Scheduled MX new buyer

[Andy28]

Hey guys just bought a 97 4wd Tahoe. It has 84k miles, what are some things you recommend doing? Also, I'm new to Tahoes is there anything that Is prone to going out on this vehicles that I should look for? I'm going to be doing a fluid change and flush on everything this weekend. The person I bought it from doesn't have a record of any MX being done on it and all he did was change the oil and battery. Thanks

 

[Pockets]

I'd do a full tune up just for piece of mind. You know, plugs/wires and all that jazz

 

[2000tahoeZ71]

The intake gaskets are going to fail at some point if they haven't been replaced. Keep an eye on your coolant levels and oil. If the coolant keeps disappearing and/or the oil looks like a milkshake, you know they've failed. Probably want to replace the quick connect heater hose fitting in the passenger side intake with a nipple and hose clamp instead. I went ahead and did all the heater hose lines too, and as soon as I got done, the heater core let go. It's a pretty simple job to do all of it though. Would be a good time to flush the dexcool and go back with green too.

 

[Andy28]

The intake gaskets are going to fail at some point if they haven't been replaced. Keep an eye on your coolant levels and oil. If the coolant keeps disappearing and/or the oil looks like a milkshake, you know they've failed. Probably want to replace the quick connect heater hose fitting in the passenger side intake with a nipple and hose clamp instead. I went ahead and did all the heater hose lines too, and as soon as I got done, the heater core let go. It's a pretty simple job to do all of it though. Would be a good time to flush the dexcool and go back with green too.

Thanks Matt, I'm guessing the Dex cool causes the intake gaskets to fail? The rig runs fine, so I will just keep an eye on the intake gasket for now.

 

[2000tahoeZ71]

Well, you will hear people say that. The gasket is a pretty terrible design as it is made of plastic. Put that plastic between two dissimilar metals(cast head and aluminum intake) and give it tens of thousands of heat cycles and they crack. The dex cool may not help the cause, but I don't think it causes it. Fel Pro makes a complete kit with metal backed gaskets and all the gaskets you need to replace to get to it. Many people swap the spider injectors out for a MPFI system while they are in there.

Just keep an eye on the levels, and also on exhaust. They don't always fail into the lifter valley, mine failed into an intake runner and I noticed a sweet smelling fog vapor coming from my tail pipe, especially on warm up. That is after the burning coolant ruined my cats.

 

[Andy28]

Just did rotor, cap, plugs and wires. Drained and flushed the nasty dex cool and tranny fluid with new filter. Had a inspection done on it at firestone. Looks like my pitman and idler arm has some play due to worn bushings. Everything else checked out, I'm happy overall.

 

[2000tahoeZ71]

Pitman and idler are pretty common weak spots for these truck. I replaced the entire steering system from outer tie rod to outer tie rod for about 220 bucks using all moog. Not a bad job at all, but the pitman arm can be a *****, and if you beat on it to seat the new one, the steering box will likely leak. Ask me how I know.