What did you do to your Impala today?

Replaced the cabin air filter for the ‘13 I recently acquired:



Installed an oil separator today. This is the same one I installed on my ‘12:










Link to kit: Sporacingrts Universal 3-Port Oil Catch Can Reservoir Tank Black, 2 Inlet 1 Outlet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JQKHW9W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_BCmi1GXe8SHn8

striker66 said:

I had a mouse in my dashboard, I could hear it moving around in the vent fan. One day I got in the car quietly, had the fan motor set to on. Turned the key and heard it go around in the fan, got it. Problem was I didn't know how to remove the dash. For months I had a nasty smell, I was driving with the windows down even in the winter upstate NY. If someone asked me for a ride I couldn't do it, it smelled terrible.

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If the rodent carcass is actually in the blower you can remove it by removing the RH cowl cover and pulling out the cabin air filter. The blower squirrel cage is directly under the cabin filter. Two push rivets and jockey that cowl cover out. Make sure you get the rain tray under the cowl cover clipped back in place or you'll have rain running through the filter & blower onto the passenger floorboards.

I've never pulled the blower on a W body but I would guess it'll come out the bottom of the HVAC box similar to the T400 & T800 trucks then you can put the shop vac hose up inside the air handler and suck out the critter pieces and pee filled nest. Much better than smelling it as it decays. If they've had a nest in there it's close to impossible to get rid of the mouse pee smell.

Get a rectangle of 1/4" mesh 23ga stainless or galvanized hardware cloth to cut and set between the cabin filter and the blower. Cut it to a snug fit in the bottom of the filter cavity. The filter will hold it down against the bottom and mice don't like chewing on it.
Use FRAM Fresh Breeze cabin filters if you can get em. Mice don't like chewing on the activated carbon cabin filters either. The hardware cloth is a second line of defense JIC you can't find the activated carbon filters.
I have 1/4" mesh hardware cloth covering the engine air box inlet as well.

I finalized the installation of a Chevy MyLink radio (out of a 2014 Traverse) today. I purchased it off of eBay for around $90. The hardest part was unlocking the VIN lock due to a faulty scan tool device. I finally got a different one to work this morning and it reset the VIN lock in seconds. Rest of it was plug-and-play with the exception of integrating the OnStar/VCIM microphone and also adding the reverse camera.

Adding the wiring was easy. I actually started at the trunk and ran two 20AWG wires along with the freshly installed backup camera wires along the passenger side passing along under the floor edge trim. The two wires insert into VCIM plug J2 in positions 6 (+) and 12 (-) and in the radio end they go into the X1 connector (first from the passenger side) in positions 4 (+) and 5 (-).

The camera wires will depend on what brand and model you decide to go with. As the MyLink radio uses the low-speed serial data network to determine when you are reverse, you will NOT have to install a reverse trigger wire. In my case I had to tap into a +12V accessory wire, pink wire in the X1 connector and I tapped into the smaller gauge ground wire in the HVAC connector below the radio (the radio’s X1 ground wire is huge so I didn’t want to damage it with my 3M Scotchlok).

I believe this UQ4 option radio was meant to be paired with an amplifier but I’m not sure. The radio audio seems fine but the door chimes and turn signal click is not very loud.


At the VCIM


Note the part number. I had to shave down that “key” as this specific plug is made for the X2 position. The X2, X3, and X4 connectors are the same design but have different channels on the bottom so the user cannot screw up plugging it into the proper position. I had already ordered the connectors so it was easier to shave it down.
The camera wires go into this X4 connector at positions 6 (+) and 7 (-). I actually clipped the RCA male plug and installed the connector pins directly onto the wires.

The pins for the radio connectors are mouser.com part number 829-15394147 and are $5.45 for a bag of 25.

The actual plug is Mouser part number 829-15394150-B and are $1.97/ea.

The pins on the VCIM box are different than the round-style ones on the radio. They are more square. I just happened to have a few of them already crimped to pigtails from old GM connectors. It’s never a bad thing to save the plugs you get on used junkyard parts you buy. I love how they clip the wires and leave the plugs on. Throw them into a box so you’ll have quick access to these oddball parts.

edit
VCIM X2 connector pins:

829-15445904-L https://www.mouser.com/access/?pn=8...utm_campaign=829-15445904-L&utm_content=Aptiv

Did an oil and filter change in the Walmart parking lot this morning along with a drain & fill of the trans. Total cost was like $80. I keep this ‘12 at SLC airport to save on rental car fees (which are easily $500 for a long weekend here). We go here monthly so this car is gold (and painted that way too).

I actually did a practice “dry run” at home with my ‘13 to get it done efficiently. 15mm oil drain plug is easily accessible if you lay down and reach in in front of the front passenger tire (see photo). The drain plug is angled toward the rear. A short cheapo drain pan has plenty of clearance. The transmission drain is 11mm and also easily accessible from laying down and reaching in front of the front drivers side tire. You’ll have to do it by feel but it’s obvious and the trans plug faces straight-downward.


(Above photo showing the engine oil drain plug location; it’s not really visible but the 15mm plug faces toward the rear.)

Today was showtime. I first stopped at Autozone to get a can of brake cleaner, a narrow funnel, and a drain pan (Walmart didn’t have the cheapo plain-Jane pan). I picked up my loot from Wally World and sent the wife in to shop and also grab a 1-gallon jug of water. I bought a 5-qt jug of Supertech Synthetic 5W-30 and and a 1-qt bottle of the same. Six quarts of Valvoline Dexron VI and a ACDelco PF63 filter. I parked at the back of the lot between two large trucks.

I put a piece of flat cardboard (2x3’ amazon box) under the drain pan, which proved its value later. I should mention I also brought from home and packed into my luggage a large 3x3’ piece of 1” dense foam packaging material that I used as a mat to lay on the ground on.

Oil dumped, replugged and then onto the oil filter. I really hate the oil filter setup as it makes a mess. No different than my F-150. I wish they had a cartridge style. The brake cleaner I got from Autozone was absolutely worthless. It did nothing to clean oil off of anything. Note to self: never buy non-chlorinated brake cleaner. It’s as good as pressurized water. I will say that the 7-qt cheapo drain pan was quite full after the oil change. This is where the cardboard paid dividends. I dumped the engine oil into the 1-gallon water jug we bought (water dumped into a tree) and almost a quart into the empty oil quart bottle. The trans fluid dumped into the pan without incident and went into the 5-qt oil jug. It was quite a mess as it’s way thinner than engine oil. The reason I poured the trans fluid in the engine oil jug was because I wasn’t sure if Wally world takes used trans fluid. A sign says “Engine Oil Acceptance Facility” at the automotive department entrance. I sat the jugs near the counter and the manager gave me a thumbs up.

Total project took me like 25 minutes including the sh*t show of me dumping the fluid back into the containers. If I would have went to a quick lube, this would have cost me at least $250-300 for both services. I’ll repeat this job next Spring or summer depending on how much we drive it.

With time to burn this evening at the hotel I decided to fix the “why are the windows so fogged up” problem. The recirculating door motor was dead. I just remembered that in my emergency Impala rescue kit I had a new HVAC door actuator shoved in there (along with a new VVT solenoid, camshaft position sensor, relays, fuses, etc).

This was VERY difficult to remove with a 5.5mm 1/4-drive socket with a 1/4 to 3/8 adapter and the full-size 3/8 ratchet. What I noticed is that once you got it loose like 1/4 turn or so, you could hand turn the screw with the socket and adapter alone. There are only TWO screws to remove. I unplugged the car battery for ten minutes and hooked everything back up. Works great!

Note to self: in addition to the socket set, get a small 1/4” ratchet to keep in the emergency kit so I could have had this done in three minutes versus 20 minutes.

Swapped out the front tires today on the ‘13 with some Nokian Entyre 2.0’s.

This was the first time I used the Harbor Fright tire changer. I cannot substantiate how important it is to bolt this to your floor. I used a 1/2” SDS+ bit with my rotary hammer drill and some 3/8” drop-in anchors from Menards.

The “duck bill” adapter from eBay ($90+shipping) is absolutely priceless. The bead breaker though is absolute worthless.






I’m going to keep this bent bar and re-weld the ends onto a piece of scrap 3/4” galvanized pipe I have a ton of.

Here is my attempt at beefing up the bead breaker. I still have to clean up the sharp edges.