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'97 Sierra Z71 5.7L Vortec OBDII Codes

$1700 is outright RAPE to replace the sunshell. It doesn't fail because of OD, but when it goes you lose 2nd, 4th, and reverse. The A/C compressor is a common failure point on the R6 compressor, and that was a pretty high bill even for a stealer to replace one. The upper intake gasket set was just because of the regulator, but in all honesty they should have just put a spider in it(typical stealer bleeding the customer). Sounds like it still has the origanal intake gaskets, and with you saying it's been using coolant, my bet it has been going into the engine. This COMMONLY wipes out bearings(pretty sure I posted about that AWHILE ago warning). The tap on cold starts can be lifters, but in my experience it is normally oil pressure slow to build from a plugged up oil pump pickup. The compressor issue can be fixxed as well with an aftermarket compressor with a pinned housing. The new style intake gaskets stop the coolant problems, and the updated spider pretty well takes care of the injector problems. MOST problems with these engines are people not doing the updates, and topping the coolant off and dealing with poor starting.

As to the wires, if they're numbered, they're the factory origanal wires as even the OEM replacements I've done weren't numbered. 100K miles is ALOT of miles, and 20 years on ANY rubber product is asking for trouble. Don't waste your money on CHEAP ignition products. Caps and rotors in these engines have ALWAYS been troublesome. The blue caps are the best IMO, I believe ACCEL sells them, otherwise you can order the marine replacement caps. Do not put another factory plastic type distributor back in it unless you feel like dealing with problems again in the near future. Look on Ebay and you can find all kinds of aluminum replacements for them.
 
Thanx Fermanator: Yeah, that what I lost when the trans went. So, I guess you're saying I didn't REALLY get my trans rebuilt, just that sunshell. You can't find a fair shop around here. Even the dealers in NJ screw customers. They quote you the Flat-Rate Hourly charge but they neglect to use the time rating. I took my classic '89 Caprice Brougham in for what-was-supposed-to-be "blow-out" of carbon and a tune-up on the sweet 305 it had. (22mpg all around driving!)

They charged me $500 because the 50/50 mechanic said it took him almost 4 hours and the rate is $95/hr. I told the Mgr. "I don't care how long it took him! What's the flat-rate manual time on the job?" He just looked at me and said, "That'll be $500, please."
 
OBE said:
Thanx Fermanator: Yeah, that what I lost when the trans went. So, I guess you're saying I didn't REALLY get my trans rebuilt, just that sunshell. You can't find a fair shop around here. Even the dealers in NJ screw customers. They quote you the Flat-Rate Hourly charge but they neglect to use the time rating. I took my classic '89 Caprice Brougham in for what-was-supposed-to-be "blow-out" of carbon and a tune-up on the sweet 305 it had. (22mpg all around driving!)

They charged me $500 because the 50/50 mechanic said it took him almost 4 hours and the rate is $95/hr. I told the Mgr. "I don't care how long it took him! What's the flat-rate manual time on the job?" He just looked at me and said, "That'll be $500, please."
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Thats why every time you have to get in writing the details and the price. They can go by the book time or by actuals.

On trans, many times in the fleets we didnt bother with rebuilds by conventional transmission shops. Just dropped in new crates from GM. TC new, and flush the lines. The cost was 40% more, but never a worry about what was done or how long it would hold up.
 
I see you are from Boulder City. We made our very first trip to Vegas in 2011. Not being one for gambling (I've lived within an hour of AC for 25 years) we wanted to see shows and explore. I always rent a car and explore to see what the "regular" people live like. I thoroughly LOVED Boulder City! I took scads of pictures of those beautiful homes overlooking Lake Mead and I have a bunch in the iron sculping shop. My Sweetie loved all that stuff.

All the palm trees I'm used-to (in FLA) are all leaning from the wind, these were huge and perfectly formed. I got a big kick out of "only city in Nevada where gambling is not legal." lol
 
Yeah, nice area here. 15,000 population, way less crime here. Much higher gun owner to victim ratio- :)
2-3 cops for a jaywalking ticket cuz they are so busy- haha.

My wife and I grew up in Vegas mostly, got married and 1st house, then kid there. Moved here before he started school. Way to big for alot of guys on this forum, but compared to what I am used to, it is perfect.

You ever make it out this way again let me know...
 
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OBE said:
Thanx Fermanator: Yeah, that what I lost when the trans went. So, I guess you're saying I didn't REALLY get my trans rebuilt, just that sunshell. You can't find a fair shop around here. Even the dealers in NJ screw customers. They quote you the Flat-Rate Hourly charge but they neglect to use the time rating. I took my classic '89 Caprice Brougham in for what-was-supposed-to-be "blow-out" of carbon and a tune-up on the sweet 305 it had. (22mpg all around driving!)

They charged me $500 because the 50/50 mechanic said it took him almost 4 hours and the rate is $95/hr. I told the Mgr. "I don't care how long it took him! What's the flat-rate manual time on the job?" He just looked at me and said, "That'll be $500, please."
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If they rebuilt the whole thing, then $1700 after shop labor and supplies isn't to bad depending on where you are. From your description it sounded like all they did was the sunshell which if they used the GM part is $52 I believe(the aftermarket beast sunshell is cheaper, and won't fail again UNLIKE the updated GM one that can and does fail still), a basic seal kit is somewhere around $80, and a band is $16(it normally cracks when you remove it, and shouldn't be reused IMO). So $150 in trans parts, another $100 for fluid leaves $1450 for labor for a job that pays I think 7 hours book time. Even a full rebuild with a shift kit is only around $450 in parts last I checked for TRANSTAR pieces. Trans rebuilds have ALOT of markup in them.
 
The truck is running fine now, but the darn fuel gauge is erratic. Sometimes is just sits on E and other times it reads ½ tank. I topped-off both tanks and ran 300 miles. When I refilled today, each tank took about the same amount, so I guess the transfer system is working, but the gauge is goofy. Any ideas? I am NOT pulling that pump-sender out again! lol
 
Check connections on top of tank is about only other thing. If you do have to go into the tank again, get the metrum rod from Leroy so the chaos ends.
 
Is this a 1500 5.7l with dual tanks? I've never seen or heard of a gmt-400 1500 pickup with factory dual tanks. If it does have factory dual tanks, you're going to have to see if it is pcm controlled for the transfer tank, or if it has a balance module to handle it.
 
Will L. said:
Check connections on top of tank is about only other thing. If you do have to go into the tank again, get the metrum rod from Leroy so the chaos ends.
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The metrum rod might work. 97 could be a 0-90 ohm sender, but some were 33-240 ohms, and the metrum is a 0-95 ohm design. GM kept you on your toes with using 2 different guage systems.

A 97 gasser may have a fuel guage buffer module installed somewhere in the truck which could be causing these issues. Have to know exactly what system is installed in the truck to say.
 
My bad, fellas. I'm wasting your time. My photo is of my '97 Sierra Vortec. I'm talking about the 2000 K3500 that I had all the fuel problems with. Turns out it was a compound problem. I had an intermittent shut off/start-stop problem with it THEN the rear fuel tank pump/sender sucked air. We fixed the rear tank with a new sender/fuel pump. When it STILL wouldn't run, we didn't know if it was because of the fuel or electrical issue.

When I put the new turn signal sw and ignition sw and tumbler in, it started right up. I didn't know if it was transferring fuel properly so I topped-off both tanks then drove it for a few hundred miles. When I topped it off again, it took about equal amounts in each tank. Unfortunately, it took 27 gallons to drive only 210 miles! YUCK!

It was giving me a P0236 error and I watched a good video on YouTube. (I know nothing about diesels) The guy said it's usually a waste gate solenoid but first check the vacuum. (which leads me to another question) When I traced the orange tubing it seemed to have been CUT! Would someone cut that on purpose? I put a piece of tubing in (to act as a union) and the code disappeared. BUT I swear I hear another (different knock or rattle) sound that wasn't there before. I hear it more when I'm behind the cab.

Also...this 2000 Chevy K3500 has a carrier bearing and a two-piece drive shaft. It has always vibrated at between 30 and 35 mph. I've tried it under load and coasting in neutral, and it's always the same...@ 35 mph it starts vibrating then it stops when it passes 30 mph. Going up, under load, it does the same thing.
 
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