Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra's w 8100/Allison - READ ONLY

1174 messages, Last post on Jun 03, 2002 at 4:53 PM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Chevrolet Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 1500, GMC Sierra 2500, GMC Sierra 3500, Truck

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#980 of 1174 GMC 2500HD 2001 Basic Owner Questions by lauriet1 Dec 12, 2001 (3:24 pm)
I've decided to purchase a GMC 2500HD Sierra. It's a used model with 14K miles. Clean Title, etc from Car Fax. Looks like it was a demo - Hitch has never seen a receiver. 2500HD SLE 8.1 with Alli 5 Auto OD Tranny, 4.10, 4WD, Tow package, XCab, 8Ft Bed. I plan to drive it to work 16 miles one way 5 days per week. I will be pulling a two horse trailer (approx 3,700 lbs loaded) and a slide in camper (Low profile, light weight crank up style -1500 - 1700 lbs there). I will only be towing about 15 - 20 times per year during the summer months (May through October), distances of 22 to 80 miles depending on destination. I know this is alot of truck for these requirements, but I plan to keep it for awhile - at least until it's paid for :>)...and my longterm goal is to go with a gooseneck trailer in about 3-4 years. I see alot of stuff out there on this truck, but short of sifting through thousands of posts I would like to ask the readers about a couple of things. What's the weird metal thing that sticks out from between the seat bottom and back of the captains chair that looks like it poked out of the material by mistake? Is it normal? Other than the cold knock and the oil consumption are there any other things I should be on the lookout for based on my driving habits? I'd like to replace the tires, any recommendations? This will be the first vehicle I've owned which is older than a 1992. I've had an 83 Suburban and 88 Suburban and a little car-1992 Eagle Summit. I'm a bit confused about the synthetic oils / rear axle lubricants and pink antifreeze. I know I can read about these things in the owners manual, however the one in the truck is written in French (truck was built in Canada). The dealer said he would get me an english owners manual, but I don't know how quickly that will arrive - I've heard it takes about 3 months to get one. Can anyone provide basic information on maintainence of the lubricants? Any information you provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read this over. Looking forward to your responses!
#981 of 1174 ??? by mgdvhman Dec 12, 2001 (4:11 pm)
Are you talking about the track the seat slides on? 255/85/16's look good on these trucks.. Good luck - Tim
#982 of 1174 what is the best by kanton1 Dec 12, 2001 (4:46 pm)
gear to drive the allison tranny in for in-town, day to day driving? I am used to the 4 speed autos where 3rd gear has lockup and is used for stop and go driving at speeds less than highway. on the new allison there is no lockup, and 3rd seems to hold the engine at higher rpms. What have you guys that have the allison been doing? any comments and suggestions would be appreciated, thanks kyle
#983 of 1174 lauriet1 by kg11 Dec 12, 2001 (5:07 pm)
Laurie the metal thing in the passenger seat is a child seat anchor.Other problems to watch for,Allison tranny shift problems(I had my trans replaced twice under warranty)only in the earliest few units.If carfax was clean and you have'nt got stuck in a particular gear you should'nt worry.If you're gonna keep it a long time go with synthetics.O yeah,I think all of these trucks were built in Pontiac,MI
#984 of 1174 kanton1 by kg11 Dec 12, 2001 (5:13 pm)
You have 2 choices D and 3.As you said,3 keeps the rpm's up.It uses more fuel but wont hurt anything(I don't think).But personaly I just put it in drive.
#985 of 1174 Laurie by eric2001 Dec 12, 2001 (5:19 pm)
Are you still in the running for the truck? Not sure on the metal piece on the seatbacks? The two problematic issues you already noted. I will be driving it in next week, in case you wanted to look. -Eric
#986 of 1174 kg11 is right by 4x4man Dec 13, 2001 (5:38 am)
The metal brackets in the pass seat bottom are child seat anchors. Give the truck good clean gas and good oil and it wil treat you well. Other than the cold start knock that my 8.1L used to have and a couple of rattles that I have fixed or in the process of fixing, this truck is flawless and is definitely a cowboy caddy!!! Bob
#987 of 1174 Eric2001 by lauriet1 Dec 13, 2001 (12:58 pm)
The beast is mine! Just waiting for the check to arrive. I sure will take a look at yours next week. Maybe we can do a side by side comparison :>)
#988 of 1174 Back At Ya from Laurie by lauriet1 Dec 13, 2001 (1:22 pm)
Thanks for all the responses! The metal thing is a child seat anchor huh, was that an option? (kidding). Hard to believe it was put there on purpose as it's really distracting and unattractive. Any way to get rid of it? To kg11 - This truck has a maple leaf sticker on the door panel - 1st registration issue with 0 miles was at Quebec Motor Vehicle Department dated 3/2/2001. Sure looks to me like it was built in Canada, especially with all them funny french words in the owner's manual (Smile) I've heard that they do some initial frame assembly in Canada and then final drive train assembly in Michigan but I can't attest to that as fact. Thanks for the tip on the tranny. Two test drives in the mountains didn't show any sign of problem there. I was quite impressed with the transmission actually. 4X4man - Any recommendation on the mfr. of "good oil, good gas"? I've used Mobil Gas in all my vehicles, plan to continue. As far as oil goes, what do these trucks come off the line with? Is it possible to switch to syn oil if the truck hasn't had it before? (I can see everyone laughing at that question now - Come on guys, I'm just a lady trying to learn about her new truck). How'd you get rid of the engine knock? I listened for it on my 2nd test drive and didn't hear anything but the outside temp wasn't that cold at the time. On my first test drive I started it up a couple of times while it was warm and didn't notice anything unusal then either. I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. Thanks for all your replies.
#989 of 1174 lauriet1 by 4x4man Dec 14, 2001 (7:32 am)
I really don't have any recommendations on gas manufacturers because I really don't know. I have found that some gas stations give me better gas mileage than others and my driving habits tend to stay the same. I just stick with the gas stations that give me the best mileage and I figure that it is good gas. Pretty unscientific but it works for me! On the oil, I put synthetic in at 3,000 miles. That is good oil IMHO...I am using Mobil 1 5w-30 but there are a lot of other good synthetic oils on the market. If/when you switch to synthetic there is no need to flush the engine as the dino and synthetic are compatible. I have heard that it isn't wise to switch back and forth between synthetic and dino oil. So if you are going to go synthetic, stay with it for the rest of your ownership. Hope this helps! Bob