1997 K3500 454 Vortec Tune Up Parts Advice.

[wirlybird]

Hi all,
Going to start the tune process on my 3500.
What do you guys recommend for plugs, wires, cap & rotor?
Also, what other "bolt on" items should I replace? I know PCV valve is recommended. What else would be advisable?

 

[454cid]

Most people go with AC Delco or Delphi for the cap and rotor. Anything less and they tend to not last due to the design. A United Motor Products cap and rotor is suspected to be a good one, too, but not many on the forum have run one yet.... I have one, but have not yet installed it. I also have their plug wires, but still uninstalled. The UMP wires on my Saturn have been fine. The truck has AC Delco still.

Plugs, usually AC Delco, but I have some copper NGKs that I have yet to install. NGK makes most of GM's plugs.

I'd just spray the PCV out with carb, or brake cleaner. There's not much to them to go bad.... you might take a look at the valve cover grommet. I replaced mine a few years ago, and it was a big improvement in holding the PCV valve. The PCV hose is NLA so you'll need to use bulk hose if it needs to be replaced, or maybe just cut new rubber sleeves for it, out of bulk hose.

Maybe clean your MAF and throttle body? I need to do mine, as I suspect that's where I'm getting high IAT counts, from.

 

[Schurkey]

There's not much involved in "Tune-Ups" any more--some ignition parts get tested or replaced; some aerosol solvent in the IAC passage, and around the throttle blades.

No ignition timing to check, no advance mechanism to free-up. No idle mixture screws to adjust. Nobody does compression testing any more unless the MIL is glowing. We used to connect an ignition oscilloscope to every vehicle we did a "tune-up" on; but that's a lost art now. We looked at primary ignition patterns, secondary ignition patterns, performed cylinder-balance testing.

How old are the O2 sensors? Fuel filter? Air filter? Serpentine belt? (and belt tensioner.) I see vehicles running original O2 sensors for FAR too long. And my '97 appears to have NEVER had the brake fluid flushed before I got it. The fluid looked like coffee; and the calipers were scuzzy inside, with the pistons stiffer than they should have been. Not actually seized, but not limber like they're supposed to be.

You could verify fuel pressure. And tire pressure--including the spare. Does the spare tire "winch" work? NOW is the time to find out, not after you're stranded away from home with a flat.

Is it time to change/flush the other fluids? PS, transmission, rear (and front) axle lube? Transfer case? If the coolant is old enough to be flushed, how old are the radiator and heater hoses?

For the record, I dump in a 20-oz bottle of Techron Complete Fuel System Cleaner into the gas tank at every oil change, which in combination with Top Tier fuel, keeps the fuel system and the intake valves clean.

 

[Carlaisle]

Check the heater hose quick disconnect on the passenger side of the engine (lower intake, toward the front). If it's still there, remove it, curse GM's corner cutting, and replace it with a barbed fitting and hose clamp.

 

[Schurkey]

Check the heater hose quick disconnect on the passenger side of the engine (lower intake, toward the front). If it's still there, remove it, curse GM's corner cutting, and replace it with a Dorman-brand OEM-style quick-connect.

FIFY. My Dorman quick-connect looked perfect after ~20 years, when I replaced the engine in 2018. I re-used the quick-connector, it looked so good.

GM deliberately restricts the heater supply using the quick-connect. Prevents over-pressurizing the heater core. Also slows down the coolant flowing thru the underside of the TBI intake manifold. I don't know about Vortec manifolds.

An unrestricted barbed fitting is a bad idea.

 

[wirlybird]

Check the heater hose quick disconnect on the passenger side of the engine (lower intake, toward the front). If it's still there, remove it, curse GM's corner cutting, and replace it with a barbed fitting and hose clamp.

Did that on my 97 Tahoe. Quick connects lasted about 6 months. Used to carry two new ones and a wrench. Finally got fed up with the failures and went to a standard fitting and hose clamp. Years later no issues.

 

[Carlaisle]

FIFY. My Dorman quick-connect looked perfect after ~20 years, when I replaced the engine in 2018. I re-used the quick-connector, it looked so good.

GM deliberately restricts the heater supply using the quick-connect. Prevents over-pressurizing the heater core. Also slows down the coolant flowing thru the underside of the TBI intake manifold. I don't know about Vortec manifolds.

An unrestricted barbed fitting is a bad idea.

Changed, yes; fixed, no.

The restriction may serve an engineering purpose. I definitely have occasional noise from the inrush of coolant through the heater core on acceleration since installing the barbed fitting, but have suffered no other ill-effects yet. Key word being "yet". One other thing that hasn't happened "yet" since replacing the POS quick connect is the barbed fitting hasn't disintegrated and left me hiking for creek water 100 miles from any cell service or radio reception. It may be that Dorman produced a quick connect that is materially superior to GM's OE part. It certainly wouldn't be the first time the aftermarket improved on GM's engineering.

From my experience, tossing that thing in the trash on sight yields great satisfaction and peace of mind. For anyone desiring to keep the restriction, heater hose restrictors are readily available for about $15 - just run a search via your search engine of choice. In fact, I may install one of these to kill that occasional noise. If anyone would prefer to make their own, GM's original uses a through-hole of 1/4".

 

[454cid]

No ignition timing to check

It might not be a bad idea to check the cam/crank offset. It can be way out of spec before it sets a code.

How old are the O2 sensors? Fuel filter? Air filter? Serpentine belt? (and belt tensioner.) I see vehicles running original O2 sensors for FAR too long.

Yes, I probably should have changed my front 02 sensors 100K plus miles ago. I still have the passenger side to do.

 

[454cid]

The restriction may serve an engineering purpose. I definitely have occasional noise from the inrush of coolant through the heater core on acceleration since installing the barbed fitting, but have suffered no other ill-effects yet.

That's probably air. I'd suspect a coolant leak someplace.

 

[Frank Enstein]

I use NGK platinum plugs, Taylor Spiro-Pro or Thundervolt 8.2 (for towing. The grey boots can withstand more heat) Ans Standard Motor Products cap and rotors.
I use an oiled cotton gauze air filter element in everything like a K&N.

All of those have given me very good service over the years.