mikeyk101

So please school me on the thermostat mod. If I understand correctly, the easiest and still reversible way to do it is just to flip the "pill" inside the box. I watched the video above and seems pretty simple. But by doing that, does the trans fluid always circulate through the condenser or radiator and that's why the fluid stays cooler? Is there any downside to doing this, say if I want to tow a trailer, will the trans still stay cooler than if I counted on thermostat to work properly? And finally, can I do this without removing the bolt to get at the clip to pull out thermostat or do I have to remove that bolt to get enough clearance? Thanks...

You are absolutely right about our Secretary of State facilities. It's never an easy in- easy out, they almost always find some issue that needs to be fixed as well. As far as the emissions test, I was told I had to pass all except for one. It could be any of them but as long as all the rest passed, I would pass. One other thing is that there be no DTC and MIL light off. I believe that would be classified as a fail as opposed to rejected which is what I was the first test. A fail would require a trip to a mechanic and certification that the problem had been fixed. A rejection just means you can come back and retest 2 more times without doing anything extra but after 3rd rejection, you would also be required to see a mechanic and documentation on the problem being fixed.

Update... Like I mentioned, I really dont drive that much. So I was keeping an eye on my own OBD Tester and it was still showing Incomplete on the Evaporative System and the EGR System. On Sunday, I had some time to kill so I went out for a drive. I did about 35 miles or so and finally the EGR System showed Complete but the Evap System continued to show Incomplete. I looked back at my previous post and saw that I should have stopped off the tank before driving. I only had 1/4 of a tank when I started. Today, I topped off the tank and went out for another drive. After about 40 miles, I still had Incomplete on the Evap but decided to head to the Emissions site and get it tested anyway. I ended up at about 60 miles by the time I got to the site and this time it passed. The printout also showed Not Ready on the Evaporative System but it passed nonetheless. What a pain in the arse this was. Luckily I am now good for 2 more years before it has to be tested again. Hopefully by then I will be somewhere that doesnt require this nonsense. Or I will pull the Range AFM disabler at least a week or two before I take it back for testing...

And I guess I should have gone to the Range web site first where I would have found this answer. I did drive about 10 miles before the test after unplugging the Disabler but obviously not enough...

Only downside is it may take a little longer. I'm retired now and dont drive as much as I used to. But as soon as I get all completed, I will have it retested.

I think that is probably what is going on. I plugged in my little OBD reader and there were no faults but this it what it also showed

Checking with my bluetooth obd II scanner, there were no fault codes but it also showed several sensors were not ready. So my next step will be to drive around for a couple days without the Range disabler, do another check with my obd scanner, and if everything looks ok, back to the emissions testing center. I'm just glad I didnt wait til the last minute. My plates expire the end of March so I have a bit of a buffer...

I really wish I could move but it's impossible right now unfortunately., unless I get divorced and that could turn into an expensive proposition. It's the wife's job and her family keeping us here for now. I do have a basic OBD II tester and it might be worthwhile putting that on to see if any codes are present. But one thing to note was that several sensors listed on the printout that get tested by the Illinois emissions procedure did say not ready or something like that. So it would seem that this might have been a result of using the Range disabler. As far as how the procedure gets done, you drive into the testing area and leave the vehicle running so there is no key off part. They just plug in the cable into the obd port and the testing is done while vehicle is still running.

I really hate Illinois but due to circumstances beyond my control, I am stuck here for at least 10 more years... So Illinois requires emissions testing in NE Illinois every 2 years in order to renew your license plate sticker. I just took mine over to get tested. I do have a Range AFM module that I have been using for the last couple months. I remember seeing somewhere to remove it prior to getting testing done so I took mine off before heading over. The test site is less than 10 miles away. When testing, they now use an OBD tester to check. I figured I would be good because I have never had a MIL problem. When I got the results, it said it was rejected because of the OBD and that it could be a result of a dead battery that had to be recharged. The good thing though is that a fail because of an OBD issue doesnt automatically trigger a trip to a mechanic. I get 2 more tries before I need to do that. So I assume that using the Range AFM Disabler is the reason that the fail happened??? So if that's the case, how long do I need to leave it off before getting it retested? Looks like I will be driving around again in M5 before retesting...

On my 2016, It was under the hood towards the center of fuses and relays. It was an unusual fuse (not sure what its called) that had a clear plastic cover on top with IIRC, a red body and was 30 amps??? The top of the fuse box was a bit difficult to get off but once figuring out how it came off, it was a bit easier to do.

I have a 2016 Crew Cab in the U.S. that has the sliding rear window and I have not received any recall notification. I have also been keeping an eye in the my.Chevrolet.com site and it currently says no recall. Until I get notified of the recall, my 30amp fuse will remain pulled.

Not very encouraging...

I just pulled out the fuse from the underhood fuse block. I know on mine that when the rear defrost is activated manually, it also activates defrost for the sideview mirrors. I am guessing but dont know for sure that with remote start, with the rear defrost auto option, it will also turn on defrost for the sideview mirrors. I really could care less about the rear window defrost because I have a topper on the bed so rear defrost doesnt do much for me anyway. It came with thr sliding rear window and that option I definitely wanted...

Many, many posts on this exact issue. In Canada, there is a recall because of it but the U.S. has been very slow in responding to a fix. Some have been able to get service before having the window shatter but those that had the shattered window happen have had mixed success with getting GM to cover the costs of replacement. Mine luckily hasnt shattered and since I have a topper covering the bed, and the defrost us basically useless to me, I went ahead and pulled the rear window defrost fuse so that it also wont activate when remote starting. If a U.S. recall ever materializes, I may put the fuse back in and take it in for the recall...

I have always been told to not mix the tires on the SAME axle. So front tires can easily be one brand and rear tires another. Mixing used to be especially true with radials and bias ply tires, do not mix bias ply and radials on same axle as they have different handling characteristics. The main thing is to make sure that front axle and rear axle tires are the exact same size if you have 4x4 or risk drivetrain damage. The reasoning I'm guessing that you were told not to mix brands is because different brands can be slightly different in their actual specs. If they are way different, again, it could cause drivetrain damage to a 4x4 but a 2 wheel drive would not have the same limitation.

For me, my rear window is intact and I plan on keeping it that way. My biggest concern is that my 5 year old son rides back there a lot and I want to keep him out of danger. I pulled the #10 fuse tonight and will probably keep it that way. Hardest thing was figuring out how to get that underhood fuse cover opened. Next hardest was trying to figure out where the #10 fuse was. The fuse numbers were scattered all over the place. I'd sure like to have a conversation with whoever came up with the fuse numbering system...

Looks like I found my answer while browsing in the other big thread. Bottom of page 12. It appears that the fuse for the rear window defrost is a separate fuse for the heated outside mirror and both are connected to the defrost switch so the heated mirror function should still work... https://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/209824-2017-sierra-denali-rear-window-exploded/?do=findComment&comment=2225041

I have the sliding rear window with defrost, and according to my build sheet, I also have the heated outside mirrors although there are no symbols or wording on the outside mirror glass. I could really care less about having the rear window defrost because I have a topper on the bed anyway. But I dont want to lose the function of the heated outside window. I am assuming if I pulled the fuse for rear window defrost, I am also going to lose the heated outside mirrors as well. Is that correct?

Just an FYI, Leer and Century are virtually the same topper an I believe even made at the same factory.

I have previously bought trucks that were 4-5 years old and have always been able to find a used topper at a reasonable price. My 16 Silverado was the first new truck or even vehicle I have purchased new since mid 90's. I wanted a topper for it but the used market was extremely slim pickings. I ended up going with a tonneau cover for first year and then broke down and purchased a new Century topper. They had a sale going on as well as a free fold out front sliding window and roof carpet. It was definitely a lot more than I wanted to spend but it matched perfectly. I too have a tungsten metallic...

An update after a visit to the dealer today... After explaining the issue that I was having, they went to work. They did an alignment check and they came up with different numbers but that everything seemed to be ok. They are assuming the other alignment rack must have been off. They came up with 3.6⁰ on Caster for left front wheel and 3.3⁰ on right. The right wheel matched the first alignment. Then on Camber, they came up with -0.02⁰ on left and -0.04⁰ on the right. This time the left wheel matched the first alignment. On the Toe, their alignment measurement matched and both came out as 0.05⁰ on both wheels. According to them, all the measurements were good for a leveled truck and they said no adjustments were going to be needed. After that, they did a road force balance on all the tires. 3 of the wheels checked fine and were at 15lbs or below. The front left though checked at 28lbs which they said was too high. They rebalanced it with new weights and was able to get it down to 21lbs of road force. They recommended that I get a new tire but because it is a 4x4, that would mean 4 new tires. We discussed that since there was still quite a bit of tread left on the others, it would be kind of a waste to change out the rest of the tires just yet. These are the original tires and have just under 40k miles on them. I said I wanted to hold off until next year if it might be possible. The said that the bad tire should be put on the rear and that would hopefully minimize any vibration and if so, I could get away with holding off with new tires for now. After leaving the dealership, I was able to get on some roads to check. There does seem to be a dramatic reduction of the vibration and I can live with the little bit it has. It is definitely much better and I don't think passengers will even notice now. On another note, I had a discussion about warranty coverage now that I had my truck leveled. It was explained that it is handled by different dealers individually. I was assured that I would be ok on warranty issues as long as it isnt front suspension related which I kind of figured. Anything warranty issue related to the front suspension would be null and void and on my dime to get repaired. I pretty much expected that. But I was happy to find out that they have no problem with anything else and it would be covered. I was lucky that on my 2016, I was able to get GM to extend my bumper to bumper coverage to 4 years and 60k miles. I know it was kind of late to be thinking about that after recently leveling but I know at least with this dealership, I am good to go for now...

I just went to the Chevrolet web site within the last month and did an on line chat. There was an option to save the chat via email. I asked them to provide me the build info on my 2016 and they did it. By saving a copy of the chat, the build info was then in my email inbox.

Looking at my printout and specs, 1.9⁰ is on the low end and 3.9⁰ for Caster is the high end. Center spec would be 2.9⁰. So 2.0⁰ and 2.3⁰ would both be on the low end with 2.0⁰ almost out of spec. I would expect to see just above 2.9⁰ on the left and just under 2.9⁰ on the right side. That's what I am going to be looking for from the dealership once I get a chance to get in there...

It appears based on what I see that the screen is showing 2.3 for the left side and 2.0 for the right side. After going through his post, he mentions that the left side should be more positive than the right side and I think that is what is being shown. Also if you look, you will see the high spec on the outside on each side and the low spec on the inside.

Especially after Grumpy Bears suggestions and looking at your printout, I still think it's an alignment issue. Your Cross Camber is 0⁰ and Cross Caster is -0.1⁰ which agrees with his suggestion of being within a quarter difference. My Cross Camber is .4⁰ and Cross Caster is .5⁰ which even though falls within "specs" is more than a quarter difference. Before rebalancing the tires, which were somehow fine before the level install, I'm going to reach out to the dealership I should have gone to first. They do have experience and have been very helpful in the past. They might have some further insight on what is going on. Thank you for your info and printout of your alignment results. I also have to ask, did your place balk at all over adjusting the camber and caster? My thoughts are that my place which is always extremely busy, just doesnt want to do the work.