Ask the Car People.SM


Chevy Tahoe

6469 messages,  Last post on May 14, 2012 at 8:27 AM

You are in the Chevrolet Suburban & Tahoe Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Tahoe, SUV

Messages Page 505 of 648

#5038 of 6469 Help the car novice Please! by carnovice7777

Jan 12, 2005 (8:11 pm)

I own a 1996 Chevy Tahoe that just passed 200,000 miles. Car was working fine last night. We had heavy rain overnight, I go out this morning to start, and the engine turns over, but car isn't starting. It is sometimes difficult to start after heavy rain, but always fires right up. This time, I can't get it to turn over. I had the battery tested, and the battery is fine. I had a tune-up two years ago, probably around 50,000 miles ago. I'm thinking the problem is with my plug wires, and I can change those (I think). My SUV doesn't have a distributor cap. What do I look for, and further, how do I replace the part where the distributor cap would be? Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks! I'm trying to get to 300,000 miles!

#5039 of 6469 drive train slack by sanandton

Jan 13, 2005 (5:53 am)

I have an 04 Z71 Tahoe. It has about 10k miles on it. For about the last 5k miles I have noticed what seems to be "play" in the drive train somewhere around the Tranny or back. If I am easing through a parking lot, or slowing to a stop at a light I can hear and feel a Metallic "Clanking" noise from under the vehicle as it upshifts or downshifts. I don't notice it when I accelerate under a load, such as up a hill. It feels much the same as my old 76 camaro did when the Universal joint went out (which it did often). Any ideas?

#5040 of 6469 Re: Help the car novice Please! [carnovice7777] by jlflemmons

Jan 13, 2005 (10:50 am)

Replying to: carnovice7777 (Jan 12, 2005 8:11 pm)
When you say it doesn't turn over, do you mean the starter is not spinning the engine, or the engine is cranking but no start? The first could be anything from a bad connection at the starter, bad ignition switch, or even a bad starter which would not be unlikely at 200K. If it cranks but doesn't start, could be bad plug wires, bad distributor cap and rotor(if never changed, this is VERY likely, especially with the rain issue).

#5041 of 6469 Re: Help the car novice Please! [jlflemmons] by carnovice7777

Jan 13, 2005 (12:55 pm)

Replying to: jlflemmons (Jan 13, 2005 10:50 am)
Thanks for the help! The engine is cranking, but no start. My next issue is that I have no distributor cap or rotor, it's an electronic ignition. I can change the plug wires, but that "coil" or whatever it's called is new to me. I've worked on distributor caps and rotors before, but my Tahoe is a 96, and it's electronic. Is that something I could mess with? Again, thanks for the help. I'm going to try and change the plug wires tonight.

#5042 of 6469 Re: engine knock at 70 mph [metro2jd] by pmatl

Jan 13, 2005 (3:19 pm)

Replying to: metro2jd (Jan 12, 2005 10:45 am)
Thanks for the reply. It sounds like the same thing. I didn't think it was a valve thing either because it actually goes away if I stomp on the gas. It only seems to do the noise if I'm just cruising along at 65-70 mph. I'm tired of having to blast the radio to drown it out!
 
Please let me know if you find any answers and I'll do the same - will probably take it in to the dealer when I hit 10K miles before long for an oil change and quick overview.

#5043 of 6469 Re: Help the car novice Please! [carnovice7777] by jlflemmons

Jan 13, 2005 (10:01 pm)

Replying to: carnovice7777 (Jan 13, 2005 12:55 pm)
My bad, I was thinking '95. The '96 does use a crankshaft position sensor which can cause a "no-fire" condition, but a simple scan should show if that is the case. Also, check the connections between the coils and the harness. If I recall correctly, all the coils have leads going back to the main harness and are fired by the ECM. At the miles you have, there is a good possibility of contact corrosion in the connector, even though GM does use a pretty good water-tight design on the connectors. While a position sensor can cause a no-fire when cold, they tend more towards the failure after warm. Such as driving along fat, dumb, and happy and the engine just quits like you turned the key off. One thing to try, and I know this sounds odd, but if the engine doesn't fire off, don't just release the key, but turn the ignition switch to off, count to 10, then try again. If a sensor is intermittent it may not reset until the ignition is turned off completely.
 
Good luck,
 
Jim

#5044 of 6469 Re: Front end shimmy? [ndmd] by regina1

Jan 22, 2005 (4:29 pm)

Replying to: ndmd (Jul 07, 2004 7:06 pm)
I am having a problem with the front end shimmy as well. I took it in for service...and of course they couldnt find anything wrong with it. When you hit a bump..the entire front end shakes and you lose control, especially if you are in a curve at freeway speed. When you hit the bump, the front end shakes and the front end moves from left to right. I had the same problem with my ford explorer. Ford had a recall to replace the front end suspension. So I'm curious to know if it's the drive train or front end suspension? Does anybody know? How can I get the dealership to see my problem when I take it back in?

#5045 of 6469 Bad Parking Brake by regina1

Jan 22, 2005 (4:37 pm)

I bought a used 2001 Tahoe about 8months ago. The parking brake doesn't work at all. We took it in and they said thats not part of the warranty. The brake shoes are fine but the linkage to the parking brake is broke. I also have problems with my front end shaking and losing control after I hit a bump. The other problem I have is the seatbelt. You cant move about after you're strapped in. The seatbelt will get tighter and tighter, forcing you to take it off to lean forward to pick something up. I've never had a vehicle do that. Are there any recalls out there that I may need to be aware of?

#5046 of 6469 Re: Bad Parking Brake [regina1] by lobsenza

Jan 22, 2005 (10:39 pm)

Replying to: regina1 (Jan 22, 2005 4:37 pm)
The parking brake is an issue. Generally you replace the shoes and adjust it and you are fine for 10k-15k.
 
The seatbelt is designed to lock if pulled all the way out. The purpose is to make it easier to put in a car seat.

#5047 of 6469 Re: Steering Clunk [interceptor07] by shadetree5

Jan 26, 2005 (8:40 am)

Replying to: interceptor07 (Dec 30, 2004 7:43 pm)
I have a 1999 tahoe that periodically has a weird thing happen when turning. The steering seems to break loose for a second through turns. This causes you to react by tunrning the wheel and then all is well again. It is a little scary. I took it to a good front end shop and they thought that there was a recall on the steering column sensor - but the dealer denied it.
 
Any ideas? Thanks

Messages Page 505 of 648

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement