What did you do to / with your XLR today?

[bluebeast]

bluebeast went for a long roundabout drive in the area. Back roads to avoid construction debris. Very much enjoying the stay at home order having been lifted. Usual "what on earth is that", to I can't believe that is an 04. Sure glad the sun is shining, and warm, finally in Michigan! Cathie and Paul

 

[DOUG ASHBY]

About 25 cabin-fever crazed car nuts met in Farmersville Tx and went on 200 mile tour around rural north Texas. Was strictly for "cars that can keep up." We had 7-8 Vettes, 5-6 Mustangs, BMW, Audi, a Ferrari, etc, and one purty little XLR. While the scenery was beautiful (spring is bursting out), I didn't have a lot of time for sight seeing. Wasn't a competition. No trophies. Just a bunch of guys enjoying doing something with our babies for a change.

 

[Vetter]

Finished

Finally done! These are very difficult cars to paint!

 

[Gord]

Isn't that lovely - nice work!

Looks great with the bright shiny wheels and the black touches here and there... congrats!

 

[XLRATING]

It was the V’s turn to stretch its legs this weekend. Took it out early Saturday morning to avoid so much traffic (still too many dump trucks ). Weekend weather was great, almost chilly at speed.

The XLR-V is still the smoothest car I’ve ever driven. Effortless speed & handling.

 

[hawkeye372]

Well I took the xlr to the dealership today. Because my power steering hose was in. I went in for a oil change and that’s when they told me I should order this part. So now my cc is budging. $819 that is. But that included parts and labor. 3.3 hrs to be exact. They recommend I go by moths in between oil changes instead of mileage. Because my power steering pump is showing wear. Which brings me to a question. How much is one of these and should I go ahead and order since parts are getting hard to come by. I should’ve asked before I left the service center. But after being there since 11 am. I was wanting to get out of there.


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[long Tall Sally]

pumps are out there 100$ delco reman or new also out there less than 200$ . Plenty of them . Just ashamed they hit you so hard on the job. you really need to look for a good independent on nuts and bolts sort of repair. any alignment shop would have changed this out for about 1/2 that and been smiling alll the way to the bank. One forum member a while back was crying that a mobile mechanic came out and changed the hose and charged him 300$ for a new hose fluid and labor . He did it in the guys yard. The member said it only took him about 20 minutes to take the hose off and look for a replacement. He thought he got ripped off. I hope he reads this post.

 

[hawkeye372]

pumps are out there 100$ delco reman or new also out there less than 200$ . Plenty of them . Just ashamed they hit you so hard on the job. you really need to look for a good independent on nuts and bolts sort of repair. any alignment shop would have changed this out for about 1/2 that and been smiling alll the way to the bank. One forum member a while back was crying that a mobile mechanic came out and changed the hose and charged him 300$ for a new hose fluid and labor . He did it in the guys yard. The member said it only took him about 20 minutes to take the hose off and look for a replacement. He thought he got ripped off. I hope he reads this post.

I saw on gmpartsdirect that a pump was

The part was 157 something the labor was 3.3 hrs at the shops fee of around 170 an hr.
They also foo I ashes the power steering system.

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[LSNot]

pumps are out there 100$ delco reman or new also out there less than 200$ . Plenty of them . Just ashamed they hit you so hard on the job. you really need to look for a good independent on nuts and bolts sort of repair. any alignment shop would have changed this out for about 1/2 that and been smiling alll the way to the bank. One forum member a while back was crying that a mobile mechanic came out and changed the hose and charged him 300$ for a new hose fluid and labor . He did it in the guys yard. The member said it only took him about 20 minutes to take the hose off and look for a replacement. He thought he got ripped off. I hope he reads this post.

Me and my mechanic always kick work around - I always give him my nasty greasy hard to get or diagnose calls. . . Lol


He swapped my high pressure PS line for a 100 bucks. . . . I think I got the hose off RockAuto or eBay for like 40-50 bucks


So much better now, it heaved PS fluid from the line like no other

 

[LSNot]

And, now this

 

[hawkeye372]

Me and my mechanic always kick work around - I always give him my nasty greasy hard to get or diagnose calls. . . Lol


He swapped my high pressure PS line for a 100 bucks. . . . I think I got the hose off RockAuto or eBay for like 40-50 bucks


So much better now, it heaved PS fluid from the line like no other

Well now that my service advisor left (got fired ) from the dealership that I’ve been using and where I bought the car from. I know nobody except the parts guys and the service guys that have worked on the car. So my service advisor contacted me and said he went to another cadillac dealer in jax. Well it’s their competition. So I might look into seeing what their shop hr rates are. Someone from this forum did tell me that they have a xlr guy in their service bay. So I might go up their to see if the part and shop time are a little cheaper for installing the power steering pump. I did see one on auto zone for $95. That’s the cheapest I saw it. The gmpartsdirect shows 170. Then tack on shipping probably and it’ll be up there. So I’m stil looking at this and have it in my mind. But my other question is if I purchase it and then go to a dealership will they install a non dealer part.


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[05 GRAND DADDY]

Guy, you’d want to ask that before you go there, the dealer up here has installed anything that purchase elsewhere, but over the years I have run into repair shops that will not install parts unless they purchased them, that’s mainly so they can, makes sure it’s the correct part, tack on extra fees and jack up the part prices too.


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[hawkeye372]

Guy, you’d want to ask that before you go there, the dealer up here has installed anything that purchase elsewhere, but over the years I have run into repair shops that will not install parts unless they purchased them, that’s mainly so they can, makes sure it’s the correct part, tack on extra fees and jack up the part prices too.


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Yes that’s what I was going to do anyway. The main problem I have is the hrs they charged just to install the hose then flush the system. 3.3 hrs at $175 a hour. The $819 price did however include the part. But still I think I’ll look around and ask around. The service tech just recommended that I go by monthly and also jeep a ear out for noise and other problems. Since they mentioned it’s wearing out.


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[long Tall Sally]

the pumps are pretty robust. there are some fluid additives for pumps .the good thing is you should feel the pump not working and the steering harder if it starts to fail. as they really only work turning the wheel when the car is at stand still. practice letting the car move a little before you turn the wheel. I notice quit a lot of people in the parking lot turn the wheel while the car is stopped before letting it start to move. That's a lot of work for the pump. Turning while the car is rolling is much easier on the pump. also don't hold it at full lock . back off just a little .
if its noisy there are some products that will also help . this pump is not known for early failure.

usually dealers will not as stated install parts brought in. Exception. when the dealer broke the pully on a pump they were installing and no pulleys were to be found , they were more than happy to install the one I sent them. The pully has to be removed on the pump to get to the bolts for removal. pumps are a little project for the do it yourselfer but many good indy shops will do the work properly and also will just charge their labor for hard to find parts.. they usually tell you no warranty on the part if you furnish it. On something like this pump they get a good discount so they will not mark it up any higher than the same cost to you if you buy it direct unless from a wholesale place like rock auto. since rock auto charges tax and shipping on many parts the local shops price will be just as cheap. ​

 

[hawkeye372]

the pumps are pretty robust. there are some fluid additives for pumps .the good thing is you should feel the pump not working and the steering harder if it starts to fail. as they really only work turning the wheel when the car is at stand still. practice letting the car move a little before you turn the wheel. I notice quit a lot of people in the parking lot turn the wheel while the car is stopped before letting it start to move. That's a lot of work for the pump. Turning while the car is rolling is much easier on the pump. also don't hold it at full lock . back off just a little .
if its noisy there are some products that will also help . this pump is not known for early failure.

usually dealers will not as stated install parts brought in. Exception. when the dealer broke the pully on a pump they were installing and no pulleys were to be found , they were more than happy to install the one I sent them. The pully has to be removed on the pump to get to the bolts for removal. pumps are a little project for the do it yourselfer but many good indy shops will do the work properly and also will just charge their labor for hard to find parts.. they usually tell you no warranty on the part if you furnish it. On something like this pump they get a good discount so they will not mark it up any higher than the same cost to you if you buy it direct unless from a wholesale place like rock auto. since rock auto charges tax and shipping on many parts the local shops price will be just as cheap. ​

Thanks. Usually I hear a low rumble sound when making right turns. But hopefully this new hose will do the trick. I’ll keep this in the back of my mind for reference.
And in regards to the buying part not from dealer and then having them install. Yes I was thinking the same. If they installed their part then they would warrant it. But not one that wasn’t bought through the dealer.

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[estelg]

Put a new battery in the transmitter of my 06 Star Black. freaked out when it didn't work, back to the old battery Mo@#$!@*#&er what did I do? Snap it back apart look closely contact was not in the right place, I need new glasses!

 

[LSNot]

And, it finally happened - battery dead, had to go through the trunk to get in. . . Worst timing too, I just got a real nasty tooth infection to fight

straight dead - out of nowhere. . . Pull the battery, straight heaving battery acid from the side closer to the fender(right where I wouldn’t see it)

took an hour to jump it/charge it to get into neutral so I can move it & get to my storage

 

[hawkeye372]

And, it finally happened - battery dead, had to go through the trunk to get in. . . Worst timing too, I just got a real nasty tooth infection to fight

straight dead - out of nowhere. . . Pull the battery, straight heaving battery acid from the side closer to the fender(right where I wouldn’t see it)

took an hour to jump it/charge it to get into neutral so I can move it & get to my storage View attachment 9677

[emoji86] not good. Sorry for your bad luck.


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[LSNot]

[emoji86] not good. Sorry for your bad luck.


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i call it good luck - it didn’t lose the fob programming

+ I knew it was coming - a 4 year old bar in AZ just doesn’t workout

 

[hawkeye372]

i call it good luck - it didn’t lose the fob programming

+ I knew it was coming - a 4 year old bar in AZ just doesn’t workout

I’m in Florida and am already on my 4th battery. But now I got a battery jump box and I’ve had a battery tender since 2016.


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