2001 Silverado questions

Texas Man · May 2, 2001

Hello everyone, going to pick up my spanking new Silverado this afternoon and have some questions.

How well has the 4.8 engine been holding up? What MPG should I expect with an automatic and 3.42 gears?

How good are the trannys in these trucks? Any other trouble spots in these rigs I should know about? Other than that, I cant wait. This is my first Chevrolet truck (totally my Ford, which was great BTW), hope this one is just as good. Thanks for any replies, I'll keep you posted!!

kaspar139 · May 2, 2001

Well, I have had mine for about 5 months, and I love it! It is a 4.8L just like yours, and it has done well so far. I have a 3" body lift, 33" tires on it, Flowmaster catback exhaust, and bedliner. It looks and runs smooth.

MPG, before I lifted it, I averaged upwards of 17-19 hwy, and about 15 city (guess). I don't know much about the tranny, other than it is smooth shifting, especially in and out of 4wd.

Hope this helps.

Shaners · May 2, 2001

Welcome to Gm-trucks.com Texas Man,

Your new truck will treat you very well as far as power and mpg's. Especially in the flatter areas. The 3.42's (or airplane gears) will hold your truck at or below 2000rpm on the road most of the time, giving it long legs and good fuel milage.

My friend has the exact setup as you and in hilly Pennsylvania he has been very happy so far. He averages around 18 mpg's most of the time. He has over 40K on that truck, and it is a '99.

Enjoy your new ride!!!

Texas Man · May 2, 2001

I got it!! Picked it up 2 hours ago, fresh from the dealership with 4 miles on the clock. At 50 miles and two hours of ownership here are my first impressions:

Engine: Smooth, but it makes a whirring sound when the gas is depressed, perhaps the fan belt or just the engine itself. Another silverado I drove did the same thing, guess it's normal

Tranny: Smooth as silk

Overall the truck is great!!! Hope to get many many miles out of this one. I'm a fanatic about changing fluids at the right time so I think I should be able to. I love my Chevy truck!!!

BTW, thanks for the nice welcome.

Frank S · May 2, 2001

Congratulations Texas Man.I have been using a similar set up as a work truck for about 5 months now and it is great.I think it could use a little more low end power but with the over all power and mileage,I won't complain.

Good luck with the new acquisition and welcome aboard.

Shaners · May 3, 2001

As far as the engine fan noise, my 5.3L is the same. I asked the dealer about it because I felt there was no reason for the fan to be fully "engaged" when it is cold outside and the truck was just started. He claimed it was normal.

My truck is used as a short distance commuter, and the change engine oil light came on in the message center at approx. 2675 miles. I think the truck had about 125 hours on it according to the "hour meter".

Enjoy your new truck and keep all of us informed.

MountaineerTom · May 3, 2001

Welcome to the site Texas Man.

My '99 fan makes the same sound. I've had a few relatively minor things that the dealer has fixed on mine like wind noise from the extended cab windows (replaced windows with improved ones), sticky throttle body (replaced throttle body), a little vibration/movement felt in steering column (replaced intermediate steering shaft), and one of the most annoying to me because I hate noises and rattles, they installed leaf spring insulators on the ends of each lower leaf spring to fix a metal against metal clunking sound when hitting dips and bumps in the road. These worked really well, no noise at all now. The first two times they said they couldn't duplicate it, so the third time I took the Master Tech for a ride and he said he definately heard it and tried this from past experiances.

Sorry about rambling on. Good luck with your truck.

(Edited by MountaineerTom 99Z71 at 9:16 pm on May 2, 2001)

CapnDean · May 3, 2001

Texas Man;

You and I have the same truck. Cept mines a GMC.

Pewter Color, Extended Cab, 4.8, Auto, 3.42 gears

I just sent a Dodge back to the factory for engine ping. You will love your truck!

18-19 mpg kicks the snot out of the Dodge I had. Only real diff is that the Dodge felt more truck like and this GMC feels more Car-like.

No Probs to date - - less than 3K miles

Chevyc10 · May 3, 2001

I have an 01' with 1200 on the odometer and love it except for the "THEY ALL DO THAT" engine stutter/ tremble that it has. You would think they could do something about it. Especially if "THEY ALL DO THAT" then maybe there might just be something to IT!!!!! I had a 93 Camaro that had the worst manual transmission I had ever shifted. Popped out of 2nd, didn't like going into 1st gear, and of course, guess what, "THEY ALL DO THAT". And I did drive others and yep they did it too. I just don't like settling for excuses when paying so much for a new vehicle. Don't get me wrong I love that truck. I'm just glad that I can get in my old 1968 Chevy that runs smooth as silk.

76BBSub · May 4, 2001

C-10,

It's funny you mention that. I had a '96 350 Vortec that did that tremble thing, then I traded it for a '99 GMC 5.3 that also did it, but not as badly. I sold the '99 and have been driving my '76 Suburban every day. It idles at least as smooth as the '99, but someday when I rebuild it (95K miles currently) it'll be smooth as silk.

But my point is that I feel alot better about a little tremble in a ?k truck vs. a ?K truck.

In defense of the new trucks, my '99 GMC was hands-down the BEST truck I have ever ridden in, driven, or owned. It handled great, rode great, ran great (except tremble) and stopped like a sports car.

Jeff

Texas Man · May 9, 2001

Glad to report that after 450 miles all is going well. Got 17.3 miles on my first tank of gas, and am sure it will get better. Love the message center and automatic headlights at dark!!

Stepside Z · May 9, 2001

I have 350 miles on my new one with 1/4 of a tank of fuel left. I found the build sheet under the seat when I was cleaning it yesterday. Truck was built on 8 Jan 01. The General started the new year right because the truck seems flawless. My face is sore from smiling so much.

Shaners · May 9, 2001

Sounds like both you guys (Texas man and stepside z) are getting great fuel economy!!! I'd expect that it will get better as time goes on too!!! Pretty good for a truck this big. I wouldn't expect your best milage numbers to come until you have 3-5K miles on it.

Stepside Z · May 10, 2001

Close to 400 miles now and still on the same tank. I will fill it this weekend and let you know the numbers. I can feel the power starting to pick up already. I am going to get a K&N drop in this weekend and that should help the power.