97 k1500

Hey,
Im thinking about buying a 97 k1500 silverado from a used dealer. She has 87k on her. 5.7 vortec, 4x4, extend cab.
Rear pinion seal has been replaced, intake leak (common to this year) had been fixed and replaced.....the only thing that scares me a little is the engine skips at idol.
I m having the compression checked along with having the dealer do a full tune up.

Any advice on this year or just the idea of an engine skip should be avoided?

Thanks

Depends on why the engine is missing. It could be just plugs/wires or the timing is off. See if they'll fix the miss before buying it, and offer to pay for simple tune-up items. If they say no, then I'd say don't buy it.

I have the same truck same year. My truck has nickel & dimed me alot, but runs great.
I bought it used at 72,000 miles, now I have 140,000.

Would definitely reccomend it.

To answer your question, here are a few things that I encountered with purchasing my truck at 147,000 miles: All ball joints needed replacement, O2 sensors going bad, Catalytic converters are on their way out the door, Radiator cracked up at the top radiator hose connection(replaced), replaced water pump, wiper pulse board( GM safety recall), Brake pads and shoes all the way around, new wheel cylinders, rear axle seals, rear bearings, all coolant hoses and coolant nipple, valve stem seals, oil filter adaptor gaskets, fluid flushes on everything. May seam like a lot, for some, but all the work was done by me. When I bought my truck I knew it would need work, and I also planned on spending about $2000 on top of the purchase price. I paid $6400 for my 1996 Z71 Ext Cab 5.7L Now if I wanted to, I could get about $9000-$11000 because I have all the receipts and the truck is immaculate. But I love my truck now, I really wouldn't want a new truck right now, to much money to spend on plastic IMHO. All the parts were installed within three months of ownership. I haven't had to do anything else except oil changes.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=267196&highlight=loss+power

This is an updated version of the post I did a while ago. Should give everyone a whole lot of info regarding 1996 through 98 GM full size pickups. 1995 and older have TBI injection, OBD 1, and non-Vortec heads.

Three words: MAJOR TUNE UP!

1. Before starting anything, get a manual for your truck. I own a Chilton and a Haynes manual. This is until I can afford a factory one from Helm Publications. Anything I say in here will sound like Greek unless you have something to reference it to. I don't know how much you know about your vehicle, so if I am to be of any help to you, we both have to be on the same page. Please get a service manual before working on your vehicle!
2. Check for what I would call obvious: vaccumn leaks from plastic lines, rubber fittings, and anything else questionable including possibly your vaccum brake booster. Check for broken, frayed, loose, crushed, and burnt wires AND hoses. Make sure that your battery connections are tight and free of ANY and I do mean ANY CORROSION you can find on the terminals. GM positive terminal side posts are notorious for corrosion especially our GM truck double stacked positive terminals. Don't ever buy an ACDelco battery! It's the only thing from ACDelco I refuse to buy, because of substandard construction. Get a MAXX battery from Wal-Mart. They have unbeatable warranties and prices. Not to mention, Wal-Marts batteries are the same thing you buy from any parts store, just with a different sticker. They're also made my Johnson Controls.
3.Once cleaned, make sure that your charging system is healthy, any parts store(or Wal-Mart Tire Lube Express) can check your battery and alternator for proper output of Amps and Volts. If your not getting the appropriate amount of voltage to your vehicles computer, it can't do it's job correctly! Your truck probably has either a 100 or 105 amp alternator. A very select few trucks came with the option of a 140 amp alternator. At about 2000 Engine RPM your Voltage output should be around 13.8-14.2volts with no accessories on. Your current draw should be around 30 Amps or so. Last obvious thing is FUSES. Check FUSES: the ones underneath your hood by your brake resivior and the ones on the inside of the driver's side dash, exposed when you open the door.




As long as you haven't thrown parts at it already,and the truck has not been modified, here is what I suggest: The distributor cap(about $25) and rotor($12) are two items that need to be checked initially. There seems to be a common occurance with these items not giving any sign of failure, they just burn up the electrodes inside over time, giving you a loss of power and acceleration. Be sure to go with a quality replacement part such as ACDelco. It's hard to go wrong with ACDelco parts; however, sometimes there are cheaper equivalents. I actually use the Borg Warner replacement from Oreilly Auto Parts. Be careful when you remove the two Torx screws securing the distributor cap, they have blue Loctite applied from the factory and the plastic areas they screw into often crack. Bottom line: remove them slowly and be gentle! You don't want to have to replace the plastic distributor b/c of this!(And it is a form of plastic, believe me!) Second, your plugs are platinum ACDelco and as long as they are still at the proper gap (your white emissions sticker under your hood will tell you what is correct/ .045 or .060in),and there is no erosion of electrodes when you pull them out, I would save yourself the money of buying new ones. Again, stick with quality, don't get champion or autolite just to save a few dollars, get ACDelco($4 each plug for platinum) or NGK Original Equipment(OE) replacements. I've even heard a few people suggest Denso, but I haven't tried those yet. I wouldn't suggest Bosch Platinum either, my experience is that they run too hot and end up causing weird running problems.By the way, I would seriously not buy into the marketing behind Bosch Platinum +4 plugs. It's not that they are a waste of money, it's that your improvement in power may not even be noticeable. If GM wanted 4 electrodes then I'm pretty sure they would have made an ACDelco number for them. As long as your wires are orginal, it's kind of a toss up wether or not you want to replace them. I would wait to replace them last. If you have a problem with a cylinder not firing or missing, I would replace the wires.

Here's a trick: take some water and fill up a spray bottle, something that gives a mist of water. At night, start your truck and warm up. Spray a lot water above the wires and wait to see if you can see a lightning show! Be careful that you leave enough room between the water mist and you. About 12 inches should be enough. There is enough energy to jump from the droplets of water and ground THROUGH YOU!! Gives you quite a shock(pun intended). Won't kill you, but definitely gives you a surprise. If you see electrical arcing going on between the wires themselves and/or any metal close enough to the wires, the insulation of the wires had deteriorated enough to warrant replacement of them. Sometimes you make even hear the arcing of electricity but not see it, this may cause the truck to idle really funny. This is also a sign of needing new wires.

Besides your cap, rotor, wires, and plugs, I would just go ahead and pay $8 for a new fuel filter(I use Purolator, ACDelco, or Wix). It's not that hard to change, it's underneath the driver side, inside of the fram rail. If I remember correctly, all you need is 16mm thru 20mm wrenches. The fuel filter should be changed out every 30,000 (Correction: I made a mistake, you should be changing your fuel filter every year or every 12,000 miles, it will save wear and tear on your pump.) miles anyway. Replace your PCV valve ($2) on your passenger valve cover. And please make sure you are using quality oil and filter. I use Mobil oil and ACDelco oil filters exclusively on my truck.

An item I overlooked at the first writing of this post is that the EGR valve passages are prone to getting dirty, your best bet is to remove the EGR valve and clean as much carbon as you can with a scribe. Clean, clean, clean it really good, or you'll get a code set. That or you will have to end up buying a new EGR valve and those are expensive.

I should tell you that I use Mobil 1 synthetic (5w-30) with 155,000 on my 96 Z71 4x4 and get around 22miles/gal on the hwy about 14 city. Your results may differ alot depending on how you take care of your truck and how you drive.

I should make one mention that I don't believe your fuel pump is the culprit. If the truck runs, it's most likely not the pump; however, fuel pumps can go bad gradually. If your curious, you may be able to rent or borrow a fuel pressure tester. You can buy one for about $40 too. Check the pressure AFTER you replace the fuel filter at the little valve that looks like a tire stem on the drivers side fuel rail, near the back of engine, on top. It should have a little black cap covering it up. Connect up a pressure tester and turn the key on but don't start it. The pressure should come up to around 55-60 psi and stay there. If the reading drops down quickly, you probably have a bad pump or a fuel injector (Heaven forbid that, those are expensive to fix). If not, start up the truck and make sure that it stays at around 50-60 psi. Should you have a bad fuel pressure regulator or spider assembly you can check out http://go.delphi.com and contact them about a CSPI conversion kit that comes with a updated style of injectors for less than you would pay at the dealer.

Here are some other things I would check or change at 125,000mi: Your pre-catalytic O2 sensorS (there's 2 of them at about $50 ea). All 4 of your O2 sensors are supposed to have a service life of 100,000 miles. Sometimes they go longer or shorter than that. I have found that the Pre-Cat sensors take more of a beating, they are closer to the hotter exhaust. Your Service Engine Soon (SES) Light may illuminate because of these. Your transmission fluid and filter is probably in need of service also. It should be changed out every 30,000 miles for long tranny life.

As for PuffNStuff's comment about fuel system cleaner I would wait until you change the fuel filter first. I like SeaFoam, that stuff performs miricles for me. And as for the timing, as long as you haven't turned the distributor, you shouldn't need to have it timed. Which by the way actually has to be fine tuned by using a Tech 2 scanner or equivalent(aka the DEALER). And as for your timing chain, you shouldn't need one of those either for at a least another 50,000 miles. Check your air cleaner also, if you haven't already. If you've installed a K+N air filter element, make sure you haven't saturated the filter in K+N oil, too much oil on the filter will cause droplets to get onto the Mass Air Flow(MAF) sensor elements and cause engine running problems. If your unsure go get a OE paper filter, MAF's are expensive parts.

The next part has started a controversy about Dex-Cool, a few members have tried to sway me into thinking that Dex-Cool is perfect and belittle my intelligence concerning my own vehicle. Take it for what it is: information and techniques that worked for me. It's up to you what you do concerning your own vehicle. I'm not responsible for your actions or opinions. That said, read on.

And for your own good, if you still have the orange Death Cool in your cooling system, have that crap flushed professionally, and refill with good ol' green antifreeze. You'll be glad you did, because your radiator won't have this brown crap forming inside clogging up the works. The same is to be said for your heater core. Your overflow bottle may be turning brown already and your radiator cap may be crusty with orange crap. GM technitians all know about this issue, but the customer suffers. 150,000 mile Dex-Cool is BS, get rid of it before it really hits you in the wallet! You may have noticed on the passenger side of the engine that a hose running from the firewall to a metal fitting on top of the engine near the front is leaking at the fitting. If it hasn't yet it will sometime. This is caused by the Death Cool. The fitting(or nipple) can be replaced, but I would not attempt to do it yourself, unless you've ever done one before, they break off easily and then you have to remove the entire intake manifold and drill out the threads. It sucks if you break one off. I can explain a better way if you want me to, but it's pretty in-depth with procedure. In short you should end up replacing that nipple with a nipple used on GM cars, DO NOT GET DO NOT GET THE GM TRUCK REPLACEMENT! IT IS CHEAP POT-METAL. You have to get this nipple from the dealer. I haven't found a parts store that carries this yet, nor will the parts store have any clue what to look under to find it. Correction: I found that Oreilly's has started carrying this heater hose bypass nipple. They are located in the same isle as the HELP section. The part is being made by a company called Motormite/Dorman or www.rbinc.com Item # 800-401 The nipple used on the GM CARS is actually steel and there for 100x less likely to break off in the future. The nipple ends up corroding from the inside-out and makes it weaker. If you have any questions regarding this nipple, ask a GM dealer technician if possible, but sometimes the dealer parts guys know about this if your lucky. I have the GM part number back home but I won't be home for another month. Sorry. But if anyone wants it. I can get it later.

You asked about the fuel you should use: your truck is designed to run on 87 octane. Higher octane fuels may have cleaning additives in them but they are really more for cars with higher compression engines and therefore higher compression temperatures. In short, higher octane just means that it has a higher resistance to pre-ignition by temperature. Don't be fooled by high octane, unless your owners manual says to use it or you've got a super charger, turbo charger or any other wild modification that was not put on from the factory, use 87 octane from a well known brand gas station. Buy from one that sells a lot of gas, this way you know that the gas is fresh and that way you don't end up getting crap from old, unserviced underground storage tanks.

Two last items, check with the dealer and ask to see if there are any programming updates available for your truck. There were a few for my 96 Z71. I know that most service writers will try and get you to have everything done there. Do not let this happen to you. There should be no charge for looking up your VIN in the massive GM vehicle service database and seeing if your vehicle has PROGRAMMING UPDATES available.

I've given my VIN to the dealer and they have printed me out a report of all my Regular Production Options (RPO codes that are printed in your glove box) and there meanings. This also came with a report of where my truck was first bought, what warranty work was performed, where it was performed and if there were any outstanding SAFETY RECALLS. Just ask the service writer to do this, preferably one that has the time to do so. I usually have better luck with women service writers, they actually don't treat you like a walking dollar sign. I had a windshield wiper circuit board recall on mine that could have cost me a lot but it was fixed for free in 15 minutes. I keep all these papers for my records.

Sometimes updates solve problems that can not be solved by any other means. You should get multiple quotes from multiple dealers including some independent shops that have access to the GM Techline Information System (T.I.S). But the dealers should be your first stop. This is because they have genuine software, written by genuine GM electronic engineers and is the most current information available for your truck. Also know that reprogramming takes less than 20 minutes. Here's how its done:

The technitian hooks up a GM Tech 2 OBDII scanner($3000) to your Assembly Line Data Link(ALDL) black connector underneath your steering column, communicates with the vehicles Powertrain Control Module(PCM), and reads the version numbers that are currently loaded(2 minutes). Then the technitian disconnects from the ALDL and takes a copy of that info, along with the VIN(stored on the TECH2 Scanner), and hooks up to a dealer computer that is connected to T.I.S(2 min). He searches for updates and may or may not ask you about any drivability issues you may have. This is so he can load the proper updates into your vehicles PCM. He then down loads the updates into the Scanner(5-7min). He hooks the Tech 2 back into the ALDL and proceeds to re-program your PCM(5-7min). This process is not that complicated but the dealer knows that they can make a killing off of it. Caveat Emptor! (Buyer Beware!) The technitian is really your friend, you are his bread and butter, it's the service writers that are vultures. They are the one's that get most of the money you pay for labor. The technitians get screwed most of the time. Ask to talk with a tech, if you can find one that is not pressed for time at that exact moment and get some recommendations. Most dealer techs want you as a customer, but you wouldn't believe the BS they put up with on a daily basis.

If you need to have your vehicle scanned just to check why your SES is on, take it to Autozone and sometimes Advance and ask to have your codes read for free(most do). I have yet to have an Oreilly's or NAPA do ANYTHING for free. The codes that they give you will be very generic. Just write them down and then check on the internet for their meaning. Some codes will not be able to read by Autozone because they are specific to GM vehicles only. Remember, Autozone's scanner can be used for any OBDII compliant vehicle. All they use is a Actron Scanner they take of their own shelf. Sometimes you get a good parts person, sometimes you get an idiot. Depends on the area. They really do this so you will end up buying parts to fix your SES light from coming on. The parts you buy may or may not be the cause of the code being set. This is where having an excellent parts pro you trust really pays off.

If you want to have your codes erased, say if you replaced whatever part they told you was wrong, and now you want your SES light reset, they can erase the codes stored in the Vehicle PCM. Sometimes they won't erase codes though. I've been told by some stores that they will not read or erase codes from vehicles because the local shops that charge way to much for just a code reading, are angry that places like AutoZone are doing it for free. I've worked both sides of that fine line, and I can say that if a shop wants my money(which they will never get) they have to earn my trust first with numerous recomendations.

Other than what I have explained, and I know that I covered a lot, all the items I mentioned that you should check or change can be done by anyone that is willing to get just a little dirty. They only tool that is special is the Torx bit(or star bit, whatever you call it), you may need pick up one. You just need a size 10T, 15T, or 20T , I don't remember exactly. You can also get fancy with that fuel pressure tester. I don't know your ability level, but basic hand tools are all you need, just remember that 98 percent of your truck's fasteners are metric. -Happy Reading -Chris

I bought my 97 5.0 4X4 last Oct. with 83,000.
It needed tranny & TC right away. Also needed shocks,rotors,
wheel cylinders. The heater hose connect was leaking and
was replaced (broke)
I've also replaced air filter, fuel filter, plugs, cap & rotor which I
think I may have stripped, the screws wont tighten.
I also need an steering sensor.
It seems I may need a new belt and/or tensioner
I haven't been able to confirm my coolant leak as intake
gaskets yet but I suspect I will.
The truck has needed all the common fixes, but I really love
driving it and when I get over the coolant thing I don't expect
any probs I can't handle easily.

Just got my 1997 5.7 Vortec K1500. So far, the good folks at this forum have helped me replace the oil filter adaper o-ring/gasket, to stop what I've heard is a common oil leak. As "MyToy" noted, I think I will have to replace a steering sensor, to fix a problem with the steering wheel seeming to "give way" intermittently when I am in a turn. I have also notice that the oil cooler lines have a lot of gunk built up on them. I suspect I will have to replace them too. I've heard that this is also a common source of oil leaks. My latest problem is a coolant leak. I am getting a good drip of coolant from the the torque converter cover (part number 15671928). Since I don't know how the tranny cooler lines are routed inside, I can't imagine how coolant could be exiting from around the bolts of the TC cover and out of the little hole at the bottom. I'll probably start a new thread to get help with this, I just wanted to chime in with a few common (I think) problems that weren't mentioned above.

I'm going to take some of SpitandDirt's advise and take care of some of these preventative maintenance things.

I sure like the Classic Chevy look of this truck, and hope I can get it to be trouble free before too long.

Boy, After reading this thread, i'm feeling really fortunate to have as many miles as I do (140,000) and not have half the problems as some of you. I've got to go and find some wood to knock on.

Later

I don’t think most of those are problems, but rather preventive maintenance…personally I would rather replace something old, but in the comfort of my own home; than have it break, and leave me stranded in Death Valley.

Took the words right out of my mouth, Tall. 'Nuff said.