EightTrackHits

Below is a thread that I posted when I fluid filmed my 2005. One thing I forgot to mention, fluid film has a penetrant in it. I've used it on "rusty" brake lines before and the next thing you know, they were leaking. I don't know if the fluid film had anything to do with it, but it happened twice. So as for myself, if I'm rustproofing with fluid film, I'll replace rusty brake lines as well. I should anyway. I think you will like the 05 regardless of what route you take. Sometimes it's just good to have an old truck.

Who knows, someone might have just painted it wanting to preserve it a little longer. Perhaps they worked at a John Deere dealer and scored some paint. Some of the stuff underneath (bump stop?) looks relatively new. What made you choose TekTon 44? I have a 2005 as well and really like it. I undercoated mine with Fluidfilm and Fluidfilm Black, but I'll have to recoat that yearly.

I had a similar issue recently and looked at quite a few things. The initial trouble was a visible leak, but I inadvertently installed a cracked head during the repair and had coolant disappearing with no visible leak found or loss of pressure during a pressure check. Coolant was leaking into the head under the valve covers and being dissipated throughout the engine as sludge through the PCV system. since the coolant was being suspended throughout the engine, the oil level was not rising in a direct correlation with the coolant loss. It would steam out the pipe on startup, but after warming up that would stop. Take a look at the underside of your oil cap and tell us if it looks discolored. The initial few posts are not related to your problem, but later the thread gets into something very similar. Hopefully your issue is one of the things txab mentioned. Good news is, I fixed it and still drive it. I will follow your thread and try and answer any questions that I can. You can read my full thread here:

I had a similar issue years ago on an S10 Blazer. Lots of dead plant debris had made it up between the condenser and radiator and I couldn't see it without taking off the condenser.

This answer is likely late by now. Here is a pic from my 05. The angle is a little different than your picture.My take is that if your picture is showing a closed valve, you are likely okay.

The old school trouble shooting techniques are good- when you know you have a problem that OBDII can’t help you with or isn’t helping you with. But old school thought on the new systems (or vise versa) can cause us to chase our tails. I thought my truck was giving me grief with regard to the charging system as I viewed the voltage, but it’s been OK. But, the OP may be having a problem.

I’ve had a very similar tick recently. It was a loose spark plug. I thought it was exhaust, but I was looking around under the hood and saw one of the plugs dancing around.

As Swathdiver said, what you are seeing is likely normal. A good description of the charging system can be found in this post from an Avalanche club. https://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php?threads/lights-flicker.52489/ The checks that Richard mentioned are worth doing if you begin to have problems, but you may be okay. Read the description of the charging system and see if it jives with your symptoms. But please let us know how it goes.

You’ve started with everything that I would start with. Check grounds of course. Check continuity of the harness from the alternator if you have a schematic and a multimeter. I think this issue is a good candidate for a dealer scan. Please follow up and let us know what you find out.

Something like this? https://m.obd2tool.com/goods-1568-GM+Tech2+GM+Scanner+-CANdi++TIS+(Works+for+GMSAABOPELSUZUKIISUZUHolden).html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2YX6mPa89gIVA_3jBx1ERQj0EAQYAiABEgLp3_D_BwE

I took the truck to Eastern New Mexico from Indiana and back over the past few days. No hint of coolant loss! Fuel consumption was good for what this thing is, oil pressure was close to 50 psi at around 2500 rpm on the interstate and about 30 psi at around 600 rpm idle after warming up. So, the repair is good this time. I had the oil changed when I got to NM, the mechanic thought something was really leaking due to the fluid film underneath. I’ll follow up if anything noteworthy happens due to this repair.

A good description of the charging system can be found in this post from an Avalanche club. https://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php?threads/lights-flicker.52489/ Another thing that could cause the flickering is the battery. Just because a battery is charged to 14vdc doesn’t necessarily mean that it can keep providing current under load if it is unhealthy. Of course this could also just be some random electrical component someplace in your truck. My 05 has the works, heated seats, electric fans, nice radio, and I haven’t noticed any flickering. If you’re issue was not intermittent, and you were closer- we could just swap batteries for a bit. If that didn’t work, you could start pulling fuses to non-essential circuits until you noticed the flickering diminish. There is the off chance that it is in one of the control modules.

Yes, the changing voltage levels that you are describing is normal, but the discernible flickering or pulsing of interior lights isn’t. Is that still happening?

By steadily pulse, you mean that the pulsing or flickering is at a fairly constant frequency, correct? Not random?

Is the battery light still on? I had an alternator problem with a Trailblazer, battery light would not go off, connections were tight. I checked continuity of all the connections to their next assembly and found that the wire carrying the pulse width modulation signal (PWM) was open. The fault was fairly close to the connector and I fixed it with a pigtail I cut from a unit in a junkyard. You mentioning pulsing also makes me wonder if it is in the PWM circuitry, but if it is, it is likely not an open PWM wire as that would cause the alternator to give max output all the time. Good luck and let us know. Another member had similar problem, but he never followed up with his fix:

A tech-2 as in one you would find at the dealer? Or are there any clones or other bi-directional scanners that work well?

That's a nice truck, and I really like that color. I'm not too familiar with those interiors, but what is making you want to swap it? My son swapped a grey 2002 S-10 interior for a black one of the same year just because he liked it better. It turned out nice. hardest of course was the dash. A different generation's interior will likely be very challenging. I definitely wish you the best with it!

Exhaust leaks can certainly sound like a tick. And you do have a broken bolt. I’m also of the opinion that if I have a leaking exhaust manifold for whatever reason, I should replace the gasket, because it may have blew out. Then your bracket would make little difference. I’ve listened to noises through a rod to try and diagnose rotational noise. Perhaps it would work for a tick. None of this is an expert opinion though.

I went through a similar situation after replacing head gaskets, only my filler neck turned orange due to Dexcool. I also had water droplets on the underside of the oil cap. The issue for me was a cracked head. Yours may be something else. What vehicle is this issue on? I posted a link to my thread; the title is a little misleading as to why it relates to your issue. I fixed my initial leak, which was a coolant leak between the head and block, but unfortunately during the process, I bought some remanufactured heads to avoid a common crack, and one of those was cracked. Good Luck!

Started a topic on rust protection here: I thought I should let the Midwest Owners Club know, since we deal with a lot of corrosion. Thanks!

Just after I typed my last, I noticed that you elected to keep it. I hope it works out.

If you like the truck, you could definitely replace the transmission yourself with a reman. I’ve done a trailblazer before without much trouble. Also did a Geo Prism outside blocked up on the ground, rolling around on a sheet of plywood. But I was in my 20s for that one. Set your limits to avoid mission creep. Rear seal to u-joints, possibly motor mounts.

The voids and channels of the frame were then sprayed, along with the surfaces of the frame. The application took about four hours including the cleaning. I used one half gallon of both formulas and I elected not to do the inside of the door panels; I’m going to get another airosol can and hit those through their drains. It may look like paint, but it’s not! This stuff will make working on the underside of the vehicle a nasty job. The second component of the protection was adding WeatherTech mud flaps (front and back) and Husky wheel well liners. The third will be keeping it clean (to include the bottom of the doors and door jams), re-treatment before salt season, and keeping the weep holes clear with a pipe cleaner. I’ll also touch it up as I notice spots that I’ve missed. I did my best to get in every void, including the passages in the hood and tail gate. Up under all four fenders as well. There are likely better methods, but something decent is better than nothing at all, and if the truck rusts away too fast, it won’t be do to me not trying to prevent it. On a related note, I’ve read that fluid film is not compatible with the waxy coating that GM used on some frames. Whatever coating I had was already worn away so I wasn’t concerned. If any one has any questions, please chime in. Thanks!

Last June I bought a 2005 Silverado in NM and brought it to the Midwest. The climate and the weather here are very hard on this vintage of truck so I thought that I would take some measures to protect it. I elected to treat it with the Fluid Film product. One reason I chose this stuff is that I’ve had good luck with it on a smaller scale. Also the prep for a good frame painting would be very labor intensive. I bought two gallon cans of the treatment, one with no color, and the other was Fluid Film Black, which has a pigment added. I also bought Fluid Film’s spray gun which came with some hoses for spraying in voids. I cleaned the underside, pulled off the inspection caps, and blew everything out with an air compressor. Also vacuumed out the channels that I could get to. When I opened up the can of treatment, I saw that it was pretty thick, so I heated it some on my wood stove. It may have worked anyway. I then shot every void I could get to on the body by inserting the hose and drawing it out while spraying. If I couldn’t get the hose in the void, I used an airisol can. I noticed that I missed getting some dirt out of the voids. So I tried again, but some of the voids now have oily dirt in them. After the voids, I sprayed the regular fluid film on all of the sheet metal under the truck. I then cleaned up, cleaned the gear, and switched to the black.

Took it to work today, 30 mile round trip. No noticeable coolant loss; vapor from exhaust was cleared up by the time I got there. Oil pressure was around 40 at idle and 45 psi on the road. Slight ticking noise was bothering me, but I’m almost certain that it’s the left exhaust flange. I’m going to park it till payday, change the oil again, and then run it for 250 miles or so and perhaps change it again. The engine may be compromised, so I may save for a reman, but who knows? It may run well for many more miles. I appreciate the people who viewed the thread and will continue to follow up if anything noteworthy happens. Also going to start a thread on rust protection soon and I hope you guys will check it out.