My new-to-me 2002 Avalanche gamble thread!

[Nick5811]

[==Original specs (as purchased used)==]

2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 4wd 155,000 miles. Original motor/trans/diffs as far as I know.
Price: $7800 cash

Sport leather/power package/moonroof/tint
Rancho 4" Suspension lift
BFG 33x12.50x16.5 ATKO
Centerline Blackfoot 16.5x10
CAI/TB spacer
New battery
Ripped seat
ABS/CEL's on
1 remote

[=Initial Repairs=]:


Left catalytic converter: $230 (solved CEL)
ABS maxi fuse: $3 (no change)
ABS mini fuse: $0 (ABS/Pkg light intermittent)
Passenger side CV axle: $680
Front Brakes (pads/rotors/fluid/labor): Included in CV repair
4 wheel alignment: Included in above
Serpentine +AC belts: $60
New remote: $60


[Original post]

I intend this thread to track my experience with this new ride. It worked well for my 2006 Sierra, and some of those parts are still with me and going to live on in the new ride. I'm calling this my 'gamble' thread because I don't have a good track record of buying used vehicles. The 88 Silverado's transmission went out within a week of buying it due to the throttle valve cable coming off the throttle body. I bought a 94 4runner which blew a head gasket and threw a rod ($9,000 repair) within 3 months of buying it. I hope this doesn't turn out to be the same way (hence the gamble). At least this one is owned outright (sort of) and it's not my primary vehicle.

After months of looking around at various Extended cab 4x4 Silverados and even flirting with the idea of a Dakota Quad Cab, I found what I thought was a good deal on this 2002 Avalanche with 156,000 miles on it. I went with the Avy to consolidate my 2004 z71 Tahoe with tan leather and my 88 Silverado long bed 4x4 with gray cloth. This is like their EXACT love child if they had an offspring... I don't know why EVERYONE doesn't have one of these; this is the ultimate utility vehicle! I can't believe GM is going to stop making them.





It has a 4" lift, 6 month old 33x12.50x16.5 BFG ATKO's, an Air Raid CAI, a throttle body spacer and a Flowmaster muffler. The seller told me they recently did wheel bearings, it has a new battery, trans fluid, oil change and radiator flushing. Rear brake pads were just done, but it needs rotors (and new pads). No major stuff (engine, tranny, rear end) has been done over the last 7 years as far as I know.

The check engine light was on, code P0420 so I thought it needed a new catalytic converter. (edit: had it replaced for $230, light was reset and hasn't come back on). The ABS light is on, so common thought is a wheel speed sensor? Wheel Works tried to read the code but they said nothing showed in the computer. They couldn't reset it or diagnose it.

I expect a few challenges from a 10 year old truck with 150k, so I'm not second guessing my choice yet. Interior is pretty clean, minus a ripped driver's seat. I feel like I got it for a pretty good price, which took these things into account beforehand. I was *NOT* expecting to pay sales tax on a private party sale though, and that was $650 I had planned to spend on other things.


On day two I cranked up the torsion bars to level out the front end and keep the front tires from rubbing on the cladding. As soon I drove away it started making a nasty crunching noise and kinda vibrating. CV boot blew open and sprayed grease all over the passenger side suspension parts. I noticed a rip in it before I bought it, but I didn't expect it to give out like that. I guess I cranked them a bit too far....oh well. It needed an alignment and to be checked out/inspected anyways.

[rocking chevy]

looks pretty nice, a few more pictures would be cool.

[rocking chevy]

I like the seats, never seen ones like that before.

[93K5Blaze]

Nice Av! I really like the newest style without the cladding, but your monochromatic scheme looks good!

[ChevyLs1z]

Thats a nice Avalanche

[Nick5811]

[INTERIOR MODS]

[Interior]

2003 Avalanche seats, gray cloth, front and rear
2008 Silverado folding center seat with upper and lower storage, gray cloth
2002 Silverado dash pad, gray
2003 Avalanche door panels, Gray




Current (Apr 2013)



Old door panels/new setup:



Like new grey cloth seats (front and back) from a 2003 Avalanche. The old seats were both leather/cloth combo with folding arm rests, side airbags, power, with manual recline and lumbar. When I looked into replacing the factory seat cushions and covers I was told about $700 to replace the foam and back-cover. The cloth seats I picked up were power driver and manual passenger, but firm and undamaged all around. I got complete front and rear seats with matching door panels for $700 from some dude on craigslist. I didn't really want the panels, but whatever.

I spent a couple hours trying to figure out how to swap the seats and get power for them, or to swap just the cushions and covers but it was a big hassle. What I ended up doing (and it was really simple, actually) was trading the wiring harnesses on the driver's seat. There is a small harness that runs along the bottom of the seat, and it's mounted through little zip ties to the bottom of the seat cushion. The motor and switch connectors were the same on both, but where it plugs into the truck was different (6 pins vs. 16 pins). Getting the seat bottoms off was no big deal (two bolts under the seat, disconnect the wires, then slide and pull up). Doing the backrest portion seemed a lot more difficult, so after I unclipped the cover from the cardboard and couldn't get the seat cover to come off very easily I gave up and put it all back together.

I pulled the harness off the 2002 seat and put it on the 2003 seat, then put the 2003 on the 2002 seat. Easy. And it worked. Now I have to figure out how to trick the truck into thinking my airbags are still installed (airbag light came on the dash, since the new seats don't have the airbag connector...) I'm going to look on the net/web a little bit and see what I can find about swapping the passenger side motors/brackets with the manual brackets. It looked like kind of a PITA, and I'm not sure that it's really worth doing.

The 03+ rear seat was a little different than the 02 seat I pulled out; the new one has a middle seat shoulder belt, a different (stronger) folding armrest, and it bolts together slightly differently. On the 03 seat, the single seat bracket goes under the double seat, where as the 02 goes on top and has 2 10mm bolts holding them together. I spent a LONG time trying to muscle them up out of the truck without knowing this.

So, in short, the lesson learned here is that 03+ seats CAN (SHOULD) be easily retrofitted to 02- trucks/avy's/burbs/tahoe's if you have a donor seat wiring harness. Maybe I'll head over to the junk yard and snag one for the other side.

(March 2013)

I replaced the tan dash pad with a charcoal gray one I found on Craigslist. It reduced the window glare/reflection and looks way better with the two tone interior. I also pulled out the center console and ordered a folding middle seat/console from a 2008 pickup. It bolted right in and the color is a pretty close match. The material is a little different but it's not really noticeable. I think GM finally found a winner with this design, incorporating both a seat and console, with an armrest. If all the trucks came like this, they could reduce seating configurations and console options and probably produce these trucks more efficiently, cheaper, and with fewer left-over parts people don't want.

I'd like to find a way to mount a decent lockbox/safe in place of the seat portion so I could secure valuables out of sight. I know they make the console vaults, but I'm thinking something a little larger, a little beefier and a little more custom.


[Sound system]

Deck: Pioneer Avic Z3 DVD/NAV with Bluetooth module, Ipod Module and XM/Sirius Module (not installed)
Speakers:
F: Kicker 06KS6.52 Components
R: Alpine SPR-60 2-way coaxial 6.5"
Sub: Kicker 05L7 12" in sealed enclosure
Amplifier: Alpine MRX-V60 5-channel




[Original notes]:

Boy, what a hassle!

I bought a set of rockford speakers for the rear doors, but slipped with the drill and put a nice big hole in one of them. $75 down the drain...what makes it worse is that the same speakers were on Amazon for like $35. Lesson learned: NEVER BUY FROM CAR STEREO SHOP, EVER AGAIN.

Not the prettiest install ever, but I was really tired of dealing with it and just wanted the truck back together. Perhaps down the road I can find another way to mod the AC controls to a newer/different style and get a new style double din bezel. I have a really nice gray faux wood trim one in my Tahoe, but replacements are like $100 and I don't feel the need to spend that kind of money on a bezel for a truck that mostly sits or is used for utility.

I installed the crossovers, and for the sake of simplicity I just wedged them in the door panel behind the factory grille. MUCH better than before without. I think these speakers (Kicker) have about had it, being moved from car to car to car over the years. The terminals seem to be coming loose, and I'm not one for trying to solder them back down. Maybe I'll look into upgrading to some type r components and run all Alpine stuff.

The stereo shop didn't tune my system very well, it was clipping (and the music stopped completely until I shut off my car?) at moderate volumes. I attempted to adjust the gains on the amp by sound.

I'm gonna try to tune the amps with a voltmeter to see how close I am to where I should be.

[HevyChevy06]

I love those things with the painted cladding! Looks great.....

[Nick5811]

Sold the 88 K1500 and felt a little sad about it. Lots of memories and experiences with that truck over the last 10 years. I hope he treats the new owner well.

[Nick5811]

Saving this for post continuity

[Nick5811]

Before buying the truck I noticed the burnt out ABS maxi fuse under the hood. I replaced it but the ABS light was still on. The shop couldn't diagnose the problem because it wouldn't show up on the scan tool. Yesterday I found that the ABS fuse in the I/P was not present. I replaced it with a new one and the ABS light went off.

Later on as I was driving throughout the day the ABS and Parking Brake light started coming on (and going off) intermittently. This doesn't solve my problem, but I think it's a big step in the right direction.

The new HU is working great now after I did the full reset, and Pioneer shipped out a free firmware update disc so I'll be hooked up for shizzy pretty soon.

[Chevy53]

Is your brake fluid full?


-Ziggy-

[Nick5811]

Is your brake fluid full?


-Ziggy-

It should be full. I checked it before and it was full but it seemed thin and watery. The wheel shop replaced my fluid and topped it off, so it should be fine. I'm thinking it may have something to do with the rear brake rotors being thinner than spec? I dunno. Something funny going on with the blown/removed fuses anyways.

[Nick5811]

[Nick5811]

I'm trying to find out all the information I can about the truck and it's parts and accessories so I know how to plan my coming mods.

First up, Tires:

The tires are BFG ATKO's in 33x12.50x16.5. The size is very uncommon, so I want to unload these while they are new and get something else more common. Tire size is dependent on Rim size.

Rims:

I think the wheels are Centerline Blackfoot 16.5x10 Aluminum 1 piece with 4.5" backspacing. This is based off information found on SummitRacing.com which lists them at $269/each!

Lift:

Based on pictures of the kits online, the Rancho RS6547 is the closest one matching my truck (based on the red coil springs for the rear). The kit footnotes say 16"+ rim size and backspacing no less than 4.5" required (which may explain the rim choice, and thus the tire size).


I also read that this lift will accommodate up to 35" tires, but I don't see how without some pretty decent trimming.

[Nick5811]

I ordered new rims for the truck, and I'm awaiting their arrival as I type! I picked up a set of used mud tires with about 70% left and I think it's going to look SICK once I get them put on (later today I hope). The rims are Ultra Maverick 234/235 in 17x8 low offset and the tires are Hercules Trail Digger M/T in 285/70/17.

[Nick5811]

[TRANSMISSION]

The transmission seemed to be shifting late and upshifting strange the other day (torque converter lock up?). Concerned I needed a new tranny, I took it to a local shop. They did a fluid/filter change on it and could not replicate my concerns. The owner of the shop told me the fluid was dirty, but there was very little metal in the pan, and he saw nothing to indicate failure. He initially suggested maybe doing a fluid 'pump out', but after pulling the pan and filter, he didn't think it was necessary. The guy could have totally sold me on needing a new tranny or doing the flush for another $100 but he didn't.

After much research, I've decided to rebuild/upgrade the transmission. I'll probably start with a transgo shift kit, replacing the pistons with aluminum ones, upgraded servo (not the corvette one) and larger or ribbed pan with a drain. When funds permit, I plan to upgrade to a 5 pinion planetary gear, upgrade the 3-4 drum thing (name?) and change the 1st and 2nd gear ratios to something numerically lower/closer.


I replaced the cabin air filter, which took me a lot longer than it should have. Once I opened the door and saw the heater core, I was confused. For some reason, THERE WERE NO FILTERS. Hopefully putting filters in will make a difference in the air quality and reduce the interior dust.

I want to replace my subwoofer with something smaller. The sound is great, but the size of that box and always being in the way is getting a little old.

[Nick5811]

It's been a while, and I've been busy with other things, but here's an update:

Replaced:

Bed and panel seals. ($200+ GMPartsdirect). Mostly fixed the leaks.

Fuel pump. Went out just before Christmas, so I replaced it with a Delco model from Amazon for about $200. I had to do it myself in my condo complex so I pulled out the seats and cut a hole in the floor. I found that my midgate wasn't sealed correctly and had been leaking since I pulled it all apart in May. I cleaned it all up, did the install, and it started up instantly.

Plugs and Wires. Delco double platinums and MSD wires.



I determined my truck has the cold-start piston slap because it sounds like a diesel when it starts up, but with 161k on it I guess any damage has already been done and the motor seems to run fine (with good oil pressure).

I'm getting code P0426 or something, which indicates something about the evaporative valve thing under the truck. I don't think it's a big deal so I haven't dealt with it yet.

The ABS and Brake lights still come on intermittently (possibly corroded ABS wheel sensor?) but again, not overly worried about that.

[Nick5811]

Posted this in another thread, but there doesn't seem to be much chatter over there...

[BEGINNING OF MOTOR UPGRADE/REBUILD/SWAP INFO]

I've been thinking that I may need to save up for a new transmission, new motor, or new rear end just based on the age and mileage (162,000) of the truck.

The idea of a new motor had me thinking of upgrades I wanted to do, like re-gearing the truck to 4.10 or 4.56, electric fans, corvette cam/servo, trailblazer torque converter(?), shift kit, and tune.

Then I ran across this article here:
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/e...2/viewall.html

Now I'm wondering, what would be the best option for a cost-effective replacement motor for this avalanche? My thought is to buy a built-up motor that will improve my power and enhance reliability. My fantasy budget to do this is probably $5k max. I don't think I need it turbo charged, supercharged, nos'd, meth'd, or any of that silliness. I want it to be able to run on regular unleaded gas if necessary.

Any suggestions?

[CustomChevyGuy]

seems like a nice ride, keep the updates coming

[Nick5811]

Thanks.

[FACTORY ALARM]

I found the paperwork and the valet switch for the factory alarm (VS3400), but I can't get it to work. I don't know where or if the siren is installed, but I'm adding this to my list of things to do and work on.

[HEADERS SWAP]

I'm contemplating removing the fender liners of the Avy and my Tahoe so I can swap the headers, but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle and aggravation. On one hand, the headers are ceramic coated JBA shorties (expensive), and the Avy is a bit of a dog with all the weight; on the other hand, I don't know that the performance gains from the headers would be worth the hours of my time to do the swap.

I figured removing the liners would make it easier to access the bolts. I found what looked like the head of a bolt wedged between a bracket in the Avy the other day, and the front bolt on the exhaust manifold appears to be missing, so that's another challenge I'd have to deal with.

[BRUSH GUARD SWAP?]

Another swap I'm considering is trying to keep the Hella lights I've got on the Tahoe. I don't have anywhere to mount them on the Avy, so I was considering trying to take the brush guard off the Tahoe and putting it on the Avy too. I went out and measured it and it looks like it might work. It's kind of a lot of work to pull it all apart and put it on the Avy to find out it won't work.

My plan here was to cut off the bars that go around the headlights with a tubing cutter and plug the ends with some plastic caps like on a bicycle.