Another Former Crew Owner

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 9:38 am

Well I did it, sad as it was to get rid of a truck I still really loved, the debate came down to fuel economy and passenger space. After trying on more than 20 different cars for size my "New" rig is in the driveway. And here she is!

2002 Cadillac Seville SLS 275HP Northstar V8 32valve DOHC, Twin Tip Dual Exhaust, Power everything, Leather, 85,700 miles on her. Traded the truck "stripped of a number of accessories watch classifieds for some soon" got the car and $1375.00 in cash. we both walked away in a bit of pain from the deal so neither got too outfoxed. I had them put 2 new tires and all new rear brakes and rotors on the Caddy. Hard to tell in the pic since it's a gray day here but it's silver metallic with the light gray interior. First mods in place. The fender vents just seemed to want to go on her and there are new basic floor mats and blind spot mirrors. Tank was on low fuel so I put just over 16.5g in her and will see what the mileage is before doing anything to her.

Serge PETIT · Post by **Serge PETIT** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:51 am

Nice car , have a long , safe and quiet road with it !

Scmelton · Post by **Scmelton** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 12:01 pm

Congrats on your new purchase. I wish I could have kept my S10 and just fixed things on it when I had the extra money, but I just didn't heve the space in my driveway.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 12:15 pm

Well my truck was still in top shape especially for a VT vehicle. No rust except on the underside clean paint and body panels with only a minor dent in one lower rear quarter and some scratches here and there. Mechanically as far as i know everything was up to snuff but who knows if they will find another wheel bearing getting ready to be replaced. The good part was i was able to make him squeak a bit on his side of the deal and I did not get everything I wanted out of it so we both hurt a little so we both did OK. I expect to see it up on his web side in a day or so for around $9995.00 I figure with all the stuff he put in and the car/cash out I got about $7900 trade in value. Hated to give it up but it was impossible to fit a car seat in it properly since I had to have the seat all the way back to drive it, also with my commute I was getting only 15.5-16.5 for mileage and dropping $60 or so in the tank a week. I expect this will save me a minimum of $25 a week if not more plus with the cash I got I can finally get a shed on my property and can stop spending $65/mo for a storage unit and I can get more stuff out of the house I did not want to store off site like tools and car accessories. A win win all the way around. This week will be the real test to see what the stock car will do for MPG before I spend any time or money on upgrades/seafoaming, air cleaners/tuneups
ect.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 12:59 pm

What? You're still hanging around here and not introducing yourself, as a noob, on caddy forums? The least you can do is thank a few of use for enlightening you about torque wrenches and choking up on 1/4" ratchets so, you don't twist off wheel studs. Touch back here as you do on FB, Mongo. BTW, I named the boss's ankle biter after you and everyone thinks it so cute for a 4 pound dog. They're clueless.....lmao

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:05 pm

I am not going anywhere, too many good people to lose track of and I still have too much insight to impart as needed. Not that I wont be getting on a Caddy forum as well but spending less time with all of these as real life is more engaging and taking much of my formerly spare time

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:34 pm

And the tale is in the tape.

Front Seats Caddy- Front Seats S10

Front head room: 38.2 in. 39.5
Front hip room: 55.6 in. 51.6
Front leg room: 42.5 in. 42.4
Front shoulder room: 59.1 in. 56.9

Rear Seats Caddy Rear Seats S10

Rear hip Room: 57.5 in. 49.5
Rear head room: 38.0 in. 38.2
Rear leg room: 38.2 in. 34.6
Rear shoulder room: 58.0 in. 57.2

Measurements-
Caddy S10

Width: 75.0 in. 67.9
Height: 55.7 in. 63.4
Length: 201.0 in. 205.3
Ground clearance: 5.4 in. 7.5
Front track: 62.7 in. 57.2
Rear track: 62.9 in. 55.1
Wheel base: 112.2 in. 122.9

Engine & Performance

Base engine size: 4.6 L 4.3L
Cam type: Double overhead cam (DOHC) SOHC
Cylinders: V8 V6
Valves: 32 12
Torque: 300 ft-lbs. @ 4000 rpm 250 ft-lbs. @ 2800 rpm
Horsepower: 275 hp @ 5600 rpm 190 hp @ 4400 rpm
Turning circle: 41.4 ft. 41.3

Fuel

Fuel type: gas
Fuel type: regular unleaded
Fuel tank capacity: 18.5 gal. 17 gal.
Range in miles (cty/hwy): 296.0/462.5 mi. 238/306 mi.
EPA mileage est. (cty/hwy): 16/25 mpg 14/18 mpg (2008 adjusted values for both)

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 8:06 pm

Looks like a reasonable choice for the "family guy"

A set of studded tires this winter and you will be good to go.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:20 pm

First real time MPG check 136 miles, 60% highway apx 70mph, 30% country roads apx 40mph, 10% city 25mph. With passengers for 1 trip apx 70 miles and carrying my regular tool box in the rear 60lbs or so. 20.1 MPG not too shabby. Will run a week or two before seafoaming everything and will see what we can achieve.

Post by **HenryJ** » Mon Apr 23, 2012 4:41 pm

Sipp'n the expensive stuff. That will keep a few greenback in the wallet.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Sat Jun 02, 2012 10:37 am

After a few tweaks including new tires in the front to match the ones the dealer put on, SeaFoam through the fuel system and oil and some high rev bursts the manual says are needed for best performance I am now averaging 21.9MPG with occasional spikes up to 24MPG. Next up this week new fuel filter, tires balanced (the place I got the tires their balancer was not working well and we think the bit of a vibration at highway speed may be fixed by a better balancing). Oil lube and filter (switching to synthetic). Also aired the tires up from the recommended 30PSI to 34PSI a bit harsher ride but still smoother than the crew. Only issues I have run into so far are dashpad need to be glued back down, used the defrosters and it lifted some near the vents and have a rear ABS sensor that occasionally seems to be loosing contact and throwing a code. Working on adding mounting points to the dash for the Ham Radio, Scanguage, cell phone holder, adding a front parking sensor (funny how I keep kitting curbs I never had to worry about in the crew) polishing the headlight plastic and adding GE Nighthawk Platinums to the low beams and 893 lamps to the fogs for now. Will be pulling the plugs to see if they have any wear but they are supposed to be good to 100K and I am sitting at 87K now.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:16 am

Ham radio head mounted to dash, ScanGuage in, ProFit mount for cell phone in, fuel filter in, tires balanced, Amsoil 0w-30 Full Synthetic in the crankcase, throttle body and blades scrubbed shiny, Spectre Oiled Gauze air filter, GE Nighthawk 9006 Low Beam lamps, Rain-X Headlight Restoration Kit, 883 Bright White fog lamps in. Cabin Air Filter, Right Rear ABS Speed Sensor and harness from Rock Auto going in on Tuesday, 4 wheel alignment on Wednesday. Should be ready for her first long run test to NY and back. Hoping to see a magic 30MPG average at least for a second or two on the trip. Still need to pull the rear seat and see where I can mount the 8800 radio body and tap off the battery but for now it can sit on the floor in the back seat for the trip.

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:23 am

Pics or it never happened

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 12:10 pm

Maybe some shots of the dash after some wire harness cleanup and finishing of the radio mounts. Also have to pull the dash pad and re-glue up near the defroster vents it pulled up some the first time I used the heat (apparently a common problem) easily fixed just have to take off the a Pillar covers remove the 4 A/C grills 4 screws and 4 clips and the entire dash pad comes up and out unhook the wire harness and use super duty contact adhesive to reset the vinyl.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 12:58 pm

OK so cabin air filter is going to have to wait. Apparently they have a 80lb contortionist install them at the factory because there is no way a plus size individual is going to be able to reach let alone remove and install the replacements LOL

roadrunner · Post by **roadrunner** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 3:25 pm

Yeah I ain't no small guy either and replacing the cabin filter in the wife's 98 park avenue was a real pain.

I hurt in places I forgot I had after doing that job. Funny thing about it I had the oem manual, haynes manual, and looked online and even inquired at a couple shops and none could tell me where it was or how to replace it. Finally in desperation I started reading the owners manual and BINGO!

It was in there. Worked great after that and man was it full of crud. Doubt it had been changed since the car was new.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 6:51 am

Well the choice to replace the crew apparently came at just the right time. The need to have one car seat has become the need for 2 - in about 7 1/2 months!

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 9:22 am

Congrats!

rlrnr53 · Post by **rlrnr53** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 1:50 pm

Congradulations!!!!!!!!!!!

Post by **HenryJ** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 2:52 pm

One step closer to a "mini-van"

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 5:59 pm

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 6:21 pm

Mini-Van NOOOOOOO! Maybe for Michelle but not as my primary rig. Now since I have the Cadillac bug Maybe an Escalade would not be a bad compromise LOL.

ApproachMedium · Post by **ApproachMedium** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 2:04 am

What crew had a 4.3L with 190HP? I thought our CPI junk was only 180? Speaking of horsepower, mine needs more. LOL

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 2:16 am

Those are the specs direct from Chevy on the Hp.

WileyHunter · Post by **WileyHunter** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 12:48 pm

Congrats!!! Hate to see another S10 CC slip away, but can understand the needs for better mpg's. With the amount of driving I do these days, I'm seriously contemplating adding a hybrid to the stable. I CAN'T give up the little pick-up, but can't afford much more of the 20mpg either.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:23 pm

Hell if could have gotten 20mpg I would have kept it. I was lucky to get 15-17 in mixed driving. The Caddy does 19-22 and has 275 HP to motivate it .

ApproachMedium · Post by **ApproachMedium** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 4:42 pm

04crewvt wrote:Hell if could have gotten 20mpg I would have kept it. I was lucky to get 15-17 in mixed driving. The Caddy does 19-22 and has 275 HP to motivate it .

My crew at worst gets 16 it seems. Using PA gas instead of NJ gas i get 20+MPG no problem. NJ gas i get between 18-19. Even with my misfire #3 cyl issue lol.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 5:17 pm

VT summer gas with ethanol at best 18 winter as little as 13 if using 4x4.

ApproachMedium · Post by **ApproachMedium** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 8:45 pm

Damn this ethanol crap!!!! My old red S10 I had for 6 months got 23-24mpg. That had 4x4 also, i got it right around the time they started this whole ethanol thing, shortly after it dropped to about 20-21mpg I was pissed.

rlrnr53 · Post by **rlrnr53** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 4:59 am

You gus are lucky, my cc gets anywhere from 20 mpg on a trip to about 9 mpg during the winter warming up. Any where from 12 to15 mpg around town.

green02crew · Post by **green02crew** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 10:48 am

Another former CC owner here too. Time has taken it's toll on my CC and although running well, a change was in need. 2012 Sierra is here.

Link to it until it's taken down:
http://www.banksautos.com/detail-2012-g ... 31106.html

Camper mirrors w/ LED turns and ground lighting on order as well as LineX liner, in channel vent visors, rear wheel house liners and Rough Country 2" leveling kit.

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 10:52 am

Beautiful! Nice shiny red truck.

green02crew · Post by **green02crew** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 10:56 am

Thanks! I've been lurking around the silverado/sierra forums. Any necessary items you can think of?

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 11:05 am

green02crew wrote:Thanks! I've been lurking around the silverado/sierra forums. Any necessary items you can think of?

I really don't know enough about the new trucks to say. I am sure you got some of the "fixes" in the new model.
What does it have? I assume the back up camera? That is tops on my list for the blind Avalanche.

I ordered some projector LED replacement bulbs for my back up lights. We will see if they are better than the 50w halogen lights I have in there now.

What changes do you have in mind?

green02crew · Post by **green02crew** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 11:17 am

No backup camera, that and leather are the two options we didn't get. Hard to find in a truck around here apparently. Any known issues with the suspension components on them? The 2" leveling kit seems pretty much a given on these and easy to do with just a block under the front strut assembly.

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 11:31 am

green02crew wrote:No backup camera, that and leather are the two options we didn't get. Hard to find in a truck around here apparently. Any known issues with the suspension components on them? The 2" leveling kit seems pretty much a given on these and easy to do with just a block under the front strut assembly.

Get an aftermarket back up camera. I would not be without one now that I have one. My Avalanche is blind behind.

Makes hitching the trailer a one man operation too. I can see the ball in my camera.

I have a "nephew-in-law" that has a late model Avalanche with the struts. I agree, the front spacers are a must and easy to do. I don't think they have the weak tie-rods like the previous models?

Did you get any shields?

green02crew · Post by **green02crew** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:13 pm

Yes, came with all the shields which I am thankful for. The camera would be nice for hooking up trailers as this truck is utilized mostly for towing/hauling as I do not have a daily commute. That was my main concern were the possible weak tie-rods.

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 1:28 pm

That Peak Camera I am using has been good. You do want the larger 3.5" screen. Amazon has it for $66.04
Autozone has them for $99 with a mail in rebate available to recover $20 of that.

I ran outside to take a shot of the view:

Mounts to the plate:

Put that on your must have list. Very reassuring to glance at the hitch now and then. I wired mine to be ignition hot so it is on all the time.

green02crew · Post by **green02crew** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 2:35 pm

Lots of reviewers online complain of moisture, have you had that problem? Also, how does the rear camera receive power?

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 3:03 pm

green02crew wrote:Lots of reviewers online complain of moisture, have you had that problem? Also, how does the rear camera receive power?

Only moisture I get is on the lens from the outside. Never a problem really. Look at the picture that I posted above. Mine looks a little different than the one I linked from Amazon? Keep in mind that I am primarily in a high mountain desert. I would not be afraid though. Mine has been in service many years now. I had in on the old s-10 crew cab too.

The "wireless" is sort of silly. The transmitter is under the back seat and I powered it from there with an ignition hot I added for the APRS. If you want it on with the reverse lights, you could tap in somewhere. The camera is powered through a power port. I wired mine in. There is only about 6' of separation. I could have run wires the rest of the way

Still it does save some hassle.

04crewvt · Post by **04crewvt** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 5:12 am

7 1/2 months goes by fast! William Michael Sterling was born on April 8th 13:56EDT 20 1/4" and 7lbs 9.7 oz. And yes MiniVan in the drive as of Tuesday the 10th 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport in the drive replacing Michelle's Ford Fusion.

rlrnr53 · Post by **rlrnr53** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 3:49 pm

Congradulations!!!!!!