2001 8.1L 4x4 suburban stalls dies

[socalrob]

My 2001 8.1L 2500 Suburban LT stalls / dies with no warning while driving under light acceleration, coast downs, maybe hard acceleration (not sure). Just prior to stalling it is running perfect. After stall it is hard to start. May take 4 or 5 cranks, or sometimes takes as long as 20 minutes. I normally try shifting between park and nuetral to start. Have loosened gas cap when it won't start but cannot detect any vacuum. Does not seem to help/hurt restart. This has happened on freeway, at stoplights, in intersections making turns. In hot weather and in cold (well, cool, I do live in LA). A few times after a normal shutoff, hours later the truck is hard to start in same manner. I have called AAA a couple of times only to get it started when the tow arrives. When it does start, it normally runs perfect. A few times the engine service light stays on for a few hours.

This has happened maybe 30 times in 9 months. Have had it to the dealer twice. First time dealer talked me into air filter, gas filter, injector cleaner. Made no difference. Truck had about 25,000 miles at the time. Second time dealer kept it a few days, supposedly drove it some miles, never saw the fault. My gut feeling says its electrical, runs to good right before and after problem.

Truck no has 33K miles. Am at wits end, wife isn't comfortable driving it. My personal mechanic (I have some work trucks) says to give it back to the dealer as a lemon. Does anyone have any ideas? I like the truck, my 3rd Sub., still have No. 1 (89 2500 4x4 w/ 200k miles). Please help. Rob.

[GMMerlin]

Originally Posted by socalrob

My 2001 8.1L 2500 Suburban LT stalls / dies with no warning while driving under light acceleration, coast downs, maybe hard acceleration (not sure). Just prior to stalling it is running perfect. After stall it is hard to start. May take 4 or 5 cranks, or sometimes takes as long as 20 minutes. I normally try shifting between park and nuetral to start. Have loosened gas cap when it won't start but cannot detect any vacuum. Does not seem to help/hurt restart. This has happened on freeway, at stoplights, in intersections making turns. In hot weather and in cold (well, cool, I do live in LA). A few times after a normal shutoff, hours later the truck is hard to start in same manner. I have called AAA a couple of times only to get it started when the tow arrives. When it does start, it normally runs perfect. A few times the engine service light stays on for a few hours.

This has happened maybe 30 times in 9 months. Have had it to the dealer twice. First time dealer talked me into air filter, gas filter, injector cleaner. Made no difference. Truck had about 25,000 miles at the time. Second time dealer kept it a few days, supposedly drove it some miles, never saw the fault. My gut feeling says its electrical, runs to good right before and after problem.

Truck no has 33K miles. Am at wits end, wife isn't comfortable driving it. My personal mechanic (I have some work trucks) says to give it back to the dealer as a lemon. Does anyone have any ideas? I like the truck, my 3rd Sub., still have No. 1 (89 2500 4x4 w/ 200k miles). Please help. Rob.

First, your truck is covered under a 3 year 36000 bumper to bumper warranty..the dealer is obligated to repair your truck at no charge to you.
Second, if the SES light has been coming on, then a code has been stored that may help in the diagnostics and repair of your vehicle.
A couple things come to mind in regards to your problem,
Power moding..if a module loses its power, it can cause a stall and hard restart
Fuel system, an intermittantly binding fuel pump can cause this condition

[99ssconv]

check the grounds at the body mount area just behind the drivers front tire on the frame, one of these is the fuel pump ground,

[socalrob]

thanks for both of the responses. I will look at the ground & pass the other info to the dealer.

My problem is that the dealer says they can't fix it, they can't see it, and they don't seem to care.

[socalrob]

I checked the ground bolt per 99ssconv. Bolt is tight & wires look in good shape. Good thought though. Thanks.

[socalrob]

Does anyone have any other ideas?

[majorjc]

Originally Posted by socalrob

Does anyone have any other ideas?

The only other idea that I have is to go to another dealer. If there isnt another one in your town then go to a nearby city.

The difference between 2 different dealer service department can be like night and day..... I know from experience.

I will drive 50 miles to take my wife's Expedition in because the service department is so customer oriented and the local dealers service guys act like I'm inconvieniencing them by being there.

Lucily my local GMC dealer is top notch, so my 1999 GMC Suburban get's good local service.


Just my worth.

Major

[socalrob]

The dealer in question actually gets high marks from my mechanic. In CA I think I may need to give them 3 tries to fix it, before invoking the lemon laws.

[jimh]

I agree with MERLIN, if the SES light has come on, there is a code stored. I had a similar problem with a flakey "Crankshaft Position Sensor" that would shut things down until it cooled off for awhile. Does your problem seem to be related to temperature (not California, engine)? I have never had the pleasure of buying an new burb, but if I did I would offer to swap trucks with the dealer for a month and let him consider the lemon law. Good Luck.

[Dr. Eagle]

Originally Posted by socalrob

thanks for both of the responses. I will look at the ground & pass the other info to the dealer.

My problem is that the dealer says they can't fix it, they can't see it, and they don't seem to care.

Time to start writing letters to the dealer and find out who is the area tech rep for GM or chevy and write letters to them. This is a 45K piece of consumer goods, they have to get to the bottom of it. In fact you could bring up that with the engine dying at all speeds it is really a safety hazzard...and maybe the government should know about it????
I have a K2500 8.1L and have had issues with the engine, but not dying like yours. My issues were caused by exhaust gas in the Air Injection Reactor tubes backing out past the check valves and melting rubber hoses all over the wiring harness. It took writing nasty grams to Chevrolet to get them off the dime (couldn't find a wiring harness and the new year versions were different). Still I was without the car for 3 months while they "thought" about how to fix it.
Sometimes they just need a boot in the rear end.
All that being said, I think the other posts on this thread are logical, either a ground issue with the fuel pump, the computer, or an obstruction of some type in the fuel system.
Good luck!

[Dr. Eagle]

Originally Posted by jimh

I agree with MERLIN, if the SES light has come on, there is a code stored. I had a similar problem with a flakey "Crankshaft Position Sensor" that would shut things down until it cooled off for awhile. Does your problem seem to be related to temperature (not California, engine)? I have never had the pleasure of buying an new burb, but if I did I would offer to swap trucks with the dealer for a month and let him consider the lemon law. Good Luck.

Now that you mention it, I had a problem with the Camshaft position sensor, but it just made the engine hiccup...usually when you were pulling out to pass another car. They have had a "silent recall" on the sensor according to the dealer, but I am pretty sure that was the camshaft not the crankshaft sensor.

[Dr. Eagle]

This happened a couple of years ago, so I had forgotten about it. It started with the engine hiccuping and then the SES light would come on. Then it got to where the engine would suddenly die just like yours is. I took it to the Dealer and his mechanic took it out and it quit and stranded the Mechanic on the freeway.
So this was the Camshaft sensor that was the subject of a service bulletin that was causing the problem. Very similar symptoms to yours. Maybe your dealer needs to read their mail from GM?????

[terryinatlanta]

How about the crankshaft position sensor?
I have seen similar posts on other boards that were fixed by replacing this item. Some people carry a spare. Common problem on 8.1.

[GMMerlin]

Originally Posted by Dr. Eagle

Now that you mention it, I had a problem with the Camshaft position sensor, but it just made the engine hiccup...usually when you were pulling out to pass another car. They have had a "silent recall" on the sensor according to the dealer, but I am pretty sure that was the camshaft not the crankshaft sensor.

There is no such thing as a "silent recall"....automotive urban legend

[Dr. Eagle]

Originally Posted by GMMerlin

There is no such thing as a "silent recall"....automotive urban legend

OK I stand corrected...however I have been touched by them in the marine side of the world, so I will go on fooling myself into thinking they do exist...

Regardless, if they did exist this would not have been one. It was simply a service bulletin. There was a service bulletin on the matter, and I was fortunate that the intermittent problem ended up stranding the mechanic on his test drive. Not in my imagination now, is it? But it may well have been the crankshaft sensor. I am not home this week or I'd look in the file to see....