dcairns

Did your hack saw hit any wires for the transmission?

Can you share a link to that site? With 150k miles on my truck, I am on my third rebuild of my 4l65. Last time it was the input shaft that gave way. The idea of a 4l80 is sounding better all the time.

You will get more meaningful answers from a general Chevy/GM truck forum, as this one is specific to the SS. But, that sounds like a pretty light trailer. My travel trailer is about 4,500lbs. It is the tongue weight of your trailer that adds to the weight of your truck.

Still doing good I guess the truck is getting to the age (150k) where odds and ends need repair. Had to replace the steering gearbox recently. On my third transmission rebuild now 😕 Broke the input shaft somehow. I have been getting it repainted on the installment program. One accident at a time. just got rear ended a few months ago. Minor bumper damage to me, trashed the front end of the mini van that did not stop in time. But that got me the bumper, tailgate and right rear quarter repainted. But it is getting expensive to keep, between the gas prices here in California to the $400+ registration each year.

As I recall, you also need to have the mirror selector switch set to the middle position.

At the rate I get rear ended ( Four times in 18 years)... that would get expensive ;D How does that work? Does the bumper pivot down with the tailgate?

Yes, those super heavy duty clutches are really noisy. Went through that trying to cool my 64 Impala. You may as well bolt the fan to the pulley.

I had mine go bad around 10 years ago. I had just had the AC compressor replaced at the dealer. And the fan clutch apparently failed and took out the AC compressor by not working correctly. Somehow the engine stayed cool enough not to seem to be a problem. But the dealer fixed the compressor under warranty and for some extra, replaced the clutch. I assume it is as close to the original GM part as possible. So far it is still working good. You might look at what the local Chevy dealer sells over the counter. Sometimes it pays to pay for the GM part, sometimes you just pay too much for things

Did it need a rebuild? Also, I am curious how many miles it lasted. Personally, I am on my third rebuild at 150k miles. Last one was a bit of a fluke. I somehow broke the input shaft.

Do you feel the shaking in the steering wheel or is it the engine shaking?

Yeah, I don't do FascistBook either. But I am an original owner, still lurking around here from time to time

Lower the truck? 😀

That air dam looks cool. Did you make that as well?

I got this one, long ago. Still have it and love it. No bottom to it, so your stuff sits on the carpet, which keeps things quiet.

I could be wrong, as I am going off vague memories of how the transfer case is built, but I think the transmission output shaft is a solid piece of metal, from the transmission to the drive shaft u-joint. The front is driven by a chain drive off a sprocket on that shaft. If the front works, and the rear does not, it would mean the output shaft is broken after the chain drive sprocket. Seems an unlikely failure. Then again, I managed to break the input shaft on my transmission.. 😆

Usually anything going wrong with the transmission, it is time to write a big check. But you could try the obvious, Check the wires going to the transmission, give them a wiggle. Check fluid level Maybe a problem with the PCM? Might be worth disconnecting the battery for a while and hopefully giving the PCM a bit of a reset.

Or look into the sensor to see why it thinks it is low on oil.

Been a while, so I might not be remembering correctly, but when I added my transmission cooler, I used hard lines. I probably did this around 15 years ago, no issues.

These trucks do have an issue with the intermediate steering shaft, but that manifests as more of a kind of klunk felt in the steering wheel. The "front end is all over the place" sounds more like part of the steering/suspension. Have you checked the steering gear box? Excessive wear could make it "wander". Also, did you check the idler arm? If I recall right, mine was a little "wandery" and found the idler arm was worn.

As I recall, it is not that hard. You do need to remove the door panel, and you can find videos on that. If memory serves, there is a screw or two to remove, the rest is popping the panel off the door (wide flat blade screw driver or get a tool made for this purpose). Once loose, you need to disconnect wires and then you have the door panel free and can access to the screw that holds the power window switch panel.

Stock HP is 345. The stock transmission is marginal in the first place. If yours is still original (not been rebuilt) and with that many miles, you might need a transmission rebuild in the not too distant future. Adding 125 HP to my 03 SS with a Radix Supercharger, caused the stock transmission to wear out at 70k (installed the supercharger at 2,500 miles). That should give you some idea about what you can expect from the transmission.

These trucks look pretty great just as they are. One add on that I have really liked is the under seat storage compartment that goes under the rear seat. If you want to do some hot rodding... that is one area that is a lot of fun. I put a supercharger on my 03 SS and it really changed the character of the truck. Lots of power off the line. The down side is shortened transmission life ;D

Welcome back ? Looks like I have been here since Sept 2002.

Welcome!!!

I have not done mine (yet). Although I probably should. I did run across this video on replacing the column bearing that might be helpful. Notice the bit towards the end about the keying and clip of the plastic insert that might affect how you go about it.