[Shop-talk] Improving truck performance

[Pat Horne]

Dave,

I have the same engine & trans in my Silverado. A really solid engine. Mine is bone stock. There are quite a few upgrades for it, but I don't think you will find anything to give you both more performance an better mpg. If you need better torque, you could go with a higher ratio rear end. If you want to still want the better economy at other times, I think there is an add on overdrive unit that bolts to the rear of the transmission. 

It sounds like you are not needing the extra power very often, so if it were me, I'd rather put up with it, or rent a truck for the hauls. Both would probably be cheaper than anything else. 

Peace,
Pat

Pat Horne 
We support Caldwell County Habitat for Humanity


On Apr 2, 2017, at 6:53 PM, Dave Cavanaugh <cavanadd at frontier.com> wrote:

I have a 2004 GMC Sierra half ton, 2WD extended (not crew) cab.  I believe it has a 5.3 Vortec engine, automatic transmission, unsure of the axle ratio. I'm the original owner, and it has about 74,000 miles on it.  Other than the tires and radio, it is completely stock and is in generally very good shape.  It fits my needs, and has been totally reliable to date, and I plan to keep it for the foreseeable future.   It also has a Leer fiberglass canopy on it right now, but it'll probably come off when I finish my move later this year.  It's not my daily driver; I typically use it to pick up lumber, construction supplies and other routine truck duties.  I typically don't do much towing, and  I have never been unhappy with the performance until last year when I started making multiple trips from Washington to Utah, usually towing an 8 to 12 foot UHaul trailer with my shop stuff in it.  This trip includes several mountain passes and quite a bit of elevation change.  The truck performs OK, but not great.

I don't have a boat or RV, and I'm not trying to turn it into a one ton hauler; I would just like some suggestions as to possible mods I could have done to the engine to improve the performance and, if possible, improve the gas mileage.  It generally gets about 16 MPG on these trips.  Any ideas?

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