Doublebase

If you have a mighty vac and you don’t want to bother with dropping the pan, you can quickly exchange three quarts out of the dipstick tube. Unless it’s the 8-speed, think that’s sealed. As for the transfer case and diffs?? Absolute piece of cake. DEX Vl for the transfer case and although the rear diff calls for 75W85, you’ll have no problem putting the 75W90 the front differential calls for, into the rear. In fact I think you’d find that a lot of independent shops would do the same. Been using 75W90 for all my doffs that call for 75W85 since 2013 (back when I owned a Lexus LS460). Never anything even close to an issue, in fact some prefer the ever so slightly heavier fluid. But this^^^entire job should take the average guy less than an hour to complete and run you $80 bucks in fluid (on the high side). That’s if you do it yourself. An independent shop might charge you $250

That's a shame that you have to go through that, hopefully it was under warranty for you. I started having some random misfire issues when I owned mine, but the event seemed to really happen mostly when under load going up a hill. I couldn't really ever figure out what it was...it wasn't the plug or coil, I figured it was the injector...and when I drove with a scan tool hooked up to it watching the data display, it did appear as if all the cylinders would have random misfire events, and it also appeared that fuel trim levels were in pretty severe negative range for the first ten miles of driving or so. (meaning fuel needed to be taken away). I have since read on this site that random misfires are common on these trucks (probably I'm guessing from the injectors) and honestly most probably don't even notice it happening. So I think you're right, there is an issue with their injectors - and I think it'll be a cold day in hell before GM does something about it.

I'd keep an eye on that, that shouldn't have sparked unless it was a loose connection. That's generally a fool proof connection. Big wire, low resistance...a few people have complained of a spark at the starter. Was the connection loose?

I mean, there's probably a million "upper engine/carbon cleaners" available on the market right now...CRC, BG, Seafoam, Amsoil. You can walk into any parts store and get something, so no, I wouldn't pay for an upper engine clean/ring soak. especially a ring soak - a proper soak is an overnight thing - I can guarantee that isn't part of the equation from a repair shop. And $480 does seem a little steep for plugs and wires....figure $150-$200 for plugs and wires and 1-2 hours labor at 120 an hour. Alright, I guess some places could hit you for $440, tops, so maybe it's not that high, but I'd shop around. $350 sounds more reaasonable.

Yes, very common I'd say. It feels like sort of a "fish biting" sensation...when a fish is biting your bait and you feel the rod. That's the way it felt for me, others have said the same on this forum. I think the direct injection perhaps has a little low speed pre ignition going on when the engine isn't warned up, and it goes away when it is.

I had an unexplained misfire event in my 2018 at around 45,000 miles....think it was cylinder five. Flashing check engine light - lasted maybe 10 seconds and then it went out. Pulled plugs, swapped coils, ran it driving home with a scanner hooked up. Light never did come back on, but I’ll tell yeah, that engine had random misfires as I watched live stream data. It also was minus 20 on fuel trim at some points. For five thousand miles later the check engine light didn’t return, but I could feel either a misfire under load going up hills or it was torque converter shutter. Pulled pan, changed filter in tranny....no metal was found, everything looked good. I like things to run right, it bothers me when they don’t...it bothers me when someone is in my truck and says...what’s that? Is that a misfire? I can feel that. Your truck is almost brand new, that shouldn’t be happening. Dealer was no help. Ended up selling it with 52,000 absolutely babied and well cared for miles. I’m talking BABIED...80% highway miles at 68 mph. Never towed, hauled, original rims, easy easy life. Every fluid meticulously changed and maintained. Dealer bought it from me for $24,500.

And Vl stands for viscosity improvers? If so, how do those effect oil (negatively I should say)? Regarding tranny service - Looks like you’ve exchanged the fluid several times (outside of the pan drop the first time). Inline filter? Now, if you install an inline filter, will you be doing that so you won’t have to remove the pan and change the filter in the future? Or are you doing that for additional filtering? I always consider ATF “clean”...at least clean compared to other fluids on the car. I don’t think I’ve even really seen much of anything in a transmission filter. Yet I do think it’s important to change them every 50k or so. Then again I know people that have never changed them without issue (but that’s just not my style). My Avalon has 51,000 miles on it an I performed three drain and fills. Fluid was DARK. That’s the thing with Toyota WS fluid, it turns dark real fast after the factory fill. I really need to do a pan drop and filter - it’s just that I hate to do something like that on my back - usually I have access to a lift, but not due to the quarantine/virus right now. I may end up crawling under there anyway...not real happy with the results of three drain and fills. Well keep motoring, Grumpy...weather is warm, roads are clear of salt. Enjoy your summer!

Grumpy, miss you buddy. Ever since I sold the truck and bought the Toyota Avalon internet automotive land hasn’t been the same. The Toyota forums are such a BORE. Nothing happens. Especially in the Avalon forum. Wow. Great cars and they don’t really have “problems” or people that seem to want to write about the cars. So you went to 10w30 for a try? Why? You weren’t using any oil between changes on the 5w30. Have you ever done a transmission service on pepper?

Alright, so I ended up buying a vehicle (please don’t make fun of me too much), I ended up buying a 2016 loaded Toyota Avalon. I didn’t really waaant an Avalon, I had no intentions of really buying it when I went to test drive it. BUT when I drove it?? Oh my god! Blown away. Smooth, quiet, huge inside, I could really stretch out. The thing has some serious power, yet I’ve averaged 29.6 mpg since I’ve bought it (120 miles of spirited driving with the AC on). Bought it off a little old lady. Thing is mint. 50,000 miles, garaged, new tires and brakes. Not a single scratch. I asked her about maintenance - she said she got the oil changed ever three months - I was like, every three months?? She said, yeah of course. Sold. She had me then. Retired teacher...she’s moving to N. Carolina and can’t bring the thing with her. She was asking $15,000 (which was probably $4,000 under what others are going for loaded). I tried to talk her down a little bit...she basically put me over he knee and spanked me...”the last guy tried offering me $14,500, he’s not here and the car is, so if you want it it’s $15,000. I paid $36,000 for it three years ago”. I stood there like...crap, she’s got me. I usually will never pay full price on a private sale, but she had me dead to rights. I did it. The lady was SHARP as a tack. So quick witted. Definitely would have hated to have her as a teacher. She made me drive to the bank with her and have the money wired to her account. She wouldn’t take a certified bank check because she said that I could cancel it within 24 hours and she’d be out of the money. Wow. So we sat in that bank and she signed the title over to me right there when the money was wired (she wouldn’t even sign It until she got confirmation the money had gone through). Then she says, what’s you address? I left the spare key at my house and I’ll have to mail it. I hope she mails that damn key. Haha. Anyway, love this car. But now I’m out of a truck. Probably going to buy a truck for my son (his first car/truck). That way I can use it, but it’ll be a $2,000 dollar crap box. Really going to miss this place. I joined the Avalon forum...it’s a total ghost town. Crickets. Nothing. No one writes there...there’s nothing to write about. The cars really don’t break down and I think the owners are so old, they don’t even drive the damn cars. So I might stop in here from time to time just to write about cars (I always like doing that.).

I understand what you’re saying, but I think you’re missing the mark in some very big areas with it. Lets take Toyota and Honda, for example. I believe both companies make a fair amount of their vehicles in the US and employ Americans to do it. I’d also add that both companies - or any foreign car company - employs hundreds of thousands of Americans in their factories, dealerships...and also are a HUGE repair income for independent garage owners. My own brother-in-law works for a Honda dealership. He’s the service manager. He worked his way up the ladder, moving around from Honda dealer to Honda dealer. He’s able to provide for his family because of Honda cars. He makes $150,000 a year as the service manager and they gave him a Honda Pilot for a demo. It’s really not WHERE these car companies come from, it’s who they employ and how it effects the economy and Americans. And these companies help our people. That’s what this country is about, knowing how and when to let foreign companies in to help our people. I look at it like, America actually takes good advantage of these countries/companies, for its own benefit. That’s what free trade is. No country has done that better than the US. I’m proud of that.

What was your issues with the Tundra? I haven’t seen or heard anything bad about them except for the rusted frame that they fix. Have a friend that owns a shop, says he sees these things coming in with 300,000 miles...just change the oil, tires and brakes, that’s about it. I do like the Silverado though. I’ll never get that type of fuel economy out of a full sized V8 truck again. Hell, I won’t get that fuel economy out of 90% of the cars and SUV’s I’m looking at. I averaged 24 mpg over the LIFE of my truck. Not on a single trip, but the entire time I owned it! 53,000 miles of driving. Let’s say I needed to do lifters and a torque converter at 120,000 miles?? The cost of those repairs still wouldn’t exceed the money I saved on fuel compared to other trucks.

Good to know, but I’m actually going to “downsize” and when I say that, I mean in price. I can get a GS for around $14,000 used right now with 100,000 miles, 2013-2014. I trust the brand enough where I don’t worry about the mileage being too high at that point. Drive one yesterday...114,000 miles. I swear to god it felt like a brand new car. So tight, so quiet, so responsive. Interior was mint without a single sign of wear. But I bet the Tesla is awesome. You can’t beat that electric motor power and torque.

Honestly, I haven’t bought anything yet, been using my wife’s Mercedes ML350 for the past four days (that won’t last much longer). I might buy a used Tundra or leave the truck world all together and buy a Lexus GS350. I owned a Lexus LS460 before the Silverado.

It’s been real, folks. Sold my 2018 Silverado Monday...saying goodbye to this great community. Managed to put 53,000 miles on the truck in two years. Loved that truck! Was a little concerned about a few things that started popping up (mostly the shutter/misfire I was getting on the highway while going up hills). Other than that, great ride. Going to miss this place. Really enjoyed Grumpy Bear’s build thread, among other things. Happy trails.

This is pretty cool, nice work!

I probably missed it, but how many miles do you have? I still don't think it's a vacuum leak, a vacuum leak would cause fuel trims to go positive, not negative. And you'd feel the vacuum leak at idle, not so much when driving or shifting gears/under light acceleration, because the throttle plate opens up and the air pressure (outside/inside intake manifold equalizes, causing vacuum leaks to disappear). So I don't think it's that, although if you have a catch can you can always check your hoses and make sure. And if it was your high pressure fuel pump you'd have a code for it, plus those aren't really common problems with these trucks...torque converters are. Transmissions are. Fuel injectors are. I think your problem is in one of those three areas. And I'm in the same boat. Just a little shutter under light acceleration going up a hill on the highway. No codes (except one for five seconds, five months ago misfire cylinder 5). Hooked up a scan tool and when the "event" does happen, cylinder 5 seems to act up. It could be dirty valve, fuel injector (plug looked great, wire looked great). Only 50,000 miles. Honestly it feels more like a torque converter. Pulled pan, everything looked fine. I'll keep driving it until a hard code comes on...dealer already said they'd charge me a diagnostic fee to even look at it...I'm an ASE master certified tech, I'm not sure they'll find the problem.

Well, it has what? 140,000 miles on it? Doesn’t look all that bad, but the gap maybe looks a little big (which will happen with mileage). Definitely worth changing - I’d say 70% of misfires are going to be something simple like plugs. Got to say, I too had a misfire with the flashing check engine light. Lasted about 10 seconds, never came back but I do feel a misfire once in a while when going up big hills on the highway at lower speeds. Cylinder 5 misfire. Only 45,000 miles when it happened. Plugs looked great.

To be totally honest with you, I think your frame will last at least 15 years even if it does get totally covered in rust. As ugly as these chevy frames end up looking, I've only seen one that needed replacement (rusted through with a hole in it). Toyota's on the other hand, yeah I have seen quite a few totally destroyed. I just keep up with my frame because I can't stand the sight of frame rust...drives me nuts. I imagine at some point I'll probably tire of keeping up with it, but I figure until then I'm adding years of life to the frame/truck by doing it.

Absolutely, yes. 18’s are not immune...I have an 18, I have to undercoat it twice a year to keep it from rusting.

It appears that way. It’s obviously a buyer’s market right now, BUT that changes dramatically when you have to trade something in. Because in a sense you are now not really the “buyer”, you’re also now the seller. And they will take full advantage of that.

I don’t know much about these particular trucks, but here’s one near me. Brand new out the door. https://www.springfieldbuickgmc.com/VehicleDetails/new-2019-GMC-Sierra_1500-Crew_Cab_4WD_AT4_Rocky_Ridge_Alpine%2FK2-North_Springfield-VT/3539253033

42k after your trade? That truck is going for 56k out the door with rebates in my area. And that was before all this madness hit. I’d shop around.

How so? Do your research on the vehicle you are purchasing...what people are actually paying for that vehicle right now. Rebates, out the door price. That’s the “other end”. Dealers will often give you “more” in trade to trick you into thinking you got a good deal, then they simply won’t give you the money off on the other end. Happens every single day. Everyday.

If a dealer is offering you 30k, do your homework, they are screwing you on the other end.

Breaking -- From the CDC -- Use of Amsoil products (especially Signature Series), creates Coronavirus antibodies. The world is saved. One Amsoil oil change will spread antibodies to any person within 15 feet of your vehicle. And I'm hearing that Amsoil is creating a new, even better formula called Amsoil Delta Force 9. This oil will provide protection within 5 miles of your home, without even opening the bottle. I'll post more information as I get it, but until then, stay safe, pay attention to your TBN and for the love of god, buy the best oil you can afford.