2001 Tahoe Blinking Check Engine Light?

[NJTaho]

Actually when you order the direct bolt you don't have a choice you get the whole assembly I pictured above. And of course it is the smart thing to do.

Post some pics of the cats. Would like to see how bad they are. I am guessing there are burned shut from running a rich mixture down them.

---------- Post added at 08:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 PM ----------

Also I would still recommend some one with the same engine chime in here. I could be wrong, but a open hole in the throttle plate just does not sound right and maybe along with old o2 sensors maybe be causing this mess for you I mean the TB, WOW.

It is like someone drilled a hole to get the engine to run faster for a high electric load or something.

I'm pretty sure the hole you are talking about is normal. I've seen it on just about every car i've owned. 1996 Maxima, 1996 Explorer, 2000 Explorer, and my 2001 Tahoe, all had similar holes. Also I have seen completely solid blades. I have read that people who are tuning their vehicles themselves will drill a hole to help with Idle. (I'm not suggesting to do this at all)

I think it just depends on your vehicle.

 

[WildBill]

I cant see the invisible throttle body. Any pictures of the rest of the system?

 

[Spikeymikey]

I took mine to Autozone today and it didn't pick up on any codes. Do I have to hook one of these diagnostic machines while I am driving on the highway above 65 mph to get it to catch CEL? Besides cat replacement. Could it be something else like EGR valve? It also seems like my oil pressure runs pretty high. It idles at 40, but when I cruise at 2000 rpm it goes up to 60, and hits pretty close to 80 when I gun it. I just put in royal purple 5w30, k&n oil filter, & replaced the oil pressure sensor this weekend. No change to symptoms above after the maintenance.

 

[SunlitComet]

look at misfire history. Would not worry about oil pressure right now.

 

[tahoe7689]

I have an 03 tahoe with a 5.3L, and I had this same issue happen to me. After the blinking CEL, my car drove like yours, wouldnt shift and shook, basically sounded and felt like it would blow up haha. I had the cats replaced, BUT you need to make sure you fix the original problem that caused your cats to go bad, otherwise youll just blow your new cats all over again. From what you have said you have done, you may have caught the issue, but like I said make sure you have done everything you can because youll just have to replace the cats when they go bad again. A vehicle that functions normally should never have to replace the cats, from what I'm told, so the cats going bad means you have an issue with something else. (and yes the hole in the tb is normal for our model tahoes 00-06)

 

[Tahoe03mm]

I have a 6.0 lq4 and I too am having this problem, checked codes and only P0300. I have a dead cylinder #3 basically. I have a gauge that monitors missfires it says 3 but I never get a dtc for that cylinder. there's a huge history of things i've went through including.

• swapping coil packs around - no difference
• there is no cats - so they can't be plugged
• MAF was having issues and previously had a code for it- replaced it
• did compression check and it seemed ok
• plug looked pretty fouled up
• installed plug on end of wire and grounded - saw decent spark
• checked fuel pressure at idle and while under load - between 50-60
• fuel filter has been replaced
• plugs and plugwires have been replaced
• throttle body has been cleaned
• i know there is no intake leaks because i just put the manifold back on

i'm thinking possible the injector but plug is pretty black to have no fuel unless the injector has some irregular spray pattern or something.

any ideas?

is there a way to test the coil wiring to the coil at the plug and verify the values it should be receiving from the computer?

 

[AZ-Yukon]

How did the intake manifold gaskets look when you had the intake off? I had similar behavior (rough idle vs. loss of power), and chased it around for some time. Finally replaced the intake manifold gaskets... problem solved. They didn't look that bad but were obviously leaking, especially when the engine was cold in the winter (Phoenix winter).