Dave's Daughter's new '99 Jimmy ~ Make it Right
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 8
Dave's Daughter's new '99 Jimmy ~ Make it Right
My daughter just bought a '99 4WD Jimmy SLE with 82K miles. It has a tow mode. No CEL.
It has a new fuel pump and filter, fresh oil change, new instrument cluster, new Super Start battery. I know the mech who did this work.
My first work (today):
1 - The trans fluid level is correct. It looks like the fluid is original. The stick had black film and the fluid is brown.
Hot or cold - it shifts normally while driving.
HOWEVER - the manual shift from Park to Drive is slow, like 2 seconds, and the manual shift from Reverse to Drive is slow, like 2.5 seconds. It's like it hesitates before it drops into gear.
If you apply accelerator too soon, it will lurch forward.
Last night, I emptied a pint of ATF from the cooler return line, then added a pint of Seafoam Trans Tune, and drove it 25 miles.
I bought 5 gallons of new ATF and a Wix filter. Gonna flush it today.
Question - is the manual shift lag into Drive a common Blazer problem?
2 - The OBD port is apparently dead. My bluetooth adaptor does not power up or communicate.
I saw a thread that recommended to check the cig lighter fuse. I'll start there.
If the obd port is disconnected, I wonder if that would prevent the CEL light from coming on?
3 - Only one speaker works: front left. Is this a common Jimmy problem?
4 - The passenger side power connection for the rear defrost is unglued or unsoldered from the rear window. Any suggestions how to fix?
5 - The front passenger seatback-lean lever broke off. The front driver seatback-lean lever doesn't "unlatch" the seatback to allow adjustment. I guess this must be a common problem with cloth SLE seats? What is the common fix?
6 - Today I'll pull cap and rotor and plugs for inspection. Clean throttle body. Clean MAF.
If I find the rail port, I'll check fuel pressure. Is the regulator under the plenum? Hope not.
I need to get the OBD working so I can check TPS, Cam Retard Offset, etc.
Give me to your tips, suggestions, recommendations. Thanks!
It has a new fuel pump and filter, fresh oil change, new instrument cluster, new Super Start battery. I know the mech who did this work.
My first work (today):
1 - The trans fluid level is correct. It looks like the fluid is original. The stick had black film and the fluid is brown.
Hot or cold - it shifts normally while driving.
HOWEVER - the manual shift from Park to Drive is slow, like 2 seconds, and the manual shift from Reverse to Drive is slow, like 2.5 seconds. It's like it hesitates before it drops into gear.
If you apply accelerator too soon, it will lurch forward.
Last night, I emptied a pint of ATF from the cooler return line, then added a pint of Seafoam Trans Tune, and drove it 25 miles.
I bought 5 gallons of new ATF and a Wix filter. Gonna flush it today.
Question - is the manual shift lag into Drive a common Blazer problem?
2 - The OBD port is apparently dead. My bluetooth adaptor does not power up or communicate.
I saw a thread that recommended to check the cig lighter fuse. I'll start there.
If the obd port is disconnected, I wonder if that would prevent the CEL light from coming on?
3 - Only one speaker works: front left. Is this a common Jimmy problem?
4 - The passenger side power connection for the rear defrost is unglued or unsoldered from the rear window. Any suggestions how to fix?
5 - The front passenger seatback-lean lever broke off. The front driver seatback-lean lever doesn't "unlatch" the seatback to allow adjustment. I guess this must be a common problem with cloth SLE seats? What is the common fix?
6 - Today I'll pull cap and rotor and plugs for inspection. Clean throttle body. Clean MAF.
If I find the rail port, I'll check fuel pressure. Is the regulator under the plenum? Hope not.
I need to get the OBD working so I can check TPS, Cam Retard Offset, etc.
Give me to your tips, suggestions, recommendations. Thanks!
Last edited by DSinOR; Mar 23, 2025 at 12:13 PM.
BF Guru
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 5,618
From: Moscow, ID
My daughter just bought a '99 4WD Jimmy SLE with 82K miles. It has a tow mode. No CEL.
It has a new fuel pump and filter, fresh oil change, new instrument cluster, new Super Start battery. I know the mech who did this work.
My first work (today):
1 - The trans fluid level is correct. It looks like the fluid is original. The stick had black film and the fluid is brown.
Hot or cold - it shifts normally while driving.
HOWEVER - the manual shift from Park to Drive is slow, like 2 seconds, and the manual shift from Reverse to Drive is slow, like 2.5 seconds. It's like it hesitates before it drops into gear.
If you apply accelerator too soon, it will lurch forward.
Last night, I emptied a pint of ATF from the cooler return line, then added a pint of Seafoam Trans Tune, and drove it 25 miles.
I bought 5 gallons of new ATF and a Wix filter. Gonna flush it today.
Question - is the manual shift lag into Drive a common Blazer problem?
Answer: This delay seems long to me. It should only be a fraction of a second.
2 - The OBD port is apparently dead. My bluetooth adaptor does not power up or communicate.
I saw a thread that recommended to check the cig lighter fuse. I'll start there.
If the obd port is disconnected, I wonder if that would prevent the CEL light from coming on?
Answer: I don't think the OBD connector having a bad wire would keep a CEL light from coming on. Perhaps there is a loose wire at the receptacle? You might check that.
3 - Only one speaker works: front left. Is this a common Jimmy problem?
Answer: I've had several of my speakers go out on my 99 Blazer. I think they just get old. There is a thread on what speakers fit in each location.
4 - The passenger side power connection for the rear defrost is unglued or unsoldered from the rear window. Any suggestions how to fix?
Answer: I believe Permatex sells kits that have conductive epoxy that can make that repair.
5 - The front passenger seatback-lean lever broke off. The front driver seatback-lean lever doesn't "unlatch" the seatback to allow adjustment. I guess this must be a common problem with cloth SLE seats? What is the common fix?
Answer: I wish I cold help with this one. I have power seats. You might have to go to a wrecking hard to find replacement levers. You also might have to do an inspection of the seat mechanism to see why it is not working.
6 - Today I'll pull cap and rotor and plugs for inspection. Clean throttle body. Clean MAF.
If I find the rail port, I'll check fuel pressure. Is the regulator under the plenum? Hope not.
I need to get the OBD working so I can check TPS, Cam Retard Offset, etc.
Answer: The conventional wisdom here is that only GM or AC Delco parts will do for the cap and rotor. If you didn't install ones that are GM or AC Delco, and you think you have problems with the distributor, try the GM or AC Delco replacements first. I believe the regulator is under the plenum. There are threads on how to check the fuel pressure that can guide you. They will include what the pressure should be and how long the system should hold pressure.
Give me to your tips, suggestions, recommendations. Thanks!
It has a new fuel pump and filter, fresh oil change, new instrument cluster, new Super Start battery. I know the mech who did this work.
My first work (today):
1 - The trans fluid level is correct. It looks like the fluid is original. The stick had black film and the fluid is brown.
Hot or cold - it shifts normally while driving.
HOWEVER - the manual shift from Park to Drive is slow, like 2 seconds, and the manual shift from Reverse to Drive is slow, like 2.5 seconds. It's like it hesitates before it drops into gear.
If you apply accelerator too soon, it will lurch forward.
Last night, I emptied a pint of ATF from the cooler return line, then added a pint of Seafoam Trans Tune, and drove it 25 miles.
I bought 5 gallons of new ATF and a Wix filter. Gonna flush it today.
Question - is the manual shift lag into Drive a common Blazer problem?
Answer: This delay seems long to me. It should only be a fraction of a second.
2 - The OBD port is apparently dead. My bluetooth adaptor does not power up or communicate.
I saw a thread that recommended to check the cig lighter fuse. I'll start there.
If the obd port is disconnected, I wonder if that would prevent the CEL light from coming on?
Answer: I don't think the OBD connector having a bad wire would keep a CEL light from coming on. Perhaps there is a loose wire at the receptacle? You might check that.
3 - Only one speaker works: front left. Is this a common Jimmy problem?
Answer: I've had several of my speakers go out on my 99 Blazer. I think they just get old. There is a thread on what speakers fit in each location.
4 - The passenger side power connection for the rear defrost is unglued or unsoldered from the rear window. Any suggestions how to fix?
Answer: I believe Permatex sells kits that have conductive epoxy that can make that repair.
5 - The front passenger seatback-lean lever broke off. The front driver seatback-lean lever doesn't "unlatch" the seatback to allow adjustment. I guess this must be a common problem with cloth SLE seats? What is the common fix?
Answer: I wish I cold help with this one. I have power seats. You might have to go to a wrecking hard to find replacement levers. You also might have to do an inspection of the seat mechanism to see why it is not working.
6 - Today I'll pull cap and rotor and plugs for inspection. Clean throttle body. Clean MAF.
If I find the rail port, I'll check fuel pressure. Is the regulator under the plenum? Hope not.
I need to get the OBD working so I can check TPS, Cam Retard Offset, etc.
Answer: The conventional wisdom here is that only GM or AC Delco parts will do for the cap and rotor. If you didn't install ones that are GM or AC Delco, and you think you have problems with the distributor, try the GM or AC Delco replacements first. I believe the regulator is under the plenum. There are threads on how to check the fuel pressure that can guide you. They will include what the pressure should be and how long the system should hold pressure.
Give me to your tips, suggestions, recommendations. Thanks!
I put my answers above. Good Luck!
New Member
Joined: Apr 2022
Posts: 84
1 - The trans fluid level is correct. It looks like the fluid is original. The stick had black film and the fluid is brown.
Hot or cold - it shifts normally while driving.
HOWEVER - the manual shift from Park to Drive is slow, like 2 seconds, and the manual shift from Reverse to Drive is slow, like 2.5 seconds. It's like it hesitates before it drops into gear.
If you apply accelerator too soon, it will lurch forward.
Last night, I emptied a pint of ATF from the cooler return line, then added a pint of Seafoam Trans Tune, and drove it 25 miles.
I bought 5 gallons of new ATF and a Wix filter. Gonna flush it today.
Question - is the manual shift lag into Drive a common Blazer problem?
Answer: This delay seems long to me. It should only be a fraction of a second.
Hot or cold - it shifts normally while driving.
HOWEVER - the manual shift from Park to Drive is slow, like 2 seconds, and the manual shift from Reverse to Drive is slow, like 2.5 seconds. It's like it hesitates before it drops into gear.
If you apply accelerator too soon, it will lurch forward.
Last night, I emptied a pint of ATF from the cooler return line, then added a pint of Seafoam Trans Tune, and drove it 25 miles.
I bought 5 gallons of new ATF and a Wix filter. Gonna flush it today.
Question - is the manual shift lag into Drive a common Blazer problem?
Answer: This delay seems long to me. It should only be a fraction of a second.
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 8
Thanks for the replies.
Yesterday:
We drove 15 more highway miles with hills, to further circulate the Seafoam Trans Tune.
Then came home and pumped out four gallons of hot ATF while adding two gallons fresh.
Pumped it out of the upper (return) cooler line connection: just stab 5/8 heater hose onto the cooler outlet and put the other end in a bucket. Then run the engine.
It pumps out faster than you can pour in, so you have to stop the engine periodically to catch up.
Run the pan dry and shut it off.
So today all the dirty fluid is out. It looked like Guinness stout - black and roiling. That Seafoam stuff did something.
Gonna drop the pan, change filter and gasket. Maybe pull a few solenoids just to look at them.
Also need to find out why the OBD port is offline.
Thanks. Keep the suggestions coming. Appreciate it!
Yesterday:
We drove 15 more highway miles with hills, to further circulate the Seafoam Trans Tune.
Then came home and pumped out four gallons of hot ATF while adding two gallons fresh.
Pumped it out of the upper (return) cooler line connection: just stab 5/8 heater hose onto the cooler outlet and put the other end in a bucket. Then run the engine.
It pumps out faster than you can pour in, so you have to stop the engine periodically to catch up.
Run the pan dry and shut it off.
So today all the dirty fluid is out. It looked like Guinness stout - black and roiling. That Seafoam stuff did something.
Gonna drop the pan, change filter and gasket. Maybe pull a few solenoids just to look at them.
Also need to find out why the OBD port is offline.
Thanks. Keep the suggestions coming. Appreciate it!
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 8
update
Update:
April:
Dropped tranny pan 2nd time, dropped valve body, installed new solenoids, sonnax forward accumulator, line pressure boost kit, and F & R abuse valves. Plates were slightly peened; re-used.
All new atf pumped thru again; 3 gallons.
Overall - the tranny has been fine, but the shift from P or R to OD is still slightly laggy. The local T-shop inspected/approved my valve-body plates, and also said they weren't concerned about the laggy shift. I eliminated most of the risk of low line pressure. So now we just live with it.
Flushed coolant.
A/C was warm air. Compressor is oem with signs of belly leak. I blindly charged it with 12oz of 134a and 2oz of oil. Miracle: it worked great all summer, no signs of leaking, it will freeze you out at idle at a 20-minute train crossing. It's the coldest A/C I have ever encountered in a car. Weird & Lucky.
Found two vac leaks in hoses near the power brake drum; replaced. Also replaced vac hose to under-battery dashpot. Then the hvac and 4wd started working 100%.
New speakers.
Fixed defrost with graphite-epoxy slurry.
Fixed broken wire connection just behind obd port and changed blown fuse.
Cleaned t-body, new plugs, cables, cap, rotor. Checked cmpret = 0.7°.
New IAC and TPS.
July - operator went off hwy at 50mph, ended up nose down in irrigation ditch, submerged airbox, filled motor with water. No body damage. Crazy lucky.
Woke her right up.
Towed home, pulled plugs, pumped water out holes, checked everything twice, fired it up, drove another 6K miles, here we are today. Crazy.
GM critique - a lot of their crap is crap, but the 4.3 rods and bearings are stout.
October - changed diff and t-case fluid.
T-case instantly started making a racket after filling with fresh AT2.
Gonna drop it and rebuild.
The weird lower front oil hose mess is all wet. Engine uses a quart per month. I suspect it is all weeping out of these stupid hoses. Gotta fix that someday.
Also still need to fix the seatback leaners.
Pretty good car.
I was surprised to see it weighs 6000 lbs.
I told the owner-operator "this is a good car. It is built. With a 2" lift, it would probably be badass."
We'll see...
April:
Dropped tranny pan 2nd time, dropped valve body, installed new solenoids, sonnax forward accumulator, line pressure boost kit, and F & R abuse valves. Plates were slightly peened; re-used.
All new atf pumped thru again; 3 gallons.
Overall - the tranny has been fine, but the shift from P or R to OD is still slightly laggy. The local T-shop inspected/approved my valve-body plates, and also said they weren't concerned about the laggy shift. I eliminated most of the risk of low line pressure. So now we just live with it.
Flushed coolant.
A/C was warm air. Compressor is oem with signs of belly leak. I blindly charged it with 12oz of 134a and 2oz of oil. Miracle: it worked great all summer, no signs of leaking, it will freeze you out at idle at a 20-minute train crossing. It's the coldest A/C I have ever encountered in a car. Weird & Lucky.
Found two vac leaks in hoses near the power brake drum; replaced. Also replaced vac hose to under-battery dashpot. Then the hvac and 4wd started working 100%.
New speakers.
Fixed defrost with graphite-epoxy slurry.
Fixed broken wire connection just behind obd port and changed blown fuse.
Cleaned t-body, new plugs, cables, cap, rotor. Checked cmpret = 0.7°.
New IAC and TPS.
July - operator went off hwy at 50mph, ended up nose down in irrigation ditch, submerged airbox, filled motor with water. No body damage. Crazy lucky.
Woke her right up.
Towed home, pulled plugs, pumped water out holes, checked everything twice, fired it up, drove another 6K miles, here we are today. Crazy.
GM critique - a lot of their crap is crap, but the 4.3 rods and bearings are stout.
October - changed diff and t-case fluid.
T-case instantly started making a racket after filling with fresh AT2.
Gonna drop it and rebuild.
The weird lower front oil hose mess is all wet. Engine uses a quart per month. I suspect it is all weeping out of these stupid hoses. Gotta fix that someday.
Also still need to fix the seatback leaners.
Pretty good car.
I was surprised to see it weighs 6000 lbs.
I told the owner-operator "this is a good car. It is built. With a 2" lift, it would probably be badass."
We'll see...
Starting Member
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 133
From: Canada
My '98 Jimmy also had only the front left speaker working, so I replaced all the speakers. I put 5.25" in the front and 6.5" in the rear. The 5.25" speakers for me were easier to install.
The seat back recline lever is also broken on my passenger seat, and checking the wreckers several others are broken. It seems there are two different sizes, so I have yet to find a replacement.
The seat back recline lever is also broken on my passenger seat, and checking the wreckers several others are broken. It seems there are two different sizes, so I have yet to find a replacement.
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