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thank you
Anyway, does anyone here know if the emblems in the rear and on the front door have position holes behind them. I would like to remove them but don't want to expose any holes in the van.
oh, to answer my own question regarding the swapping of bench seats...it seems the second and third row benches are similar in track length so maybe they are switchable.
It is not easy to remove them, you should heat it up using a heat gun (not hair blower) to solften the adhesive at the back of the emblem, then peel it off gradually. Most of the time, it will left behind the residue on the vehicle, you can use glue remover to remove it.
Body shop has a set of tool just for removing emblems before sanding the body of vehicles. For removing the glue residue, they're using a rubber wheel (they claimed it is made of air craft tire's rubber) attach to power drill, & spin the wheel against the glue area until it is cleaned; it won't damage or scratch the surface.
You can buy these tools at your local body shop supplier.
When I plug the code reader in it tells my it can not access the computer. Any ideas?
There is something wrong the van because I do get a light but I can not read what it is.
Thanks
You also said the second row wouldn't fit into the third row. I haven't got the time to actually remove these two benches to try them out. From just looking at the legs and latches, they seem to match up pretty well. Have you actually try them out? Another bump for me since I thought I could try a junk yard or actually buying new to get the extra shoulder belt and two child LATCHes Thanks
I had a Dodge 97 and it was a nightmare. The Sprinter looks ok, but like you said, it is over 10k more. And has that small V6. Not sure how well that is going to hold up. But the 22 mpg is impressive.
This is my second Chevy Van, the fisrt was a 2000, this on is a 2006 3500 passenger.
Just make sure your tires are properly inflated when hauling that many people and you are good to go. 85 in the back and 55 in the front. Van's and SUVs can roll over when the tires are low. (especially the extended van)
I had the same issue with the seat belts when I disconnect them from the seats. I did manage to push some of them in to the slot. Or you can purchase a screwdriver to disconect them from the ceiling.
As far as the pins. No mine aren't rusty at all. One of them had a slight vibration when going over a bump, but that could be fixed by using a small wedge or something. I'm pleased with the ease of removing the seats, instead of having to use a bolt mount. Maybe the dealer should offer you non rusted latches if you bought it new? If not they should be cheep, if they bother you. Or paint them. My seats had a slight amount of rust but I got mine used and it doesn't bother me. They must have been taken out and left in a storage unit.
It's not perfect for me either. I wish the seats folded down flat. There was more room in the front leg wells, and the drivers seat wasn't so close to the side.
I would like to keep comparing notes with the rest of you.
So far I'm getting 15 mpg with the AC, city and highway. I hope it goes up a little, but that's a little better than my 2000. And the V6 Dodge only got about 16 or 17. The other much smaller SUVs only get about 15 - 17 also.
Good luck!
(edit: I just took another look at the bottom fabric and you don't have to cut it. That plastic cove pulls right off and back on)
(Also, about the Sprinter. That van has a higher profile and will get blown around by the wind. The 3500 Chevy doesn't get blown around like all the other vans I have owned. Finally! That really bothered me most about driving a van and I even put bigger tires and heavy duty gas shocks on my 2500 Chevy, which helped, but nothing like the new 3500.)
I hope the 06 Express holds up as well or better.
Thanks for all everyone's suggestions ...
IT's back and it's way colder and now it fires for a second and stalls. Can't get it going now....... ?????????
R/T
I'm working on a 2004 Chevy Express 3500, and the instrument panel gauges have died. When the car starts up, the arrows wiggle a little, and the alternator gauge goes to normal, then they all quit. the panel still lights up, and shows the prnd, but no little underline bar to tell you what gear you're in, and the odometer is no longer adding miles. The check gauges light comes on, but I have yet to find the problem. All fuses, both under the seat and in the engine, look good. Is there a connection in the dashboard or something that might be loose? they are obviously getting power, just not functioning right, or poorly. An item that may or may not be related, is the reverse lights on the rear aren't turning on, and quit at the same time as the gauges. Thanks, Ryan
Thanks, BJ
Now here is the question. Does anyone know if there is a recall on the cargo doors, on the side. The hinges....
They have rusted out. Believe that, the rest of the van is not one spot, yet the hinges are gone.
And the price to replace them is absolute outragious.. 115.00 for 1 hinge. NOT one whole hinge, you know body side and door side. NO that is 115.00 for just the door side hinge. And the pins and bushings, 83.00 for 2 pins. What a joke. GM KNOWS THIS IS A PROBLEM!!!! And you can't buy these hinges at an auto parts store, why, because there is NO aftermarket for it. GM won't allow it. So think about that for just one minute.. there are 8 hinges (2 doors, upper, lower hinges, both have 2 door side, and body side) and 4 pins and bushings. so that is minimum
115.00 x 8 = $920.00 (all 8 hinges)
83.00 x 2 = $116,00 (for all 4 pins and bushings)
__________________
$ 1,036.00 To fix 2 doors on your van..... OUTRAGIOUS!!!!!! :mad:
And only GM sell the hinges, so MONOPOLY time.
Now I know I am not the only one that has had problems with these doors, so is there anyone else out there that knows if there is possibably a recall of these door hinges.
Oh, and most of you are thinking , hey go to a junk yard. I have tried-- These van are so good I guess ,that junk yards don't have any yet, or when they do get them, they cut the hinges in half, because on of GM's better ideas was in 96, to weld the dang things on, instead of bolts.. So too hard to just take them off, so they cut them right thru the hinge...
I just think it is time GM steps up and corrects one of there better ideas.... :confuse:
The rest of the van, I love.... 197,000 and still going strong... pretty bad when the hinges go before the engine.. LOLOLOL
I just bought this three weeks ago used. Last week I took my first trip to the lumber yard. That is when I discovered that the seat backs are not hinged to lay flat. If you want a flat surface you need to remove the seats. This is my first full size van so I'm still learning a few things as my father-in-law who is an old dog in the full sized van scene says this is true with all makes. To me I would think that for a few pennys that GM could offer a lot mor flexibility to the van with some hinges.
I bought this vehicle new and believe I used to just slide bags in behind the drivers seat. I also used to have passengers on the bench behind the front passenger seat who could put their feet flat on the floor. Last summer when trying to slide something in I noticed an elevation on the floor behind the passenger seat. It seems to have gotten higher. I took it to the dealer I bought it at (no longer in business) and to a Goodyear place when getting tires. Both acknowledged the bump and claim they have never seen something like that before. From underneath they say it is above the catalytic converter but there is no bump up that they can see from there.
Yesterday I took it to a different dealer for an oil change as an excuse to see what their service would be like. They tell me it belongs there. Then how come I didn't notice it when I got it? Do all of them really have this hump and I was completely oblivious to it until recently or am I just being blown off?
About those stop lights: I had to replace the left socket due to a bad ground. This is a manufacturing defect that the NJ state DMV asked GM to issue a recall on. GM refused. The inspection employes all know about rake light problems in these vans for certain years. Mine's an '01.
Water gets into the socket and corrodes the connection for the ground or other contacts. There is electrical tape wrapped around the six sockets on the rear of the truck. It was a make-do fix for a known problem. Again, tape was only on wires where they enter the socket.
Three long waits through the inspection lines to find and fix this problem. Kudos to GM for ignoring a real headache for GM express owners!
I have a 2007 chevy express witht the 6.0 and carefully monitor the milage so far (28,000 Miles) I am getting 14-14.5 MPG on the open road and 12-13 in the city. I would be interested what others are getting and if the Milage goes up as the engine braks in.
Thanks!
Thanks
Thanks
gmjohn
Rick
Pensacola, Fla.
I have a 1999 express van with the 5.7 V8. While driving at speeds over 40 mph the motor is starting to stumble - will hold/increase speed but does it under minor protest. Any help would be nice.
I'm thinking fuel pump (only have 50psi - should be 65ish?)
180,000 miles with new plugs, wire, cap, rotor, oil change, air filter, and fuel filter
P0161 - o2 heater bank 2 sensor 2 (which side - o2 after cat?)
P0300 - misfire (Will low fuel pressure cause this one?)
P0420 Cat. efficient low on Bank 1 (what should I check?)
Which side would bank 1 and bank 2 be? I have replaced both of the O2 sensors on the passenger side last year.
Great forum here!
Thanks!
RonWind
I believ its the difference between key on and running with vacuum pulling the fp down alittle.
Since you did plugs and wires, thats probably the problem. Put cheap copper plugs in again, and check the wires carefully. The hesitation is undoubtably a mis causing your nisfire code. The bank 2 sensor 2 should be the passenger side rear (after cat) o2 sensor. My scanners can watch each o2 sensor seperatly to verify the operating condition.
The 420 code, has me stumped, other then a lazy o2 (rear drivers) or a bad cat itself. If you have plugged cats, that could cause your mis, the exhuast not being able to get out, thus causing a huge back up in the cylinder. Ussually they get progressively worse till the cat is completely closed and the veh will not run, or just barely. I would suspect the cats, maybe more if you towed with it, and or it has a lot of miles.
Ronwind: Yes the gmc and chevy express are the same vehicle with different name plates. Some say the gmc's are built better, and I always laughed at that, but just recently I compared an 04 express to my 03 savana. The savana does have some bolts holdng small trim peices on were the express does not, and it uses a spring clip. So it does infact look like the gmc maybe built a tinny bit better.
The grills and trims are different but all the major parts interchange, and many of teh van parts interchange with the chevy/gnc trucks also, like the 1500's and 2500's.
Most of the van parts are left overs from previous year truck builds. The vans get the left over stuff.
The 04 express awd, I just referenced is almost done......I put on larger combustion chamber heads, a mls head gasket, head studs, a z06 vette cam, a cummins intercooler, and ballbearing pt 72 turbo. It should make in the middle 500awh area soon.
I tow a 30ft I/O Pontoon most weekends May thru September, 25 to 30 miles each way. You really know it is there mostly at 50MPH+. From a stop you hardly notice. When I first tested a similar tow vehicle it had a 5.7L and was much better at the 50MPH+ speeds. Start/Stops were equal.
Hope that helps.
The reason they fall on there face at 50 + mph is power and gear ratio. The 4l60e takes a huge jump from 2nd to 3rd. 3rd is 1 to 1, and if you dont have the tow package you have 3.42 gears. Tow package vans got the 3.73's. A huge improvement is to reprogram the pcm for different/later shifting. Hold second longer and have it shift to 3rd at a higher rpm/speed. This could be done only when towing via programming but would be harder then just having it do it all the time.
When I bought mine, I reprogrammed it the next day.......and I still tweak it alittle when time permits. Alot of my job is programming trucks for tire/gear changes, and doing dyno/road tuning on gm cars (vettes, ta's and camaros) which are all virtually the same as the van.
If so, what years were then available?
thanks...gary
If I'm driven for some time, then my speedometer needle is hanging and is very snatch. Where should I search for the error?