Z71 Adventure Wagon

[B-train]

No I’ve got the 6L80 6-speed.

I extracted the fluid via the transmission dip stick/fill tube - it was a super easy process. Then I measured what I took out, and filled it back up with the same amount and checked the level after a drive.

I’m also going to do another drain and fill when I drop the pan to replace the filter.

Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification.

I've used that process in the past for the 6 speed and it definitely saves taking a bath when pan pops loose. I've also had good luck with letting the pan drain with most bolts out, then suck out what ever I can through the gap before wrangling it out of there.

 

[Doubeleive]

I assumed that based in the year, but could be wrong (?). I thought OP stated he had the 8 speed. I was wondering about the process since there is no dipstick on the 8 speed.

I could be wrong but I think the 8 speeds have a internal thermostat, as well as no dipstick I have read that some people put the corvette dipstick on them as a remedy. or something to that effect.

 

[B-train]

I could be wrong but I think the 8 speeds have a internal thermostat, as well as no dipstick I have read that some people put the corvette dipstick on them as a remedy. or something to that effect.

To be honest, I never looked that hard ar mine to see if it does. I thought they used a similar design, but don't know for sure. I did ask my buddy who is a master GM tech and he said the 8 speed is more robust than the 6 speed and that the temp wasn't an issue.

I probably should dig deeper before my next service is due in the summer. I can't really recall ever seeing high trans temps when using tow/haul mode, but then again I'm relying on a buffered signal to an idiot guage.....

 

[Doubeleive]

To be honest, I never looked that hard ar mine to see if it does. I thought they used a similar design, but don't know for sure. I did ask my buddy who is a master GM tech and he said the 8 speed is more robust than the 6 speed and that the temp wasn't an issue.

I probably should dig deeper before my next service is due in the summer. I can't really recall ever seeing high trans temps when using tow/haul mode, but then again I'm relying on a buffered signal to an idiot guage.....

all I can say is the 8-speeds seem to have issue's based on buyer feedback, but the 10 speeds seem to be pretty good. I would advise doing flushes annualy to hopefully mitigate any problems. just my .02 cents. last one I looked at with the 8 speed had such a bad engine tick I could hear it a block away lol, the sales lady had a deer in the headlights look when I told her I wouldn't even consider buying it like that. it would have made a good youtube video

 

[B-train]

all I can say is the 8-speeds seem to have issue's based on buyer feedback, but the 10 speeds seem to be pretty good. I would advise doing flushes annualy to hopefully mitigate any problems. just my .02 cents. last one I looked at with the 8 speed had such a bad engine tick I could hear it a block away lol, the sales lady had a deer in the headlights look when I told her I wouldn't even consider buying it like that. it would have made a good youtube video

Maybe @Geotrash has his first option to buy and delete. Gotta be rust free though....LOL

 

[BlackBrud]

@Joseph Garcia helped me out in my intro thread, and I confirmed that I do NOT have electronic or air suspension. These RPO codes would be present if I did:
Z55 - Electronic Suspension
Z95 - Magnaride Suspension

Also a good thing to note is that starting in 2018 GM started replacing RPO code stickers with a QR code sticker - that QR code will return a list of your RPO codes when scanned.

 

[BlackBrud]

Had an eventful Friday/Saturday around here, and got two big ticket items done. I’ll split them into two posts though.

The first is my transmission service. The pan gasket and filter came in on Friday, so I spent a few hours getting the transmission all taken care of.

It shouldn’t take a few hours, but I wanted to take my time in case I encountered anything out of the ordinary. Honestly it could have been much quicker if I didn’t spent like 45 min just trying to finagle the pan out.

I was not able to fully drop the pan due to the exhaust - I had seen some posts and videos where it was tight but the pan could still be removed, but mine couldn’t. I removed the small heat shield and tried all sorts of angles while being gentle. Still no dice.

Luckily, I was able to get the filter out (I left the small filter gasket that was in there - no room to replace it), and was able to get the new one in as well. I cleaned the magnet, and also got the new pan gasket in there.

Thankfully, I didn’t find and chunks of metal, just a bit of varnish on the pan and some light shavings/dust on the magnet. I pumped out another ~5qts of transmission fluid, and replaced it with valvoline dexron VI, and a small dose of lube guard.

I cleaned it all up, and the test drive was great! It wasn’t a night and day difference, but it’s definitely noticeably smoother and the temperature seems to stay consistently lower.

Here’s a photo of the finagling process.

I took it for a long drive today with highway, city, and some light off roading. The highest transmission fluid temp I saw was 193 when I was off road in 4wd. On normal roads it stayed below 160 - this is with a thermostat bypass as well.

I’m glad that I’ve got that service all done so I’ll be set for a while, and I really appreciate all of the info on this forum that helped prepare me!

 

[BlackBrud]

Next up is the tune!

I thought it would be a bit farther out, but I found a great deal on a superchips flashpaq f5, and snagged it.

I installed the 87 octane tune for now, and included some options:
-afm/dod disable
-increased idle by 50rpm at idle in park and drive
-increased my tire size

All I can say is Hooollyyy Shnikeys! It’s so much smoother and more responsive!

I read a few threads about slightly rough idle on this forum, and I wonder if those people could benefit from just upping their idle a bit. Mine seemed a bit lopey at idle here and there, but now it’s super smooth.

The shifts are more crisp, and the mpg has been great! I averaged 20mpg on the way home tonight without being gentle at all - round trip was ~40 miles.

So far, I am incredibly pleased with the superchips tune. Shout out to @Doubeleive for answering my questions about superchips before I took the plunge

Oh, and here’s some pics from the light off roading today outside of boulder:

 

[SavageDad]

Nice to see a truck out there in her natural environment rather than sitting in another mall parking lot!

 

[BlackBrud]

Nice to see a truck out there in her natural environment rather than sitting in another mall parking lot!

Thanks! The z71 was in its element

 

[SavageDad]

Thanks! The z71 was in its element

I have to agree, I always feel like big girl is more comfortable and at home when I get her out in the dirt.

 

[BlackBrud]

I took the burb up to Summit County, CO this weekend - it was my first time driving it “hard” since it bought it. My recent transmission work and tune worked really well. The engine kept pulling well past 70mph on some mountain grades, and the highest temp I saw for the transmission fluid was 160 (granted it was ~35 F outside).

Up in the mountains it gets down to negative temps at night, and the teens in the day lately. I was worried that the transmission would be too cold with the new full-bypass thermostat, but even after sitting overnight I was able to get the transmission up to above 100F after a quick 10 min drive on a county road.

Lastly, I’ve been eager to see how the Nokian Outpost nATs would do in the snow, and they’ve been great! I only put the burb in 4wd once this weekend, and it was to drive some curvy steep roads in a rural neighborhood with “4 of snow.

I’ll follow up later once I get some more mountain miles with these Nokians and the tune.

In other news, I’m starting to plan a few small upgrades. I bought an air raid upgraded intake tube (keeping the stock box for now), and a new grille. The grill isn’t 100% necessary, but some road debris cracked a hole in the black plastic, so I figured I would install an all-black rst grill since I’m not a huge fan of chrome. I’m also going to black out the trim on the headlights.

Well, that’s all for now. I hope y’all are having a good start to the year!

 

[BlackBrud]

It finally warmed up a little around here, so I took the chance to drain and fill my front + rear diffs and transfer case, then did my first oil change.

I used all amsoil products, and I have to say that the drivetrain definitely feels smoother to my butt dyno. Theyre products aren’t cheap, but they seem to be worth it. Previously when I put it into 4wd, it felt like it dragged more - especially at cold temperatures.

The color of my rear diff oil was a little dark - I know from the service records that it had been drained and filled once before, and the magnet was pretty clean. The front diff and transfer case both had pretty dark fluid, and I flushed those out a bit before refilling. Both magnets were dirty, but otherwise normal.

I used 75w90 severe gear in the diffs, signature fuel efficient ATF in the transfer case, and I tried out the signature series oil for the engine. I also bought some extra ATF for my next couple of drain and fills - figured I’d stock up and save a bit with that amsoil membership.

That’s all for now. More to come soon-ish.

 

[BlackBrud]

More updates! I’m very close to being finished with my first phase of maintenance and upgrades.

Last week my corsa exhaust delivered, as well as a set of ac delco spark plugs and wires, and some new LED headlight bulbs.

Over the weekend I installed the catback, the headlight bulbs, and changed the plugs + wires.

The headlights went in easily.

The spark plugs were pretty easy as well, with the exception of the one closest to the firewall on the passenger side. I ended up going for that one from below - it definitely took more time but it wasn’t too bad. Almost all of the plugs looked good - the last plugs closest to the firewall had some oil on the threads, but from what I’ve read and what I could see - it looks like the valve cover was leaking a really small amount. I inspected the area around those plugs and saw a small amount of oil near the valve covers, but I had to really search for it.

The catback install was easy - the only hiccup was that I needed to cut the portion that goes over the rear axle in order to remove the stock exhaust.

Man - those three mods made such a difference! The headlights are finally useful, the engine idles and revs really smoothly, and the exhaust sounds great!

For now, I’m going to relax a bit on modifications. The next one on my list is a set of fox 2.0s - I’m going to wait until late spring or so to get those since I’ll probably have the bushings and wear items in whole front end refreshed at that point as well. I’ve got a bit of saving to do.

Aside from that, the only other things I have planned are another drain and fill for the transmission, and doing some LED fog light bulbs.

I’ll upload the rest of the pictures in another post since they’re large.

Happy Friday, y’all!

 

[BlackBrud]

Here are the two plugs with some oil on the threads. On both, it looked like the oil only penetrated halfway down the threads from the outside. Like I said, I’ll keep an eye on them and will check them in a year or so.

 

[BlackBrud]

Lastly, here’s a pic of the corsa tips - I went with the black tips and think they look great! And yes, my bumper was a bit dirty from a drive haha.

 

[BlackBrud]

And what would this thread be without a good photo or two of the whole package every now and then? Just me rambling I suppose haha.

Before the exhaust:

After:

 

[Oh Kee Pah]

Lookin' GREAT!
I bet you're liking the tune a lot and now with the Corsa...oh man!

What would you say the temps got down to when you had it up in Summit Co. sitting overnight?
I'm going back and forth about the transmission mod; worried it might not be too happy on some Maine winter mornings.

Thanks for the photos - Safe Travels

 

[BlackBrud]

Lookin' GREAT!
I bet you're liking the tune a lot and now with the Corsa...oh man!

What would you say the temps got down to when you had it up in Summit Co. sitting overnight?
I'm going back and forth about the transmission mod; worried it might not be too happy on some Maine winter mornings.

Thanks for the photos - Safe Travels

Thanks! The black is definitely hard to keep clean haha

At night up there it was around 0 - some nights it dipped negative. Then high of 20s in the day. It was definitely cold when I first drove it out of the neighborhood, but once I got out onto the county roads the transmission warmed up to over 100 degrees in about 5 miles or so of driving.

I’m eager to get back up there to see how the amsoil fluids do in those temps. So far it’s been really smooth around town and on short highway drives. Down on the front range it’s been between 30-50 degrees lately and the transmission has no problem getting over 100 degrees if you drive for more than 15 minutes or so.

 

[Tahoecrewcar]

What LED headlight bulbs did you go with and how is the color temperature/beam pattern? You're right about the stock halogen headlights being pretty useless, so I too have thought about upgrading the lights. Any pics you have of the LED bulbs and beam pattern would be awesome!