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Kfarley: I test drove many 4x4 extended cab pickups over the last month and based on smoothness of ride I rank them as follows with the first being smoothest and the last harshest: Chevy 1500, Chevy 2500, Ford F250 light duty, F250 Superduty, Dodge 2500.
Pworange: I have also heard from friends with 1997 1/2 ton Chevys that the front disc brake pads wear out after 10,000 miles.
Stevek: What is the name of the "lifetime pads" you put on and where did you buy them? Also, how did you determine gear oil was getting on the rear drums? I am planning on buying a 1998 Chevy 1/2 ton ext. cab 4x4. Any additional things to be aware of? My father-in-law has a 1993 Chevy ext cab 1/2 ton 2x4 and bleads his brake lines every 10,000 miles. He says he bleads the line until the fluid is clear. He doesn't report front disc brake pad problems. I also hear the new '96-'98 Vortec 5.7L motor is getting about 2 MPG less then older 5.7L engines.
My rear end leak was visible on the inside of the plate. When the seal gave away it leaked onto the rear brakes. The problem was a diffective rear end housing which was replaced. Chevy claims they have only one other occurence of this and that is why it took a while to find it.
My 5.7L gets about 15-17 mpg, even when I tow. In the summer I run it on regular and in the winter I use high test. In the north east that oxigenated junk kills gas milage and I actually save money by using high test. I also use high test when I tow.
Use a K&N air filter, in the long run it is cheaper.
Going down to LA I ran 87 octane and got 15.1 going 70-75 MPH. Coming back I ran 92 octane going the same 70-75 MPH and got 15.9. I'm very happy with the truck so far. I'll be towing a 4,500 lb. boat and trailer and will report back on mileage.
No rattle problems with the third door at this time. The truck is quiet and runs great.
you don't have to run your tires at 44 psi. that may be too much. look at the tag on the inside edge of the drivers door and it will tell you the required tire size and pressure. if the pressure and size match then fine, if not you need to adjust. my tires have a max rating of 50 psi, but door tags only say 35. running at 50 would make the ride rougher and would probably accelerate tire wear.
congrats on the truck, hope you like it. let us know how the mileage goes.
I have my '97 for almost two years now and the milage is around 15-17 mpg. A little advice on towing: until you reach at least 50mph DO NOT use overdrive. Always start out in 3. I only two a light camper @1500lbs and drive a bit slower, so when I tow I still get about 15mpg.
can you explain to me a little what you mean, or anything else you know, about towing in O/D. I never tow in O/D. on some long hauls though i wish I could. When i pull, i stay in 3rd at all times. I thought the main reason to stay out of O/D was because, especially with a 3.42 rear, the 1800 to 2000 rpms generated at highway speed did not give enough oil pressure and flow for the heat generated and high stress involved with heavier loads. plus, i don't have a trailer package, i don't have a heavy duty tranny, i don't have an engine or transmission oil cooler. i change my tranny oil every 30k, and its been clean everytime. my dad, on the other hand, has a 454 in a 3500 crewcab, heavyduty all the way, and he pulls heavy stuff (around 10K lbs) in OD all the time.
is there any failure risk you know about when pulling in overdrive. any info appreciated.
cdean
I had the Z71 sticker removed, looked silly.
I installed smitty built cab steps. This is easy if you have average to above mechanical skills. 250$
I had LineX install the sprayed bedliner 375$. Spraying took three hours and looks great.
Now 900 miles, 14.5 Mpg so far hope it gets a little better.
This a great truck
I have a friend who owns a trany shop. He said not to use overdrive under 50. Once you go over 50mph as substain speed above that it is OK. It has something to do with the way the trany or the torque converter engages the motor, I don't realy understand. Once you are rolling I don't think much heat is generated, actualy the weight may even be pushing you, therefore less stress and heat.
I tow a light camper with no modification to the truck, but it is rated for 5000lbs. I change the engine oil at least every 3K miles and do a trany service at around 35-40K.
When you do a trany service, just dropping the pan and changing the fluid/filter is not enough. Most of your fluid is still in the lines and converter. Need a place where they can "suck" out the old oil, while pumping in new fluid. He also added some stuff to my the trany fluid that will help with oxidation and keeps it from boiling.
I have been running max air pressure, written on the tire, on all my auto tires for 10 years with no failures, except for the occasional flat from a nail, good wear and performance.
The tires on my Chevy 1500 are Goodyear Wrangler RT/S and are rated on the tire for 44 psi, but the label on the door of the truck does say 35 psi.
I'm going to email chevy and ask about this and also check with my local Goodyear dealer.
All my friends with Chevy 1/2 and 3/4 tons always tow in 3 and never use overdrive when towing.
So far, I have added a rubber mat in the bed to keep things from rolling around and plan to add nurf bars. Smitty has been recommended to me. I understand there different ways to mount nurf bars. Any suggestions.
I checked my oil preassure and at 65mph (I dont go over that when I tow) my '97 5.7L Vortec is registering @1600 rmp and a good solid 50+psi oil preassure.
Jim2:
When you e-mail chevy please find out about the overdrive while towing. My guy could be wrong.
i meant transmission oil pressure. i don't think the transmission in moving enough oil to accomodate the heat generated towing. at least thats my fear. are you talking about transmission oil pressure or engine?
Also back to tire inflation. Pickups are light in the [non-permissible content removed] and having 45+ psi in the tires will make the back hop and handle even worse. I can see running extra air in the front tires, but not in the back.
Hot News Flash!!!!! This same local tire dealer, who does all the local Chevy front end alignments, says to go to the Chevy dealer before I have 12,000 miles and tell them I need a front end alignment. He says Chevy will pay for one under warranty and in the process will install a "Cam Kit", with parts already on my '98 Chevy, which will allow for camber adjustment! Without the kit installed, only toe in and out alighment is possible!
According to him, Chevy has been doing this on 1/2 tons since 1990 but does not install the "Cam Kit" at the factory because VW has a patent on it and GM doesn't want to pay royalty fees. I'll be checking with my Chevy service manager about this. Has anyone had experience with this?
Stevek: Everyone I talk to agrees that you should never tow in overdrive. The guy who services my boat said his boss just blew up his third transmission in his Chevy 1/2 ton with 3.73 gears and he always tows his 5,000 boat in overdrive.
It might be OK to tow this same boat in overdrive with a 3/4 ton with 4.10 gears but I'm not sure I would take the chance. It also makes a difference if you add 33" or 35" tires. People who add these tires and don't changes their gears also burn up their transmissions in 1/2 tons. The Chevy 3/4 ton 8,600 GVWR trucks have a heavier duty transmission that the 1/2 ton and 7,200 GVWR 3/4 ton Chevys don't have.
By the way I always use 3rd when taking off and once get to over 50mph then use overdrive. May be those guys did not shift and just left it in OD. That will ruin the transmission, but once you are moving on the interstate my guy said it did not matter. Its the initial startup which will put extra preassure on the components.
If the O/D selection in a truck is this different from a car, this is a significant thing to share with the clueless (like me).
to me, OD towing just does not provide enough oil flow in the tranny to provide for protection against stress and carry away heat. i don't think people realize what an important role oil takes in carrying away heat. its double trouble when a component is under high heat AND raised stress, because all metals lose hardness and wear faster at higher temperatures. in stevek's case, i can see towing in overdrive, the truck probably hardly knows his camper is back there. but i'm
worried about pulling stuff like i do, 5000# +.
stevek, if you could ask your friend exactly what goes on with the "problem" with starting in OD. i'm very curious. i don't see how that makes a difference, because your transmission doesn't know what gear your selector is in, until it reaches 3rd gear, and the computer is telling it to stay there. i could be very wrong, like i said, i'm not a transmission guy. interesting though.
As for you guys debating towing in OD, I'd say it depends upon the situation. Ideally, you want your tranny to shift to high gear (whether OD or Drive), lockup the torque converter, and stay there. In that situation, the torque converter isn't slipping and generating heat in the AT fluid. So if your truck is "shifting itself to death" as my dad used to say--that is, going in and out of OD, locking and unlocking the torque converter--you need to manually gear it down into third or even second to keep it from heating-up.
Take heart, though, GM automatics are as tough as they come. Keep 'em cool and they'll last forever.
He said it has to do with the roller clutch spraig and the clutch pack. In third they are both engaged (its is similar to a one way set up like the starter got).
If your load is light enough you can use O/D on the interstate. In may case at 65-70 mph my truck does not donwshift on a moderate uphill.
I noticed my '97 5.7L Vortec got a slight knocking when using 10W-40 oil, will have to switch back to 10w-30. Any comments?
why did you switch to 10w-40. does it knock all the time, just under heavy loads, just at startup? i do know that you can look in the owners manual and it will tell you all the allowable weights of oil you can use given your average daily temperature.
I spoke to someone last night and he confirmed about using/not using O/D. But if your towed weight is over the mid 2,000 lbs then the O/D should not be used.
speed, diff. gearing, tires, grade of fuel, whether you are empty or towing a heavy load and whether or not you have to buy oxygenated gas. Overal, the Chevy 5.7 seems to get better mileage, any where from 1-5 MPG, than the Dodge 5.9 or the ford 5.4 with everything being equal. I haven't heard from enough Ford 5.4 owners, or Dodge 5.9 owners to get a good enough reading on those4 engines mileage. But, the few people I do know seem to be getting worse mileage than the Chevy.
Two Dodge 1/2 ton 4x4 ext. cab 3.73 owners with the 5.9 can't get better than 10 MPG no matter what they do and they say their trucks won't go much faster than 75 MPH. They also report brakes that heat up fast and shudder. These are 1997 trucks. One Ford F250 light duty owner I know with the 5.4 and 4x4 ext cab likes his truck but wishes for a little more power and better mileage, but otherwise is very happy with his truck.
Can anyone confirm whether this package is in fact discounted down to the dealer?
Thanks so much.
when any 1999 pricing might be available? Anyone
out there got ant ideas? Have checked several
internet resources without any luck.
It is a 1998, 5.7 liter with a 3:73 rear.
I only get abt 17 mpg when not pulling. I had a 1994 5.7 and only got around 11.5 pulling.
This is a much improved truck all around.
Gad Woodall
The truck had a new pump at 87,000 at chevy expense under warr., it needed another at 132,664
at a cost of $1,695.71 and I have just been informed that it needs another at 147,370 miles cost $1,895.71 or so. I dont believe I will ever
purchase another GM product
P.s. Every 6.5 diesel owner that I have spoken to has had several pumps, 10 pumps to drive 100,000 miles.
Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so, what did you do to cure it? I have examined the harness as close as possible and I couldn't see any possible insulation shorts. Looking for help.
thanks
luke1
unless its just condensation from the tailpipe.
a '98 350 in a short bed regular cab pickup will be so fast, you are going to have to buy a radar detector.
thanks
luke1
Any suggestions.