[davester3500]

Received the diagnostic setup that I ordered

WIFI GM MDI 2 with Software and Lenovo T410 Installed Ready to Use

V2023.5 WIFI GM MDI 2 with GDS2 Tech2Win Software with Lenovo T410 Laptop 4GB Software Installed Ready to Use Some customers have problems with the hardware installation, so you can buy this bundle, we install together to use directly

www.chinacardiags.com

The box included:
-MDI clone in MDI2 case
-refurbished laptop w power supply
-2-button/scroller usb2 mouse
-about 6' long usb2 cable
-slightly shorter MDI2 plugin to OBDII connector
-nylon laptop case for holding everything.
They did do a good job of packing the laptop and MDI unit, even with a damaged box corner, everything inside was undamaged and firmly held in place (shaking the box, nothing would move).

The laptop looks almost new, other than a sticker peeled off the bottom, and perhaps the fingerprint sensor looks worn (it kinda looks a little worn/dirty). It boots up into Windows 7 Ultimate (or so it claims), and has a bunch of software pre-installed.

The GDS2 app seems to work (it's cracked), but the libraries/configurations it comes with seem to just cover vehicles just after my 2012 (I think it's around when GM formally was switching models from using Tech2's to GDS2). I was able to use it to read vin/calibration version numbers from some of the computers, I may play around with it some more to see if it will do more for my '12, but it probably won't.

Don't know what ALPEMIX is.

Not sure what that Data Bus Diagnostic app is for.

The Development Programming something app seems to be for loading calibrations into the truck, I don't think this will be useful to me, as I got a subscription to SPS.

Don't know what the RDS3 app is for, tried it, it was in Chinese, I think I may have selected the option to update itself, afterwards I looked at the pic higher up on the screen with RDS3 in the title, which is also in chinese, but appears to indicate you should make sure NOT to select the button I pressed, to prevent it from updating. It probably does't work right anymore, but it's still in Chinese, so I can't really tell.

MDI Manager, is an old version of Bosch's manager app (it's a free download), it lets you know the computer can see/talk to the MDI unit (which needs to be either plugged into a vehicle, or with a separate power supply, it won't power up just via usb). The firmware on the MDI unit was also old (so it worked with this version of MDI Manager/drivers).

The main app I wanted to use, Tech2Win, doesn't work. It comes with a half dozen PCMCIA bin files(the programs that are executed on techii's, that this application emulates), but from the log file, right when the emulator starts up, something goes wrong (so, you select what PCMCIA setup to use, then select the MDI/MDI2 device to use, then the app just quits). I did try using an uncracked Tech2Win app on another computer, and using the same PCMCIA bin file with both apps, the uncracked one reads and emulates it, while this cracked one just quits, so it's probably not installed or cracked right. The uncracked app partially runs fine, it just puts up a dialog at startup that it's unlicensed and then doesn't do any actual communication with the vehicle.

After seeing that the MDI device did kinda work to talk to the truck via the GDS2 app, I went to:

Site Maintenance

and paid for a 2 year subscription to the SPS service (which is just for programming the various computers in the truck). I initially tried using Firefox to buy the subscription (registering worked fine with it), but the button at the very end of the process (after you enter what to buy and credit card info) just doesn't function with Firefox. Redid it with Opera and that worked (did this part on my regular MacOSX system).

Switching to my Win8.1 setup, updated it (I rarely use it, I hate using windows).

Started with downloadig the latest version of MDI manager from bosch's website (google for it if you want it, if you are going to use acdelco's/gm's software, don't, as it's included as part of the download from them, installed it, installed app was missing some dll (no idea why), I googled for it, found some random copies on the net, copied them into the right directories, and the app launched. With the mdi connected and powered via a power supply (a 12V/1.5A one for a HD), MDI Manager saw it, but it had an incompatible firmware, used the update feature to update the firmware and then I could connect/disconnect from it and it was fine. Note, updating the firmware resulted in MDI manager on the laptop I bought to not work with it, but I could install the newer version of MDI manager onto that laptop, and then both it and GDS2 worked again.

Launched Edge(initially tried Explorer, but the site didn't seem to like it), and logged in my account, on the same page where you start the process of buying a service, it also shows the entry for the subscription I bought. I forget the exact steps I did here, because the process got stupid, but it was something like clicking add vin, goes to a new page, there's some buttons there, a download button and a start application button. You want to first hit the download button, and then download the big installer (at least that's what I did), install that (which was a hassle for me, I had already installed bosch's MDI manager software, and GM's installer refuses to work unless all of it is gone, and it was somewhat finicky to remove). At the end of this installer, you have a bunch of apps on your desktop. Do not try to directly execute them. I did, and they don't work right. First, the main app checks with gm's servers and update/download a bunch of stuff, then it presents a big window with a login button. But the login button doesn't initially respond (because the updaters are still apparently working in the background, and it can take several relaunches of the app before everything is updated and ready to go) and then when it does respond, the acdelco tds login info doesn't work. INSTEAD, you need to go back to Edge, and acdelco's website, and click the launch app button. That will then launch the app, with some hidden login credentials, that enables the app to work.

With the app working, I took the laptop, MDI, cables (should have also taken the power supply for the laptop) out to the truck, and then used the SPS service (from within the main app launched by the website), to work through the theft deterrent relearn procedures (there were 3, one for new keys, one for replacing either the pcm or the chip reader, and one more that I forget the title. All 3 procedures require a 12 minute wait. The first one (for new keys), got the security light to turn off when I reinsert/turn the key on (it goes out when the other lights do), but I still get the P0633 code. I tried the other two procedures as well, they all completed successfully, but I still get the P0633 code, and when I try to start the truck, all the lights go off, but no action from the starter (and with a week old battery on a battery maintainer).

So, tomorrow, I'll go back through the P0633 diagnosis procedure in mitchell's site for my truck, and see what else to do to get past it.

 

[davester3500]

And from looking up the P0633 code now, it's not the problem, something else is preventing the engine from being started. Once the engine starts, then this code should automatically be cleared. There was a B3060 unprogrammed transponder identification code received before I did this process, and going through it cleared that code (which also turned out the security light).

 

[davester3500]

And doing more reading of the diagnostic procedure for P0633 and the SPS procedures for the theft deterrent setup, there are some additional steps (turning key off/wait a couple minutes/turn key back on) to do, after doing the SPS procedure, to complete them properly, which I failed to do.

 

[davester3500]

TOUCHDOWN!

I don't know why, but someone unplugged the signal wire to the starter. Plugged it in (already checked that it had oil and coolant), turned the key, and it fired right up. It quickly had good oil pressure and voltage, so it's basically working. Now to put the front wheel back on and see if it will move on it's own.

 

[davester3500]

To follow up on what I did today, I, um, found a copy of the emulator executable for Tech2Win, that apparently doesn't need a license file, and tried it with the Tech2Win that is installed as part of GM's/ACDelco's Techline Connect installation, as well as adding the GM NAO 33.008 pcmcia bin file (GM North America Operations tech ii pcmcia executable, the software that runs on techii's for NA vehicles). That worked and I could read dtc's and read data from the various computers in the truck.

So, for me, I expect to just use tech2win and sps as part of gm's installation, on my laptop, to work on this truck. The laptop I got from chinacardiags isn't really necessary for me, as the only software on it that I might need now is the GDS install if I get a 2014 or newer truck sometime in the future (I think it's got libraries for up to about 2020/2021 or so).

The only hiccup with my setup is that, when I want to use SPS, which is now part of GM's Techline Connect app, when TC is launched via their stupid process (go to ACDelco's website login, click on the vin I have a subscription to, which opens a new tab on GM's website, click on the Launch TechLine Connect Application button [which you can only press once, if there is any problem with the app or you quit it, you need to go through this process again]), TC scans all the installed files that they are up to date, including the Tech2Win emulator executable, and it doesn't like that it's not the right file and errors out. So, when I want to use SPS, I need to copy the original executable into the app folder, and when I want to use Tech2Win, I need to copy the modified executable.

Prior to finding the starter plug being disconnected, I did run through the key relearn and ecu/tdm module replacement sps procedures again, following the process described on Mitchells website, which didn't make any noticable difference (still had the P0633 code after doing them).

After running through those procedures, I switched to working through the no-start diagnostic procedure, checking the mega-fuse on the battery connector, and various fuses & relays in the underhood fusebox, which all were fine. I moved on to checking the starter, and found the small connector to it was unplugged, and plugged it back in. Went back into the truck and it fired right up.

Checked for DTCs afterwards, and the P0633 code was now a history code, and didn't get generated after clearing DTCs.

 

[davester3500]

Now, with the engine running and it drive's ok (bonus, no TCM codes after driving it around the block), I'm switching to maintenance and part swapping mode.

Started with swapping in the DIC control panel from the parts truck, which was easy enough to do, and it worked fine with running through all the options.

Stuff to do includes:
-fixing engine dtcs (P2227/P2228, barometric pressure sensor problems)
-fix transmission leak/missing bolts (pan is missing a bunch of bolts or they are broken off, and it appears to be leaking around where the shift lever is, but need to clean the area to see where exactly the problem is)
-swapping over the seats some other interior bits (new driver's seat is power while original is manual, so need to figure out making that work) and fix various door handles that don't work right/are missing.
-swapping hood, front passenger fender, bumper
-clean the radiators stack more (may need to remove or separate them more to get more mud out of them)
-change fluid/filters in engine/transmission/diffs/transfer case/brakes/power steering
-clean more mud off the underside and under the wheels (I took off one of the front wheels and the rotor and brake were caked in dirt)
-check/replace brake pads and parking brake shoes (need to get the special socket for the axle nut, I expect it's different than the one for my '04, but I'll check if what I have works)
-get the passenger rear taillights working
-make sure the trailer plug and TBC (it has gm's integrated setup) works
-make/install a flatbed for it

Bonus stuff:
-see if fog light setup will work (the parts truck has them, hopefully they will work when swapped without needing a VCI code to reprogram the bcm to enable them)
-install a radio that supports carplay and a backup camera
-install power mirrors (the truck came with them, but the p.o. likely broke them and was cheap by installing manual ones)
-swap the tinited windows for the rear doors window
-swap over the remote door lock setup (not sure if just swapping the module in will work, or if I need to find someone who can get acdelco to make a VCI code to add that option to the truck).

So, this should keep me out of trouble for awhile...

 

[davester3500]

After shopping for a bunch of fluids, and, somewhat ironically, getting a couple parts for the parts truck (p.o. had stripped some parts, including one of the driver's door hinges and door latch, I got them just so the door could be reasonably opened/closed), I spent another couple of hours getting the truck up off her feet, took off her boots, and pressure washed behind all the wheels.

Before:

After:

Need to do more with the rear rotors, as it got too late to get all the dirt out of the vanes in the rotors (most of it is out, but there still is a bunch in there).

Then, spent some hours on rockauto, selecting a bunch of parts (spark plugs, air filter, trans filter, shocks, brakes, brake hardware, inside and outside drivers door handles, door lock knobs), totaling about $665US including shipping and taxes. Remembered to use the RA discount code

Also, figured out that I could save about $50 in shipping costs by ordering the front shocks in one order, the rear shocks in another, and the rest of the parts in a third order. Doing it as 3 separate orders, everything could ship via fedex, if the shocks were bundled together, they could only ship via DHL, which was $50 more than the fedex charges for shipping the shocks as 2 packages...

 

[nealinator]

Nice. That has got to be satisfying to remove all the crud.

I have used RockAuto to find part numbers and options, but I have never actually ordered anything from them. With the shipping costs they add on, I have always been able to find everything cheaper. Typically Amazon but sometimes other sites as well.

 

[davester3500]

I still do check Amazon occasionally, as in the past there have been cheaper Amazon.com and ebay items, but since the last trade agreement with the US, few amazon seller will ship to Canada, and they aren't cheap enough to save enough money to go through a reshipper.

Way back when I got my '04 Sierra, I got one of the fuel pumps for it (dual tanks) for $30+shipping (I think the manufacturer didn't want to pay Amazon to store it anymore, the price was the cost for the pump to fedexed from teh manufacturer to amazon's warehouse, the fedex sticker was on the inner box). For comparison, at the time, RA wanted about $200 for it, and local parts stores wanted $500 (all prices cdn).

 

[nealinator]

Ah...didn't realize you were in Canadialand...haha.

 

[davester3500]

After work, did more pressure washing. Redid the rear end, making sure all the vanes in the rotors were clean, and getting more dirt off the axle, brake backing plate, and the underside of the bed.

Then moved forward, removed the front end and pressure washed the radiators and front end hidden by the bumper.

After shot:

The trans cooler in particular was very bad, it was completely plugged with dirt, I checked afterwards, and they are now about 90-95% clean, there's still some dirt that I'll go after tomorrow. And hit the engine compartment again, to get the dirt that's been blown in there.

Also pressure washed all the wheels, as all the hidden surfaces were also caked with mud. And noted that there's no spare and the lift mechanism is busted.

Finished off the night by installing the lower hinge and door latch on the driver's door of the parts truck, so it opens and closes. Once I replace the door handle on the main truck (it works, but it feels really worn/wobbly, new handle has been ordered), I'll install it onto the parts truck as well.

 

[nealinator]

Man...you know there are youtube channels where they just pressure wash stuff and people watch it for hours. You could have made a fortune filming this truck!

 

[davester3500]

Today, in preparation for doing brakes on the truck when parts come in, I removed the axle to figure out which size/type nut the axle hub retaining nut uses (the manual indicates it can use one of two possible nuts, requiring different sockets to install/remove). Found mine uses the 9 pin one, and Performance tools has their W83006 socket.

I found the socket locally, for a totally ripoff price. Should have done this check prior to ordering parts, and got the socket from rockauto. RA has it for $25cdn, locally, it was $65.

After work, I started on removing the front seats from the parts truck. The hold-down bolts are torx, or something like that. I have some of those sockets, which worked for the rear bolts, but the front nuts need a deep socket. If you are careful to fully engage a regular 12-point deep socket, and the nut isn't rusted in place, you can use a regular socket to get them on/off (this worked for all the ones on my '04, and 3 out of 4 on this truck). The one that failed is now slightly rounded off from the regular socket, so tomorrow I'm off to track down a E18 deep torx socket, or possiblye a pass-through socket/ratchet setup.

 

[davester3500]

Received the parts I ordered from rockauto, then went shopping for a e18 torx socket.

Found a set of "universal" 12-pt sockets at princessauto, with one of the sockets that seemed to fit the nut I brought along, but they didn't work. They did grab a bit more on the nut, but still slipped on it. Unfortunately, PA is out of their set of deep torx sockets (which are super cheap, $13), so I'll head to KMSTools and by a $60 set of "through" torx sockets (where the bolt can extend through the socket and the ratchet), hopefully that will work on the damaged nut, otherwise I'll have to figure out how to cut/grind it off (don't really want to do this, as the cab itself is in pretty good condition, so I don't want to damage the stud for the seat).

After that, lifted one of the rear wheels off the ground, removed the hub and pressed out most of the studs. The truck has a broken off stud, so I'll replace it when I pull the hubs off to clean/replace the parking brakes (it will need cleaning, as the parts truck has a similar layer of dirt on the underside, and that dirt had migrated into the parking brake area as well, so I expect the same for the dually). It's nice that:
-the trucks use the same length studs (vs my '04 Sierra, which uses different length studs for SRW vs DRW)
-that there's more clearance between the frame and hub/brake parts, makes it a little easier to undo and tight the parts, particularly the caliper bracket bolts that use red loctite and are torqued to a large value (over 200 ftlbs for my '04, probably about the same for this truck) and for accessing the parking bracket adjuster (for the '04 cab&chassis there is barely an inch of space between the spring pack and the brake backing plate for adjusting it on one side)

 

[shakenfake]

The only people that sell deep E18 sockets are Snap-On and Mac

 

[davester3500]

The only people that sell deep E18 sockets are Snap-On and Mac

Evidently Titan also does/did:

https://www.princessauto.com/en/8-pc-3-8-and-1-2-in-dr-e-star-deep-socket-set/product/PA0008947160

And I just learned that Torx is a brand name, and the generic name for it is E-star.

 

[shakenfake]

I have Titan short ones that I bought from O'Reilly a year or so ago. China makes a deep one that sells on eBay but I figured I would get a Snap-On or Mac.

1/2" Drive Deep Inverted Star Socket - E18

High-polish chrome plated finish for easy cleanup and corrosion protection

www.mactools.com

Actually I think Snap-On only has an E-12 deep. Not an e-18

 

[davester3500]

Drove to kmstools looking for that though-bolt set of Torx bits & wrench, turned out to not be torx, but just so-called "universal" bits like the set I got yesterday from Princess Auto, which may work if the torx nut/bolt head is undamaged, but if it's not great, then it just rounds the head more. However, I did search around in their tool section and found a Titan set of deep Torx sockets:

When I returned home, turned out the E20 fit on the nut, not the E18, and using my Ridgid 3/8" impact, zipped the nut off. Now the front seats & console are ready to be transplanted into the main truck, and those seats moved to this one, for storage.

Started working on replacing brakes/shocks, started with passenger front. The shock came out easy enough, and once out, I tried pushing it together, which required a good amount of effort, but there was no re-extension once I stopped pushing. The new Rancho RS5000X shock required more force to compress, and reextended once released. One thing I found, is that the shock does not include the lower bushing/sleeve that goes into the lower control arm. The bushing is quite worn so the sleeve is very loose in it. I installed the new shock with it, but I'll see if local parts stores carry replacements, otherwise it'll have to wait for my next rockauto order.

Moving to the brake calipers, they were pretty straightforward to do. Printed out the brake replacement instructions from mitchell's full service manual, removed the brake caliper and brake caliper bracket, and cleaned them up (still lots of dirt stuck everywhere), and reassembled with new pads, caliper pin seals and pad slides.

The old pads weren't worn evenly, most likely due to the caliper not sliding on the pins easily, the lower pin in particular was dry and had a fair amount of dirt behind the rubber seal.

It took longer than I expected (about 2 hrs), as there was a lot of finding tools to do the job, and cleaning the parts, the other corners should go a bit faster now that I know how they come apart/go together. I should have read through the instructions prior to doing the job, I had to redo installing the caliper pins into the caliper bracket, as I missed putting the bushings that the rubber seal goes on, onto the caliper pins first. I missed seeing them, because I removed the caliper pins from the bracket before removing the caliper from the caliper bracket (so the bushings remained on the old rubber boots, because I took it apart out of order). I like the new setup, in that it makes it easier to clean and lubricate the caliper pins and caliper (vs the GMT800 setup).

It was getting late and colder outside, so I switched to fixing the driver's interior door panel, the inside pull handle is missing. GM makes it as an entire assembly, so you are supposed to replace the whole panel when this happens, but third party manufacturers came up with the parts and process to replace just the handle itself. I bought the Ultra-power one ($40cdn), which was about 1/2 the price of the Shee-Mar ($76cdn) & Dorman ($96cdn). They all appear to be the same parts online, but next time I'll probably get more expensive one.

The bit the kit came with, for drilling out the plastic rivets holding on the old bracket worked fine, but the fitment of the new bracket was poor. There was excess plastic around the hole for bolting the panel to the door, it was slightly in the wrong place, and one of the mounting holes also was in the wrong place. Before I fixed them, the bracket wouldn't sit flat against the panel, so it couldn't be installed properly.

Original vs new bracket:

Had to move this hole a bit (the one on the left, it's much larger than necessary now):

Trimmed plastic around this bushing. This should fit into a hole in the door panel, so it should stick straight out, but the new part had a bunch of extra plastic I had to remove so it would fit into the hole... Also slightly enlarged the hole in the panel, to allow this to be fully inserted and sit flat on the panel.

Installed:

And the replacement external handle, I put it out so that I replace it before installing the interior panel

 

[davester3500]

And to follow up a bit, while I was pressure washing the truck, I noticed one of the rear shocks was rattle in it's bushing, which is why I got new shocks all around. After finding out that the front shocks didn't include the lower bushing, I checked the rear shocks, and they do include bushings on both ends, so I don't need to buy more parts for the rear as well.

 

[davester3500]

Hit the junkyard, as I remember it had a Silverado 3500, hoping to get the front shock lower bushings from it, as well as the fuel tank shield, but the shield was already gone, and it used a more conventional shock mount, where the bushing was part of the shock itself. Then hit Princess Auto to buy a bunch of brake cleaner, as I was almost out, and another gallon of Fluid Film, to coat the underside of this truck for the winter. I think it's better to start coating it before it looks bad, instead of like my '04, where it got pretty rusty, particularly over the last couple years where the city really started spraying brine everywhere (thankfully, they've cut down on doing that a bunch).

Returned home, and did the shock and brake on the front driver's side wheel. Went ok, the caliper bracket bolts definitely didn't have loctite on them, they came out super easy, the rear seals on the caliper pins were missing and the pins were dry and wedged in place, had to pry the bracket out of the caliper, and then noticed they had installed the pins wrong (pin with the bushing is supposed to be on top, pin w/o bushing on the bottom). Cleaned the pins and the guide holes really well, made sure the pins could easily go through them by hand before reassembling. Oddly, the shock lower bushing didn't seem worn at all, the sleeve was solidly held in place, and the rubber wasn't moving in it's hole... I did notice the two shocks were different, this side appeared to be OEM, as the top mount has studs that are part of the shock, while the other side used regular nuts/bolts (my new Rancho shocks also came with nuts/bolts). No pics, it looks the same as the other side.

After lunch, moved to the passenger side rear wheel, which I replaced the brake pads, parking brake shoes, and a broken wheel stud. Doing the parking brakes and buying a bunch of brake cleaner was a good call, as the seal had failed some time ago. And most likely the diff fluid level is low, because at least for my '04, and the other '12 3500 parts truck, even with jacking up the side of hte truck so oil doesn't run out of the axle shaft, there's still enough oil in the hub itself to make a mess. Not much oil in this hub. But I've already got new fluid for the axle, to pump into it once the brakes are done... Oh yeah, the parking brakes were missing one of the springs on top (there's supposed to be one in back, and one in front, only the back one was in there, and the adjuster plug was also gone, helping dirt get into the assembly.
Before:

After:

The tool I made for installing the hub inner seals for my '04 worked fine for this one. Separating/reassembling the rotor from/to the hub really sucks, as the bolts all use red loctite, and the hub/rotor assembly is round, and pretty heavy (maybe 40 lbs?). The Ridgid battery impact I have wouldn't do them, had to jam a bar through the studs with it on the ground, then work a long breaker bar to loosen the bolts (and then jam the bar back into the studs as it liked falling out all the time). Reassembling was a little easy, as I could do it on the bench, with a bar through the studs pressing against my legs while I pulled on the torque wrench. And lots of oil/dirt to clean out of the inside of the rotor, which was a little easier to clean being separated from the hub.

It was way to late to start on the final corner and do the shocks, so I finished off the day by installing the rubber pad onto the brake pedal and pumped the brakes back up.