Looooong First Post

[SNAPPY]

DISCLAIMER: This is my first post here so please excuse the length and/or ignorance that follows. I am kinda long winded but will try to keep it short in the future. For now though, here it goes.


Well after years and years of longing to own a 2DR I finally found the one. It's a red '95 Z71 with 211,XXX miles. I have looked long and hard for a deal like this and finally found it. Every one of these things I have found was either way overpriced or just not well taken care of. This one was priced well below what I have looked at in the past and is in better condition, inside and out, than 95% of the ones I had previously looked at. It has power windows/locks/mirrors and everything works. There are(were) some very minor things that needed some attention but were fixed very easily. One was that the A/C control panel did not illuminate when the lights were turned on. Pulled the dash and found that there are 4 bulbs behind the panel and they were all bad! 5 minutes and that was fixed. The A/C did not blow cold so I pulled a vacuum on the system and put one can of freon in it and found the front seal was leaking. Bought a reman compressor from Napa and installed it after work before I went home on Friday night. After I got everything back together and pulled a vacuum on the system for about 30 minutes and charged it up. As soon as I hit the A/C button it let out a squeal. It was locked up! And before anyone asks, yes I put oil in it. The thing didn't make one revolution. So Saturday I had to go warranty it out and do it all over again. It was much easier the second time around.LOL


Now for the few (and hopefully minor) issues that I have to fix. It has a very small engine oil leak that appears to be coming from the oil filter header. Also the transfer case seems to have a small leak as well. The engine oil leak is so minor that it has yet to put a drop in the driveway but it is leaking ever so slightly because it always has a fresh drop or two just waiting to fall. The transfer case however, leaves several drops every night. It is dripping from the skid plate but it appears to be leaking on the right side where the two cases come together. I tried to pressure wash the entire undercarriage the other day but it's nearly impossible to get up under there to every nook and cranny that the oil and dirt seem to have no problem finding. Also the driveline has a "clunk" more than likely fixable by greasing the transfer case output shaft(Yeah I am new here but I do know forum etiquette. I did my search.) and replacing the u-joints. My last concern is that I rarely haul my boat, and only owning this truck for a week, I went to pull it out of the water for the winter and the truck would not pull the thing up the ramp. For some reason it would not rev over 1800 RPM's. I had to put it in 4WD to pull it out. Once on level ground it pulled just fine. The boat and trailer weight about 5,000# but the truck should be able to pull that up a ramp with no issue at all. Later on I tried to power brake to see if it would do the same thing and it did. The engine would not go over 1800 RPM's. It's not like the trans is slipping because the engine would have to actually rev up for that to happen so I'm at a loss as to what the problem is. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanx and sorry for the long post. It's my first so I figured I'd do it right. Sorry.

 

[SNAPPY]

Really?!?!?! Nobody has anything to contribute?!?!?! Nothin'? HUH.

 

[treepete]

Welcome to the forum. you first post has excellent questions, is well phrased and researched.
Oil leak, until you can clean it up good to see where the leak is originating, its hard to say.
your clunk sound is probably what you think, slip yolk needs a lube etc.
the towing thing.. hmmm. the torque converter/rev limiting effect is weird. was it in 'auto-4wd' when it did this or 2wd.
someone will know, just give it some time.. the repeatability on flat ground with no load using the brake and the torque converter/cant pull the trailer out of the water..Makes me wsh I knew more about the transmissions.. sorry I couldnt help more.

but welcome aboard. post up some pics when you have time.

 

[SNAPPY]

First off, thanks for the response. I was starting to wonder. As far as the oil leaks on the engine I plan on trying to use some type of degreaser along with my pressure washer to clean up the engine compartment and motor so I can pinpoint exactly where the engine oil leak(s) are coming from but suspect it's at the oil filter base. We'll see. The transmission/transfer case leak should be a bit easier to track down after I clean it up a bit more as well. Leaks can usually be sealed up with a bit of time and knowledge but my main concern as far as mechanical issues is the RPM thing. Any input on this would be great. Again, thanks for the response and I look forward to getting to know the ins and outs of my new toy. So far I have new u-joints to install and seeing as I'm getting about 12-13 MPG I plan on putting plugs, wires, cap and rotor on it. Right after I sea-foam the sh*t out it.

 

[95TwinTT]

18oo rpm's sounds about right for a stock, tired 95 Tahoe. When you mention putting it in 4 wheel drive to pull the boat out, did you mean, 4 wheel drive Low?

If that is the case, you multiplied the power. The 95's left the factory as "dogs". The vortech power increase came in 1996.

Back to the stall speed of the torque converter, the 1800 very common for stock. What is supposed to happen, is the vehicle is supposed to begin picking up speed when you have the pedal to the metal. When you stand on the brakes and floor it, you have the same situation. If you put your truck in low range, you will not be able to hold it with the brakes.

Just a guess, but my first thought is that you were up against the limit for the tired drive train. The truck is 6,000 pounds and the boat was 5,000. How steep was the ramp?

Oil leaks near the oil filter can also come from the rear of the intake manifold but more often valve cover.

If your talking about sea foam in the fuel, I would hold off on that until you have a better picture of what's going on. Fuel injection does not suffer from the same problems the carb's did as far as varnish goes. Unless sea foam now makes a engine cleaner for the outside. I only use it in motorcycles that sit for long periods of time.

.

 

[SNAPPY]

What is it exactly that keeps the RPM's at/below 1800? In my theory(I have no actual knowledge:lol with the throttle depressed and with an automatic trasmission, the engine should rev and the torque converter should slip between the pump and the turbine. Now I would assume that this "slippage" would be regulated somehow whether it was mechanically via the transmission clutch packs/ bands etc. or electronically via the ECM but even with this taken into consideration it does not make sense for it to not climb over 1800 RPM's because the max torque on the engine is not achieved until about 2400 RPM's. This thing's supposed to have 310 lbs/ft of torque but my '98 Wrangler is onlysupposed to have 190lbs/ft and it will yank the boat out with little to no problem in 2WD or 4WH-high(no reduction). I think, and again I have nothing but common reasoning skills here, that for some reason I'm not even getting to the RPM that would allow the engine to produce max torque. Am I missing something here?

OH!!! And what do you mean tired 95 drivetrain?!?!? That's my truck you're talkin about there! :skep:

 

[95TwinTT]

The torque converter is the part of the transmission that slips. The trans itself does not slip, or at least not on purpose. There is some give in the clutch disc's but that is only for a few seconds as the shift is completed.

The TC also has a locking device that engages to eliminate the TC slippage. That does not happen until the vehicle is up to 35 mph or so.

The TC is like two fans facing each other, one blowing transmission fluid at the other. The slant on the blades and the distance between them establishes the "stall speed". Of course these are enclosed inside a housing and is located in front of the transmission, in the area a clutch in a manual would be located.

I have for example a 3200 rpm stall speed TC in my Hoe. I changed to the higher stall speed to get into the power range of the turbo's. The stock 1800 rpm's were not high enough for my application.

The TC most often gets everything moving without having to go all the way to it's stall limit. As the vehicle increases in speed, the trans makes selections to the different gear ratio's to attain the desired speed, automatically, to keep us from having to shift manually.

I'm not bad mouthing your Hoe, I love 95's, but having bought mine new, it was the biggest disappointment of my life, when I first put the pedal to the medal. What a dog! The 89 I traded in, would run circles around the 95.

As soon as it was out of warrantee, I started souping it up to be able to keep up with everything else I own.

I can only guess how much effeciency has been lost in 211,000 miles. The compression is probably down a little, etc. Nothing personal, just pointing out reality.

 

[SNAPPY]

I'm just jackin' with ya! I know it's not new but it should be able to pull my boat up a ramp regardless. Now that you mention it though I might do a compression check on it tomorrow. Yeah I am in parts sales now but I was an ASE certified mechanic for 10 years. Class 7 and 8 trucks though. So I'm very mechanically inclined but the specific aplication is where I'm lost. In most scenarios in life you can use common sense and logic to figure our how things work and how to fix them but in the auto industry you take engineers and give them solid state electronics and they can present us with some pretty tough issues that only experience and knowledge can get us out of.

 

[95TwinTT]

Just to make sure you know, the 4L60e was NOT GM’s finest achievement. The ¾ clutch pack is not heavy enough to be reliable. As long as they do not see full power shifts very often they can last, but I would expect to have to attend to that tranny if you will be pulling a 5,000 pound boat.

So did you have to shift into low range to get the boat out? Is it one of those steep ramps that you have to hold the brake until you give her gas?

What does the Jeep weigh. I would guess it is a lot lighter than the Tahoe.

 

[treepete]

fun fact: Most of 95TwinTT's cars are white, with black trimming.

Just throwin that out there.

 

[SNAPPY]

LOL Yeah the Jeep weighs about 1/2 what the Tahoe does. But it's tow capacity is less than 1/3 of what the Tahoe is as well. I completely understand what your saying about the weight difference but dag-um. Yeah it's a pretty steep ramp. And yeah it's got to go into 4 low to get the boat up and out.

 

[treepete]

you can solve this with a smaller boat.



Im just here for comedic relief, mostly.


annnnndd.. I got nuthin'.

 

[95TwinTT]

fun fact: Most of 95TwinTT's cars are white, with black trimming.

Just throwin that out there.

Correction........... ALL of the vehicles are white with black including my trucks. lol

 

[treepete]

dude.

I know you just didnt bust out TWO MORE vehicles on us... holy crap, Del.

Are those for the Lighting gigs you do/did?

Snappy, next time you have the boat stuck on the ramp, just call Mr. Peterbuilt over here for a quick tow.

 

[95TwinTT]

dude.

I know you just didnt bust out TWO MORE vehicles on us... holy crap, Del.

Are those for the Lighting gigs you do/did?

Snappy, next time you have the boat stuck on the ramp, just call Mr. Peterbuilt over here for a quick tow.

Ah, yea, I have a Pete and two 1Ton chevs left over from the Film/Video business. The Pete was a tractor pulling a 45’ drop deck production trailer and one Chev had a 1,000 Amp silent generator on it’s back and the other 1 Ton hauled 12,000 watt HMI lights and all of their accessories.

The Pete I just put a 16’ body on after the trailers were gone. It only has 6,000 miles on it. Starting out as a tractor, now it is like a sports car with just the 16’ Delta body. It has TV cameras for a rear view mirror. One below the rear license and the other at the top of the box. It has a 13 speed Fuller trans and a Jake brake. The 13’s can be driven as a five speed, if you don’t use the “road rangerâ€. It was getting 12 miles per gallon, fully loaded with the 45’ trailer at 70 miles per hour all day. I’m sure it will do 14 mile per gallon the way it is rigged now.

This is the turbo diesel 1 Ton, the other one looks the same except it is 4 wheel drive and it’s 454 gas. I just use them for moving personal stuff around. The one ton’s both are low mileage too. One has 25,000 miles and the other is 18,000 miles. They have always been parked inside until this year. This will be the first winter, the trucks see snow.

I can’t get my money out of the trucks, so I just hang onto them. They all have lift gates, so they come in handy. I have always bought white trucks for the fleet, because they don’t show dirt as easy as the other colors. Lol I would have put a white body on the Pete, except the Emron white is “ford whiteâ€, not chevy white. The delta body’s use chevy white. Black was the second choice. All the delta body’s are lined with E channel for tying things down. The pete also has D rings recessed in the floor for tying cars down. I like having them around. :yesnod:

 

[SNAPPY]

If you need parts for that Pete hit me up. Anyway....back to my tired old POS.:fu:

I changed both rear driveshaft u-joints and resealed the oil filter header adapter. I also seafoamed it as well as used some deep creep. Ran a compression check on all 8 cylinders as well as a cylinder leak down. Everthing seems to be pretty good. Then I changed plugs, wires, cap, rotor, PCV valve, air filter, fuel filter and oil and oil filter. Not that it was bad before but it's much better now. Can even power brake it! A few thing that I noticed that probably made a huge difference were the fuel filter had a date printed on it of 03-01! Yeah waaaay past due on that one. The connector on the coil where the boot plugs onto it was very, very, very corroded. So much so I can't even see how the cap was even getting any juice. I cleaned the crap out of the engine and undercarraige so now all I need to fix is the tranny/transfer case leak.