New to Chevys

#11

"Hairy" <hairy411 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

Hmm, what year did that start? Because if I come to think about it my
friend
has a 98 with the 4.8L.

Well your memory is failing dude. IIRC it was 2000 that they started the
new motors. Your buddy might have a 98' with the 4.3, but the 4.8 hadn't
been born yet.

Actually, we got the new engines with the new body styles...1999
H

And the 5.0 and 5.7 were no longer available the year after, which was 2000.
The question was when the 5.0 and 5.7 were no longer available.

Doc

Quote:

#12

""Doc"" <noway (AT) nope (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

"Jay" <jgibson1 AT COM CAST . NOT> wrote in message
news:Q-ednTUho92lisTcRVn-rQ (AT) comcast (DOT) com...
Hi,

In 26 years of driving I've always been a Ford man with an occasional
Chrysler product tossed in here and there. I recently rolled my Ford
Ranger in the middle of MO. ( http://home.comcast.net/~jgibson1 ) While
looking at a Dodge dakota the other day I was about to leave when I saw a
2001 Medium Charcoal Gray Chevy K1500 Silverado LS, 4WD, automatic trans,
4.8L Vortec engine, 8000 LB towing capacity, extended cab, 4 door (the
extended cab doors open), and composite box, with bed liner and nice
color matched cap. For cheap.

My brother in law has a '98 K1500 with the Z1 package and only 73,000
miles. I asked him his likes and dislikes. His complaints were: DexCool
causing leaks and damaging head gaskets, rough, noisy shifting in and out
of 4WD, and the 5500 LB towing capacity.

Will the truck I'm looking at, being 3 years newer and with a different
engine, also have these problems? Anything I should watch for besides
the normal/obvious? I'm especially concerned about the Dex Cool as I'm
used to the green stuff, not the orange.

Thanks
Jay

Jay,

Dex will mess the works up IF, and ONLY IF:

1) It's more than 50K miles old
2) Rad cap isn't working correct allowing air into the system
3) Rad isn't full due to #2 or empty reservoir.
4) Tap water is used to fill the rad (you must use distilled water).

That being said, if you use distilled water and change rad cap + coolant
every 50K you won't have any problems. The Dex doesn't "eat the head
gaskets." These trucks do not have any head gasket problems. The 98's
and older Vortec's (5.0 and 5.7) did have intake manifold gasket problems,
but this was a faulty gasket design and not the fault of Dex. The newer
motors (4.8, 5.3 and 6.0) do not have this problem.

Yours might be a piston slapper, but Ford and Toyota have just the same
issues with their newer motors as well. Do a google search and read up.

Doc

Thanks for all the advice. I bought the truck. Picked it up with fuel
guage on E
and service display window saying "Low Fuel". Filled it up with 25 gallons.
Still
stayed on E with "Low Fuel" showing. Drove it home 92 miles away. After
burning off some gas, message went off and guage went to full.
Intermittant.
Now with half tank, when the needle drops if I hit a bump or bounce in the
seat
it goes normal and "Low Fuel" indicator goes out. I suspect the sending
unit.
Not looking forward to dropping the tank.

More serious issue: 92 miles to my house, all expressway except the last 2
miles.
Got off the expressway and the oil pressure guage dropped to zero and
display
said "Low Oil Pressure". Not wanting to wait to see if it was another guage
malfunction I instantly pulled off the road and shut it off. Started it
back up,
"Low Oil Pressure" message still on, guage still at zero and top end just
starting
to chatter. That verified the no oil pressure. Quickly shut it off. No
bearing
squeal, lifter noise just starting, and zero reading made me think oil pump
went.
Left it there about 2 hours and called towing company. Went there to meet
them
and tried starting again. Started right up, guage went up to normal,
warning
message went out and top end noise went away. 100 more miles and no
problem. Oil pump is mechanical and can't fail then work fine again, right?
I doubt these are related but worth mentioning: Was about one quart
overfilled
with oil, and discovered I drove all that way with front diff in neutral
instead of
2 wheel high. All other guages read normal. I'm baffled and don't feel I
can
trust it.

Summary: Oil pressure was at zero, 2 hours later was fine again. WTF?

Thanks,

Jay

#13

"Jay" <jgibson1 AT COM CAST . NOT> wrote

Quote:

""Doc"" <noway (AT) nope (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:ucydnX_O0MinncfcRVn-oQ (AT) adelphia (DOT) com...

"Jay" <jgibson1 AT COM CAST . NOT> wrote in message
news:Q-ednTUho92lisTcRVn-rQ (AT) comcast (DOT) com...
Hi,

In 26 years of driving I've always been a Ford man with an occasional
Chrysler product tossed in here and there. I recently rolled my Ford
Ranger in the middle of MO. ( http://home.comcast.net/~jgibson1 )
While
looking at a Dodge dakota the other day I was about to leave when I saw
a
2001 Medium Charcoal Gray Chevy K1500 Silverado LS, 4WD, automatic
trans,
4.8L Vortec engine, 8000 LB towing capacity, extended cab, 4 door (the
extended cab doors open), and composite box, with bed liner and nice
color matched cap. For cheap.

My brother in law has a '98 K1500 with the Z1 package and only 73,000
miles. I asked him his likes and dislikes. His complaints were:
DexCool
causing leaks and damaging head gaskets, rough, noisy shifting in and
out
of 4WD, and the 5500 LB towing capacity.

Will the truck I'm looking at, being 3 years newer and with a
different
engine, also have these problems? Anything I should watch for besides
the normal/obvious? I'm especially concerned about the Dex Cool as I'm
used to the green stuff, not the orange.

Thanks
Jay

Jay,

Dex will mess the works up IF, and ONLY IF:

1) It's more than 50K miles old
2) Rad cap isn't working correct allowing air into the system
3) Rad isn't full due to #2 or empty reservoir.
4) Tap water is used to fill the rad (you must use distilled water).

That being said, if you use distilled water and change rad cap + coolant
every 50K you won't have any problems. The Dex doesn't "eat the head
gaskets." These trucks do not have any head gasket problems. The 98's
and older Vortec's (5.0 and 5.7) did have intake manifold gasket
problems,
but this was a faulty gasket design and not the fault of Dex. The newer
motors (4.8, 5.3 and 6.0) do not have this problem.

Yours might be a piston slapper, but Ford and Toyota have just the same
issues with their newer motors as well. Do a google search and read up.

Doc

Thanks for all the advice. I bought the truck. Picked it up with fuel
guage on E
and service display window saying "Low Fuel". Filled it up with 25
gallons.
Still
stayed on E with "Low Fuel" showing. Drove it home 92 miles away. After
burning off some gas, message went off and guage went to full.
Intermittant.
Now with half tank, when the needle drops if I hit a bump or bounce in the
seat
it goes normal and "Low Fuel" indicator goes out. I suspect the sending
unit.
Not looking forward to dropping the tank.

More serious issue: 92 miles to my house, all expressway except the last 2
miles.
Got off the expressway and the oil pressure guage dropped to zero and
display
said "Low Oil Pressure". Not wanting to wait to see if it was another
guage
malfunction I instantly pulled off the road and shut it off. Started it
back up,
"Low Oil Pressure" message still on, guage still at zero and top end just
starting
to chatter. That verified the no oil pressure. Quickly shut it off. No
bearing
squeal, lifter noise just starting, and zero reading made me think oil
pump
went.
Left it there about 2 hours and called towing company. Went there to meet
them
and tried starting again. Started right up, guage went up to normal,
warning
message went out and top end noise went away. 100 more miles and no
problem. Oil pump is mechanical and can't fail then work fine again,
right?
I doubt these are related but worth mentioning: Was about one quart
overfilled
with oil, and discovered I drove all that way with front diff in neutral
instead of
2 wheel high. All other guages read normal. I'm baffled and don't feel I
can
trust it.

Summary: Oil pressure was at zero, 2 hours later was fine again. WTF?

Thanks,

Jay

Sorry to read about the troubles. Hope my 2004 Silverado isn't as
troublesome as the MANY horror stories I've read the past few months.

Don't think I'll ever buy a GMC product again.

-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

#14

"Obbop" <Obbop (AT) burpingloud (DOT) edu> wrote

Quote:

Sorry to read about the troubles. Hope my 2004 Silverado isn't as
troublesome as the MANY horror stories I've read the past few months.

Don't think I'll ever buy a GMC product again.

Ya know, the only thing you're going to READ about is the negative stuff.
90% of the posts on this ng are troubleshooting-related, and most people who
take the time to actually write something down and post it on the internet
have something to bitch about. So, if you're using the internet and usenet
to gauge the reliability of GM products, you're only getting one side of the
story.

Doc

Quote:

-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

#15

"Jay" <jgibson1 AT COM CAST . NOT> wrote

Quote:

Thanks for all the advice. I bought the truck. Picked it up with fuel
guage on E
and service display window saying "Low Fuel". Filled it up with 25
gallons. Still
stayed on E with "Low Fuel" showing. Drove it home 92 miles away. After
burning off some gas, message went off and guage went to full.
Intermittant.
Now with half tank, when the needle drops if I hit a bump or bounce in the
seat
it goes normal and "Low Fuel" indicator goes out. I suspect the sending
unit.
Not looking forward to dropping the tank.

More serious issue: 92 miles to my house, all expressway except the last 2
miles.
Got off the expressway and the oil pressure guage dropped to zero and
display
said "Low Oil Pressure". Not wanting to wait to see if it was another
guage
malfunction I instantly pulled off the road and shut it off. Started it
back up,
"Low Oil Pressure" message still on, guage still at zero and top end just
starting
to chatter. That verified the no oil pressure. Quickly shut it off. No
bearing
squeal, lifter noise just starting, and zero reading made me think oil
pump went.
Left it there about 2 hours and called towing company. Went there to meet
them
and tried starting again. Started right up, guage went up to normal,
warning
message went out and top end noise went away. 100 more miles and no
problem. Oil pump is mechanical and can't fail then work fine again,
right?
I doubt these are related but worth mentioning: Was about one quart
overfilled
with oil, and discovered I drove all that way with front diff in neutral
instead of
2 wheel high. All other guages read normal. I'm baffled and don't feel I
can
trust it.

Summary: Oil pressure was at zero, 2 hours later was fine again. WTF?

Thanks,

Jay

Jay,

Hopefully you got at least a 30-day warranty? Take it back and DEMAND they
fix whatever the hell is wrong or demand a full refund.

WRT the fuel gauge, Chevy gauges have always been a little scitzo, but have
them fix it if you have a warranty. If no warranty, give it another tankful
before you go dropping the tank. Running it down that low can bugger up the
sender/float and at times another refill solves the problem.

The oil pressure issue is quite odd. What is the OP when you first start it
up cold (in park, at idle), and what is the OP when it's hot, at idle in
park?

Doc

Quote:

#16

""Doc"" <noway (AT) nope (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

"Jay" <jgibson1 AT COM CAST . NOT> wrote in message
news:H4ydnYXdYLTMQ_3cRVn-qQ (AT) comcast (DOT) com...

Thanks for all the advice. I bought the truck. Picked it up with fuel
guage on E
and service display window saying "Low Fuel". Filled it up with 25
gallons. Still
stayed on E with "Low Fuel" showing. Drove it home 92 miles away.
After
burning off some gas, message went off and guage went to full.
Intermittant.
Now with half tank, when the needle drops if I hit a bump or bounce in
the
seat
it goes normal and "Low Fuel" indicator goes out. I suspect the sending
unit.
Not looking forward to dropping the tank.

More serious issue: 92 miles to my house, all expressway except the last
2
miles.
Got off the expressway and the oil pressure guage dropped to zero and
display
said "Low Oil Pressure". Not wanting to wait to see if it was another
guage
malfunction I instantly pulled off the road and shut it off. Started it
back up,
"Low Oil Pressure" message still on, guage still at zero and top end
just
starting
to chatter. That verified the no oil pressure. Quickly shut it off.
No
bearing
squeal, lifter noise just starting, and zero reading made me think oil
pump went.
Left it there about 2 hours and called towing company. Went there to
meet
them
and tried starting again. Started right up, guage went up to normal,
warning
message went out and top end noise went away. 100 more miles and no
problem. Oil pump is mechanical and can't fail then work fine again,
right?
I doubt these are related but worth mentioning: Was about one quart
overfilled
with oil, and discovered I drove all that way with front diff in neutral
instead of
2 wheel high. All other guages read normal. I'm baffled and don't feel
I
can
trust it.

Summary: Oil pressure was at zero, 2 hours later was fine again. WTF?

Thanks,

Jay

Jay,

Hopefully you got at least a 30-day warranty? Take it back and DEMAND
they
fix whatever the hell is wrong or demand a full refund.

WRT the fuel gauge, Chevy gauges have always been a little scitzo, but
have
them fix it if you have a warranty. If no warranty, give it another
tankful
before you go dropping the tank. Running it down that low can bugger up
the
sender/float and at times another refill solves the problem.

The oil pressure issue is quite odd. What is the OP when you first start
it
up cold (in park, at idle), and what is the OP when it's hot, at idle in
park?

Doc

The only time I have seen this in the past was a partially plugged oil pump

pickup screen. After the car was driven a short distance the screen would
plug completely and no oil flow to the pump. After it sat awhile apparently
the gunk on the pick up screen would drop off and when started would have
oil pressure for a short while until it plugged again.

Brian

#17

"el Diablo" <nomail (AT) spam (DOT) not> wrote

Quote:

The only time I have seen this in the past was a partially plugged oil
pump
pickup screen. After the car was driven a short distance the screen would
plug completely and no oil flow to the pump. After it sat awhile
apparently
the gunk on the pick up screen would drop off and when started would have
oil pressure for a short while until it plugged again.

Brian

That's exactly what I was thinking, hence the questions as to OP levels
prior to the problem.

Doc

Quote:

#18

""Doc"" <noway (AT) nope (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

"Jay" <jgibson1 AT COM CAST . NOT> wrote in message
news:H4ydnYXdYLTMQ_3cRVn-qQ (AT) comcast (DOT) com...

<snip>

Quote:

2001 Silverado 4.8L 4wd ext. cab

More serious issue: 92 miles to my house, all expressway except the last
2 miles. Got off the expressway and the oil pressure guage dropped to
zero and display said "Low Oil Pressure". Not wanting to wait to see if
it was another guage malfunction I instantly pulled off the road and shut
it off. Started it back up, "Low Oil Pressure" message still on, guage
still at zero and top end just starting to chatter. That verified the no
oil pressure. Quickly shut it off. No bearing squeal, lifter noise just
starting, and zero reading made me think oil pump went. Left it there
about 2 hours and called towing company. Went there to meet them and
tried starting again. Started right up, guage went up to normal, warning
message went out and top end noise went away. 100 more miles and no
problem. Oil pump is mechanical and can't fail then work fine again,
right? I doubt these are related but worth mentioning: Was about one
quart overfilled with oil, and discovered I drove all that way with
front diff in neutral instead of 2 wheel high. All other guages read
normal. I'm baffled and don't feel I can trust it.

Summary: Oil pressure was at zero, 2 hours later was fine again. WTF?

Thanks,

Jay

Jay,

Hopefully you got at least a 30-day warranty? Take it back and DEMAND
they fix whatever the hell is wrong or demand a full refund.

Nope, no warranty. Sold as-is. I gave the truck a pretty spirited test
drive and it drove out fine. No leaks, no funny noises, smooth, strong and
quiet. I honestly don't think they could have known about this wierd little
problem. It was from a little B lot and they only had it two days before I
bought it (checked it with Carcheck.com). They didn't even detail it out,
just an oil/filter change and a quick wash.

Quote:

WRT the fuel gauge, Chevy gauges have always been a little scitzo, but
have them fix it if you have a warranty. If no warranty, give it another
tankful before you go dropping the tank. Running it down that low can
bugger up the sender/float and at times another refill solves the problem.

I suspected that too and will reserve judgement until after a couple of
tanks. Guages are a little wonky. Voltage reads 15 1/2 volts, but my VOM
shows 14.3 @ warm idle, all electrics off.

Quote:

The oil pressure issue is quite odd. What is the OP when you first start
it up cold (in park, at idle), and what is the OP when it's hot, at idle
in park?

According to the guage, about 50 PSI at idle in park, cold or warm. Peaks
at 70 PSI at and above 3000 RPM parked or driving. I meant to mention that
in my first post. What's it supposed to be for this engine? Have put about
another 70 miles on it on freeway and around town and have had no further
problem. As I stated, it was about a quart over filled. I drained and
refilled to the proper level. Brainstorming with some friends, someone
tossed out cavitation as a possible culprit caused by too much oil, high
freeway RPMs, then sudden stop and slow (25 MPH) driving. Of course there's
no solid theory, experience, or evidence behind this, just a wild as* guess.
But we based it on our assumption that a mechanical oil pump either works or
doesn't work. Is that assumption correct?

Quote:

Doc

Thanks,
Jay

BTW, this doesn't make me think that all GMs have "horror stories". I've
had those with any brand mechanical device.

#19

"Jay" <jgibson1 AT COM CAST . NOT> wrote

Quote:

""Doc"" <noway (AT) nope (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:9t2dnfjz2MziQfzcRVn-pw (AT) adelphia (DOT) com...

"Jay" <jgibson1 AT COM CAST . NOT> wrote in message
news:H4ydnYXdYLTMQ_3cRVn-qQ (AT) comcast (DOT) com...

snip

2001 Silverado 4.8L 4wd ext. cab

More serious issue: 92 miles to my house, all expressway except the
last
2 miles. Got off the expressway and the oil pressure guage dropped to
zero and display said "Low Oil Pressure". Not wanting to wait to see
if
it was another guage malfunction I instantly pulled off the road and
shut
it off. Started it back up, "Low Oil Pressure" message still on, guage
still at zero and top end just starting to chatter. That verified the
no
oil pressure. Quickly shut it off. No bearing squeal, lifter noise
just
starting, and zero reading made me think oil pump went. Left it there
about 2 hours and called towing company. Went there to meet them and
tried starting again. Started right up, guage went up to normal,
warning
message went out and top end noise went away. 100 more miles and no
problem. Oil pump is mechanical and can't fail then work fine again,
right? I doubt these are related but worth mentioning: Was about one
quart overfilled with oil, and discovered I drove all that way with
front diff in neutral instead of 2 wheel high. All other guages read
normal. I'm baffled and don't feel I can trust it.

Summary: Oil pressure was at zero, 2 hours later was fine again. WTF?

Thanks,

Jay

Jay,

Hopefully you got at least a 30-day warranty? Take it back and DEMAND
they fix whatever the hell is wrong or demand a full refund.

Nope, no warranty. Sold as-is. I gave the truck a pretty spirited test
drive and it drove out fine. No leaks, no funny noises, smooth, strong
and
quiet. I honestly don't think they could have known about this wierd
little
problem. It was from a little B lot and they only had it two days before
I
bought it (checked it with Carcheck.com). They didn't even detail it out,
just an oil/filter change and a quick wash.

WRT the fuel gauge, Chevy gauges have always been a little scitzo, but
have them fix it if you have a warranty. If no warranty, give it
another
tankful before you go dropping the tank. Running it down that low can
bugger up the sender/float and at times another refill solves the
problem.

I suspected that too and will reserve judgement until after a couple of
tanks. Guages are a little wonky. Voltage reads 15 1/2 volts, but my VOM
shows 14.3 @ warm idle, all electrics off.

The oil pressure issue is quite odd. What is the OP when you first
start
it up cold (in park, at idle), and what is the OP when it's hot, at idle
in park?

According to the guage, about 50 PSI at idle in park, cold or warm. Peaks
at 70 PSI at and above 3000 RPM parked or driving. I meant to mention
that
in my first post. What's it supposed to be for this engine? Have put
about
another 70 miles on it on freeway and around town and have had no further
problem. As I stated, it was about a quart over filled. I drained and
refilled to the proper level. Brainstorming with some friends, someone
tossed out cavitation as a possible culprit caused by too much oil, high
freeway RPMs, then sudden stop and slow (25 MPH) driving. Of course
there's
no solid theory, experience, or evidence behind this, just a wild as*
guess.
But we based it on our assumption that a mechanical oil pump either works
or
doesn't work. Is that assumption correct?

Doc

Thanks,
Jay

BTW, this doesn't make me think that all GMs have "horror stories". I've
had those with any brand mechanical device.

Not likely as usually a faulty oil filter will block oil completely, but if
they did just change the oil it would be worth a try to change to another
filter.

Brian

#20

"Jay" <jgibson1 AT COM CAST . NOT> wrote

Quote:

WRT the fuel gauge, Chevy gauges have always been a little scitzo, but
have them fix it if you have a warranty. If no warranty, give it another
tankful before you go dropping the tank. Running it down that low can
bugger up the sender/float and at times another refill solves the
problem.

I suspected that too and will reserve judgement until after a couple of
tanks. Guages are a little wonky. Voltage reads 15 1/2 volts, but my VOM
shows 14.3 @ warm idle, all electrics off.

GM gauges are always "ballpark." Mine reads 11 volts and 14.4 V at the
battery.......go figure.

Quote:

The oil pressure issue is quite odd. What is the OP when you first start
it up cold (in park, at idle), and what is the OP when it's hot, at idle
in park?

According to the guage, about 50 PSI at idle in park, cold or warm. Peaks
at 70 PSI at and above 3000 RPM parked or driving. I meant to mention
that in my first post. What's it supposed to be for this engine? Have
put about another 70 miles on it on freeway and around town and have had
no further problem. As I stated, it was about a quart over filled. I
drained and refilled to the proper level. Brainstorming with some
friends, someone tossed out cavitation as a possible culprit caused by too
much oil, high freeway RPMs, then sudden stop and slow (25 MPH) driving.
Of course there's no solid theory, experience, or evidence behind this,
just a wild as* guess. But we based it on our assumption that a mechanical
oil pump either works or doesn't work. Is that assumption correct?

Yes, that assumption is correct. That oil pressure is great for a
SBC...............it could be that the oil pump pickup screen was
temporarily blocked but if that was the case you'd expect a partial blockage
at all times and you wouldn't have those great OP numbers.

I'd change the oil and filter (Use AC Delco, Purolator or Mobil 1 filter)
and see if it happens again. Could have just been a fluke. Cavitation is a
decent theory BTW.

Doc