victor gaskets solved the problem with the vortec intakes, they put steel inserts in the gasket molding to prevent over torquing and cracking the plastic. only took 15 years to do but finally a solution to a defective motor. my suburban cracked 5 sets in 300,000 miles, the last set cracked internally dumped all the coolant in the oil and spun 7 rod bearings!

 

Howdy az gang. Now you guys are scaring me. So far I don't have any signs of problems and I hope it stays their. My neighbor is a huge 5.3L chevy guy so we should be ok. The main thing that scares me about a Chevy is the cylinder order that I might mix up the cylinder firing order. Cause chevy vs ford is this:

Chevy Ford

rear
7 8 4 8
5 6 3 7
3 4 2 6
1 2 1 5
front

Which is a pretty big difference. (actually I am not sure if evens are on the passenger side for Chevys or on the drivers side) LOL
Trav

 

Good Morning Bart & Trav.

Trav you should be scared it is a Chevy. Yet the Trailblazer/Envoy were pretty good trucks they have all the newer GM issues. Right down to the 4L60 transmission problems.

So Victor came out with a fix? The guys on the Blazer forum a few years back were using FelPro I believe with fair results.
The best fix is don't own a GM or should I say don't buy a GM.
My Blazer is at my buddies place in Pahrump. The last I asked about it he & his son said please don't bring that up at dinner. I gave it to them for FREE & they wish I would of run it off a cliff. They fixed the flex plate, now the balance shaft bearings are gone. I forgot what else they found.

 

Craig this truck doesn't have a lot of the newer GM issues like ignition and such because it doesn't have those things. I am not even sure if it has the 4l60 trans being the 5.3L (I don't know as I am mostly a Ford guy). Guess that is something I will have to look up a little later.

Got the original build sheet for the Envoy. This thing has every option minus like three of them. It originally came with the brush guard but somebody took it off thankfully as the stock GM brush guard is ugly. Once paid off probably will get one that goes around the headlights.
By the way Craig no Chevy will scare me more then the dreaded Dodge transmission problems. My buddy with a late 90s dodge ram 1500 a buddy with a 07 cummins dually 3500 4x4, and another buddy with a 05 or 06 cummins 2500 4x4 all are hating their dodge right now because of the auto trans problems. (of course the half ton has hauled heavier stuff then the 3500 is designed to haul. LOL)
Trav

 

Trav,
If you notice my Dodge & F150 are sticks, by design. Having a stick is a little more hassle than the automatics & the autos show heavier tow ratings. (but since I learned that up until recently Ram & GM are going to stop stripping parts off of trucks to increase payload I don't put much stock in that anymore)
I built my C-6 with a Hughes tow converter, TransGo kit with 6 forward clutches & valve body mods & it still wasn't all that. It pulled harder because of the converter but it was still an automatic.
Automatics are great in cars but I question these light duty trucks with basically modified car autos. Even the Allison that GM has been using has had its issues. I'm not up on the new Ford or Ram autos. My friend has an 09 Ram 4x4 6.7 Cummins that hauls a 5ther & he has not had any troubles at all. My buddy has a 94 Dodge 1 ton 5.9 Cummins & the auto in that has a Banks kit & it is nothing but trouble.
I don't think the 4L80E ever found its way into the Envoy/Trailblazer. They used the 4L60E in the pickups with 5.7s. Before going with Allison.
One thing I can tell you if you use non OEM spark plugs, Ignition parts or fuel parts your going to have trouble as a rule. AC DELCO, DEPHI ONLY.

 

gm is odd numbers left ( driver side) even numbers right, also the distributor turns clockwise. an easy way to tell is to look strait across the engine, the cylinders are staggered a distance equal to the width of the connecting rod. the most forward cylinder is the number 1 cylinder, and the newer engines (ford tritan) are 1234 right bank 5678 left bank numbered from front to rear.

 

Most will be Oem parts but not all.
I to prefer stick shifts however I don't mind a good auto. My C6 in my 88 is one of the most bullet proof transmissions ever made.
I understand Dodge autos are a hit and miss I was just messing with you because you said I had to be scared cause it is a GM. LOL
You are correct it has the 4L60E so I hope it treats us well.
Personally if I had my choice on how to build a good truck I would have a Ford frame and cab (to me they look the best), Allision or ZF5 Ford transmission, and a 12 valve P pump cummins. Other then that I don't think I could handle a Dodge powered truck.


See I thought I had it backwards. I am still learning my works around Chevy engines.

Well sunday I have to go help my buddy move a shed over at his house. If we get the chance we are going to check if the foxbody mustang engine will bolt up to his 1980 F100 stepside. If not he told us all we have to do is pull the engine and we can have the rest of the car. So looks like either way I am going for that one.

Looks like whomever owned this Envoy XUV was a lead foot because the left rear tire (which I believe on a Chevy is the main drive tire) is really bald where as the other ones are brand new.
Trav

 

Good Morning Trav, & Everyone.

Trav, Does that have a distributor? I thought they were using coil packs. My I-6 used them in 04.
The last Auto Trans Dodge built that was bullet proof was the 727/904s.
The C-6 is alright. For that matter the 4L60E is OK. The big issue with them was OD going out. GM fix was a new valve body, but the tranny shops have come up with a fix by changing out a valve. My 97 Blazer at 140,000 went out on my way back to Yuma from Northern Nevada. Just North of Las Vegas it started acting up. I took it into Team Ramco in Yuma & it was a $350 fix but whatever they did the tranny never shifted so good as after they reprogrammed the valve body was what they told me. I drove it another 30,000 then sold it & it is still going up in Hawthorne NV.
That was my 97 Blazer we drove a 100,000 miles the 99 Blazer is the most expensive used vehicle ever. My buddy is pissed off at me for giving it to him for FREE. He is a Mopar & GM guy.

 

Nope she does have coil packs (yes it is a she as she is named after my mom's child hood nickname "Snow White"). She also has a cam position sensor. UGh! I have already had one experience with that and let me tell you was that a pain in the rear. When I swapped the 94 Explorer engine out for the 92 ranger engine the 94 has to have that Cam position sensor and I had to install it and it is in the back of the engine. I hope I don't have to deal with it on this 04.
I believe my neighbors 98 Chevy 2500 5.3L 4x4 auto extended cab long bed that he got for free has coil packs too! But that thing has a nice toned exhaust. This Envoy I think has an aftermarket exhaust as it has a similar tone but not as loud.

The only problem I ever really heard of on C6s (except idiots whom mod their truck to the max engine wise and the trans can't hold up in stock form which my 88 F150 C6 isn't stock it has a fresh rebuild with all the good parts from 05 or 07 plus a shift kit) is the modulators since they are vacuum operated.

Is their a way to take the Envoys and Trailblazers out of OD?
Only thing I can think of is if the trans doesn't come fully out of OD when towing which all I plan on towing is one of our 2 16Ft boats (one is a 64 Larson inboard outboard the other is a 80 Suzuki outboard).
You don't think maybe by 04 they fixed the problem?
I haven't seen any trans complaints on the 04 Envoys.

Craig is starting to scare me I already have two autos on the lot that scare the crap out of me (94 Explorer and 96/92 mutt dog ranger which have the A4LDs). Actually any weak trans I hear of I try to avoid as transmissions are not my strong suit just yet. That mainly is because we try to avoid trucks that currently have trans problems so never really dealt with auto trans trucks.
Trav

 

Trav as far as I remember your stuck with OD no lockout. That is why they are crap to tow with because you have to run the in 2nd. Because 3rd & OD are the same selector position. Over heating them is another issue.

Hey Trav on a 4.6 Ford truck motor. A buddy has one that is squealing like an alt is going out, but he pulled the belt & it is still just squealing like heck.
So it is in the engine can you give me a clue as to where to tell him to start looking. All I could think of was timing chain & tensionors

 

I will have to look at the truck when it gets home to see if it has a lock and unlock for the OD. It probably is on the shifter.
The truck has the heavy duty towing package so it is equipped with air bags, heavy duty trans cooler, trailer brake controller Class IV or V hitch (not sure will have to look again), and like 3.42 gears or something like that. That is what the original build sheet states. If it doesn't feel right or can't unlock from OD on this truck I will just have to pull the motorcycle trailer and boat with the 02 F250.


On my 302 I had a similar problem it ended up being a loose Harmonic balancer bolt. I fixed that and the truck fired right up and stopped squealing until my damn alternator gave up. LOL
I would replace the tensioner if he has the money to just because I remember I was leery about the one on the Expedition and did it of course the expedition was pushed to it's limit and had 186K miles of that.
Trav

 

Some pics of the new comer. Ignore the tarp only way to keep the rain out of the truck.
Trav

 

Nice looking rig.
I towed with mine it had the tow pkg. mine was the I6 with 3:73 3:42 sounds right for the V8.
Trav,
I'm about 99.9% sure you won't find an OD lockout.

 

Ya their is no OD lockout forgot the shifter is on the floor. I have only had 2 autos with the shifter on the floor this and my 87 Plymouth reliant.
Still towing in OD scares me.
Trav

 

Trav,
I believe the floor shift was only available in 04, if my memory serves me right.
We towed my cargo trailer which weighed around 3500-4000# several times. The wife drove it every time & got about 14 mpg. She towed in OD. I taught her if the tranny started searching to pull it into 2nd. But we only owned that truck for 75,000 miles. I never serviced the tranny but the fluid looked & smelled OK. I never drove it towing anything. We had it back in the day the wife was trying to finish her teaching degree. We towed that trailer at least 5000 miles in 3 years.