'04 Z71 Sub questions

R Q

R Q

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Charlotte
I just picked up an '04 Z71 Sub. P/O had the dealer rebuild the rear diff due to bad ring gear and carrier bearings so I'm wary of that...it took two trips to get it all done. I've not pulled the cover on it to take a look. Last night in a tight parking lot I heard/felt some binding and was wondering if it has a factory limited slip in there. Is there any way to tell w/o pulling the cover? I'm not in a situation to be able to do that right now.
Also, the 5.3 is a little anemic. What's the best mods for a little more power? K & N and a chip? If so which one's.
Thanks,
RQ
 
R Q said:
Last night in a tight parking lot I heard/felt some binding and was wondering if it has a factory limited slip in there. Is there any way to tell w/o pulling the cover?

I'm not in a situation to be able to do that right now.
Also, the 5.3 is a little anemic. What's the best mods for a little more power? K & N and a chip? If so which one's.
Thanks,
RQ
Click to expand...

As far as the limited slip is to jack the back up and put it in Neutral spin the tires if both go forward and backward equally then you can be 99% sure it is a limited slip.

Common performance upgrades on 5.3 are the k&n kits exhaust and a z06/ ls6 cam swap, I have been told it can be a night and day differance! I do not know anything on those chips.

Good Luck:beer:
 
Look on the glove box door, there will be a build sticker, look for G80
being a Z71 'Burb, it more than likely has the timex locker ( G80 ) and they are not known for durability.

If you felt binding and one wheel did happen to slip a bit prior to the bind, that could be the locker engaging. there is a " governor " assy that spins when there is a differential in wheel speed, and that engages the locking clutch. if it happens at a high speed, it will grenade the governor and the gear works.
 
I fund the build sheet and it does have the L/S in there so that's what I was hearing. The pinion seal is leaking and I did smell hot fluid from it so I still have some ho,ework to do. Thanks for the answers
 
My buddy has an 03 z71 Tahoe......It spit out a rear shaft from on road only driving. It did some body damage when it came out.
 
TomB said:
As far as the limited slip is to jack the back up and put it in Neutral spin the tires if both go forward and backward equally then you can be 99% sure it is a limited slip.
Common performance upgrades on 5.3 are the k&n kits exhaust and a z06/ ls6 cam swap, I have been told it can be a night and day differance! I do not know anything on those chips.
Good Luck:beer:
Click to expand...
Wrong, 95% of the time you would be correct. BUT GM does not use the average limited slip. GM uses the Eaton G80 Governed Locker AKA Gov Bomb locker. It normally acts as a open differential, so under your technique it would appear to be an open diff (unless it gets stuck locked, which it does sometimes), but once one wheel starts spinning 100rpm faster than the other the centrifugal force makes a counterweight swing out locking the two together making it a "locking" differential, not a limited slip. This actually works great in stock form, and normal use, problem is people who nail the throttle once they begin spinning, creating an enormous shock load once it locks in, making it go BOOM, hence the nickname "Gov Bomb".

Also forget a chip, they are worthless on these engines, but instead go out and actually get a custom PCM tune tailored to your truck. There are plenty of tuners around that specialize in GenIII GM engines, and you will usually come up much cheaper than a "chip" or "programmer". As for the ls6 cam, forget it as well unless you are planning on adding forced induction, otherwise there are MUCH better cams available for much cheaper.
 
R Q said:
I just picked up an '04 Z71 Sub. P/O had the dealer rebuild the rear diff due to bad ring gear and carrier bearings so I'm wary of that...it took two trips to get it all done. I've not pulled the cover on it to take a look. Last night in a tight parking lot I heard/felt some binding and was wondering if it has a factory limited slip in there. Is there any way to tell w/o pulling the cover? I'm not in a situation to be able to do that right now.
Also, the 5.3 is a little anemic. What's the best mods for a little more power? K & N and a chip? If so which one's.
Thanks,
RQ
Click to expand...

I had an '01 Z71 sub with a Whipple supercharger, K&N filter, and gibson cat back. I hated paying for premium gas, so I sold it to my brother in law. He's got 160,000 on it and it's still running strong. That thing was a beast! The good thing about a supercharger is while they are expensive, you can rebuild them and use them on different vehicles. Not that I could afford to drop the money on one now... :)
 
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