2003 Suburban A/C Glory

BudW

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GM Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensors and knock sensors are fairly common to go out and I think you are more than capable of doing both.

The knock sensors are underneath the intake manifold and I would highly recommend replacing both sensors – only because they do go out and not worth taking intake back off to replace the other side, down the road.

19330121 (old part # is 25318411 – been superseded a few times)MAF Sensor
GM MSRP $285.38
12589867 Knock sensor (2x)
GM MSRP $97.08 each
89060413 (old part # is 89017589)Intake gasket set
GM MSRP $109.63
You can get all three parts aftermarket - a lot cheaper.

If you were paying a shop, technician gets 3.0 hours + diagnostic time.
If I was doing it, about 5 hours.

The intake should be made out of plastic, so a lot easier to remove than the cast iron intake intakes we have on our cars.

I will send you an email with removal and replacement details.
BudW
 

Justwondering

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Buddy is a good idea but my okcity buddy doesn't do windows.

My local buddies help castrate goats or calves, bale and load hay, cut and weld steel, but none of them want to tackle glass. Kinda like the interior fabric, they like the end result but didn't want to figure out the patterns to get them to fit the plastic trim.

Two of them have offered to 'let' me work on their farm trucks so I could practice my skills. Too funny.
 

Darth-Car

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If it is a window that has crashed you may have to reboot the truck.
 

Justwondering

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Darth Car ... I'm too frugal for that. Suburban is supposed to be the go-to vehicle when I make ER runs.
It will get fixed. Just means no paint job next year on the Chrysler.
Unlike the feds, I try not to spend the same dollar twice.
 

Aspen500

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Could I make a suggestion on one more part to get if you do the knock sensors? Highly recommend getting the knock sensor wire harness also. It's not that much, just a wire to each sensor and then to the top of the intake plenum where it plugs in. It's clipped to the left rear of the plenum. Maybe not a problem in Texas but up here, 9 times out of 10 the connectors are corroded badly and pretty much fall apart. Most times it's that corrosion that causes the knock sensor codes. I mean, the sensor basically rots away.

Make sure you seal the grommets that go in the hole above the sensors with rtv. That'll help keep water out. Added bonus is, the new harness has them on it and they seal much better than old brittle ones do.
 

Justwondering

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I'm open to all suggestions to keep the hospital ship running. Everybody's been relatively healthy since March so I'm confident I have a few months before there will be issues.

I spent all afternoon out with the Chrysler and forgot to run the codes. Will do that in the morning.
 

Justwondering

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Before I do the knock 2 sensors, I'm going to change the fuel filter to see if that changes anything.
Today on my 48 mile round trip, the a/c got cold enough for a meat locker but it lost power and shuddered to a stop 8 times during the round trip.

It acts like it is starved for gas. I can shut off the engine and wait about 2 minutes and it starts back up fine. Then shuts down again when you are going up a hill or ease off the gas at a yield or stop.

I know nothing about fuel filters.

Autozone has three for sale: Duralast, Fram, and Champ with prices ranging from 10.99 to 15.99

Is there really a big difference between them? Other than the color (Fram is prettier) they all look the same and seem equally good candidates.
 

Aspen500

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Generally (but not etched in stone) a higher price means a better filter.
You may want to check fuel pressure while driving. That would require a fuel pressure tester with an adapter to screw on the Schrader valve on the fuel rail. You should have roughly 35-40 psi at all times. It should be more under heavy load of course. It's not something a person can really check "at home" though. It just sounds like possible fuel pressure drop off under load by the description.

Also, you mentioned a MAF sensor fault code earlier. A biased MAF can also cause the exact symptoms you are describing. By biased I mean it' "seeing" fewer gm/sec of air than is actually flowing which in turn,,,,,,,,,,,causes the injector pulse (measured in milliseconds) to be too low. In other words, there's too much air for too little fuel and that creates a lean condition and loss of power, stalling, stumbling........................Like a carburetor with jets 10 sizes too small.

Disclaimer;): gm/sec is grams (of air) per second
 

BudW

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I’ve seen people perform tests on oil filters and diesel fuel filters (a big deal on diesels) - but don’t recall seeing any tests for fuel filters.

Most manufactures say to change the fuel filter every 30k miles - but hardly anyone does that.


I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the three brands mentioned.

It also sounds like a possible knock sensor issue - as if knock sensors (or something else mimicking engine knock, or electrical problem) is too much timing retard - which resets upon engine restart.

I’ve seen vehicles with headers installed mimic eng knocks, and I’ve also seen people drive down a gravel road, and tossed gravel tapping the oil pan and other items, mimic knocking.
 

Justwondering

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Gravel and rocks is an everyday with me ... its what my 1/4 mile driveway is composed of.

I figure for less than 20 bucks and a little time, I can change the fuel filter and see if there is any improvement. Stay tuned.
 

Aspen500

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Luckily you live in Texas. Up here in the great white (white from salt) north, if the filter has been on there more than 3 or 4 years,,,,,,,,,chances of a quick change are slim to none. More likely than not it will also involve installing a fuel line repair kit at a minimum. The filter will have become one with the fuel lines. I'm referring to rust, rot and corrosion, btw..............:(
 

Darth-Car

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Stay away from Fram filters of any type. You get what you pay for. For any filter Wix is the only way to go.
 

Aspen500

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I tend to agree with Darth. You can't go wrong with AC Delco either.

At some point in the past, Fram went from good products to not so good. It's the only oil filter I've seen that trashed an engine over the years (I can think of 6 off hand I personally repaired at work) when the filter internally came apart and plugged the oil passage out of the filter housing and before anyone knew there was a problem,,,,,,,,death rattle.
 

Darth-Car

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The one thing with Wix filters, and Baldwin filters, you have to be sure that they say made in USA. Both companies have started making product in china. The chi-com stuff is not made to the same quality standards, and may cause issues.

I had a chi-com Baldwin oil filter on Darth Car when the oil pump failed.
 

Aspen500

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It should at least say the country of origin on the box. U.S.A. is best but other countries are fine also, as long as it isn't China. Unfortunately with some things, you really don't have much choice anymore. :(:mad:

What I don't get is China can make decent stuff if they want to. I've got a couple sets of Gear Wrenches and they say Made in China but I've yet to break a single one even with what could be considered "abuse". Guess it's like anywhere, there's really good product and really bad.
 
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