04 Avalanche 1500 Z71 DIY Restoration

[Edgar]

Hello all! Its great to be a part of this forum! Here is my little project for a 2004 Avalanche 1500 Z71.
My guess is that the previous owner is a heavy smoker and a heavy worker lol. Front row seats are destroyed, ceiling turned from shale to black. Dash panel is all cracked and worn (sun?). Tail lights dangling. From mechanical perspective this chevy is in ok condition for its year. Minor leaks in the steering box and on the rear main seal. Nothing dripping, just wet gaskets. One of the rear windows is not operating, smth dangles in the door while driving. Drivers mirror is foggy and got water in it. Steering wheel is pulling to the right a little bit (misalignment?). Str wheel itself is patched with black tape and all sticky and nasty. Half of light bulbs in the cluster and headliner are dead. Belts are squeaking. This car is missing love and care. But from the properly idling engine you can tell it has not lost the hope yet. Here are some pictures of it.

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[Edgar]

First things first I replaced the driver side mirror. Ordered the unbranded one from amazon for $35. It has the turn signal light and a heating element. The only thing I didn't like about it is the reflection - its a little distorted, like in a cheap mirrors you know. Here is the screenshot from amazon, seller is "Brand: Fit System".

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[Edgar]

Next were tail lights, because one day while driving I noticed that the left light just casually popped out of the body. Here I found an unpleasant surprise from the previous owner or dealer. Since holding brackets were broken on both lights they decided to screw them to the car through the bare metal just like that. I ordered the rubberized undercoating spray to prevent holes from rusting and a new pair of tail lights. Stock style lights, nothing fancy. But they came with their own surprise lol I wonder if you can find it from photos.. The positive thing, they came with the new harness and fresh light bulbs. Brand: Evan Fischer, $81. (No screws included!). Spray is five bucks.

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[2SmokinBarrels]

wow that overhead vent
that poor truck has been neglected.
You would benefit making a list and find some pick-a-part junkyards.
Good luck

 

[Edgar]

wow that overhead vent
that poor truck has been neglected.
You would benefit making a list and find some pick-a-part junkyards.
Good luck

Thank you SmokinBarrels! I was surprised to learn this thingy is actually a temperature sensor.. "aspirator" is its fancy name. I checked local and around yards, no seats, no dash panels, nothing.. and its so weird, because these older GMCs, Chevys and Cadillacs are all over the states, you would think parts should be av-le.. only if I will be lucky enough to be the first one for a fresh part-out.

 

[Edgar]

Here is one really cool piece of restoration. My good friend gifted me a DIY kit for a steering wheel. So I went to youtubes to check if someone uploaded a similar project and found the good one from ChrisFix. That dude is awesome, the way he presents it.. just check it for yourself:

So the one I got as a gift had a too short piece of leather, I was unable to wrap it around the wheel. I did order the new one from amazon, same brand and color, according their size table. And... It came in same size lol, apparently they failed that part. But since I already had another piece of leather, I ended up having just enough material to start stitching. Plus Chevy's old steering wheel got three sections/sectors which made it perfect case to use separate pieces (not the whole solid one). Needles from the kit were bad, both broke right away, but they provided a good thick nylon thread, which worked perfectly! So if you decide to go with it, just order the longest piece available ($18 ) you gonna cut it anyway.

I am not gonna bother you with lots of text.. just check the photos before and after. Oh yeah, I also ordered new fresh buttons/switches for it. Old ones were too worn ($23). The airbag is dirty, I plan cleaning and detailing the interior later after I finish with seats.

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[2SmokinBarrels]

yes I know you have to be quick.
I had to go New on plenty of things too. Better off I guess.
Your are new taillights are great. came with everything. Not sure what the surprise lol.
I've pretty much blown my budget for 2021. Emergency parts only for now.
Just got my '04 in April running a little sad and now shes running tip top. Minor glitches with electrical which I attribute to bad Ground Straps, like other day my 4wd buttons went out and came back on later.
Your steering trouble could be anything or everything. By the way that guy took care of it, could be replacing all the front end parts and shocks, brakes then get it alignment by a real alignment shop. She is 17 yrs old after all, bound to be alot of wear on original parts

 

[Edgar]

yes I know you have to be quick.
I had to go New on plenty of things too. Better off I guess.
Your are new taillights are great. came with everything. Not sure what the surprise lol.
I've pretty much blown my budget for 2021. Emergency parts only for now.
Just got my '04 in April running a little sad and now shes running tip top. Minor glitches with electrical which I attribute to bad Ground Straps, like other day my 4wd buttons went out and came back on later.
Your steering trouble could be anything or everything. By the way that guy took care of it, could be replacing all the front end parts and shocks, brakes then get it alignment by a real alignment shop. She is 17 yrs old after all, bound to be alot of wear on original parts

Yeah, Im trying not to make a hole in our budget as well. Its a holiday season too after all. I actually did a pre purchase inspection for this truck. Thats how I know about leaks, they didn't catch the pull of the steering wheel and I forgot to mention that too. I plan to just bring it to local tire shop for free check for that matter. The surprise with the tail lights was different holes in brackets haha It was a helluva pain to find proper screws to mount them.

 

[joendoodle]

1) The body on that truck looks excellent, except the dented side, but appears very solid, good score.
2) Very nice job on the steering wheel.. I may have to copy your work thanx for the info.
3) Good "economic' solution to your mirror issue.. I went a different route, as I age I cannot turn my head as easily, so I put the "oversize" trailer towing mirrors on all my trucks.. works great for me. My wife always comments "Do you really need 'new mirrors?" My reply is a simple YES.

With these "older" trucks, we all have issues, some we live with, others we take action on.. Everything (in life) boils down to time , effort and money, I chose my attack based on the impact of these 3.

 

[2SmokinBarrels]

yea nice job. Steering wheel looks better than guy in the video.
Good job with pics too

 

[Edgar]

Joendoodle, thank you for reply! I might wanna switch to those myself later. I still don't like the reflection in this mirror. And they are way to small.. Do you mind sharing some info on truck mirrors please?

 

[joendoodle]

These are the ones I got for the Avalanche: https://www.ebay.com/itm/263164602459

I also considered these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1443107467...agw0H9w0xw%3D%3D|clp:2334524|tkp:BFBM1s3a5rFf

In the picture you can see the mirrors, on the AV and (if you squint) my F150.

The good news is they are "plug and play" / they are exact fit, and the wires are long enough to just plug in, remote (electric), turn signals and heated. Manually extend for trailer towing. They DO NOT power fold (an option my AV had), I've never had that option on any vehicle so I don't know what I am missing... The lower "convex" mirror is what really helps me out, covers the blind spot quite well. Depending on what you want some can be ordered with "chrome" caps...

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[Edgar]

I love it! That telescoping feature is great. Thank you for sharing, sir! I will be definitely buying one of those in the nearest future.

 

[Edgar]

Alright here is the next one I recently finished. I finally reupholstered my headliner (took a few days to complete). Its not perfect but looks much better now and gives the fresh feeling! Fabric was ordered from “moonautotops” on ebay ($65). Color match was great, its called Shale by GM and it fits almost all trucks with light trim inside. The hardest part was to get the headliner out of the car without breaking it and to clean it from the old adhesive and foam (took me an entire day with beer breaks). To remove the old adhesive I suggest using a metal brush (wider - better), depends on the case. Adhesive spray I used was "3M Headliner Adhesive" available from Adv Auto Parts or Autozone. Price was about $25 for a can. It is much easier to get the headliner in or out of the car with seats removed. But I still needed to bend the headliner badly.. I hope that the crevice in the middle will disappear with time, actually its not really visible already, only on photos. Sun visors are easy to do, you dont even need a glue, but I still used a little which I regret, you can see little bumps from my "heavy" fingers all over the visors. But overall I am super satisfied! Here are "after" pictures, you have seen the "before" ones in my first post I hope!

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[EXT4ME]

Good job!

You can click on the "Insert Image" button and directly insert your pictures into your posts.

Makes for a nicer post, I think.

I'm wondering if you had dropped the mid-gate and removed the rear window if that would have helped get the headliner out and back in.

I've never done it before.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Edgar]

@EXT4ME Midgate drop would be definitely a good solution, but all rivets and fasteners in my chevy are so old and fragile, that I didn't even want to start messing with that part. I believe headliner would really fit diagonally through that opening! and thank you for the tips with inserting pics. Im gonna try it right away!

 

[Edgar]

Used up another gift of my generous friend - Headlight Renewal Kit from 3M. But not the one with spinning plug (using a driver could be much easier honestly). And well, its a good temporary solution if you don't want to spend another 100 bucks for new stock style head lights. I attached a picture with comparison between treated and untreated light. BTW would you guys mind sharing what good-looking headlights have you picked for your chevs?

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[EXT4ME]

Great work!

Getting better every day.

 

[ARTC]

These are the ones I got for the Avalanche: https://www.ebay.com/itm/263164602459

I also considered these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/144310746702?_trkparms=ispr=1&hash=item2199973e4e:g:zEsAAOSwgathpJqG&amdata=enc:AQAGAAAC0PYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsS9d9gBrkNbRQtRn8MVXnYkjIS0HcKRVyl06aZaj2b0MxH7S%2FJgZN246HjoWpnmomiiShIqKZJVzw62QLwiNz6iQusufIme%2FAB5mgaXSjCibLmlKNLl6q4RoHo0wO9uH6AkCG9Rbbp970ojeGdzdSdF%2BXoXNsWWXGuvLhq6y2pOI3GPHIKqGaMrVmMvfcKfi8m4z6A68tVLYjRstlf5VTu9bGZXEjqstlTyC6RSsWPPXz5OLFPtmccCRnc77f6UKMw%2Fueqj7OIh8ukKOOx7cP%2BjiofGoRTslNY9a1%2BsIKVDP1kzbzj4SfMK8pzZh1P4EJRou5kwX20ex9OkKteecZqJ22hmekgH1FAUMPN7r1y365FypRTtxu11385gLP5dhUsRNpqR%2BaemqvdQ4WcDraKz5DJAvvCQpgvfe%2FOP4N7FemzhhTfcK9HdTKURpysBsYxouCRMNUqGWG04Qu8ug%2FoqtM4SI30Ruws0ahw3rzx4FG9N4OqHK4OzEYjHFZmmeCykUZYsSS%2FvfCT%2BzqGObAV5nTokMf1R5bSClc9vl11s9208pfEFmDX5%2F7%2FB0hh1zEKkNRQ2ufln1HZjLeXMUNpQDxWNt%2BpfKcdIM8OhR7OZz07AhAvJ%2Fkw4ANzvgYDiMueW4jM430UdiYU8RAv1Y4KEXyUSlc20Y%2BONo7ZEuwCRni3Sj9SRn7tTdn0CxnZQrLQtc2D0trH7%2FmfBEb%2Bev0jth7GO8CKua1V7iJE5I15L5LY73vgDVhNVexFKjpWFX3IJ8Rym1Mzs50DtIVIxLC2BGvzBg5dl0UqPNv9PG4zzLkbyY661XRo7khqo07ZL0aZhaYsQQZe59IxmUMvuP8%2Fmi4MG9C2J5HLiIGIC0KKle4ZU5R4ipSBdDhJx1eLo%2FqfMx8F7tytFIrpagw0H9w0xw%3D%3D|clp:2334524|tkp:BFBM1s3a5rFf

In the picture you can see the mirrors, on the AV and (if you squint) my F150.

The good news is they are "plug and play" / they are exact fit, and the wires are long enough to just plug in, remote (electric), turn signals and heated. Manually extend for trailer towing. They DO NOT power fold (an option my AV had), I've never had that option on any vehicle so I don't know what I am missing... The lower "convex" mirror is what really helps me out, covers the blind spot quite well. Depending on what you want some can be ordered with "chrome" caps...

Good luck whatever you decide.

Do you mirrors sit level or our they tilted up a little? There is a fix for it with a couple of washers. Check U Tube, there are videos of leveling tow mirrors.

 

[Edgar]

Great work!

Getting better every day.

Thank you sir! I just really hope that my new covers will fit seats in this car.. its the ugliest part of interior
Last Friday I ordered these guys from the shop in Houston, TX. Its a bit pricey, but there are just no decent seat covers available for this type seats (belt in the back + arm rest, who the hell came up with this solution lol). First I planned on sewing them myself, even got the older passenger's bottom unwrapped and all laid out. But oh boy.. its worse than the 5000pc puzzle. So I ordered ready covers with a piece of high density foam to repair the existing ones. Will try a leather restoration kit on one of the seat backs, always wanted to see how it works, cheaper than ordering a new one too. Here are pics:

 

[joendoodle]

Do you mirrors sit level or our they tilted up a little? There is a fix for it with a couple of washers. Check U Tube, there are videos of leveling tow mirrors.

They look level to me.

 

[Edgar]

Alright guys I need your help here.. I got a Low Oil Pressure Warning today while driving at about 60m/h. Gauge was slowly going down and hit the zero. I stopped the car checked the oil level - its was good. Started up the engine - gauge showed around 15-20psi then slowly dropped to 0 again - got my warning. Parked at home, checked with OBD it only showed my old P0455 EVAP error Im already working on, but nothing else. Then later I just started up the engine to record how gauge behaves. So this is video of Chev running on cold. I gave it a couple of throttles at the end. Can it be a faulty oil sensor or maybe oil pump? Is there an easy way to test them?

- found this guy's video, I think this little filter under the sending unit could be an issue, cause I used the Blue Devil myself like a week ago

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[chuck13]

Your poor Avalanche looks like it's had a hard life!Glad to see you're giving it the love it deserves.I ordered my seat cover from some folks in Houston,doesn't seem to be the same company you bought from.But I was very happy with the fit and finish,and if I re-do the rest of the seats I'll probably buy from them.As to your oiling problem,the wife drove my Avalanche the other day and called me and said the oil pressure was gone and the truck was 'dinging' at her.I took HER avalanche and a gallon of oil *just in case)and my scan tool.Sure enough,gauge was reading ZERO.Truck was full of oil and the scan tool I bought (el cheapo amazon model) wouldn't show my oil pressure.So I shut it off and restarted and there it was-25 psi at idle.I drove back home carefully but without any problem,and it hasn't acted up again.However,I was mentally kicking myself for NOT changing the oil pressure sending unit when I replaced the knock sensors...Good luck with your resto.

 

[Edgar]

Your poor Avalanche looks like it's had a hard life!Glad to see you're giving it the love it deserves.I ordered my seat cover from some folks in Houston,doesn't seem to be the same company you bought from.But I was very happy with the fit and finish,and if I re-do the rest of the seats I'll probably buy from them.As to your oiling problem,the wife drove my Avalanche the other day and called me and said the oil pressure was gone and the truck was 'dinging' at her.I took HER avalanche and a gallon of oil *just in case)and my scan tool.Sure enough,gauge was reading ZERO.Truck was full of oil and the scan tool I bought (el cheapo amazon model) wouldn't show my oil pressure.So I shut it off and restarted and there it was-25 psi at idle.I drove back home carefully but without any problem,and it hasn't acted up again.However,I was mentally kicking myself for NOT changing the oil pressure sending unit when I replaced the knock sensors...Good luck with your resto.

Thank you brother! Doing my best honestly.. fighting my wife to not sell it already lol I fell in love with this monster as soon as I took that steering wheel and pushed the pedal during test drive.. I already bought a little Sensor filter for like $6 bucks and a 1-1/16 socket for the job and since I already replacing the filter, will do the sending unit as well (another $10). Will report back when done but today while driving to the customer for 40mins nothing beeped, idled at ~20-25 and showed ~40psi while driving. She likes to tease me.. lol

 

[Edgar]

And I forgot to update with some minor investments >>>
- Had to buy a cheap set of E-Sockets (bigger torx) to remove the front row of seats, E18 and E20 are used there ($10)

- Blue Devil Rear Main Sealer (as result no oil's gone according dipstick (but apparently clogged up my oil sensor filter) $14
- Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak (gave me more smooth rotation and no drops on my parking spot so far) $18
*Both were recommended by local repair shop. And I was a bit skeptical about all these additives you know, but after resarching feedback from other people I gave it a try - finger crossed stuff worked for me..