear speaker and one tweeter crapped out on me so I spent some money at Crutchfield and bought Polk speakers and a single DIN Alpine head unit. Took me a good 9 hours after school one day but it all worked, sounded pretty good and I only disassembled the dash three times.
A few months down the road I did brakes all around after warping the rotors coming down a mountain. Just regular OEM replacement bits but man were those hub assemblies a nightmare. (I later discovered the 2x4 against the frame and rotor and use the power steering trick) But a big sledge did the trick for the brakes albeit snapping the ABS sensor wire.
The next project was a CAI but I couldn't justify shelling out five hundred bucks for a K&N one so I built my own. A couple feet of 4" ABS pipe, an elbow joint, a rubber coupler for the throttle body, miscellaneous hoses and fitting and the biggest air filter I could find and I was golden. Power wise I have no idea I'm guessing in the 5-10hp if I'm lucky, but it sounds nice higher up in the revs and looks not terrible. I'm just happy I was able to make it at all consider my auto know-how is minimal.
As of the last few weeks I've put way too much money into the truck but it happens and the experience of DIY mechanics is priceless right?
The tires were looking worn and I blew a flat so no better time to replace them. But I decided I wanted a little bigger tires and with bigger tires comes bigger rims and with bigger wheels comes a lift and with a lift comes the discovery of rusty suspension and steering bits. So as of right now I've got a list of fresh parts that I've put on or will be put on in the next few days as I navigate snow and a hectic work schedule.
Falken Wildpeak AT3W 32x11.50R15
ProComp Crawler 97 15x8 3.75" backspace
SMaxx Keys and Shackles
SMaxx Diff Drop
New OEM+ flipped ball joints
New SKF axle bearings and seals
Lucas Oil 75W-90 Gear Lube
New GSP CV axles
New ACDelco Gold hub assembly
New ACDelco Gold/Moog tie rods
New Moog Lower Ball Joints
New Moog Sway Bar Links
New Mevotech Sway Bar Bushings
New Moog/Dayton Leag Spring Bushings
For the most part I'm just looking to clear my tires and sit a little higher nothing crazy. Maybe some fresh shocks down the road but for now I'm more than happy. I'll update with pictures once the shackles are on cause it looks kinda squatted right now and I'm not a fan.
All around I'm glad to part of the 355 crew as this has been an invaluable resource so far. These trucks are sure something and being my first vehicle and having many great memories already I hope to hold on to it for as long as possible and maybe do some real work to it.
Cheers guys
