New To Me 98 Tahoe, Green

[Mean_Green]

Picked up a '98 Tahoe for what I consider cheap. Was hunting for something with barn doors. Got 193K on the clock, runs and drives smooth, couple of very minor door dings and a few spots on the interior, but over all, extremely clean. No rust that I can find.

But since I've never had a vehicle like this, I'll be bugging y'all to death with questions.

 

[Mean_Green]

Mostly simply stuff so far. Couple of lamps out, so I'm swapping most to LEDs. Trailer connector has some rotten wires, so I'll be replacing that. Pulled the rear seats out since I'll never need them. Might consider selling. Swapping headlight assemblies for crystal style instead of cleaning the hazing and yellowing. All four side door courtesy lights and both license plate lights had issues, so they'll be replaced with aftermarket LED units.


Issues I'm seeking advice on.

Clear coat is bad in a couple of places on the hood and roof. Looking for options to deal with that.

Headliner is falling in a few places, but generally clean and intact. Need ideas on dealing with that before it gets torn.

Blower isn't right. Seems to only work on High, but may be running, just too slow on lower speeds. Resistor?

Rear A/C. There's a hand written note on the firewall saying the rear AC has been blocked. No idea why. Did they have problems with leaking?

Rear Barn Doors. Is there really no way to open them from the inside? I climbed in and close them to check on something and had to go out the side door. Is there a retrofit handle?

Driver door is drooping just a bit. Opens, closes and latches/locks fine and window works. Hoping it can be shimmed.

Only one remote and it works, but buttons are trashed. Have new ones ordered, but will need to figure out how to program. Got spoiled on the door mounted keypad on my Fords. With that was available on this.

One button on the 4WD control is damaged. Will check salvage for one before ordering.

Grille is cracked in a couple of places. Salvage say they have a couple for $50, but I might be able to JB the one I have.

Cruise control doesn't work. Fuse? Something else simple? Not something I'll use much, so don't want to go to much expense.

Not sure what else I'll find.



This is just sort of a punch list. I may open threads in more specific topic areas later.

 

[OR VietVet]

Welcome to the forum. Please post pics.

 

[Mean_Green]

Quick one for now off the driveway camera. Front end is kind of taken apart while I deal with the grille issue.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics of the truck, please.

Ask away in new threads for each of these questions, and we are here to assist you.

@OR VietVet should be able to answer your question on barn doors.

 

[Mean_Green]

Headlights were typical of composites, yellowed and dull. Did a bit on the driver side and it made some difference, but then I decided to go crystal rather than mess with all four.

 

[waveryd]

Mostly simply stuff so far. Couple of lamps out, so I'm swapping most to LEDs. Trailer connector has some rotten wires, so I'll be replacing that. Pulled the rear seats out since I'll never need them. Might consider selling. Swapping headlight assemblies for crystal style instead of cleaning the hazing and yellowing. All four side door courtesy lights and both license plate lights had issues, so they'll be replaced with aftermarket LED units.


Issues I'm seeking advice on.

Clear coat is bad in a couple of places on the hood and roof. Looking for options to deal with that.

Headliner is falling in a few places, but generally clean and intact. Need ideas on dealing with that before it gets torn.

Blower isn't right. Seems to only work on High, but may be running, just too slow on lower speeds. Resistor?

Rear A/C. There's a hand written note on the firewall saying the rear AC has been blocked. No idea why. Did they have problems with leaking?

Rear Barn Doors. Is there really no way to open them from the inside? I climbed in and close them to check on something and had to go out the side door. Is there a retrofit handle?

Driver door is drooping just a bit. Opens, closes and latches/locks fine and window works. Hoping it can be shimmed.

Only one remote and it works, but buttons are trashed. Have new ones ordered, but will need to figure out how to program. Got spoiled on the door mounted keypad on my Fords. With that was available on this.

One button on the 4WD control is damaged. Will check salvage for one before ordering.

Grille is cracked in a couple of places. Salvage say they have a couple for $50, but I might be able to JB the one I have.

Cruise control doesn't work. Fuse? Something else simple? Not something I'll use much, so don't want to go to much expense.

Not sure what else I'll find.



This is just sort of a punch list. I may open threads in more specific topic areas later.

I will advise on what I have personal experience on with this generation of trucks:

Sometimes some carefully applied spray adhesive can buy some time on the headliner if the substrate isn't too bad. Definitely mask off anything you don't want to be sprayed.

The blower can be the fan switch or resistor. Slowly cycle through the speeds with the switch and see if it runs. Removing the glove box will gain access to the resistor. Could be either one, I've seen both go bad.

The a/c lines will have to be followed to see how it was "blocked". The lines to the rear can leak. The lines to the rear are also very hard to separate from underneath the vehicle as they are generally fused together due to corrosion. If they are not leaking the expansion valve (which can stick and cause the rear air not to work) can be accessed by cutting a hole in the heater box and then repairing the hole. If there was a compressor failure the lines can be full of trash and need to be flushed. The rear air system can turn into a lot of work but if you live where it is hot, you will want it to function.

I have never seen a rear handle for interior use on the barn doors for this generation of truck.

Driver door needs a pin and bushing kit. These old doors are heavy. They are not expensive and not a terrible job.

Remotes are not difficult to program. The remote vendor usually will supply instructions or check youtube. I believe that only two remotes can be programmed at one time with this generation of vehicle.

Cruise control could be a few things. Have to troubleshoot the electrical first and go from there. I wouldn't think it would be extremely expensive.

Most of my experience is with a 1996 Suburban so there might be slight changes with some of the information that I have given. These trucks are reliable and fairly easy to work on. Good luck.

 

[ScottyBoy]

As far as the barn doors go, I do not believe an interior handle was ever an option, as passengers were never intended to sit/ride in the cargo area.
As for the AC lines being "blocked off": This could have been done for a number of reasons, and done a number of ways. The most logical reason is that the rear lines developed a leak and it was cost prohibitive to replace the lines. Several companies make universal block off plates for vehicles with rear AC for this very reason. It cheaper and easier to just cut the lines and install a $30 block off plate kit to get the front AC going. You'd have to inspect and follow the lines to see where and how they were cut and blocked off. And then there's the unknown, like mentioned above. What if the rear expansion valve is also bad? What if the rear evaporator is full of trash/debris ?? You could do a ton of work replacing the lines only to find over $1000 in more parts are needed. Personally, I would just leave it with just the front AC unless you know the previous owner and he can tell you EXACTLY what is wrong with it and what all was done to it. Otherwise it's a huge gamble in my opinion. Money would be better spent elsewhere. You already mentioned that you will pull the rear seats as they will never be used, so if nobody will ever sit back there, then it's not worth the time, effort, hassle, and MONEY to try and get the rear AC going. Just my 2 cents.
As for the cruise control, could be a number if things. First off I would check all fuses. Second, check ALL brake lights, bulbs, and the brake light switch at the pedal. If ANY of those are acting up on a GM vehicle, the cruse control will not work. Also, if you have LED tails, or LED bulbs in your tails/brake lights, the cruise will not work. I that one from personal experience.
As for the grill, I wouldn't bother trying to JB weld it especially if you already have a replacement available for only 50 bucks. The JB weld will work temporarily, but the grill will eventually crack again, as the crack will usually end up spreading beyond the repaired area. I honestly would just spend the 50 bucks and be done with it, as long as the replacement grill is in GOOD condition.

 

[Mean_Green]

The AC lines don't look to be cut, just disconnected. Vehicle was shipped from several states away, so no chance of asking any previous owners. CarFax shows five, I'll be number six. No one will ever sit back there and the two cars I have now don't have air at all. Neither have worked for many years. I guess as long as the front works, I'll be ahead. I've pulled the rear seats to add cargo room, so no chance of anyone sitting back there.

I'll have to check around town to see if anyone can do the headliner. Not comfortable tackling that unless I have no other option.

I don't have a way to support the door to try to remove it. I'll check a couple of body shops to see what they quote since I want them to look at the clearcoat issue as well. Seems there may be a shim kit out there that may work short term.

I don't make long drives at highway speed, mostly all short town runs fo 50 miles or so and a few longer ones over two lane roads with frequent speed changes. I don't really know if cruise works in either current car. Just noticed this one didn't during an initial drive. Interesting about the LED tails. Still has what might be original 3057/3157 lamps based on how the bulb grease has dried. Lamps had to be pried out. But I have LEDs ordered.

I'll be looking at the grille. I need a few other small things like some radio knobs they might have. No change I'll pay the $20 for each knob I'm seeing on the Bay.


As for the remotes, some sites say to do a key dance to get the vehicle into programming mode. Others say to jump two pins n the OBDII port. I found at least one place that says a button dance on the remote itself will work.

 

[Mean_Green]

Still needs some cleanup, but it's getting there.