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Comments
Yep, and I even had the bars on. I think I'm going to check with the dealer to see if this thing got built with the right springs.
According to the book, your 2500 is top of the line for towing, with 10,500 lb trailering rating. Tongue rating is 1500 lbs.
Still, I'm not surprised. Air-Lift makes some nice pneumatic helper springs that let you adjust ride height without sacrificing comfort. I have them and love them!
quadrunner: I guess I'll have to look into helpers - I'm alittle leary of running down the highway with the springs squatting this much and hitting a big pothole (when something breaks I get to sit on the side of the road with an irate wife and kids).
I was very leary of using the truck when it down to about 1/2" away from the bump stops on the rear suspension. However, we did use it, and on some pretty bad 4wd roads - 4wd Lo, etc. The suspension stood it. Nothing gave and the springs did not take a permanant set.
Maybe GM did it on purpose to prevent people from loading the trucks to the max?
I also put AirLifts on my truck to keep a level ride when loaded. I bought the set for $166 and spent about 4 hours on installation. Installation is not for the mechanically challenged. It involved drilling holes in the frame and bumper and locating fasteners in places my hands would not fit.
I'm happy with the AirLifts and would reccomend them.
My truck came with the Firm Ride Suspension. And it was too soft. It rode like a car. Actually it rode softer than any of our cars! I put Z-71 shocks on it and it is better, but still too soft when loaded. I would have tried the Rancho RS9000 adjustable shocks, but they are not available for the new trucks yet.
Mike
Just remember that if they do break, you are no worse off. You still have the stock suspension holding everything up, so you won't be stuck by the side of the road. Of course, you can always have a spring shop add a leaf, but you'll pay for a stiff ride when unladen.
There have been discussions about owners adding this gauge "after market" but I don't know if anyone actually pulled it off
After the fuel stop in Florida City, the engine began running real rough and the "Service Engine Soon" light came on. The engine smoothed out within a couple of miles. Once we got to Marathon and put the boat in the water, we noticed a smell coming from the rear of the truck. One of the seals on the differential had a slight leak. We dropped the truck off at Morrison's GMC in Key West that night. Morrison's replaced the pinion gasket and said the computer had recorded an "Engine Misfire Event" about 120 miles previously (right around Florida City), but otherwise everything was running fine.
While towing the boat back to Port Canaveral yesterday, everything was going ok until after stopping for fuel at Fort Pierce/St Lucie. While pulling away from the service station, the engine starting running rough and the "service engine soon" light came on. And once again the engine smoothed out within a couple of miles.
I think the engine is burning so much fuel while cruising down the interstate, that it builds up major deposits which gunk things up when the engine is stopped and then restarted. I think that if I idle the engine longer (or don't stop it) while fueling, it may prevent the engine "misfiring events".
The good news was the transmission did fine (never got above 180 degrees, even in the 90 degree heat, mostly stayed around 165-170). The Z85 suspension has no problem handling the trailer tongue weight and the truck has absolutely no problem staying in control of the boat/trailer.
For pictures of BoatZilla, check out:
http://www.magicnet.net/~dfletche
I'm on my second replacement pinion seal. Might be weeping again, not sure.
Towed 5,000 lbs with my 4.8L last weekend.
See Silverado site for info.
Make sure your gas cap is going on, and working properly. Each time you got the SES was after a fuel stop right? Not buying the idle build-up possibility. Vapor lock maybe?
You mileage sounds about right. Weight isn't everything. As you said, a large wind profile can be like pulling a parachute. Doesn't weigh much, but the drag slows you down.
3rd time - on this wheel balance problem. After
rebalancing the tires 2 times, things got better
but not as good as I expected. Today, the service
manager took a test ride with me and he agreed
that something was not quite right. At the end of
the day, they still couldn't quite figure out
what the problem was; he said maybe the tires were
defected (could be the wheel(s) too).
Anyway, I had a loaner vehicle and it happened to be a '99 Ford Explorer Expedition. It was nice but
I'm not really impressed with it.
Tung
Check out pickup topic #571. My 6.0L, 410 rear is geting 13.5 to 14 mpg combination Highway/City.
Mine still running fine no problems (knock on wood).
tung i think i read where you had the westin side bars? If you do did you get it on ? was it ez? thanks
level. I still can feel some vibrations (just
little) and will watch for it. I still love
my truck a lot.
Got the Westin bars, but didn't have time to install them. This week my wife is finished with
her final exams, so seems like I will have some
time to do that during the Memorial weekend. I'll
let you know.
Tung
I placed an order in Jan. for a Sierra 2500 SL extended cab 4x4, 6l V8, manual transmission, short bed - not alot of frills but just the truck I need for work and everyday. Got a good deal - less than $100 over invoice - but have had a run around since then. Just read here that it looks like they have been taking me for a ride and that I won't be getting one. Yikes! Was calling the dealer alot, but getting the same story - we'll let you know when GMC figures out wether they can make a manual 2500. What do I do now? Am looking for the staight story on availability - any ideas?
Took my truck in to jiffy lube for and oil change(1800 miles) The service guy suggested i use a fuel additive to prevent sludge in gas tank,do i need a fuel additive?
Anybody with towing package missing their aux trans cooler?
I am bothered by the drive through oil change retailers mostly because around here, they constantly change personnel. Experience is the best teacher some would say. My '99 Silverado is not for the interns and apprentices. The drop-out turning the wrench can't read the warning on my differential that says the fluid level is one inch below the check-hole, so it could get overfilled. Stripped filler plug holes, blowing compressed air the wrong way through an air filter, or trying to sell you one you don't need. Improper procedures ofter used for draining automatic trannies or transaxles. Overlubing the grease zerks, you name it. It can happen.
Some then try to sell you the additives, for your fuel, your oil, your radiator, your power steering pump. All not only unnecessary for a new vehicle, but undesirable as well. (Snake oil)
I realize they are all different. People make the difference. If you know one on a first name basis, and they let you go down in the bay and watch, then okay. I know one that does, and he's reputable. But with GMC dealers offering the Goodwrench 29 minutes or the next one is free offer for about the same price as the drive throughs, I see no reason not to let the more skilled specialists do it right.
Quad: thanks for your answer will consider it on my next oil change. Only problem is i've had a negative experience w/ the only gmc dealer here so i don't care to take my truck there
I have to agree with quadrunner. We have one of those Jiffy Lube places in town and I took my Mazda there once. ONCE. After they were done I noticed my oil was leaking, and when I went to check my oil level, the oil was BLACK. I don't know what they put in there, but it wasn't clean oil. I had to take it to someone else to have it changed again and have the plug fixed. Never again.
I was the other unlucky guys who also brought
the truck in 3 times for the balance problem.
They finally detected that one of the wheel has
heavy spots from the Al rim and the tire lined up.
So they rotated tire 180 degrees. It seemed to
make a big improvement. Now the truck ride is
at an acceptable level, but I still can feel
a bit of vibration from the frame. I'm still
watching it.
What would help to detect the bad tire(s) is that
if you feel the vibration from the floor/frame
and not from the steering wheel; then rotate the
rear wheels to the front one by one and watch
for vibration from the steering.
I hope the info is helpful and yours will be fixed
soon.
Tung
back to the dealer for a few noises so far. The most disturbing is a
vibration/grinding noise that occurs between 1000 and 1500 RPM while
pressing the gas and is more pronounced when going up slight grades. The
noise goes away when the truck kicks into the next gear. The dealer told me
that the computer has to be recalibrated and they will do that when they get
the new software to update their computer.
The other disturbing noise is a popping sound around the windshield above 60
mph. This sound comes from the two side rubber moldings around the
windshield. Check them out. They just lie on top of the windshield though
they have a lip on the inside edge that should fit more under the
windshield. When you hit 60 mph, The molding flops around and makes a
popping sound. Every 99 GM truck I have seen has it's moldings like this.
I can't believe it. It is such a poor design. The molding obviously
doesn't fit but GM just keeps installing it on all their trucks. I have had
new Ford trucks and new Chevy trucks and I am not very impressed with the
quality of finish on this new 99 Sierra.
The last noise is from squeaky body mounts. They retorqued mine and one day
later they were squeaking again.
Hope this helps. Please let me know whether you find anything out about
your vibration.
As xjyoung said, it was quite easy. However the
installation instructions/figure from Westin is
kinda poor. Anyway, for extended cab, in the
bottom-up order, you'll find the supplied bolt,
lock washer, flat washer, and metal bracket, then
the original metal cup/cap, big rubber insulator, the frame bracket.
The tubes have open ends which may allow water into themselves. So, I tried to seal them with a metal cap and some non-erosive caulk. For the metal caps, I bought from the plumbing section at Home Depot some 4 inch. pipe plugs and used their metal caps.
Tung
I also had the popping sound from the windshield molding, found the problem like you, and just taped over it with some vinyl electricians tape.
I don't have the low speed shudder at all, but the driveline growl I can still occasionally hear at 35-45 mph, but usually not.
I don't have any wheel or tire vibrations from the P265 Wilderness AT's or PF9 aluminum rims, but did have a slight steering pull to the right. The dealer aligned the front end at 3200 miles, and it was straight. Right up until I rotated my wheels at 7500 miles that is. Now the slight pull seems like it has made a cameo. The tires seem to have a slight amount of excess wear on the inside edges of all 4.
I've had the computer re-flashed with the software update to fix spark knock. But occasionally, I can still detect it. I'm beginning to think about just switching up to a mid-grade unleaded fuel. Over the ownership life of the truck, this might cost $800-900. Oh well, at least I don't have to pay it all at once.
Still love the truck, and would do it again. But ask me again in 4 years just in case.
door for the 2000 model? I went to the car show in NY City about 5 weeks ago and they said that
the 4th door won't be available until 2001. But then a couple dealers said mid 2000. I would appreciate any information.
Thanks
I haven't heard that popping sound, but will listen on my 400 mile trip tonite.
The trans vibration at 40-42 mph is gone or least
I cannot notice it any more; the rmp seems to be
boosted 200 rpm compared to before the fix.
The throttle response is much better in my
opinion. The acceleration is smoother and somehow
I feel the truck delivers more power than before.
However, the engine still pings. I hope with
moremiles, the run-time parameters will be
gradually updated and the ping will go away.
Had the wheel balance checked by another dealer
(the 4th time!). This dealer said I had 2 bad
tires, and they ordered 2 new for me. They'll
let me know when the tires come in.
Bottom line, the software updates seems to be
great to have!
Tung
The only time I see the message, is when it flashes five times after I do the reset procedure.