chevy Silverado - Continued

gwvinson

What is the coverage and the deductable of the GM extended warranty that you purchased? I am close to receiving my vehicle after four months and the only info I have about extended warranty's available is from Warranty Direct and Warranty Gold. Both of which sound ok. The dealer doesn't want to give me any info until I receive my vehicle and see the "Finance Guy". I would like to know where I stand before I get to him. If you have any additional info on this contact me at gwvinson@gte.net or post it on this conference.

djstep

markbuck--It's the 99 1500 Silverado 4x4. I didn't know if ordered without the tow package, how it would be equiped. But am thinking the harness plug-in, setup underneath should be there on all of the pickups, because it also has extra unused plug-in for adding whatever you might want to add on electrically.

jbowell

Does anyone know if the 4th door will be added to the ext cab at the beginning of the 2k model year. My dealer told me today that the last day to order 99's was 4/21/99 for summer allocation, then minor retooling and maintenance would begin and then finally the 2k model production for deliveries in aug/sep 99.

So if the 4th door option begins right away I might wait a few more months instead. Very little info is around about the 4th door right now it seems.

rsstewart

I would love to know when the 4th door will be available - please post if you find out

davek3

YAHOO!!!

picked up my 3/4 ton 4x4 excab longbed last night!! took exactly 100 days.. only have 84 miles on it .. love it so far.. nice and tight.. no rattles.. its idigo blue got the forged alum. wheels.. locking rear.. auto trans.. auto track transfer case.. skid plate.. trailering pkg.. firm ride pkg.. i'm ready to roll!! going "shopping" sat. for bedliner and cap.....

evergreen

jbowell...I think I will be ordering a 2000 yr model soon. Seems like no one knows anything about the fourth door. GM seem to not want their dealers to know. My dealer in Milwaukie, OR syas I can order a 2k model in May for delivery in Sept. She says price will be $250 over invoice. Sounds fair to me.

FETZ

evergreen...

What's the name of your dealership??? $250 over invoice, that's great!

I've been shopping for a truck in the Salem, OR area, and I can't find anyone willing to sell for less than $2,000 over invoice (Chevy or Ford). The Dodge dealer here is asking an outrageous $5,000 over MSRP, posted right on the window. I haven't even bothered trying to deal with them.

I'm also wondering when Chevy will offer a Crew Cab in the new style truck (I'm not talking the 4-door extended cab, but a true full size crew cab). Ford has it in their Super Duty F250 & F350 line, and blasphemous as it may be... I've been taking a good hard look at them.

fish6

I have 2400 miles on my "99 Silverado...4.8 liter.
I think I should change my oil and like to do it myself...Question....My book says to use the PF59 oil filter....Is this correct? The only reason I asked is that I seem to remember a couple of months ago someone said this PF59 is not the correct one????? Is it???? Thanks!

wesley1

Fish6, My Sierra manual came with an addendum page on filters. The 4.8L (vin V) was changed from PF1218 (PF52 with 4X4) to a PF59 same as the 5.3L and 6.0L. In the GMC book you would be right. Best bet is to buy the first filter from the Dealer to confirm the #. Good luck.

pjb0422

I have the 99 Silverado with the 5.3L. I also received the addendum page that said to use the PF59 oil filter. My first oil change was by the dealer (freebie) and I did the second oil change. I did notice that the oil filter was a PF59. Trouble is I cannot find a PF59 oil filter at any of the usual places i.e. WalMart, Auto Zone. I went to NAPA and they sold be an oil filter for $6. It looked the same size etc so I used it. I did see in a Fram filter book that the 99 Chevy/GMC used one of their filters. When I cross referenced it to AC/Delco, it came out to a PF58. So I think the next one I will buy from the dealer until the local places start stocking PF59s.

rwagoner

My friend in the industry asked one of his Chevy engineer friends about the 4th door. He said the door SHOULD start showing up by December, with production ramp up limiting numbers until Feb/Mar of 2000.

That's his best guess, anyway.

james007

fetz,

I don't want to sound gloom & doom, but from whom
I have talked to, I'm afraid the crew cab won't be seen until 2001. Maybe they will release it in early 2000...It's also a question about the 4th door ext. cab in the 2000 model...Who knows?
I saw a graph showing the expected building dates of the 2000 suburban, tahoe, and some of the other new chevy models. Looks like they will show up by Christmas...maybe...

Still waiting on my 2500 4x4 ordered on 11/9/98.
should be here any day...(I hope)

fish6

Anybody know how many grease erks ( I'm not sure if that is correct) there are under the new Silverados? I found 5. 3 easy and 2 difficult. Are there more that I missed?????? Thanks

kasi4ever

PF59 is the correct filter. I have done 2 oil changes (one self and one at dealership). The only place I have found the filter is at the parts dept at the dealership for $6.00. I have had my 1500 LS, 2wd ext cab, 4.8L, 2.42 since December 98. With approximately 5200 logged miles, my average mileage is 19 to 20 mpg (highway work commute 180 mile/wk). My best mileage was 27 mpg on a 500 mile trip.

gwvinson

I took delivery of my LS 1500 Extended cab short bed, 5.3liter today. The dealer took my deposit
12-26-98. My truck finally ordered 03-09-99. The dealer said it would be delivered the middle of April. He would never give me an order number or a build date, but it arrived when he predicted. This vehicle is everything I expected. All the options I ordered were correct, however the only option I don't know how to verify is the locking diff. I ordered the 255 70R16 tires and they are American General. Everything seems To Be in order except the black molding above the drivers side door that runs along the roof line seems to keep coming loose. Has anybody had this problem?
From start to finish my truck took 104 days to arrive. It seems like a long time, but now that it is here all that time is erased. Everyone on this conference has always said that the wait is worth it, and they are right. Now its time to buy some accessories.
Gregg

sd99

Knobby

I won't argue with you about the benefits of a quality oil filter, but there it no way GM cannot honor a warranty claim of a oil related problem simply because you didn't use the GM filter.

jkalb2

gwninson: I took delivery of my LT 1500,ext.cab,short bed,5.3 liter on 3-29-99.This is a great truck & I am very pleased with it.It had every thing on it that I had ordered except for the transmission oil cooler which was ordered as part of Z-82 Option (Heavy duty trailering special equipment),but was deleted by GM on my truck & the window sticker was changed to read (Trailering special equipment & the MSRP price was lowered from $285.00 to $190.00. I have only found a few minor defects so far.first 500 miles. I have anoisy rubbing sound coming from under the cab at very slow speed when ever the truck pitches or rolls the slightest bit,in fact i noticed this noise with in the first 20 feet that i drove it off the dealers lot.I wonder why the factory or the dealer didn't catch this?,also have a rattle or hitting noise when ever driving over bumps or chug holes on a rough street.The black molding or seal that you mentioned was not glued down properly on the drivers side of my truck too.It appears that the person working on that side of the assembly line was inexperienced or had a bad day.I will take the truck back to the dealer next week to get it fixed.I also have the General 255 70 R16 tires and they are very smooth riding after I dropped the tire pressures down from 40 PSI to 35 PSI.The leather electric bucket seats are very confortable & do not clunk like some other fellows on this board have complained about.AS i said earlier ,0verall I am very happy & satisfied with my LT 1500 & the 2 months wait was well woth it. Jim.

gwvinson

I forgot to mention in my post #174 that the heavy duty trailering package price was also reduced to $190. I presume it because of the absence of the trans oil cooler. When I ordered
my vehicle I did not know of the cooler. After I
after I found out that this option came with the trans cooler I thought wow that's great. Now i'm disappointed, but that's the way it goes.

Gregg

djstep

fish6-- In reply to post #170. The number of grease Zerks under the front end of my 99 1/2 ton 4x4 Silverado is 10. Didn't find any on the drive shaft or transmittion. Sometimes there are zerks around the bell housing for the clutch linkge. All the steering linkage joints have zerks and the 4 on the king pins.

jxyoung

gwvinson,

Did the dealer adjust the selling price of the truck when you signed the papers? If you agreed to a price with the $280 option and paid that price upon delivery you were short changed!

evergreen

fetz...The reason they charge so much for trucks in Salem is because they have to put up with my mother-in-law. She lives in Salem.

Actually, the $250 over invoice was for a 2000 Sierra 1500. I called a salesperson I got from the GMBuy website. She is in the fleet office at John Link Pontiac/GMC. I asked if they were competitive with the Costco program and she assured me they were. She gave me the $250 figure over the phone on Friday. Yesterday, I visited her at the dealership and we priced out a 1999 model with the options I am looking for. She had an appointment with another customer so we didn't talk much but she gave me a printout with the invoice and retail costs. There was a charge of $487 for regional advertising but I was told by another dealer that everyone asks for that over and above whatever is agreed to on the basic cost of the vehicle. Two years ago I bought a new Passat GLX Station Wagon for $200 over invoice through the Costco program and didn't have to pay any advertising expenses, but I figure if I can get into a new 2000 Sierra delivered in August or September for $250 over invoice, I won't complain too much about the advertising tack on. If you are set on a Silverado, I notice Ron Tonkin had an ad in yesterday's paper for a new Z-71 for $4549 below MSRP. That sounds like a pretty good price to me.

Looks to me like you need to be shopping in Portland.

markbuck

All the 1/2 tons use AC PF-59's. Bought mine at Checker for $5 each, had to order them. I'm gonna switch to the Purolater PureOne filter, PL20123, when I run out of the AC filters.
Bought a PureOne filter at Pep Boys, they had it in stock, almost identical dimensions as the PF-59's. Purolater has a good web site.

Getting between 16 and 17 mpg on my 4.8L Silverado driving around town short trips at 7000' elevation and mornings of 10 deg F; same fuel economy back and forth from Flagstaff to Phoenix (6000'elevation change) running between 75 and 85 hauling a couple of dirt bikes. Suspect I will only get the 18 to 19 mpg at 60 to 65 mph. Power is acceptable, VERY glad I got the 4.11 LS rear end. I'm very happy.

huntman

I have heard on another site that guys with 99's were talking about replacing the 27 watt fog lamps with 50 watt replacements from autozone for 6:50 appeace. Any thoughts about this higher wattage melting the housing or causing ploblems such as inadiquite wireing. I would love to get more light out of them.

Thanks
Huntman

FETZ

evergreen,

Thanks for getting back to me. It's great you found a dealership that isn't trying to gouge you.

I wouldn't be getting the GMC though, so I probably wouldn't go to that dealership. But I think I will look into the Costco program. I'm glad you mentioned that, because it hadn't occurred to me.

I have done a little shopping in the Portland area. But I'm running into the same problem there with pricing. I even tried using the MSN Car Point buying service, and the prices quoted me by the dealerships are still at least $2,000 over invoice.

gwvinson

jxyoung
The Dealer adjusted the final price to reflect the change in price. He told me also if the price went up that I had prick protection. The Only price I was unaware of is the $45 doc. fee.

Gregg

dave40

Part# 885 50 watts Made by Lighting Technologies or Sylvania. Both have same 885# I got mine at AutoZone working fine so far.

nuwo

So, how did your truck do coming up the grade from Verde Valley hauling those bikes? I'm curious given that I've got a similar truck on order (4.8L, manual, 4.10) and live in your neck of the woods.

markbuck

Have a 4.8L 4x4 5speed 4.11 reg cab. Pulling out of Camp Verde headed toward Phoenix at 65mph starting at 3,000 feet and topping out at maybe 5,000 feet (6% grade?), the truck will pull the whole way empty in cruise control in 5th although I have to boost the pedal to the floor for the last mile. With a buddy, two dirt bikes, and junk usually drop to 4th at the bottom.
Going north out of Camp Verde at 75 mph with similar grades, will pull 5th even with the load until I get to 5,000 feet and then I downshift. Empty, still have to downshift to 4th to hold 75 once I get above 6,000 feet.
The 4.8L seems to really start to produce lots of power just above 2,500 rpm.

Power to weight ratio at highway speeds in 5th is remarkably similar to my 1989 F350 2wd 7.3L 5spd Diesel Crew Cab although I have more power in 4th in the Silverado.

Should tow 3,000 to 4,000 lbs with it in the next several weeks, will let you all know how it does.

Engine seems to be running much better now that I am above 1,500 miles (could be in my head)

nuwo

Thanks! My truck is suppose to be in the last week of the month, or first of May. I pick it up in Phoenix, so I'll probably take it fairly leisurely on that first trip up the hill. I'm getting basically the same powertrain, and it sounds like it fits the bill perfectly. Enjoy yours!

FETZ

Hey evergreen,

Thanks mucho for the info!

-Fetz

gwvinson

Has anyone had a problem with bed alignment? From one side to the other is about 1/2 inch off.
Also the space between the cab and the bed is 1 1/2 inches as measured at the side moulding. I really havn't checked any other trucks yet.

evergreen

Fetz

You are welcome.

markbuck

By 1/2 ton longbed alignment is ok, my truck was sitting a little high in the right rear, measured the ground to wheel well height in the front and the front right was down 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch when I picked it up from the dealer. Cranked up the preload on the front left torsion bar (a two minute job) and now the truck sits level. My truck continues to maintain perfect alignment even though I have driven over curbs (hidden by snow)in parking lots, lots of high speed off road including an inadvertant 2' jump.......

markbuck

Rear of bed high on passenger side. Front of truck low on driver side. Cranked up driver side torsion bar until wheel well hight same. Easy job.

gwvinson

Does the adjustment of the tortion bar change the wheel alignment?

gwvinson

excuse my spelling on torsion

james007

Picked up my 2500 LS,4X4,SB,Ext cab 6.0 today.
After 155 days it seem's somewhat anti- climactic...It's pewter with gray metallic on the bottom... So far I think its going to be great...
It's got to be good to keep up with the 93 Z71
I traded in... It was the best pickup I've ever owned and I kind of hated to see it go. Got to get my spray-in bedliner and side tool boxes painted and I'll be ready to go to work...Looking forward to seeing how it pulls my stock trailer, boat, and 4-wheeler trailer...

For those waiting on a truck, just hang in there and it will be here before you know it...

James007

knobby

I talked with my GMC dealer today. I was told that my truck (Sierra SLE 1500 2wd) still looks good for a born on week of 5-3-99 with an alternate week of 5-10-99. I told him that as soon as the truck arrives, and is off loaded from the transporter. To take it over to Rhino Liner and have the bed sprayed, after it is cleaned up.

quadrunner500

gwvinson,
I don't know what effect the torsion bar has on alignment. What I do know was the dealer adjusted it to correct the ride height after I complained that the steering pulled slightly to the right. It's arrow straight now, but since they also adjusted camber and caster, I'm not sure what adjustment had the most influence.

northernbasser

Does anyone know why wheels.com hasn't updated since March 1st?

peterm1

northernbasser

You'll be pleased to know it was JUST updated. I know how you feel - I've been looking every day for the past 3 weeks...

For anyone new to the forum, Wheels Inc (http://www.wheels.com/news.htm) is a good place to find out about what is going on in the assembly lines.

davek3

hello all!!

Well i have put on 380 miles on my silverado 2500 ex.cab longbed 4x4 love it!!! good power.. motor seems to rev up fast! tha only problem i had was with the key transmitter.. i dropped it and it quit working.. tried to re-sync it like the book said worked once then quit again.. took it back to the dealer they fixed it in a second.. was kinda fuzzy on the fix.. i think if you resync it you have to exercise the door locks 3 times at the door for it to take.. anyone have any info about this??? did i read the manual for this wrong?? i am going to order a shop manual for this truck from helm.. said it won't be ready till end of may.. and it is like what everyone has been saying THE WAIT IS WORTH IT!!!!!

cookie1

Davek3,

I beg to differ on this 'wait is worth it' scenario almost everyone has. My 99 Silverado LS
EXT Cab built in Canada must have been built on
a Saturday night after a drinking party. My power
bucket seat on the drivers side clunks back and
forth and side to side just sitting on it. I also
have had recent problems with the steering wheel
vibrating and making a grinding noise over bumps,
curves, and choppy roads anywhere from 5 to 45 m.p.h. My truck has been brought in twice now for
both issues. The dealer says the power bucket seat or seat track/brackets will not be replaced
because he said "They all will do that" and "The
new trucks (0 miles) will not do it until they
get broken in". I think that is B.S. I have only
7,900 miles and 5 months of driving on this junker! The dealer said I have to live with it. I told him I cannot even move in my seat at all
without it clunking back and forth. They hear this
and feel this themselves but to no aveil, they will do nothing about it. They said it is normal!
I say it is B.S.!
The other steering wheel problem is also a mystery
and I am becoming afraid my steering wheel will
eventually come off while driving 70 m.p.h. and get killed. I have contacted NHSTA and there is a
recall on the torque of the steering bolts not
installed properly. That same dealer checked that
and also replaced yesterday a loose bearing inside
the steering column. Both issues are unresolved and since this truck is so new, no one has any
answers or resolutions. I will sell my junker truck below wholesale if anyone is interested?
Any help is desperately needed!

davek3

Cookie-- i have been reading your posts about your problems..maybe you should invoke the "lemon law" on this one.. My truck was built in the pontiac plant and as i have stated no problems.. have been given many compliments from some guys who have "other makes" who i have taken for a ride.. i know this might sound strange but maybe you have gotten a truck with parts that are at one end of the tolerance or qc controls but still pass and they have stacked up to give you your problems.. Heck call GM if all else fails.. I have to fight my wife for the truck now!! SHE even likes it and she is REAL picky!!!! To be honest with ya i don't have the power buckets so i can't really say yea or nay on them but the stock 40 20 40 custom cloth reclining seats are fine!!

ps.

just to let you know the scotch guard on the seats work.. wife spilled hawiian punch on the front and it wiped up with no problems or stains!!

lock1

Cookie1
Bad news on that drinking party thing. My build date is May 10th , a Monday I think. Hope those Oshawa boys go to church on the Sunday before and get back to business.
BTW I heard yesterday that GM is offering 2.9% on full size pickups starting Apr 14th to June 30th. That may ease the wait time a bit.
Steve

peterm1

lock1 (Steve)

Where did you hear about the new financing? This could be great news for me as my financing just expired waiting for my truck.

pjb0422

I had my 99 Silverado LS, 5.3L, auto, Z-71, in the shop last week and this week. My main problem was a binding problem with the throttle. In a nutshell, while you are driving and you take your foot off the gas pedal to coast or whatever, when you step on the pedal to give more gas, it feels like the pedal is sticking and then breaks free. Back in Jan 99, this was occurring constantly. The shop had to make adjustments to the throttle plate. Everything was fine for a month. Problem started reoccurring again, but sporadically. Took it to the dealer last Monday. Service advisor said he didn't feel anything, had tech. spray carb cleaner in throttle body, and sent me home. I felt the problem on the way home. Last Friday I took it back in and insisted that they fix it. I also told them that it seems the engine idles "rough" sometimes. Fri pm service advisor states that no one at the shop can find or feel the binding problem. I told them to keep it until they do. They also said that the engine idle was fine. I had to take the truck home since it was the weekend and GM only pays for the rental for three days and I didn't want to waste that on the weekend. Over the weekend I found out was causing the binding. I also found out there is a technical service bulletin on the engine that is causing a shaking of the truck. Monday morning I told the service advisor my discoveries. Of course he didn't get to the truck that day, said they were too busy. I complained to the Sales Mgr since he knows me. Next day I find out that they replaced the entire throttle body, even though they could not feel the binding problem when driving, but could the way I found it. The story on the tsb, new motor mounts are being ordered, per tsb. Seems the ones on my truck are too weak and the torque is causing the engine to not seat correctly.

Moral of the story is that you may have to do some investigating yourself to help the service department do their work.

northernbasser

Thanks. I've too have been checking wheels.com every day for the past few weeks. Before I had my truck on order (1500 LS Ext., 4wd Z71 Z85 3.73 etc), it didn't matter when they updated....now, well, a lot of folks here can relate. Order placed March 2, released to the plant March 31...still no target build week, though .

quadrunner500

Pj, I remember reading your post about the throttle problem a month or so back. I had that same problem on my '90 S-10 Blazer. I would take it in, they would find nothing wrong. Then they admitted they could feel it. They tried the usual things, lubing cables, pedal, etc. Ultimately, they said the bushings for the throttle body shaft were worn. I said fix it, I don't care what it cost. Well it did end up costing about $300 for them to replace the cable, and re-bush the throttle body. But the problem was the bushings. They wear in an egg-shaped pattern. The service people could not notice it at first, because it would not stick when the engine was off. But when the engine was running, the manifold vacuum would pull the throttle shaft against the worn part of the bushing, and it would stick, just as you described. A very annoying problem that was! Since they made that repair however, I can feel it returning...ever so slight, but getting worse all over again. So I'm very sensitive for this on my new Silverado, constantly on vigil after reading your post about it, and hopeful..knock on wood, that it's not going to develop on my Silverado as well.

pjb0422

quadrunner500, hopefully you will never feel this problem with the new Silverado. The new throttle body that was installed is working fine so far. The way that I determined what the problem was when the engine was off was to pull on the throttle plate shaft where the cables connect. It moved maybe a millimeter or two, but it was enough to cause the bind when you tried to turn the throttle plate while you were pulling. I am still puzzled by what was causing this horizontal movement when I was driving, because it wouldn't do it when it was in park and the engine was idling. But the good thing is it is fixed. If other owners of the new Silverado have this problem, we'll probably see a tsb on it.