2018 Chevy Colorado Z71

[JCWages]

If I remember right it's a new Mobil One product. There are several threads at coloradofans.com that have been following the 8l45 shudder issue. As more trucks get this new fluid we'll see if it is the cure. If you already have damage to the converter clutch that may need to be address. I still believe that the TCM programing is partially to blame.

I'm waiting it out to see how this fix goes. I don't have the problem on my 2018 and I assumed it was a mechanical issue for the last year or so until they announced the fluid change. Now I hope that I am not damaging my trans by waiting. I drive at least 20-40 miles per day though so maybe getting the trans to operating temp daily helps with water buildup if that is truly the issue.

 

[great08]

I'm waiting it out to see how this fix goes. I don't have the problem on my 2018 and I assumed it was a mechanical issue for the last year or so until they announced the fluid change. Now I hope that I am not damaging my trans by waiting. I drive at least 20-40 miles per day though so maybe getting the trans to operating temp daily helps with water buildup if that is truly the issue.

I have a feeling that is how this problem was able to show up without GM/Toyota/etc catching them. When they are torture testing their vehicles and running them through their paces... it is only on a few trucks and things like this will not show up. Those trucks likely go through long hard days over and over again.

Then when they hit the market and have folks starting them up and driving for less than 20mins at a time (Time it takes for oil to warm up fully) things like this can show up. If it is a programming thing the same thing applies.

If one of my co-workers had the problem I would have a little concern but would not really be concerned unless several of them had the problem show up.

Either way I would stick with my truck until the issue was solved.

I plan to be one of those old dudes driving around in a 30yr old truck one day. This... is going to be that truck. If I can go 30yrs and many hundreds of thousands of miles without making a car payment… I wont mind throwing in a tq converter or two. lol

I just need to not wreck it and keep the rust off. The rest is repairable. Even if I were to cave in the side of my truck bed. I would just order the new sheet metal... pop the spot wields and epoxy on the new part (actually stronger than a spot wield). Then paint the truck or have it wrapped.

This truck is both nice and simple at the same time. The wiring in it has excessive wrap/wire protection and is well routed/mounted. Things like the grill and headlights and every tiny piece of trim are actually screwed on instead of the usual plastic clips most vehicles get. By screw... I mean high quality Torq (T-15)screws that are nearly impossible to strip out like normal Philips head screws. Then there are all of the attention to details in the design that keep surprising me. GM put hard effort into making this truck nice in every way. It is several levels higher in quality than even my old Silverado pickups I used to have back in the day. I really love my truck.

 

[JCWages]

You may be right. The 2017 CRV 1.5L turbo engine is having issues with water accumulation in the oil pan and causing a thinning of oil and an overfill condition. Our car doesn't suffer from the issue yet because it gets driven long enough for the condensation to burn off but those owners who only make short trips and or live in very cold regions are having problems which prompted a TSB Honda is trying out....

 

[great08]

You may be right. The 2017 CRV 1.4L turbo engine is having issues with water accumulation in the oil pan and causing a thinning of oil and an overfill condition. Our car doesn't suffer from the issue yet because it gets driven long enough for the condensation to burn off but those owners who only make short trips and or live in very cold regions are having problems which prompted a TSB Honda is trying out....

Oh yeah. Proper ventilation of the oil in an engine is super duper important. The exhaust gas blow by on the piston rings contains lots of carbon (what makes oil black), water, and other contaminants. Having it well vented keeps the seals from blowing. I wonder if those engines just have a lot more blow by than they thought would happen.

Edit: How many quarts of oil does that little engine hold? A deeper pan may help. Otherwise... better piston rings can make a massive difference. It is a Honda though. They are usually all about their engines. I bet it has good rings already.

 

[JCWages]

Oh yeah. Proper ventilation of the oil in an engine is super duper important. The exhaust gas blow by on the piston rings contains lots of carbon (what makes oil black), water, and other contaminants. Having it well vented keeps the seals from blowing. I wonder if those engines just have a lot more blow by than they thought would happen.

Edit: How many quarts of oil does that little engine hold? A deeper pan may help. Otherwise... better piston rings can make a massive difference. It is a Honda though. They are usually all about their engines. I bet it has good rings already.

I'm not sure how much oil it holds. I'm not concerned really since we don't have the issue. When we decide to move to a colder region in a few years we'll sell it and get a T4R or equivelant off-road worthy SUV for her to drive. She doesn't want to camp in bear country outside of the vehicle so no RTT. lol

 

[great08]

I do not blame her. Lol

 

[JCWages]

I do not blame her. Lol

LOL I'm not going to argue the safety merits. I mean I'll get to drive a sweet T4R instead of the CRV. Winning!

 

[great08]

LOL I'm not going to argue the safety merits. I mean I'll get to drive a sweet T4R instead of the CRV. Winning!

True!


Hey everyone... here is a new YouTube vid comparing a Colorado ZR2, a Ranger FX4, and some Tacoma’s off-road. They all did great. The only thing I didn’t like/was surprised by was the donut instead of a spare on the Ranger. That being said my spare is full sized but a street oriented tire. However, my Colrado Z71 was about $36k msrp and I paid $32.5k. About $10k less.

 

[jplemons]

True!


Hey everyone... here is a new YouTube vid comparing a Colorado ZR2, a Ranger FX4, and some Tacoma’s off-road. They all did great. The only thing I didn’t like/was surprised by was the donut instead of a spare on the Ranger. That being said my spare is full sized but a street oriented tire. However, my Colrado Z71 was about $36k msrp and I paid $32.5k. About $10k less.

I posted this in another thread about the Ranger, lol. The note about the spare sparked my interest, but someone pointed out that it’s a full-sized spare but on a steel wheel instead of the stock.

 

[great08]

I posted this in another thread about the Ranger, lol. The note about the spare sparked my interest, but someone pointed out that it’s a full-sized spare but on a steel wheel instead of the stock.

Ah! That is perfectly fine then.

The Ridgeline is officially the only one with a tiny donut spare then.

Mine is a steel rim as well.

 

[great08]

I just got an email update from Diamondback yesterday stating that my cover is built and will soon be put into the mail. They gave a tracking number and such as well.

Being that was a Friday (nobody wants a product built on a Friday! Lol) I looked up their building process. Turns out my cover was likely complete a few days ago but had to wait for the Linex coating to cure. These things are hand made in the USA and have all stainless hardware and such.

The vid in the link is 6 years old.

 

[great08]

Expedition One

I just found yet another vendor for the Chevy Colorado (and others) that I didn't know of.

www.exp-one.com

 

[great08]

Imogene Pass

This looks like it would be a great little 4hr loop in Colorado. I would give a whole day for it though to stop and explore with the kids.

I saw several sections that anyone with a truck would have to watch the back bumper on. As well as the front bumper in a few spots.

 

[great08]

Diamondback Bedcover is on!

Well... I still have to install the two front toolboxes I ordered and make some final adjustments to how tight the front portions latches down.

My first impression is... it is of Extremely High Quality! Great wields and super easy to install. It does indeed take longer than the estimated 45min to install one. I could see doing it that fast if I had installed one before... didn't have to cut off all of the protective packaging/tags... and knew exactly what tools were needed before hand... and had an extra set of hands at a few points.

However, once the initial setup is done. I can totally have it removed in about 10mins and re-installed in about 10 to 15mins. The individual panels can be either fully removed or folded over (flat) in a few seconds.

I have some plans for this puppy! It feels super sturdy when I walk around on it. I am a 200lb man too!

I plan to go on a trip to the Outer Banks this weekend. It will be a lockable and water tight trunk now. My truck bed is super deep = lots of storage down low. Plus I can throw stuff like a fridge or 4 x 8 sheets of plywood up top (or firewood when camping).

The first two pics below are when I first set it onto the top of the bed for a lookover after unboxing. I will throw the giant box & wood crate up on top and take it to the dump this weekend.

In some of the pics you can see that the Diamondback Cover's latch points are in a VERY GOOD spot on the Colorado. It uses the bolt holes where the factory ladder racks mount. I just had to pop off the rubber covers and put a sticky protective plastic piece in to protect the paint from vibes. The middle beam is the main clamping force for the cover.

All hardware is stainless and strong. The latch brackets are aluminum though... but used for pulling the cover down and don't take a load. So they will be more than adequate for that job. The gas struts are rated @ 80lbs each. Two of each on both front/rear panels.

My pedal drive fishing kayak will continue to be Super Easy to load/unload with this cover. I did the measurements and will be able to close the lid once the kayak is in the bed. The pedal drive will still clear the lid and I don't have to remove it.

 

[great08]

Using the bed cover to take the giant box to the dump today. Suited that the first load be the Diamondbacks shipping container! Lol

 

[great08]

Diamondback tool boxes are now installed. Had to drill holes in the new cover.

They are Super Strong too! I stood in them after installing. I weight around 200lbs. So... they will suffice for holding tools and such. Lol

It looks like I can actually add two more boxes later on if I desire. That is cool.

My forward tie-down points in the bed are still accessible.

These will actually make installation faster when installing again in the future. Reason being... the center I-beam will automatically center itself due to the tool boxes being bolted to it.

And more pics...







I have my large air pump, tire plug kit, and deflator kit in this box with room for more!






Even the rain gutter has double seals!

 

[great08]

A snowpocolypse/ Ice Age worthy Chevy Colorado....


A White Colorado Z71 with black bowties just like mine off road...

 

[great08]

We are out at the Outer Banks today. We went out to 4WD Beach up in Corolla, NC and did some wild horse spotting/off-roading for the first time. It is my daughters birthday.

The kids and wife had a Blast!

We found two herds roaming through some beach homes/ neighborhood out in the dunes to the North.

This truck did AMAZING! I aired down to 20psi @ the Park by Corolla Light house before hitting the beach.

I will put a vid together later in a week or so and post it up.

To get into the neighborhoods the road cuts up through/over the dunes.

Today I learned that 4Low keeps the truck from working as hard when in deep sand. My auto locker did its job and kicked in without me knowing until I went to turn around. It kicks out automatically when you get above 20mph or put it in reverse.

1st gear In 4LOW is a granny gear! I cannot imagine how low the 1st gear on a Wrangler must feel. It is only really usable for crawling in my truck. I have had several 4WD vehicles over the years and this one is mighty Low in comparison.

Awesome!





EDIT: I just remembered that my truck has a Tow/Haul mode for the transmission. Next time I am doing a hill climb in deep sand (that was when it felt like it was bogging down some) I will leave it in 4HI and tap that button to see if it still engages! Just changing the shift points will greatly increase engine tq at the wheels. If that does the trick I will likely leave the gear ratios stock.

 

[madcratebuilder]

You would love 4.10 gears. It made a amazing difference in my ZR, I acually got increased gas mileage in town, lost 1-2 on road.

 

[great08]

You would love 4.10 gears. It made a amazing difference in my ZR, I acually got increased gas mileage in town, lost 1-2 on road.

I am willing to do that at some point. It will add longevity to the drive train for sure. For now I do mostly hwy driving and like the current gear ratio.

I am likely to move in a year though. I will think about it at that point .