So just to share tonight sucked..... Water pump on the Denali blew. Being AWD you have to flatbed it...can't be towed normally. Thankfully Dad and Lloyd rescued me with the Dodge and the trailer.. Scariest thing I've ever towed... Must have been 10,000 pounds with the truck and trailer.
Not a fun thing. :banghead3: So now you have a trailer queen! Just think if you didn't have a truck and flatbed available what that would cost. And I'm sure replacing the waterpump won't be fun. Since the Denali is Misty's she can change the pump over the weekend! Please lock up all knieves and skillets.
Actually, doing the pump itself is not all that hard, but do make sure you also replace the t-stat at the same time, as it requires the same amount of labor to change it out. Remove the fan and shroud first, and break loose the four bolts that hold the pulley to the hub before you remove the belt. Since you have this torn down that far, go ahead and also replace the A/C belt, since it's a royal b!tch if everything's all together. There's a cheap little tool to check the drive belt to see if it also needs to be replaced, because the material these newer belts are made from doesn't stretch or crack when old. Take the belt down to your local parts store and they should be able to check it. Of course, this all depends on if you do the work yourself or not. But if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Bummer way to start a weekend Mike but I guess better than happening Sunday night or on the highway miles and miles from home. A bit of a time consuming job but quite doable. And towing that much weight is not fun at all, you are tense from start to finish. Good luck with the swap. And in the relative scheme of things belts are cheap and easy to do while its apart than on the side of the road later on. Just sayin.....
Dang Mike, that sticks! Sorry to hear about it. Like other's have said though, it's good you had the friends/family and equipment to rescue you. I hope it's an easy fix.
Glad you are all safe and sound, Mike. Personally, I don't go ANYWHERE without my CAA, which is the same as your AAA. For a very reasonable amount per year, they will tow the car up to 200 miles, up to 4 times a year per member. Not a bad deal. That includes flat bed and dolly service as required. Good luck getting it all fixed back up, and definitely do the belts while it is all apart. Same labour, and small cost compared to the problems of another on the road failure!
I was told on the Longroof forum that I was towing wrong. The truck should be further forward and more weight should be on the towing vehicle. Interesting. I thought the goal was to balance the weight on the trailer and not overload the tow vehicle or trailer neck. I always try to center the weight over the wheels. I normally don't mind towing, but the Denali just seemed HUGE and HEAVY back there, plus I was totally exhausted. Oh and FYI the water pump and the radiator are both bad on the Denali. The tank on the side of the radiator cracked when the truck overheated. Dang. $$$$ At least I know I'll have basically a new cooling system this weekend... I was driving when the truck overheated, not Misty. We swapped cars a while back and she drives the '96 Bonneville and I drive the Denali...I have a shorter commute and the gas was killing her. That said this week I'm driving the Roadmaster..normally my garage queen. Payday is Friday...will fix the Denali this weekend. Projects! -Mike
Oh well! At least the radiator will be out of the way to do the water pump and like you say you will end up with a new cooling system. Not sure what you like but our son buys aluminum cross flow radiators at the parts stores for under $150. Closer to $100. I'm sure that one is similar to his old El Camino, 85 Chevy truck, and the cross flow I put in my 55 Chevy. They seem to cool fine. Also I try to get the vehicle on the trailer with the bumper very near the nose of the trailer. Seems to pull and handle better. I pulled cars from central Illinois to Florida that way at least five times and over 1100 miles. Only time I had to go back to the house to reload was when I put way too much heavy crap behind whatever car I had loaded. It wanted to fish tail and handled terrible. So the farther forward the vehicle on the trailer the better. WARNING. Don't do everything I do just because I say so. I am not a tow truck operator. But I did see ToeMatter and Cooter.
The only time I've had a problem towing was a couple years ago when I towed a 3/4 ton pickup to the Pomona Swap Meet (500 miles). No matter where I put the truck on my trailer, it wanted to dance around behind me. Never got over 55mph. Was the deciding factor in selling the truck to the first offer at the swap meet. Otherwise, I always get close to the front of the trailer, and it follolows along just fine.
When towing a vehicle that large with a 1/2 ton truck, no matter where you put it, it is going to be tough.
