Soon to be part of the family

jerseyTahoe · February 12, 2003

Hello all. I am new to the Forum. I am getting a 98 or 99 Tahoe within the next month. I just want to introduce my self and also ask a few questions.

My name is Brandon and I am from Northern NJ. 23 Years old. I am an Engineer Tech.

My questions to you are.

What should I look for when picking the truck. Any major red flags I should look for?

I want to get a Brush guard and tail light guards. What is a good brand?

What brand Cat back system would you recomend? All I know of is Flowmaster. Also what kind of prices am I looking at?

And Finaly what are some good Fog Lights? I love the Piaa 520 Ion's but they are mad expensive. Any good knock off's out there?

Thanks in advance.

Later,

Brandon

Shaners · February 12, 2003

Welcome to the forum.

I don't know of any "red flags" on the Tahoe. My buddy has 60K on his '99 and it's been a good truck for him.

If you aren't trading, I would try to buy a 1-owner truck and purchase it from a private individual. It would be cheaper than a dealer truck, and it is always good to look the owner in his eye and ask him about the vehicle.

americanmuscleman · February 12, 2003

My advice if your buying one is to make sure the transmission has been serviced like it should be (big thing), oil changed on time, and things like that.

Also, look out for the famous driveline "clunk". Its really common on 96+ chevy trucks. I don't know what the exact problem is, but two friends of mine, one with a 96' 2dr Tahoe and another with a 99' 2dr Tahoe, have that driveline clunk. Its usually after the truck has slowed to a stop, and then accelerates again. It feels like there is a little slack in the drivetrain when it first takes off.

Also check the door pins. Look to see if the doors are hanging a little low on the hinges, or if they are hard to open. Usually that indicates they need to be replaced. You can do this yourself pretty easy (helps to have a friend to hold the door), but the doors can be hard to open if the pins are worn out. I've replaced 2 sets of door pins on 2 95' Tahoe's I've had. Its about $45 in parts from the dealer per door. You can buy the parts a whole cheaper through GMpartsdirect.com if you need them.

The factory rear shocks seem to wear out fast on tahoes that don't have the bilstein shocks. I had a 95' 4dr tahoe that the stock rear shocks felt gone at 50k. I replaced all the shocks with Bilstein HD's, and they felt awesome when I sold the truck at 98k.

Otherwise these are great trucks!

Just so you know, here's how you can tell the difference between each year:

95's have the TBI 350 (200hp/310tq) (First year for the four door)

96's have the Vortec 350 (250hp/335tq?) and Day time running lights (DRL) (Tachometer shows the redline)

97's have the Vortec 350 (255hp/335tq) and got dual airbags and DRL (Tachometer doesn't have a redline shown)

98's basically the same as 97's You could get the "Limited" package (only available in 2WD) that included two-tone leather, solid black paint and bumpers, special wheels and tires, and white needled gauges.

99's basically the same as 98's and you could get a Z71 package on the 99's (Grill guard, shocks, alcoa wheels, tail light guards, two tone leather, etc..)

americanmuscleman · February 12, 2003

The 50-series flowmasters sound awesome on Vortec 350's. I think 40-series don't sound very good at idle on Vortecs. Just my opinion.

If your looking for a wrap-around grill guard, look for one that the headlight covers have steel bars on them to bolt under your hood, or one that will bolt to your front bumper out by the headlights. Otherwise the part of your grill guard that wraps around the headlights can vibrate pretty bad while your driving (it makes the headlight beams look like their shaking). Thats what my grill guard does, and it really bugs me. I have a 3pc Smittybuilt Outland unit. Love the way it looks, but the construction of it, and the fact that the headlight guards shake on the highway really bug me.

If I was to put a grill guard on again, I would put on a Smittybuilt black powdercoated grill guard without the headlight protectors. I think they look really awesome on 95'-99' trucks.

Another thing I will mention, Borla makes an awesome cat-back exhaust for 95'-99' Tahoes. Its expensive, but it sounds perfect on these trucks, is made of T314 Stainless steel and will last as long as you have that truck. I would splurge and buy the Borla cat-back if I did my exhaust again.

City_Slicker · February 12, 2003

Welcome to the forum.

I dont have a Tahoe but have friends that love them without a lick of trouble.

jerseyTahoe · February 12, 2003

Thanks for all the info. This is the best site I have found so far.

99silveradoz71 · February 13, 2003

I'd agree with the comments about the guard, I skipped the headlight covers on mine and like the looks of it. I'd check about the tailight covers and be sure that you can replace bulbs easily if needed. Hope you find a nice ride for yourself.

americanmuscleman · February 13, 2003

99silveradoz71, your grill guard is exactly what I'm talking about. I would buy one of those without the light guards if I did it again.

jerseyTahoe · February 13, 2003

Thanks for all the input guys. But I love the look of the head light guards. That is the whole purpose of me getting it. Other wise I would get the Safari bar. That is a good Idea about the suport bar at the ends of the guard. I could easily make something that would work for that. I never would have thought that the vibration is worse at speed. Well thanks again. Also if you all have pics of Tahoe's where can I find them? I did a quick serch in the picture post thing but they were all about other trucks.

Later,

Brandon