97 Chevrolet Silverado Complaints
Has anyone had problems with their truck not
starting? I had an experience where my truck did
not start after the initial attempt and subsequent
attempts were fruitless. After 5 idle minutes, the
truck started up again. Dealer states it is most
likely the fuel filter. 22k miles and the fuel
filter needs replacing??
starting? I had an experience where my truck did
not start after the initial attempt and subsequent
attempts were fruitless. After 5 idle minutes, the
truck started up again. Dealer states it is most
likely the fuel filter. 22k miles and the fuel
filter needs replacing??
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
FYI, I replace my fuel filter every 10,000 miles no matter what, $5 is a lot cheaper than new injectors.
Details : 97 K1500 5.7L Problem happened after the engine was warm and I attempted to start it approx. 15 minutes after being shut off. Also, I've noticed a intermittent hesitation at freeway speeds.
I recently bought a 98 Silverado, 5.7 Vortec, and like it a lot. Noticed however the oil filter looks like it belongs on my old Astro van V-6. Kinda puny in comparison to the PF 35 on my 85 350.
Sounds like the fuel filter is the culprit. Here is what is going on,
1. the hesitation at freeway speeds is due to lack of sufficient fuel to the engine from the clogged fuel filter.
2. since the engine is now nice and hot with a less than adequate fuel supply, the little remaining fuel in the line is causing vapor lock.
Here is how to prevent it,
Stop buying crappy gas, from little gas stations. If the dealer that you normally buy it from is a well known one or a large retailer, try a different brand. Perhaps they ran their storage tank low on the day you bought gas and got some sludge in your truck. Like I said before, change your fuel filter every 10,000 miles. Good luck.
Well, dealer told me that nothing was wrong with the fuel pump or filter. I ALWAYS buy gas from a major dealer (Chevron) with no issues in the last 10 years or past year for my Chevy truck. Maybe their storage tank did get low.
Don't get me wrong. I love my truck and wouldn't trade it for anything. Just wanted to know if anybody else had seen a similar issue. Doesn't appear to be the case.
Has your truck kept acting up or has the problem subsided?
FYI, I have used chevron and arco in my area and have found that I get about two miles per gallon less with the chevron.
Yes, there is someone else out there with the same problem! My dad's 96 silverado 5.0 liter just quit on him last week. He said that he couldn't start it when he came out of the bank so the engine was already warm. He got it towed home and it started right up the next morning. Since it kept starting right up, he got brave and drove it to the store. When he was done shopping, he couldnt start it up again and he had it towed again. Bummer. He has suspected the fuel pump as well. At 44,000 miles his warranty won't help so he will replace it on his own to save money. (The fuel pump is in the gas tank.) I'll let you know what happens!
Alex C.
Thanks. This is great feedback! Please keep me informed.
Any suggesions?
Well, my dad asked 2 dealers what they would charge to diagnose and fix the problem with his truck. One wanted to charge $80 to diagnose and $ 300 to fix the truck if it was indeed found to be a faulty fuel pump. The other dealer at least told him that it was very likely to be the fuel pump that caused his stalling (refreshing honesty.) but wanted $120 for the pump and $48 an hour for labor (estimated at 3+ hours.) My dad then called around and found an aftermarket fuel pump for about $80 and found a willing friend to help him install it himself. Now my dad's no slouch when it comes to fixing cars, after all he's installed a few Chevy small blocks in his day, but these new cars are sometimes unnessarily complicated and even require custom tools that you can't use for any other cars. Nevertheless, after only an hour and a half, he and his friend removed the fuel tank, swapped out that old pump, installed the new, and started the truck right up. Its been running fine all week! Now, I think he'll take care of that fuel filter this weekend.
Moral of the story, those damn Dealers sometimes have your privates in their grip if you know what I mean. But, sometimes the little guy wins.
Alex.
Fourty eight bucks to diagnose seems like a rip off to me. Go buy a vacume guage, $10-12 range. Disconnect the fuel line high up in the engine, so the gas wont run out. Connect the guage to the fuel line. Turn the key to on. After a few moments you'll see the reading. On a carburerator engine, 7 pounds was considered normal, 3 pounds marginal and less than 3 was replace.
I can't figure out why the dealer needs an hour to diagnose. Maybe the technician has to run to Kragan to buy the vacume guage????
Rich
Stephen
My '96 extended cab with the 5.7L vortec said goodbye to the first fuel pump at 16K miles. The truck is now in the shop having the same problem checked out at 29K miles. If this keeps up, I will by an aftermarket pump and put it in myself just for the peace of mind.
rfreyer@worldnet.att.net
Besides this minor flaw (in my case anyway), I'm very happy with the truck.
Whay not have new springs installed by Chevy and tell them to &^%$^&*^ the old ones? It only should take a day.
Another thought, I have replace the 245/75R16 factory big lug tires whith 265/75R16 highway tires. The truck runs a lot smoother with them. Your problem could be a combination of things.
Do you have a weight distribution hitch?
door problem. I do not have trouble opening the
third door, but I do have problems with getting
it closed securely enough so it won't flex and
make creeking noises every day that I drive it.
I think there should be a definite recall on
this so called popular third door feature seeing
as I know more than one person who has had
problems with this poorly designed third door.
My problem has not been resolved yet, and I hope
soon yours will. Good luck on finding a dealership
who cares enough to fix your problem, I haven't yet.
Stephen
I guarantee your truck has one. Its right on the top of the gear box, perpendicular to the steering column. There is probably a jam-nut on it. the best way to adjust it is to jack the front of the vehicle up, (get the weight off the wheels), loosen the jam nut, and screw down the screw about a quarter turn at a time. It doesn't take much to make a huge difference in steering feel. If you get it too tight, the steering will bind because the gears are too close together, and will lock-up your steering, so be very careful not to go to much.
best thing to do when adjusting it is to make an adjustment, feel the steering wheel to make sure you can still feel *a little* slack, then tighten the jam nut and take the vehicle for a short spin, and see if the steering is tight like you want, and to make sure it is not too tight that the steering locks up.
Note to anyone who wants to tighten steering on a Ford truck, that this will not work. Ford steering gets loose because of their suspension design, which can only be fixed by rebuilding the front end. don't want anyone screwing up their gearbox and then blaming me.
There is also the issue of even though it “feels” snug and not binding, the lack of specified play can cause the steering gear to overheat due to excess friction and result in failure at the most un-opportune time.
If the steering felt loose all the time, I think it might be the set screw on the gear box cdean mentioned, or am I wrong?
Randall
There have been a dozen or so complaints to NHTSA
on the GM Vortec 5.7L not returning to idle when
the throttle is released. I don't mean the earlier
recall where the floor mat was hanging the
mechanicals, I mean the engine control does not
follow the throttle. In first gear I can go up to
15MPH and release the throttle and never slow down.
In overdrive at 70 MPH I can release the throttle
and the truck will continue for 5-10 seconds
before the throttle releases. The throttle is
closing, but the fuel injection just keeps firing
away and the engine goes into a rich condition.
The dealer has seen this on several trucks and the
"official" GM stance is that this is normal. I
have driven the truck at 45 MPH for over 2 miles
without touching the gas. This is with a warm
engine, with or without A/C, and with the cruise
turned off. I had an accident in the truck where I
was pulling away from a green light and the car in
front of me stopped, and I couldn't get the truck
stopped fast enough. I am on my third set of brake
pads at 36K because I have to fight this problem
every day in traffic. Anyone else seen this
problem?
Jim
This morning I spoke with the technical specialist at a large GM dealer in the Austin, Tx area. Here are the questions and the answers I was given.
1. The engine rattles when it is started. Longer when cold, but on any start after it has been sitting for more than an hour.
ANSWER: The noise is from the lifters bleeding down and is typical of roller lifters. GM sees this as no cause for concern as long as the rattle stops within a minute.
2. The throttle does not return to idle when released. The vehicle will continue at speed for several seconds, and at speeds under 50MPH will not slow down without substantial application of the brakes.
ANSWER: GM has advised that THIS IS THE NORMAL OPERATION OF THIS TYPE OF FUEL INJECTION AND HAS NO PLANS TO CORRECT SOMETHING THAT THEY DO NOT FEEL IS MALFUNCTIONING. ???!!!
Hmmm. I don't like these answers. The lifters are bleeding down prematurely. The fact that they are roller lifters has nothing to do with the problem. And I cannot believe that GM thinks I am stupid enough to believe that unresponsive throttle operation is normal! I have owned two vortec 4.3L with the CPI fuel injection system and neither of them had this attribute. Time to escalate the issue.
Jim
problem on '96 Vortec 5.7L engines. The engine
specialist at the dealership has indicated that it
appears to be a problem in the idle air control
(IAC) program, but GM has yet to issue a
correction. This week the weather got a little
warmer and I turned on the A/C while traveling
about 40MPH without touching the throttle. The
truck accelerated to 45MPH. I do hope GM figures
this one out before I hurt myself or someone else.
Jim "Stand on the Brakes" Flemmons
Now I have another nagging issue. Since day one, I've had an apparent leaky rear pinion seal (if you trace the oil, it appears to be coming from the pinion seal). Dealer has yet to fix it (44K miles on the truck and 3 times to the dealer). And worse yet, the rate of leak has increased every time the dealer (George Chevrolet, Bellflower, CA) touches it. The last effort was to replace the yoke, washer and seal. The first two times the dealer replaced the pinion seal with no positive results. Anybody else out there have a leaky pinion seal? One interesting note, it took approximately one week for the leak to start after the yoke, washer and seal were replaced. Now it is a steady drop on the driveway every morning after sitting overnight.
Mike
Thanks,
Other than this, the truck is perfect. No problems and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
To all Chevy truck owners in So. Cal. area, stay away from the service department at George Chevrolet. Quality Assurance is horrible. Nobody is checking anybody else's work and seems that even minimal thinking (troubleshooting) is not taking place. I finally took my truck to S&J Chevrolet where they figured out the flange thing.
prewiring option with my '99 Silverado 1500 LT.
Dealer has no experience with this wiring and is
frantically searching for the details. Can anybody
help me out. Have you purchased this option and
successfully used it to hook up a cellular
telephone hands-free speaker/microphone.
Another problem I am having with this truck is the lack of low-end power & passing power. The truck has 3.73 gears & 5-speed manual transmission. If I am taking off from a slight incline, I have to use granny gear & I must shift out of OD into 4th to pass, even when going 65 mph. I had a '92 5.7 L C2500 with 4.10 gears & 5-speed that had tons of power. Does anyone know of a possible solution?
GM continues to deny that the throttle "float" is a problem. NHTSA is investigating my complaint as well as several others. I just hope a solution is found before someone is injured or killed.
Jim
county dump and they weighed my truck ('98
GMC Sierra, ext-cab, three-door, K1500, Z71, short-fleetside bed with 5.7L engine and auto trans.) with empty bed and the total was 5620 lbs with a full tank of gas (25 gal tank = ~175 lbs gas), my wife (150 lbs) and myself (270 lbs, and it's all muscle!...yeah, right!). I also added a hard tonneau cover that weighs about 30 lbs. That means my truck's weight is real close to 5000 lbs even. I'm just curious how that compares to the other trucks particularly the new
body style GM's. They probably list curb weights somewhere, but I'm not sure if that includes things like trailer hitch, big tires (265-75R16), tow hooks, Z71 suspension (all present on my truck). I'd appreciate any input. Thanks.
-Tim
P.S. I'm going to post this message on other boards as well so sorry if you're reading this many times.