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What did you do to your Avalanche today?

Have an "06 Z71 just bought a couple weeks ago. The truck had one previous owner and 210,000 KMs (130,000 M), so far I have changed the EVAP Vent Valve to get rid of the code, change badly faded head/signal lights, re-soldered bad wiring on fog light connectors, repaired a crack in the RF fender cladding and built a mid-deck for my dogs. Things still to do, replace old 7pin trailer plug, remove cladded bushbar in order to install a tranny cooler, change cig lighter to a usb port, replace factory radio and install backup camera. Love how this unit tows my 24ft trailer so have some slip on tow mirrors. I ordered and received 2 different sets of bolt on mirrors but the plugs were different than mine, apparently because mine are not heated and they were both heated units although they didn't say they were in the description. Post Office is getting used to me returning Amazon products of late. Now as I of my drive home tonight, I am getting a Service Tire Monitor System or something like that. Came on the site to see if other members have any insight in previous posts.
 
Congratulations on your new truck.

Sounds like you are off to a good start.

The TPMS sensors have a battery in them that can last 7-10 years.

Yours are likely going out.

They can be replaced, but not repaired.
 
Thanks EXT4ME, I think it may be something to do with the PDC, the unit that does the key fobs. I had no issues before trying to calibrate a new key fob, now all my tire pressures are reading 0 except Right Front. I have tried numerous time to program a new fob but it won't work. Little bit of research is required.
 
5 Star Av said:
Welcome! Many years in TX myself! In WV now.. Did you get a custom gauge cluster? Thats my next upgrade I believe!?!? That and the Nav/screen system... It's basically in 2D and the new vehicles are in 4K lol.. The 1st Gen Avs can be retro'd with the 2nd Gen Escalade cluster...I'm a little envious
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Hey 5 Star Av,
What you mentioned is very intriguing to me. If you could dig up an example of this screen I would love me to see it.
I’d probably invest in that at this point.
My cluster has backlighting working. The expert in Ontario did a complete overhaul of the electronics inside the gauges and digital mechanism which shows the odometer, gear position and the other functions controlled by the steering wheel buttons were all functioning on his work bench test machine.
So I plug it in and still have backlighting but the gauges don’t budge. It’s something in the wiring harness or elsewhere.
Any tips from anyone would be very helpful. No you know why I’m interested in what your post was about.
Thanks,
Gary in Regina, Saskatchewan
 
Time for the Avalanche's 255K oil change.

Fresh Mobil 1 5W-30 and a NAPA Platinum oil filter.

Started up and moved the EXT out of the garage.

Poor thing hasn't had a full mile put on it in over a year now.

But at least the last oil change is still fresh with 0 miles on it.

:) (y)
 
Shock bolts arrived yesterday. Put the new shocks in last night along with the new backing plates. Finished up the new e-brakes today. Been futzing around with the blasted flexible brake line over the differential. After working with it for hours and hitting it with the bolt blaster twice I finally got the line nut to spin. Now it's spin a 32nd of a turn at a time. The $#@-$# engineers who come up with these brilliant ideas should be required to work on them so they can come up with better placement of maintenance items.

Dropping my gas tank to replace my rusted out fuel pump was a walk in the park compared to this. Me wants to break out a can of whoop arse on those engineers.
 
UGH! Got the new lines in, went to put on the new rotor before I hook up the new caliper AAAANNNNDDDD it has the wrong freaking bolt pattern. 🤬 Obviously it happened to somebody else because one of the boxes had been reboxed, the rotor wasn't in plastic.

This is the not fun part of Rock Auto - returns and exchanges. It's impossible to get a live person there which is why they can sell things so much less than other places.
 
Evansaero said:
Started out this morning wanting to take the avy to work. She would not start and I didn't have the three hours to figure it out. So I ran the codes and noted that the cluster & gauges would not light up, stabilitrak off, no lock/unlock, and headed out in my commuter car. I had only a few minutes today to do a little internet searching. The consensus was "BCM, Battery, Ground, Fuse and so on" ugh
https://flic.kr/p/2kS7wk7

Decided not to buy a battery since I had power and it was a 50/50 chance. After work, check the voltage and it showed 12.2 with no load and 11.6 with headlights on. Decided to put a jump pack on it and had 13.6v. Still no crank, dead gauges, and new codes.
https://flic.kr/p/2kS4Atz

After several hours checking fuses, lots of Electronic Cleaner, wiggling wires, and pulling apart the BCM I was about to walk into the house to change into "get dirty clothes". So I give her that "one last try" and she lights up. Absolutely no clue why... Leads me to think a ground issue and is likely to rear its ugly head again. I guess that's why I carry AAA coverage lol

Now back to what's important... I finished vinyl wrapping the trim pieces after a couple of burnt fingers and kuckles. Super happy with the look and the camera makes it look lighter but in person, it is a really good-looking "dark wood look". Summer will be the test of durability but I bought plenty so I could rewrap if needed. If I can get 2 years with a rewrap for $100 all in I'm ok with that.
https://flic.kr/p/2kS4AtV
https://flic.kr/p/2kS71C8
https://flic.kr/p/2kS4Aub
https://flic.kr/p/2kS71Bm
https://flic.kr/p/2kS7wjF
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Where did you get the wood at? really sets off your AV !!!
 
Myself things have to be a little at a time. But did get the Coil Pacs and Plugs and New Wires in today. Love that # 8 Plug. #*&$^%# lots of that today working on it ha-ha. Found out laying across the engine ( attacking the plug from the top, instead of the side ) and taking the bolt out of the dip stick made it possible with 3/4 ext on the socket. But with the oil change it should go another mile or two lol..
 
Raekal said:
Yeah, i sadly have never been able to swear by any particular shop i've been to. We have a small shop right next to the house that we generally have do our small repairs. But they charge just under dealer labor rates ($90 vs $100) and I cant say my service has been absolutely exceptional. They do good work, but they trust my abilities to diagnose things a little too much, and it's hard for me t oget them to price things out for me. They're happy for me to bring parts in, and they'll just charge by the book unless rust is an issue. (no real quotes). They also are so busy that they dont take the time to diagnose additional work, such as my slow coolant leak. They guess and want me to throw parts at it more or less. This ontop of GM's warranties for new parts creates an ever shifting balance of where I have work done. (they guessed the coolant pump based on high mileage and it looked a little wet). More or less, it comes down to part costs vs warranty value.

The current project had started out with me needing to replace the shackles, both fuel pumps, and one tank completely. Local shop qoted me 3.5 hours per each tank + 1 hour for rust. (8 hours total) whereas the dealer quoted me 2.5 hours for the aux tank, 3.5 hours for the front tank, and nothing additional for rust. Ontop of this, the GM fuel pumps were only marginally more expensive than quality aftermarkets ($220 for the front, $250 for the rear. (I could get the rear cheaper on RA, but i dont trust a $50-125 pump ) and have a 24 month, unlimited mile warranty that includes labor. (with a lifetime parts-only warranty). They also diagnosed my coolant leak was from the quick disconnect fittings on my heater core. ($275 fix). Which makes sense. from the symptoms. (you can smell it, cant see it, no signs of a gasket issue. Didnt notice it for the first few months I owned it, but seemed to burn about .25 gallon/ month during the winter)

When I was told about the whole spring ordeal, I called the local guys and they quoted me the same labor as the dealer, so there's not point in me having it done at two different places, especially when the spring is what damaged the fuel tank in the first place.

This is in contrast to when i had the rear axle seals and bearings replaced. The dealer quoted me somewhere around 5 hours to do them, local guy was 3.5. Dealer wanted something crazy like $30 for the seals and $50 for the bearings (each). I bought timken bearings for $7 each and the seals for $4.

Personally I wish i had the tools and equipment to safely and efficiently work on it myself. (Though, in hindsight of the current cost I could have bought everything I needed) But that would still be from a novice POV working on things and much of what I've done I'd just assume let a professional handle.


Yeah, I went with a new amazon set for mine and they look gorgeous compared to the old faded ones. My light mounts were broken, so It was a must for me. Plus, my fog lights were missing completely. Man, it took the dealer a couple tries to get the right pieces for that. The screws are like $0.80 each, but the metal clips they screw into are more like $7.
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Just another example of how dealers love to stick it to a guy. Thank God I have a good mechanic here in my town and a Salvage Yard that keep a AV 03 around just for me to get parts :)). I know some stuff you just have to bite the bullet on though. Amazon is my go to place also. They have fair prices. Good luck on your project.
 
Gh0stU said:
Myself things have to be a little at a time. But did get the Coil Pacs and Plugs and New Wires in today. Love that # 8 Plug. #*&$^%# lots of that today working on it ha-ha. Found out laying across the engine ( attacking the plug from the top, instead of the side ) and taking the bolt out of the dip stick made it possible with 3/4 ext on the socket. But with the oil change it should go another mile or two lol..
Click to expand...

That back plug can be a bear, for sure.

For me, I found once I get the wire off of the plug, I can slip a spark plug socket over the plug and then use an open end wrench to engage the end of the spark plug socket.

Once I break the plug loose, I work my fingers down to the plug socket and remove the spark plug.

Install in reverse.
 
Replaced Serpentine belt along with A/C belt, both Tensioners and Idler pulley. I found it to be a pretty straight forward job. I took my time which was about 2 hours ( or 3 beers ) in my case. One tensioner sounded super dry and I'm glad I bought all new parts to replace all components. A/C belt had more cracks in it than a nudist colony, wasn't going to last much longer. The Serpentine belt was in better shape and must of be replaced once but the A/C belt looked to be like it was OEM. Runs quiet and it's a good piece of mind knowing belts and pulleys are new. :cheers: Onward to the new rear shocks....
 
Sasquatch888 said:
Hey 5 Star Av,
What you mentioned is very intriguing to me. If you could dig up an example of this screen I would love me to see it.
I’d probably invest in that at this point.
My cluster has backlighting working. The expert in Ontario did a complete overhaul of the electronics inside the gauges and digital mechanism which shows the odometer, gear position and the other functions controlled by the steering wheel buttons were all functioning on his work bench test machine.
So I plug it in and still have backlighting but the gauges don’t budge. It’s something in the wiring harness or elsewhere.
Any tips from anyone would be very helpful. No you know why I’m interested in what your post was about.
Thanks,
Gary in Regina, SaskatchewanI
Click to expand...

I'm not 100% sure which screen your talking about? Nor do I know which Gen/model Avalanche you have lol...

If you mean the gauge cluster retro-fit for a 1st Gen Av from a 2nd Gen Escalade then just search those exact words.

If you mean a gauge cluster upgrade for a 2nd Gen Av there are several options, here's a couple links


https://www.addw1.com/collections/w...ilverado-overlay-face-gauge-2007-2014-3d-look
-THIS ONE I'm not 100% about, it would depend on whether the Silverado and Avalanche share the same cluster??



and if you meant the Nav/Infotainment screen these are my two favorites



Hope those help!
 
Gave mine a bath today. Wiped down the ole cladding with some momma's to keep the sleek black shine :)
 
Let AV rest today while I did yard work and finished basement bedroom. Love my Av. 2003 Z66 143k
 
heavy_chevy08 said:
Hit another truck!! :E: A Dodge Ram!! (y) Oops!!!! Put a nice dent in the right rear quarter panel!! I should be able to pound it out!! (y)
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Did same thing a year ago !! How ever the pounding part might be a lil difficult !!! Unless you cut out a section of the inner lining to gain access to outer skin !!!
 
HOTROD8084 said:
Did same thing a year ago !! How ever the pounding part might be a lil difficult !!! Unless you cut out a section of the inner lining to gain access to outer skin !!!
Click to expand...
Depending on where your dent is, you might be able to access it by removing the taillight. Good luck
 
Finally got around to ordering some new shocks, figured since I just hit 150K they might need to be replaced and one was leaking. Also ordered a new upper steering intermediate shaft, steering shaft bearing, felt for inner and outer window seals for all 4 doors, and since I have to take the door panels off, I might as well upgrade my speakers too. Kind of fell down the rabbit hole once the online ordering started, haha.
 
Steering shaft.... Maybe thats whats I feel in my steering? I feel bump in my steering wheel when I turn going slow..like around a corner..bump or notch like a bearing/ball is missing in the bearing.??
 
CASD57 said:
Steering shaft.... Maybe thats whats I feel in my steering? I feel bump in my steering wheel when I turn going slow..like around a corner..bump or notch like a bearing/ball is missing in the bearing.??
Click to expand...
Mine was doing the same thing...felt like the whole front-end was gonna fall apart. Checked all components underneath and all good with no play. Swapped shaft with Dorman replacement and what a difference. Feels solid now with no scary feelings or noises.....no more thumps or bumps. Simple install with many videos on " how to " install the shaft. No regrets on this fix. Not saying this is your issue, but worth checking it out. Amazing how much better mine feels now. Won't hesitate to replace it if I suspect it's going bad again. Good luck and I hope you find the issue.
 
I got 6 new bed cover panels! I only needed 3 but since he was willing to part with all 6 for the same price, I didn’t complain. I also got a center console, and while I don’t need one, my buddy does for his suburban. Anyone know what needs to be changed to fit an 03-06 center console in an 02?

All and all a good day.
 
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