Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra - Owners hangout

obyone · March 2003

ZX3
RPO name: Chassis package
Divisional RPO Description: Manual select damping

ryanbab · March 2003

bigfur

itll make the ride soft or stiff to put it in layman terms

bigfur · March 2003

Thank you...that clears it up. So basically i can adjust it bye playing with the shocks some?

rayt2 · April 2003

YES !

The factory brochure at dealership tells you what the options do & consist of, did you get one?? GM website also explains the options in the build your own section.
Use the Force and be in control !

Ray T

bigfur · April 2003

I could easily do that...but for some reason its alot easier to understand when you guy tell someone(or me) about it. Plus try asking a salesperson how well it actually works over the long haul. just my feelings but i have a slight dislike of salespeople since generally i know more about the vehical then them (except in this case and even though i say i know five of you will point this out to me) but thanks ill talk to them. LATER

ryanbab · April 2003

new grill has arrived woohoo

chevygirl4dei · April 2003

My Silverado has right at 80,000 miles on it and I'm having a few problems that I've seen mentioned. The rear doors don't close when it's cold, my running lights burn out all the time,(and have since I bought the truck new), and the accelerator pedal seems to stick from time to time. Will the dealer do anything about this? I bought the truck on the Smart Buy plan and the truck has too many miles to turn it in now. Are there any dealer fixes for these problems that might cover my truck?

ryanbab · April 2003

i have a TSB in word format for the rear door problem.

Email me : Ryanb0928@yahoo.com

Also with 80K miles they wont fix it for free unless you have an extended warranty

Also with the sticking pedal the throttle body needs to be cleaned. Have you ever had this done? It is a good idea to have it done every 30K miles

jkeefe1 · April 2003

Does anyone remember an old post that showed digital pictures of all the drain and fill plugs for the Silverado Trucks. I have a 2000 Silverado and plan to change over all my fluids. I remember the post which showed great pictures of all the drain and fill plug locations. I lost the bookmark when my computer decided to close shop. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

ryanbab · April 2003

here are a ton of guides to help with maintenance

http://www.gm-trucks.com/IAR_index.shtml

mpurp · April 2003

Thanks, for the information.

In the glove box code sheet indicated GT-4 (3.73 rear end). I also called the GM's help line for the towing specs for the 1989 2500 4x4 with a 350 engine and 4 speed auto trans with the above rear end. After a day of research they told me they were not sure and could only recommend towing 2000 lbs. Sounds very low, I guess they just want to be safe. I would of thought this info would be readily available. I have the original owners manual and the service repair book with no towing specs.

sonjaab · April 2003

Just happen to have a 97 GM truck book handy.
2500-350-3:73s..Gross combo wt. rating 12,000
lbs.....You must also have KC-4 engine oil
cooler ( check codes in glove box RPO list).
Says nothing about tongue weight tho.....
Also need to know if x-cab, long or short
box for GVW, axle, spring, & torsion bar
capacity....They differ on weights.
But tow ratings remain the same tho. according
to brochure....................geo

mpurp · April 2003

Yes, you are right it has the KC-4 cooler. It is an Extra Cab with a short Bed. I weighed the truck close to empty: 5100 Lbs. The GVW is 7200 LBS.

Mark

sonjaab · April 2003

7200 lb. GVW........Ft. axle cap.3600 lbs.,
Torsion Bar cap. 3600 lbs., Rear axle cap.
4800 lbs., Rear spring cap. 4800 lbs.
If it was a 8600 GVW loads would be more.
But both can tow 12k lbs with 350 auto, 3:73s
13,500 lbs if you had the 4:10s........geo

bigfur · April 2003

Sounds like the lifters or something are ticking in my (new to me) 2001 5.3 silverado. what would cause this and since im at 28K miles will the dealership look at it if its not a engine failure yet???

sonjaab · April 2003

Same problem with my 01 6.0...... Get a stethoscope and listen to the fuel rails and injectors...... Thats the ticking noise ! Not to be confused with cold start knock tho.....Mechanic at dealer wised me up ! It does sound bad at drive thrus. etc. tho. But IT IS NORMAL according to dealer..LOL..........geo

bigfur · April 2003

someone who DOSENT own it. figure if i raise enough h*ll ill get something done. thanks sonjaab.

txyank1 · April 2003

replace them with 3157NALL. The "LL" stands for long lasting. Personally, I use amber ones, and have not had one burn out in 2 yrs of daily use. $10 pr. at Pep Boys.

sonjaab · April 2003

They say the SAME thing about the cold start knock too. But I got the GM engine and trans. extended warranty for free for complaining NICELY
and getting it on paper too !
I only keep my trucks for 3 winters and trade them in anyway.. Snowplowing, towing, hauling takes the TOLL on ANY brand truck ! Mine ain't no
driveway queen..................geo

council37 · April 2003

Just picked up my new 2003 Chevy 3500 4x4 Crew Cab. Has the 8100 with the Allison tranny. Over the last month and a half a gut wrenching odor is coming from the exhaust. Smells very much like a bad Cat Converter. Also very poor mpg with no load(4city/8highway). Changed gas brands 3 times...no change. Dealer told me today system checked out ok..."give it a couple of months". Also inquired about a tapping noise at start up. He shrugged it off. Said "its normal". Replies appreciated!

bigfur · April 2003

First stop right now for my NEW(ish) truck is the body shop. bought it on friday its a '01 brought it to have the tires rotated and balanced. Two hours after buying it i get a call that they cut a corner too short and put a big dent in it. now my new truck needs a box side! Hopefully its not a sign of things to come.

sonjaab · April 2003

Big......Bummer... I would be Complaining too.

Council..Depending on where you live...Gas mfrs.
put additives in gas in winter for easier starting, and others in summer to cut emissions in
some parts of the country....Thus rotten egg smell ! MPGs....gotta figure that big block is gonna eat lots of gas...My 6.0 got 10 mpg from new
but has increased to 14-18 mpgs....Heck my Caddy gets over 25 loafing down the road !......geo

council37 · April 2003

Good thought on gas addatives and MPG. Truck still has under 1,000 miles after 2 mos. Perhaps driving it more will flush out smell and increase mpg. Know what you mean on the Caddy...wife has a 91 Deville..still kicking!!...that is the car!! :]

badger94 · April 2003

I'm dealing on a new Sub/YukonXL. I have an '01 Silverado 4wd LT with almost all available options. White with grey. 28000 miles, bought it new. Almost perfect, does have some light hail which it had when I bought it. Dealer wants to give me 19500 hard money for it on a trade. I think he's nuts. Am I wrong?

Thanks in advance.

sonjaab · April 2003

Post you truck over at the Smart Shopper thread
under "Real World Trade Values". Terry,Bill, and
the auction guys will give you a dead on $$$$$
Trade in or Retail. Just post all your info.
where u live, mileage, etc...............

BTW: I was just shopping my 01 2500 LS xcab 4x4
16k miles around to take advantage of rebates, GM employee discount, MC bonus points, 0% interest etc....
The 2 dealers only offered 22k for it ! Both had green. But nobody had a black 2500 on the lot so
I am waiting to see if GM sweetins the pot !

mpurp · April 2003

Thanks for the information. Just got back from Yosemite towing my 3500 LB pop up trailor, I hardly knew it was back there.

Mark

sonjaab · April 2003

Cool.....Hope ya had warm weather. Still freezing
and got a ice storm and NO power in Central NY !
I got a massive generator tho. I got power and
heat and my bar/rest./hotel is open and a madhouse !
No power or cable..but the phones work !!!! Weird..
We survived the ice storm 96-97 in Alexandria Bay NY,
So this ones a piece of cake !
Power should be on today !.............geo

BTW: The woman is always wining about me keeping
those old auto/truck brochures around ! They sure
come in handy !

sonjaab · April 2003

BTW: Me dumb.....forgot to mention:
That 12k lb. tow rating is with the factory/aftermarket FRAME hitch.
Class 3/4 I think....
Not the ball hitch mount on bumper......
I think that one is rated for 5k lbs.?
Have to check brochure again for that to be sure ...Maybe thats what the dealer guy was talking about?

mpurp · April 2003

Sonjaab, Yes generators are a great thing to have around. I am glad to hear you have one big enough to handle your load. For camping I have a small Honda generator, the thing is so quiet and puts out such clean and stable power it is amazing.
The bumber on the truck is stamped that it can handle 4000 lbs towing and a 400 lb tongue weight. When I bought the truck (last month) it already had a frame hitch and dual 7 pin and 5 pin electrical connectors, and an electric brake controller. It has been a pretty good truck, so far I have change the front brakes (pretty easy) change the transmission oil (messy, but I added a plug in the pan for next time). Made new brackets for the center console (the original plastic tabs that bolt to the floor board were broken) Change the radio (harder then expected, had to remove three componets, put in different panel where the old tape deck went to fit new radio, buy an antanna adaptor, radio connector, and new pocket where the old radio controller was.) Still attempting replaceing rear speakers on the sides of the ext cab (I am not sure why GM made it so difficult to change). I do enjoy working on the truck tho.

Mark

chevy4me · April 2003

I used the hot lead on the pigtail that came with the truck to hot lead an aux stereo amp. I had it switched but left it on a few days. I went to drive and no battery whatsoever, and this battery is less than 6 months new. The question is is this circuit not protected by time limit cut off. I think it was a blue lead from the pigtail that plugs under the dash.
thanx

sonjaab · April 2003

Yup, its HOT all the time. No cut off timer. I
killed my battery the other day. Kids left the
4 way flashers on !............geo

noobie1 · April 2003

It's the "Ask Sonjaab" site. Good job man. Lotsa good info.

BTW- I asked you this before, but I think you were on vacation: Having little experience with 4WD I don't know what to think of the noise coming out of the thing. Have used it very little with purpose. (Actually, first time yesterday pulling a guy out of the sand). On a couple of occasions though, I've engaged 4WD-HI while speeding along at 55-60 mph, just to experiment. The amount of noise was surprising. Maybe because it's 2500HD, I don't know. Given your experience with these things, can you give some idea of what's reasonable to expect? I see nothing in the owner's manual about speed limits of use. Thanks for taking the time.

-David

sonjaab · April 2003

Scratching my head ! My 01 2500 grumbles when in
4hi...Also in Autotrac mode when kicking in and
out of 4wd . Haven't broken any parts yet snowplowing and beating that puppy. My 3 other
GMs 90-94-97 did the same. So it seems normal to me. Have a laugh and go to the dealer and tell them about cold start knock... THATS NORMAL ! They say ! LOL...

noobie1 · April 2003

Thanks, I'll sleep easier now knowing it's just acting "normal". Dealers? I try to avoid them unless circumstances are dire.

-David

ryanbab · April 2003

The pictures dont do it justice. I hated it when i first got it and took it out of the box but after putting it on i think it looks awesome. It kinda has the HD honeycomb look. The backets on the front bumper are from my grill guard (which i need to put back on)

obyone · April 2003

LOL!!

ryanbab · April 2003

wtf

I did the

ryanbab · April 2003

bigfur · April 2003

Yes! i realize thats what im doing here, but i have too much of a life to read back thru all 3051 posts SO heres my delema. Id like an extended warrenty, but im not about to pay the dealership prices. Mine wanted in the area of $2500 for a 75K mile warrenty on a 1500 4X4 ZX3, lil outragous seeing as my dad got an extended for $800 on his Impala. Just wanted to know who has had good luck and bad luck with who. Thanks People

ryanbab · April 2003

Can you tell the weather is getting nice

It was 30 last wk today it was 85 (record high).

Well I repainted my mirrors (chrome part) blue again however i couldnt get it to match the indigo blue very well (looked purple). I used the indigo which was supposed to match the gm paint code but it didnt. Took me 2 wks of painting sanding and clear coating (weather was to cold to paint a few days) so today i said screw it and painted them black. Looks so much better. Took all of a few hrs

sonjaab · April 2003

sonjaab · April 2003

Take a trip over to the Warranty, Finance, and
Insurance thread here. All the pros, cons,
and chaos of mfr., and aftermarket ex-warranties !
BE PREPARED for the darkside............geo

BTW: On the other hand if you go and complain to
the dealer about cold start knock ya might get a
FREE extended powertrain warranty....I did !!!!

bjl3 · April 2003

Nice looking truck! I agree, the black mirrors do look better. My 2003 comes standard with black mirrors standard. I'm not much for the chrome/plastic chrome. I wish the bowtie bar across the front grill was the same as the body color on mine(the new dark gray). Some of the new Suburban and Tahoes have this option. Your truck looks good.

BJL

ryanbab · April 2003

As far as the grill you can buy one painted but they are pricey ($275). I may buy an indigo one to have just in case

bigfur · April 2003

From the sounds of your talk of weather, im guessing your from somewhere round bout minnesota or so? Seeing as it was snowing last week, 90! yesterday, and it gonna snow again thursday. LOL

ryanbab · April 2003

NW Indiana pretty close to chicago

bigfur · April 2003

Close enough to understand lol

blueguy1 · April 2003

chevygirl.. my sister also has a 2000 silverado. dealer told her that the throttle body needed to be cleaned to solve the hard to push gas pedal problem. its been a couple years and i've slept since then, but it seems that the cost was around $70 to have this done. also had problems with drl's. the long life bulbs solved the problem...

bens3 · April 2003

Check out what i've read about the Sierra, it may change your mind about this car http://www.outwar.com/page.php?x=837299

noobie1 · April 2003

Who's supposed to be watching the door around here to keep the lower life forms out?
Puh-lease.

-David

Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra - Owners hangout

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