Chevy Silverado: Problems & Solutions

silverado2001

My 2001 Chevy 2500 HD has developed several problems. The ABS/Brake warning lights come on after traveling about 1/2 mile down the road. They stay on until the engine is shut off. The ABS seems to be working fine. / The fuel gauge works only part time. It suddenly goes hay-wire and the needle drops to empty, causing the low fuel light to come on. / The low coolant light comes on occasionally, although there seems to be no problem with the water pump, temp, or coolant level. I hope someone can help!

tnew

I have a 2000 Z-71 with the same problem. Have you found a solution yet? I heard that it's probably a pressure sensor in the transmission...

ampalang

My truck, a '99 was doing the same thing after 9000 miles. It turned out to be a broken wire in the harness before the ignition coil. I took it to 4 different dealers before they found it. The parts replaced were the fuel pump, ignition switch, ignition coil and crank sensor. I told the last mechanic to keep it for the weekend and drive it around. It broke down on him and that's when he found the broken wire.

good luck

rgumby55

The other morning I started my 99 Silverado, with 118K on the engine, and noticed what I understand to be a lifter clicking. This only happens for a period of time, usually when the vehicle is started after sitting for a period of time, usually an hour or longer. After driving for several minutes the noise seems to go away. I do not notice any loss of horsepower or ability to accelerate smoothly. Is this something that is easily fixed or is this a deeper problem? I am not a mechanic, nor am I mechanically inclined, so would appreciate words of wisdom from those of you who are.

deckinit

I HAVE A 2002 3500 AND I AM HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING GM TO HELP ME OUT. I CALLED THE ALLISON MANUFACTURING FAC. AND THEY TOLD ME THERE IS A TSB(TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLITEN)OUT FOR THIS AND A VARIETY OF OTHER PROBLEMS YOURS BEING ONE OF THEM .THE TSB IS DOCUMENT #1541647 AND IS 27 PAGES LONG. MY REAR HOUSING COVER HAS CRACKED AND THE TSB STATES THAT THIS IS SOMETHING FOR THE SERVICE TECHS TO LOOK OUT FOR. ALLISON HAS REDESIGNED THE COVER TO BE STRONGER THAN THE LAST BECAUSE THEY TOLD ME GM DID NOT PROPERLY DESIGN THE MOUNTING LOCATION FOR THIS. GOOD LUCK WITH GM YOUR GOING TO NEED IT.

fallhunterss

I am trying to put in a toggle switch for my back up lights and I need to know which fuse in my engine fuse box needs to be used to do this. I tried the one marked as b/u light but that doesn't make the reverse lights go off when it is pulled. Can anyone help? Thanks.

ricsch1

I would say the fuel gauge/sending unit is bad, or maybe just a bad wire connection. We had an Oldsmobile car with an erratic fuel gauge, took it in to have it diagnosed and the dealer said it was the sending unit in the fuel tank. At that time we held off on replacing it, and since then it has worked fine-so maybe we got lucky and just a poor wire connetion?

On a Chevy Venture van, the gauge was acting similar, but ended up being the sending unit itself as the problem-worse part is it's in the tank and you need to drop the tank-hint to GM-make an access panel in the vehicle!!

rayt2

I just replaced all 4 rotors and pads this past Novemeber on my truck (2000- 2500 2wd x-cab) and only had 53k on them. The same reason your seeing on the rear of your truck, cancer of the rotors. I still had more than half the pad life left but rotors had disingerated themselves to death. I went with what local Car Quest had in stock, GM Canada front rotors and aftermarket for rears. The PITA will be getting them off, I litterly beat them off with a 4 lb. hammer since the rust had reduced clearance needed to slide off hubs. The e-brake shoes were fine so I did not bother replacing them, only the disc pads all around had to be done. I used fleet service pads for front and H.D. pads for rear. Stay away from the ceramic pads IMO they caused more heat which I think contributed to the premature cancer of the rotors. Histoically GM has always had problems with their rotors on their trucks as long as I can remember.

Ray T. :shades:

litew8t

I have that same noise in my 03. I took it in and had a mech. drive with me.
I put it in 4x4 than when it made that noise he said that was normal. I said there's no way but he said yep and offered to take me out in a new 2005. Sure enough when he put it into 4x4 it made the same noise.
He said it wont do this in the floor shift ones but only the ones with the buttons on the dash. Something to do with a different transfer case. :shades:

logguy

I have the same truck and it is the sending unit but it could have been caused by bad gas. About a year ago Chevy vehicles in NW PA were losing sending units left and right about the time they were changing from winter to summer mix. They put too much of something - I think it was sulpher - in the gas and it would leave a film on the sending unit so it would give false readings. I took forever for the gas companies to admit it was their fault but they ended up paying for the units that were replaced. I think it happened in Florida too at the same time. My mechanic at the Chevy garage said it might wear off since you could wipe it off and it would work. A year later and I think I can trust mine again.

logguy

I have a 99 Siverado. Last fall my ABS would kick on whenever I was going reall slow. If I slammed the brakes at 65 they would work fine but at really slow speed I would lose my breaks completely. My buddiy who works at the Chevy garage told me to pull my ABS fuse and it would stop the abs from coming on when it shouln't and I would have reagular brakes. I would have to hurry and get anything fixed. Several week ago on the news they were talking about this same problem with Chevy's and they said the way they were designed let dirt, rust, salt any road grime get in there and screw up the sensor. They only mention up to 2003 but my friend says the 2005 has the same set up but are covered under waranty and it takes awhile for it to build up. They mentioned something about a possible recall. Has anyone else heard anything about this?

honda929

I NEED TO REPLACE MY CABIN FILTER IN MY 2005 2500HD 4DR. I CANT FIND ANY INFO ON WHERE ITS LOCATED. CAN SOMEONE HELP. THANK YOU.

likearock

I own a 2004 Crew Cab Z71that I purchased new in September 2004 This truck has had a transmission clunking noise that started around 5000 miles, currently has 19,000 miles.It has been to the dealer on three different ocassions about this problem and they just give the deer in the headlight look and say nothing is showing wrong in the computer. I would suggest that you get something in writing that this problem has been corrected before you purchase. I have looked at several articles on the subject and it appears that General motors is aware of the problem but not too concerned about a fix. General Motors has a service bulliten on the problem but to my knowledge no fix. According to th automatic transmission re builders association ,this has been an ongoing problem with a SUN GEAR.
I like the truck in all other aspects but very dissatisfied with the service about the transmission. I hope this helps you with your decision.

Mike

Mobile, Alabama

honda929

WELL IT SOUNDS LIKE THE LIFTERS ARE BLEEDING DOWN. THEY ARE PUMPED UP WITH OIL. I KNOW CHEVY HAS HAD SOME PROBLEMS WITH THEM AND ON SOME TRUCKS WOULD REPLACE THEM UNDER WARRANTY. WHAT YOU COULD TRY TO DO IS ADD AN OIL ADDITIVE AND SEE IF THAT HELPS. IF PROBLEM PERSISTS, THEY WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED. NO HARM IS BEING DONE RIGHT NOW. HOPE THIS HELPS

swissdmax

Hello everyone: my 02 silverado (w.duramax) has about 20.000miles and suddenly developped a sligh vibration on the bracket/mounting on which the a/c compressor and powersteering pump seem to be fixed. The vibration is evident at about 1000rpm on idle (N) or when rolling along in traffic in D (allison automatic).
I noticed that the bracket "flexes" a bit (you can push the a/c compressor back by hand and you notice a slight flexing-movement of the entire bracket). Is this normal? Could it be that some bolt or part of the bracket snapped at some lower point, and now the bracket is not fixed as firmly as before? Does anyone know how/where the bracket actually fixes to the engine block (very difficult to see, unless you start taking things to pieces)?
Bracket also serves as support for dual alternator.

Thanks for hints. Eug

rgumby55

Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try.

plummer1

My best friend just bought a used 2001 silverado. It has 100,000 kms on it and runs like a dream. In the last couple of days it has developed a little rubbing sound. It is definetly steel on steel, it seems to be coming from the front on the engine. Does any one have any idea what it might be. We used a broom handle to listen to the engine and cant really hear where the noise is coming from. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks

tanker27

Your fuel gauge sensor is going out and you will need to replace it. It is located in your fuel pump. it is not cheep to fix. Had the same problem with my 2001.

frmrpete

My '97 5.7L was missing coolant for the last several months altho there was no evidence of any leaks. On visiting a local repair shop with experienced people a visible check [nearly impossible to see] the mechanic asked if the intake manifold gaskets had been replaced, they had not. He then advised me that GM had installed composit intake manifolds and sooner or later the gaskets failed allowing collant to seep into the intake passages a process that usually over time leads to engine failure. The fix cost $100 in parts and materials and 5 hours labor. I inspected the old gaskets and it was apparent that they were allowing seepage. The mechanics opinion was that it was a design failure and that they regularly found that on the GM engines moreso on the smaller v-6s but also on the larger v-8s. My truck had 71,500 miles on it.

like_a_rock

I took my 2000 Silverado 1500 for a little hard drive, you know just going out to the gravel pit and pulling some donuts. It has actually been driven much harder than it ever has before, when I got out there was a buzzing sound towards the middle of the truck, right behind the cab but right before the start of the bed is where i heard it really well, anyone know what this could be? It is NOT a constant sounds, just sometimes... :confuse:

76blazer

I have the same problem. I have 99 z71 with 140K. The compressor will turn on and then quit. Haven't had a belt to break yet. Any info would be good thanks. I do know that i can turn off for about 5 minutes and then the compressor will again engage and start cooling

schrackensac

Need to step up in tire size on a quadrasteer equipped 2004 crew cab. It currently has 245/75 16 Goodyear MT/Rs on it, but they look silly. I'd like to bump up to 285/75 16's and was wondering if anyone has had this setup on a quadrasteer. Currently thinking of putting them on OEM steelies, but have kicked around the idea of some HUMVEE 17" rims. If anyone has tried this I'd appreciate some feedback as well...

thanks a 3/4 ton....

z71bill

I have a very small oil leak - I think it is coming from the front differential. I always park the truck in the same spot in my driveway - and NO oil spots on the ground yet - but right at the point where the drive shaft goes into the front differential I can see a drop of oil hanging - At first I thought it was just from the last regular oil change - so I wiped it off and then flushed it with the garden hose.

That was about a week ago and the oil has shown up again.

Does anyone know how hard it is to change out this seal? Or How much it would cost to have someone do it?

I changed the gear oil in the front differential a few months ago with the truck sitting on an incline - so I over filled it a little - I didn't think much about it at the time but now wonder if a small overfill could cause the seal to leak? When I eyeball the bottom of the fill plug (which is the correct oil level) it seems about the same level as the bottom of the opening where the drive shaft enters the differential - could this be causing my problem?

Tomorrow I will park the truck on level ground and let the excess oil drain out - but It seems like even if it is over full the seal should still not leak.

chovycaptain

Dusty, post # 300 I believe, I have just experienced this same problem as you. Both sides of frame are damaged. Passenger side 100% and drivers side 90%. Haul small pop-up camper and tow lightweight trihull boat. Found problem out of town, dealers in area said that I overloaded plus shocked frame somehow to cause that kind of damage. Am taking to local dealer where I purchased truck to see if they are willing to do anything. Please let me know what you did with your problem, and did you dealer help out at all. By the way truck has 88K miles and I'm original owner so I know truck has not been abused just used. Thanks, chovycaptain

superaggie02

HELP! I'd been driving off and on a little during the day without any problems. Then, I get on the highway, throw on the cruise control and let it ride, no problems. I exited and stopped at a light and when I tried to go again there was a loud clunking sound and the truck shifted out of "Drive" (it's an automatic). Now it won't go back into drive. I AM able to get into "Reverse" though. I had the transmission rebuilt 14000 miles ago and don't drive my truck real hard. I checked the transmission fluid and it looks ok. Finally, I have noticed in the past my truck having trouble shifting after I use the cruise control. Could it be something electrical or something wrong with the cruise control mechanism in conjunction with the transmission?! ANY help or ideas would be appreciated! Thanks.

anikeman

The first time it happened to me last year I was told to take off gas cap and replace. The tech cleared the codes and it just came back yesterday. This time the teck would not clear the codes. I suspect if I can get them cleared that I will be good for another year or two. He mentioned some items I need to check but did not write them down. Will reply back with an update this weekend. Let me know if you find out something. I have the same truck as you.

davola

I have the same problem with my 99 Suburban. Deal wants a lot of money to fix what I think is a design flaw. Did you get any more replies on this?

tjdale

1998 CK 1500. Took to dealer as window switches were malfunctioning. Had to push on left door switches just right to get window up/down---now not functioning at all. Right door switch malfunctioned after left. Am told it needs switches and motors (though I don't understand why the motors since I was able to jostle the switches at one time to get them to work) for a total of $1000. This seems very high and I cannot afford it right now, so I am looking for parts to DIY. Have looked at net sites and cannot find good source for electrical parts. Any help is appreciated. Will also need to replace the plastic do-dads that hold the door panel on. And any online instructions for this sort of thing would be great. I am a capable DIYer, but when it comes to cars the most I have done is oil changes, trailer wiring, stereo installations. Thanks, Tim

rayt2

Design flaw or not your out of warranty and it will cost you GM could care less they already got your $$ when you made the vehicle purchase (and they wonder why their so far in the hole with sales lately). Have you checked out this website http://www.absfixer.com/ contact them with the problem or clean your sensors if you can get to them and are handy at do it yourself repairs.

Ray T.

thequeen

Dealer replaced mine, same truck, with 71,500 miles on it in Oct , 2003 for around $80.00. The seal is a pain to replace yourself. Took the dealer about 1 1/2 hrs and I'm friends with the service advisor so there was no monkey business about trying to overcharge. Good luck.

james23

I have a 2000 Silverado Ext Cab 3 Door with a water leak in the area of the R rear window. I have used Silicone Sealant on the outside around the window molding, but it is still leaking. I noticed that there is a black molding on the right side that extends forward from the rear window and wonder if water is getting in there? Has anyone else had this difficulty...and how have you solved it. Right now I have to put a shower mat on top of the vehicle everytime it rains!

rayt2

James,

I have the same truck but never had any problems with water leaks from the third door window. I have had issues with the door seals however. They tend to come off the track their pressed onto and if dislodged will allow water in. Has the window seal been tampered with or torn? Is the catch pulling down tight when closing & latching window against the seal ?

Ray T.

bobinpa

Is there anyway to disable the auomatic door locks on my 2005 silverado?
Anyone with any suggestions, PLEASE e-mail me at: rheck53@yahoo.com

thanks..bob

james23

Ray,
I have also had the problem with the seals falling off their tracks and solved that by siliconing them into place with silicone sealant and then closing the doors. The leak that I have is coming from the rear window and today I isolated the problem...a crack in the plastic. I tryed silicone, but that separated, so now I am going to use that PC-7 heavy duty 2 part epoxy which will usually fix anything. I am going to try and inject it into the crack using a small syringe. I hope that solves it. Thanks for the feedback.

james23

If you have coolant leaking into the engine... fix it ASAP. Antifreeze will destroy an engine quickly and eat up bearings and other vital parts.

philriley

I just purchased this vehicle. It has about 98,000 miles on it. I have noticed both doors seem to be sagging, I can tell the body creases on the back on the door do not line up with those on the back of the cab. I cannot figure out how to adjust this - the door hinges seem to be welded to both the door and the cab structure. I have a Haynes manual, there is no mention of door adjustment in it. I have seen hinge pin replacement kits for these trucks, would that fix the problem, or is something else involved? There is no evidence of collision damage, such as overspray, mismatched paint and welded areas. Thank you for your help.

Phil Riley

z71bill

Door hinges are welded and have no adjustment.

I had a similar problem with a 1968 Chevy Impala coupe - it had very large - heavy doors & they would sag - my uncle (who worked for Chevy as a mechanic) showed me a trick -

Open the door - lay a piece of 2x4 (3-4 feet long) in the door opening - slam the hell out of the door.

Sounds ruff - but it works.

meangene1

The ac blower fan in my 90 Silverado starts out blowing cold air hard and free flowing but by the time I'm half way home,it sounds like its blowing hard but only half the flow is making it out.I have all 3 speeds so they tell me that rules out a resistor.Any advise appreciated!!

z71bill

Not claiming to be an expert - but I have seen a few situations where the evaporator will actually freeze (the condensation formed on the evaporator turns to ice) and this ice blocks the air flow and reduces the cooling. This can be caused by being low on refrigerant. I know that sounds backwards - you would think that if the system is low on refrigerant it would blow HOT air all the time. But actually if a system is a "little bit" low (whatever that means) it will / can freeze up.

I assume when you say 1/2 way home you have been driving for several miles. It would take at least this long before ice would form.

You can test this - if you run the AC for a while - say 25% of the way home - then turn the AC off - but leave the fan on high speed for a while - then turn the AC back on. This prevents the ice from forming. One the ice forms & the air flow is blocked it takes longer to thaw out.

meangene1

Sounds like good theory.Do you know what the range of vent temp should be and would that be a good way to test for a low freon preceding getting a set of gauges on it?

silverdave

I have a 2000 Silverado 2500 that has developed what I think is a similar symptom. It's like an abrupt shift into third after accelerating from a stop and before reaching a constant 35 or 45 MPH. The service shops don't show any error codes and it doesn't seem to happen when I'm towing my fiver, at least so far. It hasn't always done this and the trany was rebuilt June '04 and serviced June '05. I can't remember whether my gear slamming occurred before the trany rebuild.

meangene1

On my 90 Silverado-I was going to pull the blower motor to try and solve a problem...but found a rubbery plastic protector keeping me out.I got the bottom loose easily enough but even after I pulled the computer and took one mounting plate screw out from it-the top of it still has a death grip!

jjtj

I have a 2000 Silv. 2500 with the 6.0L gas engine. Since the weather has been warm, it seems to have developed a problem where it is hard to start when warm. It cranks fine, but you have to hit the gas for it to start up. Then, it sort of stumbles and after a few seconds seems to run OK. Other times, even when hot, it will start OK. The truck has 94000 miles on it. I replaced the fuel filter last fall. I have ordered new Delco Iridium plugs & high quality Accel wires for it, (they're not here yet) I also just replaced the alternator, but this problem occured before that. I seem to notice that when it is hard to start, the volts are only hitting maybe 13 or so.. wondering if maybe my battery is weak and not providing enough to give a powerful spark? Fuel problem? I'd love to fix it myself, but if nothing else, at least have an idea before taking it to the shop. Thanks in advance - Jason

suzyk2

we have a 94 silverado 5.7L V-8, everything fine until gradually it got to the point where there was a lack of power under it's own weight and felt as if it was going to stall at stop lights and rough hesitation. Also felt as if it didn't want to shift correctly. We have a sierra that we had similar trouble with and it was the fuel filter, so we replaced the fuel filter, no luck, We also replaced the cap, rotor, plugs, wires, the MAT sensor (which is now called the idler controller that mounts to the side of the TB) replaces both water temp sensors, changed the tranny fluid and filter. Replacing the idler control sensor made somewhat of an improvement but the thing still hesitates at take off and shifts hard. A hard acceleration has a better performance than an easy one. This vehicle used to spin the tires at regular take off in the past now nothing! Higher RPM's has better response than lower RPM's. At cruising speed can feel constant lunging..gas mileage is very poor. Oh the fuel pressur reads 20psi's HELP

z71bill

Don't know how you could test for low refrigerant without a gauge. The fact that your fan starts off strong and then over time starts to blow less air tells me something is blocking the air flow. Again my guess is ice forming on the evaporator.

Have you ever had the fan do this in the winter with the heat on?

masonwlkr

I have a 2004 Silverado 4.8L 2WD Extended Cab with 15000 miles. After the engine warms up, there is a very distinct tapping noise that gets pretty loud. It sounds like two of the lifters are tapping. This problem manifested itself about two weeks ago. I took it to the dealership to get checked out, they said it was normal, but couldn't tell me what was causing it. Normal my *ss! I saw the posts about piston slap, but this sounds nothing like piston slap at all. The sound doesn't start until the engine begins to get warm, and slowly gets louder the warmer the engine gets. You can't hear it unless the engine is idling. Has anybody else had this problem, and if so, what can I do about it? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!

masonwlkr

I would definately not take the blower motor out just yet! The reply that you got regarding ice forming on the evaporater is a dead ringer! If you have a 90 silverado, you probably have R-12 refrigerant, which you need to have checked by an authorized A/C mechanic. Hopefully, your system has been converted to R134A. You can check this by either looking for a retrofit sticker that is somewhere in the engine compartment, or you can look on the accumulator and see if the gage ports are the screw-in type (R-12), or the quick-connect type (R-134A, the small side port will be smaller in diameter than the high side port). If it has been retrofitted, you can easily check the system pressure by buying an inexpensive gage from AutoZone or Wal-Mart (usually no more than $15). This will be a low side only gage, and your refrigerant charge should read approximately 32psi. If you check it and it is low, you can slowly add refrigerant until the charge goes up. It's pretty easy, but you have to be patient while adding refrigerant, too much will actually make the air warmer! If you have any questions, email me at masonwlkr@yahoo.com

meangene1

Thanx for the reply and it all does seem to hold water as a good theory!The only reason I wanted to take the blower out was to look around in the housing for trash or whatever.What I noticed the last couple of days was ,that if I started out on my way home from work with the blower on high,it would stay full flow -unless I lowered it down to low or medium.Then I notice that when I tried to go back to high,that the motor sounds like its speeding up but the flow is no more than maybe medium.Does that still sound like icing?

masonwlkr

Actually, no, that doesn't sound like icing. I misunderstood what you were saying. It sounds like as you said, something else blocking the flow. I think that maybe your distribution and air control flaps might be closing. This usually happens on older vehicles, as the flaps are controlled by vacuum, and the vacuum lines that lead to the flaps deteriorate. The actuators that control the flaps could be faulty, also. Sometimes, you can check this by reproducing your original problem, and then switching the distribution from vent to floor, wait a couple minutes, and then switch it back to vent. If the airflow improves, you know that somewhere, your flap system is losing vacuum.

justinsdsmt

I also have the same problem with my 2001 Silverado 5.3L. When the truck sits for more than 30 min it takes about 10 seconds for it to start. I don't think it is caused by a low battery because it cranks the starter hard and turns the motor it just doesn't spark. But then after it runs for 30 seconds it will start right up. I'm hoping bad gas but it just started at 1/2 tank. Please advise, clogged fuel injectors?? Thanks Justin