Stargazer's Garage

From 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali The driver-side headlamp on our GMC Yukon XL Denali burnt out on the weekend. It's such a pet peeve of mine seeing cars with only one light that I went out and bought a pair of Silvania Silverstar bulbs and installed them as soon as I could. However, I also had to mutter under my breath at the GM designers who made the simple car maintenance task of changing a light bulb such a pain in the neck. Basically, on the Yukon you need to loosen the wheel liners, grille and front bumper in order to get access to the headlamps. But there was no way I was going to pay the dealership to change a light bulb for me. I originally wanted to buy Silverstar Ultra bulbs which are supposed to be 50% brighter than stock bulbs but Canadian Tire didn't have the right size (H13/9008) in stock. I had to settle for the regular Silverstars which were $10 cheaper but only 30% brighter. My initial impression of the Silverstar bulbs is that they are definitely an improvem...

Last weekend I washed and waxed my R32 using Einszett Glanz Wax. It doesn't last as long as sealants, but I like the results and it's easy to apply. I've been using Einszett for several years, now. This was actually the 2nd wax of 2011. I'd polished (Einszett Metallic Polish) and waxed only a couple weeks earlier, but for various reasons (okay, only one) I'd felt like waxing sooner than originally planned. Click below for more pictures.

Late last year I chanced upon a Volkswagen recall notice (ID #28F3), that was originally dated 29 October 2009, to "Inspect, and if necessary replace Ignition coils." What I found puzzling is that I only learned of this recall in December 2010 when I was testing out the recall notice look-up tool on VW of Canada's website. It would have been nice if my dealership had mentioned this when I took my R in for the moonroof service action (60A7/S9) back in May 2010, or a simple e-mail.  Oh well. Actually, on further thought, I have a vague memory of my mechanic back in the United States mentioning he had replaced the ignition coils, which would explain why VW didn't have a record of it.

I noticed a faint squeaking from the front brakes as well as a different feel on the brake pedal, so I knew I needed to get the brakes checked before we went on our road trip later this summer. I stopped at a prominent independent shop because of the celebrity-endorsed TV commercials I had seen. They told me that the front pads and rotors needed to be changed and gave me a variety of quotes comparing different qualities of parts. The cheapest were around $700 and the most expensive with OEM performance were over $1000. Concerned about towing our RV half-way across the country and through the Rockies, I opted for a slotted performance rotor and got a final quote for $1200. They also mentioned that they noticed that the front shocks were leaking but that might be covered under warranty and recommended I check to see if I was still covered. I was scheduled to get the work done later that evening but they called to tell me they couldn't get the right rotor in time. Because of what they...

Thanks to other Keystone Premier 31BHPR owners at RV.net I knew to check out the stabilizer jacks on our travel trailer even before we went out on our first trip. The problem with the jacks from the factory was that the stop nut that prevented the rods from backing all the way out when you retracted the jacks was loose. Ours suffered from the same problem and all four stabilizer jacks were replaced after we returned from our maiden voyage.... The hardware on each of the new jacks definitely look beefier than the originals. It was interesting that all four were not replaced with the same brand. The ones in the rear were branded Husky (as shown in the picture). But even though the hardware looks the same, the ones in the front had no name. The only conclusion I can make is that they are NOT Husky stabilizer jacks.

During our first trip with our 2010 Keystone Premier 31BHPR, one issue that came up was a leak from the RV toilet. After investigating a little closer, I discovered that clean water was coming out of the top of the valve in the rear when the foot pedal was lifted up to fill the bowl with water. You can see in the picture, where the water was coming out. When I went online to research the problem, I found that other people at RV.net had the same problem and that this was a known issue. The good news was that Thetford was aware of the problem and their customer service department was doing an excellent job taking care of it.... When I dropped the RV off at our dealership to look after some other warranty items, they could not replicate the leak. So I called Thetford's 1-800 number today, gave them the serial number on the Aqua Magic V toilet as well as the VIN number on our Keystone and they told me they would send the part out to me right away. Now, that's great customer servic...

I took our Keystone Premier 31BH out of the valley and brought it into town last night so that I could get some service done. I was able to adjust the ProPride Hitch and get another impression of it since my first time towing with it last week. I set the weight distribution bars to 7.5" and I think it's the right setting because the forward/back motion--which I learned is called "chucking"--is minimized and the steering feels good. I might also try 8" again next time just to confirm. Also, after towing again last night I'm confident that my installation was correct because the whole rig pulls nice and straight. My previous complaint about it being tedious to raise and lower the WD bars with a ratchet socket has been nullified after I realized that I had a speed wrench (like the one used for the stabilizer jacks) that I could use. It's much stronger than the one for the stabilizer jacks so there's no worry about breaking it and it makes the process of...

I learned today that VW currently has a service action out (described to me alternatively as “S9” or “60A7”) for the inspection of the 2004 R32's moonroof drain. According to my invoice the dealership modified the moonroof drains; whether that entailed installation of new parts or modification of current parts I don’t know. As it was free, I suspect the latter. FYI, latest TSBs for the 2004 R32 from the NHTSA. Since my 50k miles scheduled maintenance was more than a year ago, I took my R in today expecting to have the “60k miles” service done, despite only having 54k miles on the odometer. To my surprise the dealership told me all I needed was a “55k miles” service which was simply an oil change. I was surprised because according to the information on VWoA there is no “55k miles” service for the 2004 R32 – it goes from 50k directly to 60k. Odd. Type rest of the post here.

I'm really glad I found this series of tips from Keystone RV Company on YouTube. They are great because they help me understand our new Premier travel trailer much better. This video explains how to winterize the RV's water system.

This is another helpful video from Keystone RV. This information is explained in the Keystone Owner's Manual, but it's nice to have the pictures to correspond. This video explains the proper way to apply the proper lug nut torque on the travel trailer.

I just happened to find these very helpful videos from Keystone RV. These service tips are great because they are specific to Keystone RVs and will really help with our new Premier. This video shows you how to manually crank the slide outs in case of power failure. Good to know.

Despite having one of the warmest winters in history this year, spring time temperatures have still been in the single digits. This past week we even had some wet snow. That's meant I've had to keep the winter tires on our GMC Yukon XL Denali a lot longer than normal. The forecast has finally changed and I took the opportunity today to switch back to the 20" chrome. Let's hope the weather stays warm!

Winter Rims Mounted Originally uploaded by istargazer . I put the winter tires back onto our 2007 GMC Yukon Denali XL this morning. It wasn't the ordeal it was last year, but it was snowing/hailing lightly while I was doing it. I don't know if we'll see the record snowfalls again, but the local ski hills and Whistler Mountain have all opened their season early.

The weather finally seemed stable enough for me to put on the all-season tires and 20" chrome wheels back on our 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali. I'm glad to say that it was much less work than back in November when I switched to winter tires and swapped the wheels 10 times ! (Click below for more.) Of course, things don't always go as smoothly as I intend and this time it was trying to re-program TPMS (tire pressure monitor system). I had no problems doing that back in November, but yesterday I wasted over an hour inflating/deflating the tires numerous times and I just could not get the sensors to register. I got as far as three tires, but even doing that wasn't consistent. At least I'm not getting any warning lights in the dash. These 20" wheels are OEM so there were originally programmed already and the system must remember the sensors. Which is good. I can look at the readings to see if all the tires are the same. Recommended tire pressure for the 20" rims i...

I took our 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali into the dealership for an oil change yesterday. With the Oil Life Remaining at 23% I didn't really need to bring it in. The owner's manual states that a message will say CHANGE OIL SOON when you need to change it, but I had some warranty issues I wanted to have checked out. So last week I made a call and setup an appointment to deal with these items: Oil change Loose driver's door panel - It seems like one of the clips would not hold the panel Clunk in rear hatch - I always thought this was normal but then I read on one of the forums that someone else had a clunk that developed into failure and warranty work Leaking washer fluid tube in the passenger wiper arm - It looks like there's a pinhole and fluid shoots all over the place Battery problems - The battery has died a couple of times since the first incident a couple of months ago. Click below to read the results of 3.5 hours of waiting a the dealership.... I'm glad to say that...

O.K. I am now officially done with the snow. I've had enough and it can't melt fast enough. Sadly, the last statement is all too true. The snow that has been sitting around blocking the side-streets has still not been cleared and the warm days and freezing nights have changed it into rock hard ice crystals. Late Friday afternoon when I was picking up my daughter from a play-date, I was very surprised to see that their street had not been cleared at all--even after 2 weeks since the last snowfall. The roadway was wide enough for only one vehicle and each driveway was marked by 3-foot piles of snow on either side. I could still see people shoveling out a wider opening for themselves. It was nearly impossible to turn our 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali our friend's driveway and when I tried to get out I backed into a snow--no, it was an ice -bank and put a huge dent in the rear bumper. I know it didn't sound.... ...good but when I got home and took a look, I saw the extent of the...

Denali snow Originally uploaded by istargazer . In December we were hit with a series of snow storms that left many people snow bound. I was totally impressed by our GMC Yukon XL Denali's performance with the AWD and winter tires and I never got stuck--even though I tried :lol:. While my neighbors were busy shoveling their driveways so that they could get out, I refused to shovel mine and simply drove the Denali in and out of our garage. I even used a tow rope to pull out a neighbor's Jeep Cherokee that had gotten stuck on the slope in front of their house. I also picked up strangers walking in the street who waved me down for help. I gave them rides down the mountain because their cars were stuck, the buses weren't running, and the sidewalks weren't cleared. Walking in the road in conditions like that was just too dangerous. I bought 17" winter rims this season in anticipation of getting chains for my YDXL but I'm happy to discover that even with our...

A couple years ago my R's coolant warning light went off. I had it checked and the dealership couldn't find any leaks. Huh. I topped it off and everything was fine... until this weekend. Click below the fold for more. I'd just come back from an 830+ mile round-trip drive to Canada and back. After reaching home I popped the hood and to my shock the engine coolant level was 2 inches or so lower than normal, right at the "min level" mark. The engine was warm, too, which is when I always check the coolant. No one could check my R that day, so the coolant was topped up to 1-2 inches above the "max level" mark. The next morning, with the engine cold, the coolant level had dropped back to the "min level" mark, where it stayed until I took it to the dealer the following morning. The dealership put the coolant system under pressure (15 psi) for 40 minutes and couldn't find any leaks. Eh? What the heck? Anywhoo, the coolant has been toppe...

2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali Originally uploaded by istargazer . I was able to wash our 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali yesterday and take some new pictures of the 17" ATX Thug winter rims I installed last week . Now I can explain why it ended up taking me two days to complete the install. Everything was going fine that afternoon and I was on schedule. I had all the wheels installed, nuts properly torqued, and TPMS sensors successfully reprogrammed. In fact, I had already inflated two of the Firestone WinterForce tires to the proper PSI when I noticed the directional arrows on the sidewalls were pointing the wrong way. I discovered that had installed all four tires on the wrong side of the vehicle. So I had to remove and swap them around--that was eight tire changes! But that wasn't the end of it. I had to reprogram the TPMS sensors again. The procedure to get the car to relearn the sensor position is to let air out of the tire. When I let air out of the first tire, I was a bit ...

Well, I think I spoke too soon. I tested out the new navigation disc on our 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali with the "limitations" off and it's not what I thought it was. The capabilities of the nav don't change much with the limitations on or off. First of all, with the limitations "ON" you are only allowed to choose a previous destination or the address book or one of your favorites when the vehicle is moving. (With the old system, I believe you could only choose from your favorites or one that had been voice tagged.) When you slow down or stop--full function returns. I didn't find any other differences or additional functions with the new update. With the limitations "OFF" you get the additional option of picking your destination from the map. To me this is useless because it doesn't help my wife find where the closest McDonald's is to the hotel we are staying at when we are still 3 hours away from the hotel. You could probably come up w...