1997 Chevy Z-71. At 22,000 miles the steering locks up at low speed or stopped. To date the dealer has replaced 3 power steering pumps, upper and lower ball joints, idler arm, upper and lower control arms, steering gear, and numerous electrical parts on the speed sensitive steering. The truck has been in the shop 20 days in the last month and a half. The front end was tore down and put back together 3 different times. After all of this the dealership told me that the problem was caused by the set of American Racing Wheels that are on it. They are 3/4 of an inch wider than the stock Chevy wheels. I put the stock Chevy wheels back on the truck and experienced the same problems. The delership will no longer talk to me about the truck or return phone calls. Also the brakes are real scary in a sudden hard stop. The pedal almost goes to the floor. Has anyone experienced steering problems like this? I had thought about going to arbitration but am at the end of my lease anyway. The Chevy is gone, and I really like my new Ford Expedition.
The dealership tried to tell me that the factory 265/75R16 Goodyears that came on my '97 Z71 were too wide for the power steering pump. That seems rather funny, since my brother-in-law has a truck almost identical to my former truck (only difference is his doesn't have third door and his has leather seats--like that matters!) and he's never seen the steering problem. After discussing this at length with my (former) dealership, they said "Well, some do it, some don't!" Good answer from Mr. Goodwrench!
After 7,000 trouble-free miles on my used Dodge (20k total), I have to take it to the shop next week. The difference is, this visit is only for a routine transmission flush-n-fill instead of an overhaul of a major system like the Chevy required every 3-5k! I just hope the dealership can handle this task without messing up the truck!
There seems to be some problems with what I've seen re: Steering and Braking problems, Please respond if anyone has had recurrent problems with the 97's Steering locking when the brakes are applied? Has anyone considered legal action agains GM? Please respond ASAP! Thanks
I have a '97 Z71 K1500 with 80K on it. Lately I am having trouble with the steering, in turns at higher speeds (like on/off ramps) the steering gets very jerky. Had no problems until just now.
Your problem sounds like a classic steering speed sensor problem. If the steering suddenly gets soft or alternates between snug and soft, you need to have the sensor replaced. As I understand it from the repair manual, if the sensor reports an erroneous reading, the controller shuts off the oriface that restricts the fluid flow, causing full boost to suddenly be experienced. I've read reports on the newsgroups about people almost shooting off ramps, etc. when this occurs. My truck never had that particular problem (thankfully).
The service department told me the steering speed sensor is located in the steering column near the steering gearbox. I believe they said you had to disconnect the column to fix it. I never verified this information.
From reading various auto forums, it would appear as though a number of people are having this problem. I'm surprised GM has not come out with a fix for it. The service manager told me GM did away with the variable boost steering in the new ('99 and up) truck design. Having personally experienced problems with it, I can understand why!
There was a post on the Chevy newsgroup a few weeks ago that recommended pulling the fuse for the variable effort steering (I don't remember the fuse number) to eliminate the jerking. I don't have the truck or the service manuals anymore, so I can't verify this would successfully disable the system or whether or not it would impact any other systems. At any rate, disabling the system would render the steering permanently soft.
Waited 2 1/2 months on mine, first week one headlite went out, then a rattle in steering column,replaced column,loose door panel,replaced,at 7000 miles engine started to knock. Dealer wanted to pull and rebuild, I said no way Ipaid for new truck did not want a new truck with a rebuilt engine. He ask if they could drop pan and replace mains which I let them do. Drove 2000mi. stoll knocking. Ordered a new engine to cure problem. Then the front brakes had to be reworked two times and that did it. At 19000miles I ordered a '99 Silverado had it almost a year,put 9000 miles on it and the only time it has seen a service dept. was for it's 3000 mi. oil changes. Not so much as a bump or a rattle out of it.
I've got a 97 Z71 and very happy with it. I had a battery go bad after about a year. I was also experiencing steering problems. My steering would twitch.I was told it was the steering sensor. Turned out my Goodyear Wranglers RT/S 265/16 were the problem. All I needed was a tire rotation front to rear. All makes have problems Dodge and Ford are both gas guzzlers and gutless wonders of the highway. Even the V10 Magnum.
I OWN ONE AND THE STUFF YOU DESCRIBE SUCH AS MUSHY BRAKES MINES GOT EM. GM SEZ NORMAL. BUT THOSE NUCKLEHEADS OUT THERE WANTED THEM AND GOT EM. THE STEERING ON MINE IS HARD TO TURN LOW SPEEDS ETC. GM SEZ NORMAL. DRIVELINE SLOP TRANSMISSION SHUDDER AND LEAKING PINION SEAL TOO.ALSO GM SEZ NORMAL. AND I'VE PUT SOME FRONT BRAKES ON IT TOO. GM SEZ NORMAL. THIRD DOOR STICKS AND CREAKS TOO. BUT IPLOW SNOW WITH IT TOW WITH IT AND BEAT THE LIVING S**T OUT OF IT.AND ONLY ONE TRIP TO THE DEALER FOR DRIVESHAFT AND WIPERS OTHERWISE NO PROBLEMS. BUT MY HOMEBOYS ARE GM TECHS AND I KNOW SECRETS. LIKE KEEPING IT LOW MILAGE AND YOU CAN DO THIS TOO AND SCREW GM IF YOU HAVE A LEMON.CAN,T TELL YOU HERE CUZ GM WILL FIND OUT. WAITING FOR MY 4 DOOR 2500 TO COME IN . I ONLY KEEP EM 3 WINTERS CUZ THATS ALL ANY TRUCK CAN TAKE ALL TRUCKS. I LOVE GM.....
My Z71 is also great! No problems so far with just over 14,000 miles (it's a '98, but essentially the same as a '97). Not even the squeak that the 3-doors are famous for (on all the big 3 trucks). Love that Vortec 5.7L!!! The mushy brake pedal is about my only complaint, but you get used to it, and I've panic-stopped once or twice and it does the job, so... I'm looking forward to keeping this truck a long time. -powerisfun
Actually, I didn't complain when the problem wasn't fixed the first time. Or the second time. I think I complained around the fourth or fifth visit. Is that allowable? Personally, I consider a steering problem to be something that needs attention rather quickly.
I don't seem to remember Ohm's law being applied to service departments in my Circuits Analysis class. Could that be:
Value = Initial_Excitement * Reliability
In my experience, that would be about right--since the reliability was very low (<1x10e-3), it led me to consider the truck to be not a good value for the money.
I miss the 350 engine's almost limitless power, the seamless integration of the engine and transmission, and the fairly decent fuel economy. However, I can live without the regular service department visits and chronic steering problems. I thought buying a truck in its ninth model year would distance me from "first model year" problems.
To those of you having no problems with your trucks, I wish you continued success. My experience with GM vehicles seems to indicate you either get a really good one or a really bad one. It's definitely no fun to have an expensive vehicle that allegedly can't be fixed.
My 1997 C1500 with the 5.7L v-8 was just quitting without warning while cruising down the road. After waiting 10 mins., it would fire up again like nothing was wrong. It turned out to be the fuel pump and sender were shorting out. A new pump and sender are very expensive and you can only buy them from the dealer. Previously I owned a 92 model that did the same thing but it was caused by a cracked distributor cap. Hope this helps. It took quite a bit of effort to diagnose these problems.
My '98 GMC 5.7L's running temperature with no load only shows about 165 degrees F on the coolant guage. That seems quite low to me. The highest I've seen it is 175 and that's in the summer when climbing a big hill. It has a stock thermostat which I think is rated at 195 degrees. I can't help but wonder if my guage is not accurate. Does anyone else know what their trucks running temp is? If not, can you check it and let me know. Basically just look at your coolant temperature guage once your truck is fully warmed up. Thanks. -powerisfun
Just surfing the posts and saw yours. See if your dealer has one of those cool infrared(?) hand held gizmos. It'll take the temp right off your thermostat housing and you can compare it to your gauge. It comes in handy on the Fords, at least on the last truck I had and on my current Mustang the gauge didn't use numbers so when the needle was on a particular letter of NORMAL I sort of knew what temp it was.
If anyone is interested, I just changed out the rims on my '98 GMC Sierra Z71 4x4. I'm selling the original ones. There's nothing wrong with them, I just wanted a more agressive chrome/retro look instead of the new classy alloy look.
The rims are 16x7, 6 lug and only have 13,500 miles on them. Never taken off road. They're in great condition! They'll fit Pickups, Suburbans, Yukons, Tahoes, and Vans.
The selling price is $250 (or best offer) for the set of 4 and I'll pay half of the shipping (shipping will probably be about $30 based on my experience). They come complete with valve-stems and center caps.
If you're looking to replace those standard rims with something classy and sporty looking, this is a great bargain. If you're interested please contact me at catntim@cybermesa.com .
I have a 99 C/K series 4x4 Z71 Old Bodystyle, It's an ok truck. The passenger side part of the seat seems like it's broken, and the third door won't let the regular door shut right at times, have to slam it. My main concern is it consumes oil! I quart every 3,000, and it only has 12,000, Gm told me it's normal, but I didn't pay 30k for a oilburner! For that matter I'm considering selling it, and getting an old beater, at least if it leaks, well it's paid for right?! Has anyone else had this problem???
My '98 GMC Z71 goes through about 1/2 quart in 3000 miles. I use synthetic Mobil 1. I have 14,000 miles on my truck. I think a quart per 3000 miles IS considered normal on all cars. I've even heard of cars that burn a quart per 1000 miles that were considered normal by the manufacturer. The passenger door on 3-doors does need to be slammed a little harder than usual because there is some flex there. Watch as you slam next time. You'll see what I mean, the 3rd door flexes inward a bit. I don't know about the seat thing, but other than that, your truck sounds normal to me. -powerisfun
Sorry, your original post sounded like you wanted opinions. Even if you sell it yourself, though, you're going to take a pretty big loss and if you trade it in, you'll take an even bigger hit. Is there a loss of power? Is there a heavy smoke coming out of the exhaust? Is there a loss of fuel economy (i.e. are you getting ~17 mpg or better on the highway?)? If the answer to all those questions is "no", and GM says one quart per 3000 miles is normal, I'm not sure what the problem is. Keep in mind that these are not the engines of yesteryear. They're more efficient, more powerful, more reliable, and longer lasting. Maybe your going by a rule that doesn't apply anymore. -powerisfun
It does about 14 MPG, power is great, I was giving it some thought, and well, I like my truck, and if the engine does blow up, then I can figure something out cuz I've built high performance engines for my older toys, so if worse comes to worse in the future, well then I can just build a carbureted, or better yet supercharged 350 or even 454, and really kick some butt. What made me come to this decision, was well, it's there when I need it, you know, and damn does it come in handy sometimes. And I don't feel like losing bigtime like you say. Thanks
powerisfun, Why do I only get about 14MPG at best? I thought you said these engines are more effiecient than of yesteryear? Could I have a problem? At times it tends to do even worse, how many miles do you get out of a tank of fuel?
14 mpg does sound a bit low. Just so we can compare accurately, my truck is a '98 Sierra ext-cab Z71 4x4 with auto trans., 265-75R16 tires with 3.73 axle ratio and short bed. 90% of my driving is highway at 60-65 mph. I currently get 18-19.5 mpg. My mileage goes up in the summer time to 20-21.2 mpg. Keep in mind, though, that I'm at high altitude (7000 ft) and with today's computer controlled motors that actually helps efficiency (less air makes the computer back off the fuel flow rate), plus there is less wind resistance at high altitude. I pay for that in loss of power compared to the same truck at low altitude, which is a bummer, but it's still a pretty mean engine. I also have a hard tonneau cover which helps with wind resistance. Still I'm guessing that the tonneau and the altitude are only buying me 2-3 mpg at best and maybe not even that.
Here are some things that I would check before declaring there is a problem (you probably know most, if not all of these but it's still worth checking):
Are you heavy on the gas pedal? (high speed and jack-rabbit starts will kill mileage) Is a large amount of your driving in the city or otherwise stop-and-go driving? Does your truck idle a lot? (do you warm it up before driving away? Or go thru drive-thrus a lot?) Are your tires filled up to at least 35 psi? (I have mine at 40 psi when hot. Max is 44) Is your air filter clean? How is your front-end alignment? Have you tried different brands of gas? (Texaco always seems to give me about 0.5-1 mpg better than others) Have you tried increasing your octane? (If your engine doesn't like the octane, the computer may be backing off your timing to prevent detonation. That will kill mileage. Keep in mind that these engines have a 9.4:1 compression ratio which is fairly high for 87 octane. Even though the manual says 87 is okay, try 89 or higher). This is a long shot, but have you tried synthetic oil? After a 5000 mile break-in, I switched to Mobil 1 and my mileage went up, but it may have been because the truck was broken in.
Since you asked, my normal miles between fill-ups is almost always around 450 miles. My best mileage was 21.24 mpg and I went 496.4 miles on that one tank (the tank has 25 gallon capacity and I used 23.371 gallons that time). I was amazed! If after checking all the above things you can't get at least 17 mpg on the highway (at 65-70 mph), you might have a problem. Good luck and keep me updated. -powerisfun
Hi again, mine is a 5.7 too, Auto, 265 tires too, and I drive at around 7,000 feet, down to maybe 6,000 maybe 5,500. I work in a city, but when I drive it to work it is a highway drive 60-65. About 30 miles one way. Air filter is brand new. If I drive a long 100 miles to a bigger city and back, I'll get 300 miles tops. Usually (90% of time) I can only get 200 to 250 miles NO MORE!!! I suspect there's something wrong. I gun it at stop signs maybe once in a while but not very often at all, and I drive the speed limit. I've decided I'll try and sell it first, if not I'll take a loss and trade it, it only has 12,000 miles, and I don't use it basically cuz it's such a thirsty hog for fuel. I can't afford to run it. Have any suggestions? It's basically the same truck as yours, Ext cab, 1/2 ton, Z71. Keep me posted. THanks
You don't happen to be in New Mexico do you? Your commute to work sounds a lot like mine including the altitude change (I travel 26 miles one way to work). I live at 5600 ft and my work is at 7300 ft. Anyway, are you actually measuring your mileage by dividing the miles by the gallons required to fill up or just going by the guage and your tank capacity? I had to ask that because there was someone else that was going by that rather than an actual measurement. These guages can be pretty wrong (My coolant temp guage is way low...it says my normal warmed up operating temp is 160. It should be ~195.). They also don't appear to operate linearly. My gas guage goes from full to half in 300 miles, but then only 150 miles from half to empty. Assuming you're measuring correctly, one other consideration is are you in a smog-conscious city? I ask that because cities like LA use gas that is oxygenated more than others and they have less energy per gallon. People have claimed that it gives them rotten mileage especially in the winter? Ask other people how their gas mileage is in your area. If someone's Chevy Cavalier is only getting 23 mpg on the highway (should be 30+), then that's a good indicator that that is the culprit. If everything there checks out (and assuming your tires are at pressure and your alignment is correct), I can't think of any reason why you shouldn't be getting the same mileage as me (plus or minus 1 or 2 mpg). Can you take out one of the spark plugs to see if it looks normal? If it's all black with carbon or oil, you have a problem which is reparable. Check that, if it's okay, have your dealer do a read-out on the engine. Maybe your oxygen sensor or your mass-air-flow sensor is bad or even your engine-knock sensor or some other sensor that I don't know about. One other obvious thing to check is to see if you have a gas leak somewhere (it may just be when the engine is running). If everything checks out and the dealer says it's normal, then I don't blame you for wanting to sell it or trade it. With that kind of mileage you could be driving a supercharged 454. And since it already has 12000 miles on it, it's probably not going to improve any further on its own. Before giving up on it, though, definitely have it checked. Good luck! -powerisfun
I am in NM, I work in Santa Fe, and live in Chimayo, where do you live? I use Chevron gasoline 100% of the time, there's few Texacos within my convenience. As far as other people, well I've heard of pretty good mileage on their vehicles, I do divide properly like you say. I've seen multiple 90's Chevy truck owners say they've gotten up to like 21mpg, when I first got my truck I talked to this one guy, and he said that he got like what I get 13-14. My dad has a 85 Chevy with a 350 w/RV cam and headers 4 barrel and he gets about 14 empty, and about 12 with 100 bales of hay, or 4 horses. I've yet to see what my truck does under a load, maybe 10? I'm not even considering keeping it, cuz whatever the problem, it's only 12,000miles. Why wait for more miles and more problems. Then the dealer wants to get out of fixing it, they won't even look at the oil consupmtion problem. Anyway, I might already have it sold. I envy your mileage, by 250 miles on a full tank, I'm looking for the nearest gas station!!! Thanks alot, let me know what part of NM you're from.
Powerisfun, I forgot to ask, do you drive like really slow? Do you ever lay on the accelerator at all? Like I said before, I'll floor it once in a blue moon, otherwise, I'm pretty conservative.
I live in Espanola and commute to Los Alamos. I got my truck at Valencia Motors in Espanola. Is that where you got yours or did you get it in Santa Fe? I don't think the gas is the problem anywhere in NM. Anyway, that mileage does sound extremely low and there probably is something wrong. I wonder if it is fixable. Anyway, I drive fairly conservatively most of the time. I pretty much follow the speed limit or go up to 5 mph over. I do lay on the pedal at least once per trip going up the hills into Los Alamos. I don't floor it, but the rpms go up to about 3000...enough to make the engine roar. Then on the way back, I do the same thing up the hill onto SR-30. I just do that because I think it's good for an engine to open up a bit especially when the rest of the trip is just cruising at 1800 rpm the whole time...It's also pretty fun! Sorry to hear that your experience hasn't been the same as mine. I love my truck and I'm hoping to keep it for 10+ years. Did you take it to the dealer to have it checked? If you really do like the truck like you say, it might be worth it. It could be something as simple as a replacing a sensor and you could be getting 19 mpg. I don't think the oil thing is that big of a problem, but it's up to you. Well, good luck in selling it if that's what you decide. -powerisfun
I got it at Galles in Abq, at Santa Fe, and Espanola, they were trying to rob me. Same with Casa, but Galles was willing to work and they weren't trying to sell me a damn used one. Oh well, either way I got a heap of scrap, at least I didn't get taken too bad when I bought it. I drive like you, just let it open up a little going up the hill into Santa Fe. There really must be a problem with mine, the hills to Los Alamos are far steeper and more of them than to Santa Fe and your truck seems to be putting mine to shame as far as Gas mileage! Thanks
Hi guys. At the first of the year I bought a ’98 Silverado, 5.7, K1500, Z71 and put 265/70R16s on it. It is a higher mileage truck with 48K on it. The tire size may not have been the best choice, but I doubt it will have much effect either way. Open bed with over-rail liner. I have driven my first thousand at 4500 feet (Reno) in a fairly even mix of city/highway driving. Highway speed creeps up to 80 often ‘cause it does it so easily. I don’t do the jackrabbit thing. So far, I just enjoy the heck out of driving it. It actually feels much more stable on I80 up to Truckee and back (done that twice) than my Sable did. Point I got about 16 on the first tank and 14 since. I figure that the first tank was being a little scared of it. The past few tanks, I have gotten comfortable and drive a little faster. I am looking forward to seeing what a trip to Beserkely (UCBerkely) next weekend will do to mileage. Going to watch the daughter compete on the UCLA Gymnastics Team. Go Bruins!! Oh yeah. The truck is an extended cab, short bed, and it is Blue.
I just filled up my truck yesterday and calculated the mileage at 15mpg, it might be getting better with age. Last time I calculated 13.8 was before 10,000 miles, and before a new air filter. Poweris fun, if I run it a tank without the tailgate, will this compare to a tonneau cover? If it is the same, and I get 2-3mpg more, then it might be worth trying it and maybe then I would consider one, but aren't they like 800 bucks or something? Let me know. Thanks.
According to this scientific study at the website: http://mars.acnet.wnec.edu/~ehaffner/did.htm They found that the tonneau cover decreased the drag by 11.8% while removing the tailgate actually increased the drag by 3.5%. The reason is due to turbulence in the bed behind the cab. I got my tonneau cover from JCWhitney for $425 (regularly $499 but with 15% discount catalog). It's a black flush-mount type by Covercraft. It looks great on my white truck. Very strong (It locks too, but you need to lock the tailgate separately. Not a big deal, I have a Pop-lock on the tailgate). I've seen them advertised for even cheaper too in truck magazines since I bought mine. The ones that cost $800+ are the over the rail type that match the color of the truck. I personally think the low profile ones look much better. You can also get the canvas ones that you can get for ~$100-150 and would have the same benefit. There's also the type with canvas on rails that opens up just like a solid one for about $200-300. In my case, I wanted to be able to have a little bit of security to be able to lock stuff in the bed. You can't do that with any of the canvas ones that I know of. To test to see if it's going to be worth your money, you could fashion a quick cover by fastening sheets of plywood or some other flat material over your bed. Drive around for a tank or two and see if it helps. Glad to see that you're truck got 15 mpg. That's a good sign. Using 15 mpg as a baseline, if a tonneau cover improves that by 2-3 mpg, you'll save $165-$232 per year (assuming 15000 miles per year and $1.39 for gas). At that rate, a canvas tonneau will pay for itself in about one year and a solid one would pay for itself in about 2-3 years. However, that's all dependent on if it gets you 2-3 mpg which we don't know for sure. -powerisfun
P.S. A good website to check out tonneau prices is http://www.calconcepts.com They have some of the best prices I've seen
powerisfun-- First of all, thanks for all the useful info. Couple of questions, first: Is it easy to remove incase I want to load up my ATV or a fridge or washer/dryer etc...??? second: Is the kind like you have under or inside the rails? Because I have bed rails and caps, so I need to know if that affects it. I know I can't use those ones that go over the rails like you say, because then I'll have to get rid of my rails, and besides, I don't like those. Does your's have the little cylinders that let it go up like a hatchback? Will I have to tear up my bedliner to install it? Let me know. Thanks again--chevyck1
It's very easy to install and remove, however, you do need two people just because of the bulkiness of it. It's not that heavy, I'd say it weighs about 30-40 lbs max. I don't think it would matter if you have bed rails. It has a lip of about 1/2 inch that hangs over the inner edge of the bed like this:
____________________ _ ____________________| <-------tonneau cover ________ inner lip-------> | | | <--- out side bed | | looking at | | truck from rear
So if you have about 1/2 inch of clearance outside of the inner edge of your bed, you should have no problem. Yes, mine has the cylinders that tilt it up. It's a nice feature. You should also check out the Fold-a-cover. That allows one person removal and you can drive with it folded up part way so that you can carry tall items. I think if I had to do it over, I'd go with that one. I think it has the same type of clearance needs as mine. Concerning your bed liner, as long as the inner lip of the bed is exposed, you're okay. The hardware mounts to that inner lip.
I have a 97 GMC 4x4 SB auto ext. cab 1500 with 37K and I recently began hearing(and feeling) a clunk in the drive train somewhere. This clunk is unusual because it occurs about 1-2 seconds after you accelerate away from a complete stop, way before the first shift point. This clunk can be heard and felt in the gas pedal and occurs in reverse, 4-wheel-drive, all the time. A full explaination to several dealerships turned up nothing. Shifting between park, reverse and drive is very smooth and quiet, just after you start moving, you hear the clunk. I think I've eliminated almost everything but I'm open to anyone's suggestion on what this could be.
Did you check if one or both of the rear brake shoes is sticking? I had that happen to my old '80 Chevy Citation (back in about '85). The symptoms sound very similar to what you're describing. -powerisfun
Just bought a 1997 Chevy Silverado last week...much, much, MUCH better than the 1998 Ranger it replaced..anyway, question about the brakes...I know other people have talked about spongy brakes not stopping, but I seem to have the opposite, this sucker stops on the dime with little effort, no problem except I was curious if any others with really grabby brakes can lockup the fronts if you panic stop?? Sure the antilocks kick in and the pedal pulsates, but this is the first time I have heard churps from the tires with antilocks..the tires don't stay locked up, you just here them lock up off and on. Did I just happen to get a good set of brakes, or should I exercise my 30 day full 100% repair warranty that I got when I bought the truck. By the way I did get an extended warranty to 75K just in case...thanks for your input! Bob
I've had to panic stop a few times and my truck does the same thing. I was wondering if it needs adjustment as well. Maybe it's just the nature of the beast. If you find out about it, let me know. Thanks. -powerisfun.
I talked with one of my friends who has a 1995 Silverado and he stated his will do this too. So I guess it is better to have too good of brakes then very little at all...It is nice to know that other trucks do this to.
On a side note, my truck didn't come with an owners manual, so maybe you could answer this for me. On the radio, every time I change the station, or turn the radio on for the first time it goes back to the rock setting. Is there a way to "turn it off" so to speak so it will stay at the setting I give it??? Anyway, good to meet you, look forward to talking in the future...
Brake drums/pads were my first thought but everything looks fine. How would someone troubleshoot the sticking brake problem short of replacing everything?
Maybe you could try this: Jack up the rearend of your truck on both sides (use jackstands) and put wheel chocks in front of the two front tires (that are still on the ground) put the truck in neutral then get out of the truck and see if you can turn the back wheels by hand. If so, step on the brake a few times and try again. If the shoe calipers are sticking, you'll have trouble turning it. Now that I think about it, you may not even need to jack up the truck. You could try setting the truck on some nice level surface and put it in neutral and try to push it. Then step on the brake and try again, etc. Just a thought. Good luck,
I don't listen to the radio in my truck. I just put in CD's when I want music, so I never noticed if what you describe is normal. I can check the manual for you, though. -powerisfun
You aren't, by chance, spinning the rear wheels enough to engage the locking rear differential, are you? My truck used to do that on wet roads when taking off from a stop--the tires would slip just enough to lock the rear end and cause a clunk. That's totally normal. If you have the locking differential but you're not spinning the tires, you may want to have it looked at while you have the warranty. Mine was starting to make a grinding noise at 31k.
powerisfun-- I haven't used my truck much since I told you I got 15 mpg, however, today I started it to move it, and upon starting it, it misfired like heck for a good while, then when it got up to proper oil pressure, I gave it a few slight taps on the gas to see if it would subside, and it did somewhat, then it was idling like if I had a highperf cam. After that I shut it off, and got out in disgust, and it smelled like exhaust when something's running really rich, or when a carburated car gets flooded, you know with a slight billowing smoke, the smell even stuck to my clothes. I don't know what's the problem now, but the longer I keep it, the more problems arise without even using it! What could be the problem at 12,000 miles? Could I just be stuck with a lemon? I'm so untrusting of taking it to the dealer so those techs can get their filthy dishonest hands all over it. That's if they'll even look at it. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks. chevyck1 in NM... P.S. I am planning on getting underneath it tomorrow to see if it has any oil leaks, that way they won't try and say it's fine, and wipe up the oil from where it's leaking, incase it is cuz remember my oil problem?
It might be just because you havent used it for awhile thats what happend to mine when i didnt start it up for 2 weeks then after awhile when i started using it more it went away as far as 12k if there is still a problem i would take it to the dealer if it has a warrenty on it............but if you dont want to use the truck u should sell it because it is not good for a truck or any car at that matter to be sitting for a long time.......
My '97 would miss after it had been sitting unused for over one day (pretty rare). This behavior started at about 8k miles and it would never exhibit the behavior during one of its many service visits. Finally, the miss got so bad the Check Engine light (MIL) came on. The OBD-II diagnostic code indicated a miss on cylinder #2. After an unsuccessful (we couldn't find it!) service visit and a little discussion with the service manager, the injector was replaced and that particular problem went away. If your truck is a '96 or newer (OBD-II equipped), the next time it misses, just let it keep missing until the MIL comes on. Then, take it to the dealer and force them to read the codes. Alternatively, you can find a code scanner and read them yourself. You could also try some good quality injector cleaner but my miss appeared to be caused by a "lazy" injector, not a clog.
Did your truck have a rough idle? Mine does on occasion, to where you can feel it on your feet on the floorboard. What is the OBD-II? My truck is a 99 C/K. Did you have to fight your dealer to get it fixed? Do the new silverados have this problem do you think?
Comments
After 7,000 trouble-free miles on my used Dodge (20k total), I have to take it to the shop next week. The difference is, this visit is only for a routine transmission flush-n-fill instead of an overhaul of a major system like the Chevy required every 3-5k! I just hope the dealership can handle this task without messing up the truck!
--TomC
Thanks
The service department told me the steering speed sensor is located in the steering column near the steering gearbox. I believe they said you had to disconnect the column to fix it. I never verified this information.
From reading various auto forums, it would appear as though a number of people are having this problem. I'm surprised GM has not come out with a fix for it. The service manager told me GM did away with the variable boost steering in the new ('99 and up) truck design. Having personally experienced problems with it, I can understand why!
There was a post on the Chevy newsgroup a few weeks ago that recommended pulling the fuse for the variable effort steering (I don't remember the fuse number) to eliminate the jerking. I don't have the truck or the service manuals anymore, so I can't verify this would successfully disable the system or whether or not it would impact any other systems. At any rate, disabling the system would render the steering permanently soft.
Good luck with your truck.
TomC
Isn't Ohm's law where the technician goes to jail if the problem isn't fixed correctly the first time?
Rich
-powerisfun
I don't seem to remember Ohm's law being applied to service departments in my Circuits Analysis class. Could that be:
Value = Initial_Excitement * Reliability
In my experience, that would be about right--since the reliability was very low (<1x10e-3), it led me to consider the truck to be not a good value for the money.
I miss the 350 engine's almost limitless power, the seamless integration of the engine and transmission, and the fairly decent fuel economy. However, I can live without the regular service department visits and chronic steering problems. I thought buying a truck in its ninth model year would distance me from "first model year" problems.
To those of you having no problems with your trucks, I wish you continued success. My experience with GM vehicles seems to indicate you either get a really good one or a really bad one. It's definitely no fun to have an expensive vehicle that allegedly can't be fixed.
--TomC
-powerisfun
Thanks.
-powerisfun
-powerisfun
The rims are 16x7, 6 lug and only have 13,500 miles on them. Never taken off road. They're in great condition! They'll fit Pickups, Suburbans, Yukons, Tahoes, and Vans.
The selling price is $250 (or best offer) for the set of 4 and I'll pay half of the shipping (shipping will probably be about $30 based on my experience). They come complete with valve-stems and center caps.
If you're looking to replace those standard rims with something classy and sporty looking, this is a great bargain.
If you're interested please contact me at
catntim@cybermesa.com .
-powerisfun
The passenger door on 3-doors does need to be slammed a little harder than usual because there is some flex there. Watch as you slam next time. You'll see what I mean, the 3rd door flexes inward a bit. I don't know about the seat thing, but other than that, your truck sounds normal to me.
-powerisfun
Is there a loss of power? Is there a heavy smoke coming out of the exhaust? Is there a loss of fuel economy (i.e. are you getting ~17 mpg or better on the highway?)? If the answer to all those questions is "no", and GM says one quart per 3000 miles is normal, I'm not sure what the problem is. Keep in mind that these are not the engines of yesteryear. They're more efficient, more powerful, more reliable, and longer lasting.
Maybe your going by a rule that doesn't apply anymore.
-powerisfun
I currently get 18-19.5 mpg. My mileage goes up in the summer time to 20-21.2 mpg. Keep in mind, though, that I'm at high altitude (7000 ft) and with today's computer controlled motors that actually helps efficiency (less air makes the computer back off the fuel flow rate), plus there is less wind resistance at high altitude. I pay for that in loss of power compared to the same truck at low altitude, which is a bummer, but it's still a pretty mean engine. I also have a hard tonneau cover which helps with wind resistance.
Still I'm guessing that the tonneau and the altitude are only buying me 2-3 mpg at best and maybe not even that.
Here are some things that I would check before declaring there is a problem (you probably know most, if not all of these but it's still worth checking):
Are you heavy on the gas pedal?
(high speed and jack-rabbit starts will kill
mileage)
Is a large amount of your driving in the city or
otherwise stop-and-go driving?
Does your truck idle a lot?
(do you warm it up before driving away? Or
go thru drive-thrus a lot?)
Are your tires filled up to at least 35 psi?
(I have mine at 40 psi when hot. Max is 44)
Is your air filter clean?
How is your front-end alignment?
Have you tried different brands of gas?
(Texaco always seems to give me about 0.5-1 mpg
better than others)
Have you tried increasing your octane?
(If your engine doesn't like the octane, the
computer may be backing off your timing to
prevent detonation. That will kill mileage.
Keep in mind that these engines have a 9.4:1
compression ratio which is fairly high for
87 octane. Even though the manual says 87
is okay, try 89 or higher).
This is a long shot, but have you tried synthetic
oil? After a 5000 mile break-in, I switched to
Mobil 1 and my mileage went up, but it may have
been because the truck was broken in.
Since you asked, my normal miles between fill-ups is almost always around 450 miles. My best mileage was 21.24 mpg and I went 496.4 miles on that one tank (the tank has 25 gallon capacity and I used 23.371 gallons that time). I was amazed! If after checking all the above things you can't get at least 17 mpg on the highway (at 65-70 mph), you might have a problem. Good luck and keep me updated.
-powerisfun
-powerisfun
Anyway, are you actually measuring your mileage by dividing the miles by the gallons required to fill up or just going by the guage and your tank capacity? I had to ask that because there was someone else that was going by that rather than an actual measurement. These guages can be pretty wrong (My coolant temp guage is way low...it says my normal warmed up operating temp is 160. It should be ~195.). They also don't appear to operate linearly. My gas guage goes from full to half in 300 miles, but then only 150 miles from half to empty.
Assuming you're measuring correctly, one other consideration is are you in a smog-conscious city?
I ask that because cities like LA use gas that is oxygenated more than others and they have less energy per gallon. People have claimed that it gives them rotten mileage especially in the winter? Ask other people how their gas mileage is in your area. If someone's Chevy Cavalier is only getting 23 mpg on the highway (should be 30+), then that's a good indicator that that is the culprit.
If everything there checks out (and assuming your tires are at pressure and your alignment is correct), I can't think of any reason why you shouldn't be getting the same mileage as me (plus or minus 1 or 2 mpg). Can you take out one of the spark plugs to see if it looks normal? If it's all black with carbon or oil, you have a problem which is reparable. Check that, if it's okay, have your dealer do a read-out on the engine. Maybe your oxygen sensor or your mass-air-flow sensor is bad or even your engine-knock sensor or some other sensor that I don't know about. One other obvious thing to check is to see if you have a gas leak somewhere (it may just be when the engine is running). If everything checks out and the dealer says it's normal, then I don't blame you for wanting to sell it or trade it. With that kind of mileage you could be driving a supercharged 454. And since it already has 12000 miles on it, it's probably not going to improve any further on its own. Before giving up on it, though, definitely have it checked. Good luck!
-powerisfun
Anyway, I drive fairly conservatively most of the time. I pretty much follow the speed limit or go up to 5 mph over. I do lay on the pedal at least once per trip going up the hills into Los Alamos. I don't floor it, but the rpms go up to about 3000...enough to make the engine roar. Then on the way back, I do the same thing up the hill onto SR-30. I just do that because I think it's good for an engine to open up a bit especially when the rest of the trip is just cruising at 1800 rpm the whole time...It's also pretty fun!
Sorry to hear that your experience hasn't been the same as mine. I love my truck and I'm hoping to keep it for 10+ years. Did you take it to the dealer to have it checked? If you really do like the truck like you say, it might be worth it. It could be something as simple as a replacing a sensor and you could be getting 19 mpg. I don't think the oil thing is that big of a problem, but it's up to you. Well, good luck in selling it if that's what you decide.
-powerisfun
I have driven my first thousand at 4500 feet (Reno) in a fairly even mix of city/highway driving. Highway speed creeps up to 80 often ‘cause it does it so easily. I don’t do the jackrabbit thing. So far, I just enjoy the heck out of driving it. It actually feels much more stable on I80 up to Truckee and back (done that twice) than my Sable did.
Point I got about 16 on the first tank and 14 since. I figure that the first tank was being a little scared of it. The past few tanks, I have gotten comfortable and drive a little faster. I am looking forward to seeing what a trip to Beserkely (UCBerkely) next weekend will do to mileage. Going to watch the daughter compete on the UCLA Gymnastics Team. Go Bruins!!
Oh yeah. The truck is an extended cab, short bed, and it is Blue.
Let me know. Thanks.
http://mars.acnet.wnec.edu/~ehaffner/did.htm
They found that the tonneau cover decreased the drag by 11.8% while removing the tailgate actually increased the drag by 3.5%. The reason is due to turbulence in the bed behind the cab.
I got my tonneau cover from JCWhitney for $425 (regularly $499 but with 15% discount catalog). It's a black flush-mount type by Covercraft. It looks great on my white truck. Very strong (It locks too, but you need to lock the tailgate separately. Not a big deal, I have a Pop-lock on the tailgate). I've seen them advertised for even cheaper too in truck magazines since I bought mine. The ones that cost $800+ are the over the rail type that match the color of the truck. I personally think the low profile ones look much better.
You can also get the canvas ones that you can get for ~$100-150 and would have the same benefit. There's also the type with canvas on rails that opens up just like a solid one for about $200-300. In my case, I wanted to be able to have a little bit of security to be able to lock stuff in the bed. You can't do that with any of the canvas ones that I know of.
To test to see if it's going to be worth your money, you could fashion a quick cover by fastening sheets of plywood or some other flat material over your bed. Drive around for a tank or two and see if it helps. Glad to see that you're truck got 15 mpg. That's a good sign. Using 15 mpg as a baseline, if a tonneau cover improves that by 2-3 mpg, you'll save $165-$232
per year (assuming 15000 miles per year and $1.39 for gas). At that rate, a canvas tonneau will pay for itself in about one year and a solid one would pay for itself in about 2-3 years. However, that's all dependent on if it gets you 2-3 mpg which we don't know for sure.
-powerisfun
P.S. A good website to check out tonneau prices is http://www.calconcepts.com
They have some of the best prices I've seen
First of all, thanks for all the useful info. Couple of questions, first: Is it easy to remove incase I want to load up my ATV or a fridge or washer/dryer etc...??? second: Is the kind like you have under or inside the rails? Because I have bed rails and caps, so I need to know if that affects it. I know I can't use those ones that go over the rails like you say, because then I'll have to get rid of my rails, and besides, I don't like those. Does your's have the little cylinders that let it go up like a hatchback? Will I have to tear up my bedliner to install it? Let me know. Thanks again--chevyck1
____________________ _
____________________| <-------tonneau cover
________
inner lip-------> | | | <--- out side bed
| | looking at
| | truck from
rear
So if you have about 1/2 inch of clearance outside of the inner edge of your bed, you should have no problem. Yes, mine has the cylinders that tilt it up. It's a nice feature. You should also check out the Fold-a-cover. That allows one person removal and you can drive with it folded up part way so that you can carry tall items. I think if I had to do it over, I'd go with that one. I think it has the same type of clearance needs as mine.
Concerning your bed liner, as long as the inner lip of the bed is exposed, you're okay. The hardware mounts to that inner lip.
-powerisfun
-powerisfun
Bob
adjustment as well. Maybe it's just the nature of the beast. If you find out about it, let me know.
Thanks.
-powerisfun.
On a side note, my truck didn't come with an owners manual, so maybe you could answer this for me. On the radio, every time I change the station, or turn the radio on for the first time it goes back to the rock setting. Is there a way to "turn it off" so to speak so it will stay at the setting I give it??? Anyway, good to meet you, look forward to talking in the future...
Bob
Then step on the brake and try again, etc. Just a thought.
Good luck,
-powerisfun
-powerisfun
--TomC
P.S. I am planning on getting underneath it tomorrow to see if it has any oil leaks, that way they won't try and say it's fine, and wipe up the oil from where it's leaking, incase it is cuz remember my oil problem?
Good luck!
--TomC