Hi all,

I've been driving my stock 2002 LS 4 door 4WD blazer for about 2-3 months now, and it's time to a) get it's first service and b) start looking to improve the performance a little bit. As I am in Australia, finding the right parts, or people who know what the right parts are, is a bit tough, so I am hoping you guys can help me out.

I've just hit 76,000kms on it, and according to the owners manual, that means it's time to service the automatic transmission and replace the transmission filter. I've been looking on RockAuto.com, and think I need one of the following, but not sure which:

ACDELCO Part # TF337 {#25325578}
FILTER KIT,A/TRNS FLUID 16 HOLES, DEEP PAN; 4 WHEEL DRIVE; 4L60-E TRANS, 4 SPEED

or

ACDELCO Part # 24208576
FILTER KIT,A/TRNS FLUID USED W/DEEP PAN 76.6MM; w/4-SPD A/TRANS(M30)

Can someone point me in the right direction?

My check engine light is on, error code P0128, which from what I have been able to find out means I most likely need to replace my thermostat. Is this the right part:

ACDELCO Part # 131151 {replaces 12597583 #03037916, 12563335, 12597583, 12632948, 13111, 131113}
THERMOSTAT,ENG COOL W/SEAL

I'm also looking for suggestions on upgrades that can improve fuel economy and performance. I am currently averaging 14mpg since I bought the truck, though on individual tanks I have been as low as 12.8mpg and as high as 16mpg (all highway). I was using 91 octane 10% ethanol blend, but have swapped to regular 91 octane unleaded.

As for performance, I don;t really have any bechmark to compare to (this is my first v6/first 4wd/first non-4cylinder), but it just feels like I am lacking a bit of power in regular day to day driving.

Sorry for the long post, hope you guys can give me some good advice.

 

There are two different transmission pans used, a shallow and a deep. The gasket is the same but the filter is different. Most likely you have the deep pan which is the first one that you listed: ACDELCO Part # TF337.

P0128 most likely needs the thermostat replaced. Temp gauge on dash should show very close to 200 degrees (F). If the thermostat is not allowing the engine to reach operating temperature, it will cause fuel mileage to drop. These engine come from the factory tuned for 87 octane fuel. Using higher octane is unnecessary and may even cause mileage to drop. Combination of the two, low temp and too high octane might be all you need.

Don't wait for 5 years to flush the cooling system. More like 3 years 36,000 miles. Only use Dexcool coolant and distilled water. DO NOT use the green, ethylene glycol coolant.

 

Thanks for the info. Is there any way to check the pan type? The shipping cost is double the cost of the filter kit, so I'd prefer not to get it wrong :P

Was ACDELCO Part # 131151the correct thermostat to get? Would be nice if swapping that out improves the mileage a little. 91 octane is the lowest octane rating for fuel in Australia, so there's not really an option to get 87. Hopefully it's just the thermostat, not the fuel.

 

The shallow pan has a flat bottom and is about 1.5" deep. The deep pan has a "stepped" bottom and is about 3" deep.

Thermostat is AC DELCO Part # 131151 make sure it comes with the seal, (no gasket required) and it should be 195 degree (F).