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4.56 gears and ABS error on 2003

L

lust4speed

Full Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2003
Messages
18
Location
Southern California
While I have been running an RCD 6" lift and 35" tires since January of 2003, we just installed 4.56 gears front and rear. Now within 4 miles of starting the engine, the ABS warning light and brake warning lights come on with all the warning bells going off. Shutting off the engine and restarting allows another 4 miles or so before the computer gets upset again. Anyone else have this problem? Or better yet, is there a programing solution? Hypertech says that their unit will correct the problem on AV's up through 2002, but something in the 2003 and 2004 was different and their programing has yet to work on these years. I find it strange that I never had the problem with the tall tires since it seems the computer wouldn't really know about the gear change - it should think that I'm driving faster now.
 
I havent had any problems with my 2002 I ran it for about a year before I got the Hypertech...no problems...Did you damage any sensors or leave any unplugged maybe???
I'm about to do the 456's and now I'm scared
 
I'd consult a GM tech (or Engineer if you can find one :E:).

Wheel and/or driveline/VSS in the PCM may need to just be programmed. Although you may have compensated for the tire diameter and your actual vehicle speed may be ok due to the tire size. (Is it?) There's still the driveline/axle ratio that's out of range for the current setting (of course :2:).

Now that I've mentioned something you may already have known... :cautious:

My curiousity is up, I've heard something somewhere about this. If I find it, of course, I'll post it unless someone else does prior.

HTH!
 
Here's some OBDII DTC'c to look for:

DTC C0000         Vehicle Speed Information Circuit Malfunction
DTC C0035 or C0040    Front Wheel Speed Sensor Circuit
DTC C0045 or C0050    Rear Wheel Speed Sensor Circuit
DTC C0110         Pump Motor Circuit

DTC C0131 Antilock Brake System (ABS)/Traction Control System (TCS) Pressure Circuit

DTC C0161      Antilock Brake System (ABS)/Traction Control System (TCS) Brake Switch

DTC C0186      Lateral Accelerometer Circuit Malfunction
DTC C0196      Yaw Rate Circuit Malfunction
DTC C0201      Antilock Brake System (ABS) Enable Relay Contact Circuit
DTC C0220      Left Front Antilock Brake System (ABS) Channel in Release Too Long

DTC C0221-0227 W/O JL4 Wheel Speed Sensor Circuit
DTC C0221-C0227 W JL4 Right Front Antilock Brake System (ABS) Channel in Release Too Long

DTC C0228      Left Rear Antilock Brake System (ABS) Channel in Release Too Long

DTC C0229 W/O JL4    Simultaneous Drop Out of Front Wheel Speed Signals
DTC C0229 W JL4       Right Rear Antilock Brake System (ABS) Channel in Release Too Long

DTC C0235-0237 / P0609 Rear Wheel Speed Sensor Circuit
DTC C0238       Wheel Speed Mismatch
DTC C0240       Powertrain Control Module (PCM) Traction Control Not Allowed

DTC C0241-C0243       EBCM Malfunction
DTC C0244 W/O JL4    EBCM Malfunction
DTC C0244 W JL4       Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) Delivered Torque
DTC C0245 W/O JL4    EBCM Malfunction
DTC C0245 W JL4        Wheel Speed Sensor Frequency Error
DTC C0246-C0254       EBCM Malfunction
DTC C0253        Centering Fault
DTC C0265 or C0266 EBCM Relay Circuit
DTC C0267 or C0268    Pump Motor Circuit Open/Shorted
DTC C0269 or C0274    Excessive Dump/Isolation Time
DTC C0271-0273, 0284    EBCM Malfunction
DTC C0279 W/O JL4    Powertrain Configuration Not Valid
DTC C0279 W JL4       Pre-charge Pump Circuit Performance
DTC C0281       Brake Switch Circuit
DTC C0283 W/O JL4   Traction Switch Circuit
DTC C0283 W JL4       VSES Switch Circuit
DTC C0287, P1644, or P1689     Delivered Torque Circuit
DTC C0290 or C0292 W/O JL4   Lost Communications With PCM
DTC C0290 or C0292 W JL4    VSES Combination Sensor Circuits
DTC C0291       Lost Communications With BCM
DTC C0297       Powertrain Configuration Data Not Received
DTC C0298 or P1571   Powertrain Indicated Traction Control Malfunction

HTH!

 
I'm waiting to take it in to the dealer until we check everything out one more time. We've got just a little more gear noise than what should be there, and for whatever reason, the shim pack must have settled in a little more since it was quiet and developed a little noise within about 50 miles, We picked up a little extra backlash somewhere, but it hasn't got any worse. People riding in the AV just think the tires are making the noise, but having lived with the tires for a year, I know that its the rear end. Sometimes things just go a little south. At least the front end is quiet on engagement so we did fine there.

Anyway, my retired Chevy mechanic friend that "helped" me (helped = did everything while I watched and fetched tools) will be back in town at the end of the week.

We also found that the left axle seal has been leaking since new from the looks of it, and I want the differential perfect when I complain about the axle seal.

I had checked the speedometer when new with stock tires and it was within 1 MPH, putting on the 35" tires had the speedo running 6 MPH slow, and the recent change to the 4.56's now has the speedo running 10 MPH fast. I hadn't expected that much change with the gears, but the GPS doesn't lie. It's really easy with the speedo being fast to hit the limiter. My '97 Silverado would shut off the fuel at 98 MPH and pick back up at about 93 MPH or so, the wife's 2002 Yukon Xl would kill about 97 and also pick back up at 93. The AV just goes up to 100 and levels out - a nice improvement.

On the plus side, the AV now has a whole bunch more punch off the line, and it doesn't downshift near as much when speeding up a little on the freeway.

The ABS error occurs at slower speeds and no sooner than 4-5 miles of travel, and does not occur while I'm on the freeway, but will start with the chimes within about 4-5 miles after getting back in slower traffic. I believe the rear ABS sensor is located in the tailshaft of the trans and the fronts are off the brake rotor area, neither of which we touched.
 
Bummer.
Sort of sounds like something wasn't quite seated.
But I'm not an expert on this.

Did the gear contact pattern look good during installation?
 
Yeesch, I remember a ring & pinion job I did on my `70 Chevelle (4:56 too!); Lots of crush sleeves, shims, white lead, patience and a mess. Delicate guages and a 3/4" breaker bar! What a chore!

I hope something shows from the OBD 2 hook-up. That'll help you focus in on it.

Interesting to see what milage effect there is..

I didn't believe they picked up the speedo / VSS from the tailshaft anymore, but this sounds like they do still??? (`Thought it was from a wheel speed sensor now days..)

Good luck on the re-visit..
 
Everything was fine. We had about .008 backlash if I remember correctly. Now it has 4 or 5 times that amount. I suspect that we were unlucky enough to have it hang up on a burr or edge, and running it allowed the part to set like it should have to begin with. I'm waiting for the expert to get back in town before I mess with it. Also, there are no wires to the rear axle so I believe that the rear signal is still taken from the trans.

Hypertech said that the 03 and 04 was still driving them up the wall, and they were still trying to figure out what Chevy changed from the 2002 model. I just hope that the dealership can program around the gearing and tires.
 
Maybe just the carrier/axle shims if the pattern is ok.. Everything interacts though... have fun! :E:
 
hmmm....I know it was 4.88's that the pc couldn't handle. But that is what I knew of older years (pre-03)...dang...I have teh 4.56's in my garage! Let us know what the dealer says...

I would expect a programmer would fix this...hmmm...


What gears you got? brand? generally aftermarkets are gonna be louder than stocks. You'll definitly hear them.
Mud!
 
I am doing the gear swap to 4.56 next week....maybe I should hold off till I hear what your outcome is. I have the hypertech and 35"s. Hypertech said it should be no problem
 
HBHOG said:
I am doing the gear swap to 4.56 next week....maybe I should hold off till I hear what your outcome is. I have the hypertech and 35"s. Hypertech said it should be no problem
Click to expand...

Yep, I'd hold off! I've been putting mine off for the last 2 months. Only really wanting to do them recently since adding the 35's. But now I think I can wait til something comes of this.

Good luck!

Mud!


HEY!!!

Buddy of mine who is QUITE knowledgable in this field replied to me with this when I asked him about it:

Unless GM Switched to an ABS Calibration Gear on the Ring Gear for 2003/2004 there should not be a problem.

Tell him the correct HyperTech settings are

4.56
33.75" Tires

There are 2 idiots that work for HyperTech. Sometimes you get them on the phone and they give out stupid answers.

If he uses a setting other than that he will have an ABS Cal problem because his 35's aren't 35's, they are 33.6" tires. 33's are 31.6". I am sure he keyed in 4.56 and 34" or he did a conversion to do it using 4.10's or 3.73's. He gotta use 4.56/33.75.
Click to expand...

Mud!
 
I have had 4.56s in my truck for about 2 months now and I think I have excessive backlash also. I get a clunk now when I go in gear and it clunks when I hit second also. Anybody else have these problems?

My big problem is a vibration I get at like 85mph...kinda annoying. Could this be because of excessive backlash? Or could it be my drive shaft is out of ballance? I never had the vibration before the gear change but then again the drive shaft wasnt turning as fast before either.

On a side note...I initially used the hypertech to correct for gears/tire size and it worked great (but I believe it only goes to 34" tires...mine measure 32.25"so it did not affect me). Anyway, I have now went with the diablo and changing the gear settings for 4.56s DOES NOT WORK...however, you can play with tire size to correct for different gears. Using a GPS @ 80 mph I am right on.

 
The tech at SuperChips says their unit will solve both the speedo problem and the ABS alarm. I've still got to get back with them and ask if I'll be required to run premium fuel with the programmer upgrade. With todays gas prices I'd rather stick to regular.

Also, how quiet are your 4.56's? We have checked the pinion depth and backlash again and everything is exactly in spec, but they make quite a bit of noise in the 50-60 range. Over 70 and they are perfectly quiet.
 
When I changed gears in my Impala SS from 3.08 to 3.73 I had to change the rear ABS relucter ring to keep it all matched. I guess this is not needed on the AV?
 
Mine are noisy between 40-60 MPH. :7:The installer; (Off-Road Warehouse), checked it and said that they are going to install another brand, which is on order. Don't know what they used, but will find out. This ABS DIC problem is irritating! :8: So Hypertech doesn't have any answers, huh? ???
 
lust4speed said:
While I have been running an RCD 6" lift and 35" tires since January of 2003, we just installed 4.56 gears front and rear. Now within 4 miles of starting the engine, the ABS warning light and brake warning lights come on with all the warning bells going off. Shutting off the engine and restarting allows another 4 miles or so before the computer gets upset again. Anyone else have this problem? Or better yet, is there a programing solution? Hypertech says that their unit will correct the problem on AV's up through 2002, but something in the 2003 and 2004 was different and their programing has yet to work on these years. I find it strange that I never had the problem with the tall tires since it seems the computer wouldn't really know about the gear change - it should think that I'm driving faster now.
Click to expand...
Called Hypertech today, and they didn't have any answers. :E: They never responded to my e-mails. :7: I am very disappointed at Hypertech. :8: Will be selling my HPP-3 unit. Anyone know of any programmers that can support 4.56 gearing with 35" tires without ABS Error problems? ???
 
Some info for everyone with 4.56 gears:

I have the predator now but I only have 33" tires...I dont have a problem. However I did have to play with tire sizes so the speedo was correct...I had no problems with an ABS error.

You can also get custom tunes with the Predator which is nice because you can just about elimanate TQM.

I cant quite remember what brand of gears I went with but I got them from Randys Ring and Pinion...they are not much noisier than stock and I paid just under $400 shipped to my door. I will check and see what brand they are tonight.
 
I asked this before but I will ask again...Does anyone get a clunk or clink when they put it in gear? Or another clunk when it hits second gear?

Could this be because of excessive backlash?

Any info appreciated.
 
The clunk probably is excessive backlash, but could also be a bad universal joint or other play in the driveline.

My gears were the cheapest of the three offered by the company. These were just labled "OEM", and came in a plain white box. The other gears were Motive and Precision Gear. I'll give the latest setup 500 miles to see if they wear in and settle down. If they don't I'll pull them out.
 
Had my backlash checked and checked in right at .008 like it should have. The mechanic said it is the crappy stock locker making the clunking sound I was talking about earlier. May be time for and Eaton or Detroit locker.

As far as gear noise...these are a little noisier but not much....brand of gears was YUKON...got them from Randys ring and pinion to my door for less than $400 w/mini kits.
 
Been working way too much lately, but finally ordered a Superchips 2715 programmer. IT WORKS! The program allows choosing any gear ratio between 3.42 and 4.88, and allows choosing a tire diameter every 1/4" up to 38". I programmed it for the 4.56's and the 35" BFG's and first time back on the road produced a speedometer corrected to within 1-1/2 MPH and no more alarms. After living with the bonging alarm, I know by heart that it bongs 34 times to warn of the ABS shutting down. Now the ABS stays working.

Next on the agenda are the 4.56's that will not quiet down. The company has sent out another set on warranty, and I just have to swap them out. I'll post whether switching to a set of Precision Gear 4.56's solves the noise problem.

I just added another 1/4" to the tire size in the program and will see tomorrow if that doesn't get the speedo spot on. Also, they recommend using the loaded tire diameter which is surprisingly smaller at 33.4". I had originally set the size at 33.5" and have now upped it to 33.75". (Tire measures 35" horizontally, but is the smaller size from ground to top of tire.)
 
BRAVO!!!! ;)

CAN YOU TELL US WHERE YOU ORDERED THE "Superchips 2715 programmer" AND THE PRICE? AND PLEASE KEEP US POSTED ON THE GEAR SWAP AND PRICE! AND WHERE YOU ORDERED IT!

THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL! LOL
 
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