Engine Overheating/No Heat

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JTsYUKON

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I bet it's a cracked plastic side tank, par for the course on these.
not sure where you sit on money but don't cheap out on the radiator it just causes more headaches
if you can do those heater hose "T"'s at the same time because those will break next may as well get it out of the way.
I don’t like to cheap out on parts. If it turns out to be the radiator I’ll look at the GM first and any other recommendations you guys have.

I don’t know what heater T’s are. Sounds like some kind of fitting. I’ll look into them. EDIT: I’ve attached a pic of what I found below. I may go for OEM unless someone has a better suggestion. Is this it? How many of them do I need?

Also, how difficult a job is it to do these radiators? I’ve done one on a 91 Jeep Cherokee, but never messed in B bc with this one.

Seems like when I hit 150k on this thing I’ve started having more issues. I think I’ve got a few leaky injectors, so I need to do that job too. And what do you know but it’s in the teens all this week and into the next with snow everywhere.
 

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donjetman

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Ok, great. I just drove her and left the Yukon at home. I got under it, removed the plastic engine skid and took pics before cleaning it all so I can get a fresh look. It’s all along the bottom of the fan shroud which is just behind the radiator. I couldn’t any in other places. Mostly here and some dripping down passenger side. Found a dead bird. LOL
Definitely replace your 2 heat core T fittings, etc. If you want "the best" install these: https://www.gruvenparts.com/billet-gm-heater-core-coolant-tees/
Here's a post I made when I replaced mine:
https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/heater-core-t-connectors-broke.116171/
 

Geotrash

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Definitely replace your 2 heat core T fittings, etc. If you want "the best" install these: https://www.gruvenparts.com/billet-gm-heater-core-coolant-tees/
Here's a post I made when I replaced mine:
https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/heater-core-t-connectors-broke.116171/
Don, just a heads-up that I had bad luck with the Gruven tees on my 2012 but they're working well on my 2007. I ended up replacing the ones on my 2012 with OEM tees because I couldn't get them to seal up. The hose clamps they supplied with the tees aren't designed for neoprene hose which I think was part of the problem. They would probably be okay if using either spring clamps or neoprene hose clamps.
 

donjetman

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Don, just a heads-up that I had bad luck with the Gruven tees on my 2012 but they're working well on my 2007. I ended up replacing the ones on my 2012 with OEM tees because I couldn't get them to seal up. The hose clamps they supplied with the tees aren't designed for neoprene hose which I think was part of the problem. They would probably be okay if using either spring clamps or neoprene hose clamps.
????
Installed the Gruven Ts 3 yrs ago and still going strong :peace:
 

Geotrash

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I don’t like to cheap out on parts. If it turns out to be the radiator I’ll look at the GM first and any other recommendations you guys have.

I don’t know what heater T’s are. Sounds like some kind of fitting. I’ll look into them. EDIT: I’ve attached a pic of what I found below. I may go for OEM unless someone has a better suggestion. Is this it? How many of them do I need?

Also, how difficult a job is it to do these radiators? I’ve done one on a 91 Jeep Cherokee, but never messed in B bc with this one.

Seems like when I hit 150k on this thing I’ve started having more issues. I think I’ve got a few leaky injectors, so I need to do that job too. And what do you know but it’s in the teens all this week and into the next with snow everywhere.
The parts you need will depend on whether you have rear heat or not. You can tell by looking at where the heater hoses connect through the firewall. If you have rear heat, which you probably do, then each connector is a 3-way tee and one will likely be white and the other black. You will also need 2 pre-fab heater hoses with the proper connectors for the assembly, plus I recommend replacing the heater hose with the Y in it with this Dorman part that has a metal Y fitting in it.



The white tee: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GV8RNIC/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_image_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And the black tee: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F671434/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Upper radiator hose:

Lower radiator hose:

The radiator itself is now special order only. Summit carries it for $500 but they also sell a Summit branded equivalent which I would personally be okay with. You need to know whether your radiator has oil coolers in both end tanks or not - one for the engine oil and one for the transmission fluid. You can tell by looking at the radiator from the top and looking for metal tubes coming out of the top and bottom of both plastic end tanks. The transmission cooler is on the pax side and the engine oil cooler is on the drivers side. Chances are you have both on an SLT, but you may only have the transmission cooler. If you have both, this is the one you want:


Doing the radiator and tees on one of these trucks is easy. And you might as well replace the water pump and thermostat while you're in there:

 
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Doubeleive

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I don’t like to cheap out on parts. If it turns out to be the radiator I’ll look at the GM first and any other recommendations you guys have.

I don’t know what heater T’s are. Sounds like some kind of fitting. I’ll look into them. EDIT: I’ve attached a pic of what I found below. I may go for OEM unless someone has a better suggestion. Is this it? How many of them do I need?

Also, how difficult a job is it to do these radiators? I’ve done one on a 91 Jeep Cherokee, but never messed in B bc with this one.

Seems like when I hit 150k on this thing I’ve started having more issues. I think I’ve got a few leaky injectors, so I need to do that job too. And what do you know but it’s in the teens all this week and into the next with snow everywhere.
ok, so due to age what happens is the plastic "t"'s get brittle and so does the plastic end of the hose so it's really best to do both
these are correct OEM part numbers.
you need 1 of each, best price is probably amazon
15834773 (HOSE), 22885825 (HOSE), 15055342 (T-FITTING), 15055343 (T-FITTING)
getting the old ones off can be a real b*itch even with the special tool, so my suggestion is to just cut the plastic clips off with some wire cutters, you will see each hose/T has a part you can squeeze that should release the clip but over time it just becomes extremely hard to do. so just cut the thin part on both sides then the connection will come right off, the new ones will have new clips anyway. it can make the difference between a 10 minute job and 2 hours job
cut.jpg
 

Geotrash

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ok, so due to age what happens is the plastic "t"'s get brittle and so does the plastic end of the hose so it's really best to do both
these are correct OEM part numbers.
you need 1 of each, best price is probably amazon
15834773 (HOSE), 22885825 (HOSE), 15055342 (T-FITTING), 15055343 (T-FITTING)
getting the old ones off can be a real b*itch even with the special tool, so my suggestion is to just cut the plastic clips off with some wire cutters, you will see each hose/T has a part you can squeeze that should release the clip but over time it just becomes extremely hard to do. so just cut the thin part on both sides then the connection will come right off, the new ones will have new clips anyway. it can make the difference between a 10 minute job and 2 hours job
View attachment 386413
Mine came off easier than that on both trucks, thankfully. I found the trick was to push inward firmly on the tube coming into the part of the fitting I was trying to release, and then squeeze the tabs with either my fingers or a pair of pliers. I was able to get all of mine to release that way with no fuss.
 

Doubeleive

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Mine came off easier than that on both trucks, thankfully. I found the trick was to push inward firmly on the tube coming into the part of the fitting I was trying to release, and then squeeze the tabs with either my fingers or a pair of pliers. I was able to get all of mine to release that way with no fuss.
maybe it's the CA heat but after struggling with the first one and feeling really stupid afterwards realizing it could just be cut off then I just cut them now.
it's like trying to untie a hard shoe knot, when you can just pull the shoe off instead.
 

Joseph Garcia

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If you replace the radiator, be sure to replace ALL cooling hoses, as well. They do deteriorate over time, and I can tell you form personal experience that if one of those hoses grenades, you'll lose 90% of your coolant within 60 seconds.
 

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