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I think that's the path I'm going to have to take here. Found some buckets from an SLT that look nice for not a ton of cash. Put about 150miles on the truck in 2 days time and I've never been more uncomfortable in a seat before. These are just SOOOO bad. I've had GM trucks/SUV's for years and never had this before, so I didn't even consider it when I agreed to buy the truck. I've had all the trucks below (not in that order), and a couple GM cars along the way. These are hands down the worst seats I've sat in. '92 Typhoon '99 S10 Xtreme '03 Yukon SLT '04 S10 ZR5 '06 Trailblazer SS '10 Traverse LT '15 Sierra SLT

Just drove my new to me '02 Silverado into work this morning. First time I've driven it more than a few miles. Commute in is ~35miles one way. These are quite possibly the worst seats I've ever sat in. The lumbar support is absurdly strong and in the wrong position. It's a base model truck with a split bench seat. I can't find any adjustments on the seat other than recline and front/back slide. No knobs, no levers, nothing else. I'm assuming these are non-adjustable seats (in terms of lumbar), but surely they didn't come from the factory with this shape. It's absurdly over supported in this area, and honestly, I feel a little chaffed from where the seat contacts my back. Am I missing something? Anyone have a picture or some advice? Am I just stuck with it? If I can't adjust this, there's a good chance this truck won't live with me very long.

I know I know....I'm needy and hard to please.....Just ask my wife.

Awesome. Thank you for the exploded view. Any chance you have the key for the numbers to go with it?

Greetings all. Brought home a new to me '02 Silverado last week. '02 2WD RCSB with the V6/Auto. Only a few options; Chrome package, Power Locks, A/C, Carpet. Otherwise it's pretty dang basic, but at $1,500 and 185k miles I think it has quite a bit of value in it. Anyway, the previous owner has the lower dash apart and in pieces. Literally came with a crate of parts, and a bag of screws. He was chasing some HVAC issues and left it like this to sell. It looks like it's all there, but there are some random ducts, and panels I need to put back on that I'm not sure where they go. Likewise I still need to figure out the HVAC issue. I have heat, and it comes out of the dash vents. I can't control the location of the air, or the temperature. Fan works great (little squeaky), and I can control the speed. I'm plenty handy diagnosing both mechanical and electrical issues, I just need some basis of where everything is, and how it's supposed to work before I go taking anything else apart. SO, to start tearing into this part of the truck I need to find an exploded view of the dash, or at least some service manuals with that information in them. I've been googling for an hour and can't find anything. Hoping someone where can point me in the right direction. Anyone have any ideas? Picture of said truck......because, you know, why not right

I'm reviving an old thread here. Found this thread looking for coilovers for my '15 Sierra. 2”-3” front drop is probably about right for me. Thinking I need about 4”-5” in the rear to level the truck out. What would you recommend for the rear? Would love to have double adjustable components at both ends. Also not sure I want to go with a full flip kit. Any thoughts?

@Grumpy Bear How does your truck Perform in Death Valley in the summer? What about Winnipeg in the winter? How about Miami in the spring? Have you towed a trailer in those areas? What's your data on SAE J2807 test? Do you have any reliability readings on an 80% loaded quad cab 4x4 over 100k miles of east coast driving? Weird......I don't either. Honestly, we're having an unarmed battle of data here. NEITHER OF US, knows exactly what it's supposed to do (as the engineers designed it, the programmers coded it, or the testers reported it) at any level of confidence. Unless we distill it so far as to say "make the truck move forward" we're picking the fly poop out of pepper. Because we simply do not know. You have only a few data points from one region. You simply DO NOT have the data set to make those assertions as facts. They are opinions based on anecdotal evidence. I would take the Pepsi challenge with your data vs GM's data every day and twice on Sunday. Talk about Dispersing FUD, your claims are based on opinion, NOT FACTS. You in fact do deal in FUD sir. Since anecdotal evidence is what you seem to like. My transmission DOES NOT work properly when it's cold. Shifts are firmer, and faster. Properly is VERY subjective, and you can't even pin that down with data. At this point I'm clearly not going to change your mind, and honestly don't really care. I just hope others consider the fact that both of us are dispensing opinions that are worth about as much as the electrons that display them.

There is an aspect that nobody has touched on yet.......Consistency. Trans temps just under the operating limit of the fluid, with adequate reserve cooling provide the most consistency you can get, with the least amount of viscosity possible. It's likely the best compromise available so that the same configuration can be run in Miami, and Anchorage year round. It might not be the BEST solution for either of those climates, but it's the best compromise between the two when all aspects are considered. The transmission shifts WILL change with fluid temperature changes. There are internal passageways that allow that fluid to move from place to place and apply or release clutches that change the gear ratios. If this fluid is consistently at the same temperature, then the control algorithms that maintain pressure, actuate clutches, and route fluid don't have to make as much of an adjustment, and the programming can be more easily defined, and subsequently result in better and more consistent performance to the user. IMO, If you aren't overheating the transmission fluid (200deg +) for extended periods of time, there is ZERO benefit to cooling it any further, or messing with the system at any level. You are doing the modification for the sole purpose of making yourself feel better about the temp reading you're seeing. Excessive heat kills a transmission. Read that again. Excessive is the operative word there, and 192deg (88deg C) is not excessive. Combined with NOT changing shift parameters (such as clutch slip timing, shift timing, line pressures, etc) you are messing with a VERY well tested formula that we only have anecdotal evidence on. Remove it at your own risk, if your transmission fails under warranty, and this is found during tear down, I would bet they'll deny you coverage, and with good reason. They can't warranty against all possible modifications, and we can all agree fluid temp is an important parameter to transmission life, regardless of where you fall on the temperature spectrum. You messed with a proven formula, and you only have some guys on a message board as backup for that decision. A few guys on a message board does not an engineering team make, and I'm certain more than a few people looked at the system overall at GM and made the decision to include the thermostat. Maybe it was an accounting thing, maybe it was a legal thing, Maybe the mechanical guys put it there to make the programming guys life easier. Maybe the design was so far down the path that it would have cost more to remove it than to keep it. We don't know.

Awesome. Thanks for the info. Definitely going to strip the emblems, and door trim off as soon as it warms up. Have to keep my eyes peeled for a new grill, and some wrap for the bumpers. have a buddy that does powdercoating, might reach out to him and see if he can handle the bumper.

Love the front end change there. The general "dechroming" effect is great. Did you buy new parts, paint existing or what? I have the "same" truck (color/wheels/year/etc) and have been looking into this exact same mod path.

Yeap, the wheels are great. I think I like those better than the 22in snowflakes on the Denalis. I've got the very popular 20in 12spoke chromes. I really like 'em, and fortunately not that popular in my area. Love the debadging as well. I've been on the fence about that with mine, but couldn't commit. I think this weekend the 'ol girl will get debadge and scrubbed down pretty good.

@D_Spin Thanks for the update. I'm about |...| that close to needing new tires, and these are on the top of my list currently. I'll be getting a 275/55/20 size, but otherwise same tire. I've run Continentals on everything I've owned for year. From a Mazda RX8, to an Audi A4, to my Wifes Traverse. Hell, I've even got a pair of Conti's on my bicycle. They've always been exceptional quality, and great performers. I was a little concerned about this being the first A/T tire they've made, but I've yet to hear a bad review about them. I'll be sure to report back in when I end up with a set on my truck.

I went searching last night and couldn't find it. Any chance you have a link to that thread?

Just ordered mine as well. Probably from the same guy I've been running the NAPA brand DEXOS approved oil on 5k intervals. That's 4 changes a year for me at $75/ea. If I can stretch that change out to 10k miles, that's 2 changes a year for me. $220 in oil and filters instead of $300 in oil and filters. Cost is about a wash, but I don't have to dork with it as much

@Grumpy Bear Thanks for a more complete picture of how viscosity works. Do you have a formula available for calculating film thickness vs viscosity at a given temperature? I'm certain it's not as simple as a single formula, but would be interesting to plot that data for given interfaces and see how the film thickness is affected. Also, any comments on the validity of putting an oil cooler inline with the filter? i was |..| that close to doing that on my TBSS in an attempt to keep the engine cool while towing with it. Thing blew a head gasket (probably due to previous owners rebuild capabilities), and I traded it away for my Sierra. Thought was to run a small trans fluid cooler in one of the brake ducts in the front fascia, and plumb that into an oil filter bypass fitting, and use a remote mount filter at the same time. Would have increased capacity slightly, and cooled the oil a bit along the way. The Sierra doesn't maintain nearly the high revs that the SS did, and it's a smaller engine overall, so I haven't been as worried about it, but am curious your take on the situation there. Thanks again!

Thanks for the addition. Good info.

Since I started this mess, guess I should chime in. There really hasn't been any technical information communicated aside from @Grumpy Bear 's post. That post (with good quantitative information), and a verbal conversation with a good friend that has had more AFM motors apart than he cares to admit gave me the confidence to run it like it is. I think @1SLOW1500 hasn't provided any qualitative reasoning for it being a bad idea, and is standing on his reputation at this point. @SierraHD17 called him on it, and well, he just leaned into the reputation instead of providing facts. Which is fine, everyone can evaluate it for what it's worth. I would like to see some good quantitative evidence of why it's a bad idea. Failed bearings, plugged lifters, overheated pistons, locked wrist pins, SOMETHING to say it's a colossally bad idea. I'm not taking it on a track day. My towing needs are over until spring. My warranty expired years ago. The risk of running the heavier oil was low enough that it didn't warrant another $70, and 90min of time to change out. We all have our level of comfort with risk, I'm OK with this one, clearly others are not. I'm going to risk it until a slightly earlier change at 90k miles (~3,500mi away at this point). I'll report back any findings when I drain it, or if the poo hits the fan before then.

Agreed. Lots of good info here, and I'm glad I stirred some discussion. Warranty isn't much if a concern at this point. Truck has 87.5k miles on it now. Factory warranty is long gone. The aftermarket warranty the dealership threw in for free has already proven to not be worth much more than the paper it's printed on. Supposedly it's got me covered to 150k, but they've already denied a whole laundry list of items that should have been otherwise covered IMO. Couple that with a royally shitty dealership experience every time I go in, and I've resigned myself to doing my own work moving forward on this vehicle. I drove it the 250ish miles here, and will most likely leave the heavier oil in for the near future. Might change at 3k instead of 5k this time though. I'll report back on how it fares. Thanks again to all who replies, and for keeping it civil and informational. I appreciate the efforts!

Thanks for the detailed analysis. This is the info I really wanted to find, but couldn't in short order this morning or last night. That's exactly what I did. Didn't have to change it this morning, and the consensus when I left was that it was fine. Drove it 300mi this morning, pressure is a litter higher but otherwise no I'll effects that I can tell. Probably swap it out a bit earlier than normal, but will otherwise run it this way for awhile. Thanks to all who replied.

Just changed the oil in my '15 Sierra 5.3. Oil spec is 0W-20 per manual and fill cap. Realized I was using 5W-30 as I was pouring in the 8th quart. I've read of the DoD lifters having problems. How sensitive are they to pressure changes from oil viscosity? Do I need to change before a 600mi road trip tomorrow, or am I good to go? Gut tells me it's no big deal, head tells me that 0W-20 was spec'd for a reason and I shouldn't mess with that. Anyone have any thoughts?

Been considering this as well. This particular dealer was the volume sales leader in the area, so I figured they had the best chance of having the most/best techs. Perhaps I was wrong. There are 4 other GMC dealers here in the city, I'll give a different one a try and see how that goes on the next issue.

Thanks for the replies. Much better information here than I got from the Service Writer at the dealership. Honestly I've always found message boards, and online enthusiast communities to be a great source of information. I might be done with those dealership guys at this point. Took it in for 6 problems. They "fixed" 3 of them, made one worse, and completely disregarded (or gave me a crappy work around) for the last 2. Then charged the warranty company $2,800 for the few things they "fixed" (including the A/C system).

That makes better sense, but still feels like a 1/2 way fix. Thanks GM. Is the reflective surface doing anything in this process, or is it just blocking airflow? Can I stick a can of spray paint in the grill and at least get the eyesore somewhat hidden?

Wait, so you're saying that the tape there is meant to work as a structural connection to help eliminate cracking in the area? Like a gusset of sorts? Surely not?!?

Just had my AC Condensor replaced at 74k miles. Extended warranty covered it (and some other issues I was having). Can you elaborate on what this tape is. It sticks out like a sore thumb in the grill when looking at the truck from the front. What is this tape? What the hell is it doing, or supposed to be doing? This is the first I've seen of it mentioned online. I questioned the dealer about taking it off/removing it. Service Writer (who is NOT very strong in the technical details area) said "It's there for thermal absorption".......as a mechanical engineer, I can tell this answer is complete BS. He did say "You can paint it black if the appearance bothers you, but don't remove it" Here's some pics to show where/what the tape is: Thanks in advance!