Top 5 Problems GMC Chevy Truck 4th Generation 1988-2002

In this video, we're gonna be going over the top five problems in a 4th-generation GMC Chevy pickup truck.

I just wanna emphasize there's nothing wrong with owning one of these, the GMC, or the Chevy version. These are just the top five problems that we have found.

Number one, the distributor. It's located right here and this is how the spark plugs get their spark. This engine happens to be a Chevy 350 or a 5.7-liter engine V8. If you have a V6 it's gonna be a little bit different. And if you have a diesel, you're not even gonna have this. So let's talk about how this gets the spark to the plug. So, under here, there's this little wheel and that's gonna send a signal to the module. There's a module back here. And that module is going to send the signal to the coil. Now, there's only a single coil on this vehicle. It's not a coil over plug. So, it only has one, doesn't have eight, and then coil is gonna send the spark to the top of the distributor cap. And then it'll go through the rotor, the rotor is gonna spin and then send out the spark to each individual wire which goes to the spark plug.

Now, it's always a good idea to keep up on your maintenance with the cap and rotor replacement or plugs and wires. And then also, what happens on this sometimes you'll get a crack in this wheel right here and also the ignition module right there. Sometimes those go bad, and that's gonna give you no spark or intermittent park, which isn't good. Some of the symptoms that you have a bad distributor, it could have a rough running engine, you could be driving around and the engine stalls and also the engine doesn't start up at all. Now, if the engine doesn't start, it's always good to check if you have spark or fuel. And if you don't have spark, that's a good place to start, check out what's going on with the distributor, make sure you have spark at the coil. If you don't have spark at the coil, most likely you have something wrong with the distributor or the ignition module, which you can replace the ignition module separately. But the distributors are fairly inexpensive, you're just better off replacing the whole distributor.

Number two, the fuel pump. Fuel pump is located in the fuel tank and it feeds pressure through these lines, goes through a fuel filter and up to the engine. Some of the problems you may find with the fuel pump is the engine may run rough, you may have some stumbling, there may be a lack of power and it may not start. To replace the fuel pump what you need to do is take the bolt out right here. The strap...you need to support the tank first and then take that out, take the strap off, then this strap is connected to the frame, take those bolts out, then you can lower the tank and access the pump from up top. One of those other symptoms, if you have lack of fuel and you go to drive and there's a lack of acceleration or it just feels like it's sluggish, it could be the fuel filter is plugged up. It's pretty common, so don't forget that. And then the fuel comes up to the TBI system, which this is throttle body injection, some vehicles will be different. So, if you're having a problem, check your fuel pressure, they're all gonna be a little different.

Number three, ABS problems. The ABS control module is located right here. And this is where the pump is also when it activates. So, brake fluid comes through the master, goes through the ABS unit, and then out to all the wheels. There is a special bleeding procedure if you have to bleed the brakes. If for some reason the brake fluid ran low and there was air in this system, you have to use a scan tool and also there's another manual procedure where there's a little cap right here. Pull this cap off, little rubber cap, to manual bleed it. If you have someone pushing on the brakes, you can push down on this little button, you can use a straight blade screwdriver or something or a pick that can get in there and when you push down on it, then you release it and then they can release the pedal. You may have to do that a few times and some brake fluid will come out of there. But that's one way you can try to get all the air out of this ABS unit. And sometimes you have problems with the wheel speed sensors, specifically the wires. If you look at this one, this one was actually rubbing on the rotor. So, there's gonna an ABS problem here, the ABS isn't gonna work. So, the reason for that on this vehicle, there's no backing shield right here to prevent this from rubbing. You can't fix this wheel speed sensor wiring harness, you just have to replace the whole sensor.

Number four, exterior door handles and interior door handles. A lot of time these will break, they're fairly easy to replace. You will have to take the inside door panel off and...to gain access to some of the bolts to the outer door handle, same with the inside door handle. These break right here, you have to take this bezel off and the door panel.

Number five, the heater controls. Sometimes these switches stop working, sometimes the heat isn't gonna move and also the location of where the airflow comes out. The buttons sometimes break, so that's pretty common. You just take this trim piece out, pull that panel out, put a new one in, you're good to go.

We have a bonus one for you, problems with the tailgate. Sometimes you go to open the tailgate and the handle, you won't be able to open it. A lot of times the handle will rust and the two rods will get stuck so it can't pull on the latches on the side and that'll cause the tailgate not to open. The same happens if you open the tailgate, and then you go to close it and the tailgate won't close. It's because those rods are pulled out, you can't close the tailgate. All you have to do, replace the handle. To replace this handle, you just have to take this bezel off right there. So, there's some clips right there, clips right there. Slide that off, take these two bolts out. These two rods, you have to pop it off those rods right there so that pumps off and pull the handle out, put the new one in. A lot of times these cables will break, they rust, moisture gets in the middle of there and it'll rust and just break. They're easy to replace. Just take this bolt out here and also that, and just pull that clip out and that slides off, put the new one on, you're good to go.

So, if you have one of these vehicles and you've had similar problems, let us know in the comments below. We sell most of the parts for these problems at 1aauto.com. If you enjoyed this video, make sure you subscribe to our channel, ring that bell, turn on all notifications so you don't miss any of our videos.