1st road trip in 6.5 litre Suburban

[Zeke's Dad]

I bought a '97 6.5 litre Suburban a couple of months ago, and Thanksgiving weekend was the first time I was able to take it on a road trip. I was part of a team from our church that went from Dallas to Gulfport, MS for a construction project.

The verdict:
The Sub performed flawlessly. It took 4 people in comfort with all our supplies on a 1,200 mile round trip in which we averaged 19 mpg. Plenty of power to pass and to cruise all day at 70+. I couldn't be more pleased.
One question:
I changed the oil, oil filter, and fuel filter before we left. How do I turn off the indicator that reads, "Service Engine Soon"?

[DmaxMaverick]

"Service Engine Soon" means the computer has a DTC (Diagnostic Trouble Code) stored. It has nothing to do with "normal service".

You have something wrong with the emmissions, fuel, or electronics systems, and need to find out what it is. Unfortunately, you will need an OBD II compatible scanner or code reader to find out. Many Autozone stores will read the codes for free. If you know someone with a scanner, or have friend with a shop that works on late model vehicles, have them check it. If not, you will have to pay a shop or the dealership to read it.

Many codes are trivial and nothing to worry about, but some can be serious. Ocasional glitches will set codes, but they should go away after several key cycles, warm up cycles or starts, depeding on the class of code. If it doesn't go away soon, get your codes read ASAP and report them back here.

[DennisG01]

Was that SES light on since you bought the truck? If so, as stated above, it might be nothing. Get the code read to see what it is, but then clear it out. It may not come back and then all is fine. Don't even consider doing any work on the Sub until the code comes back again.

[Zeke's Dad]

Yes, the SES light was on when I purchased the truck. The owner explained that it was simply due for reularly scheduled maintenance, and his records confirmed that.

[DmaxMaverick]

Yes, the SES light was on when I purchased the truck. The owner explained that it was simply due for reularly scheduled maintenance, and his records confirmed that.

The previous owner was either uninformed/ignorant, or he put one over on you. Check that code and clear it ASAP. Your truck DOES NOT have a "normal service" reminder.

[Zeke's Dad]

Thanks. Will have checked ASAP.

[Turbine Doc]

Thanks. Will have checked ASAP.

Hey if still in Gulfport area give me a shout I have Snap-On scanner plus some been there done that experience with the 6.5 Gulfport is 30 miles from here.

[Zeke's Dad]

O.K.; Will do. I hope you, your family, and property came out of Katrina OK. It was pretty heartbreaking to see the damage that storm caused. One of the houses we worked on was 2 blocks from the beach in Gulfport. I don't think it had a view of the water before Katrina but it certainly does now. There was only one house between it and the water were there used to be dozens.

There's nothing but slabs and some FEMA trailers now. We worked on a guy's trailer in Bay St. Louis, too. I'm not sure how far it was from the water since we came in the back way, but it seemed to be a mile or 2 inland. The damage there was as high as a telephone pole. Lots of trees had bark stripped away or their tops sheared off. I don't think that any structures made it through intact in the area we were in. It was almost like some kind of grim campground with lots of trailers, tarps and makeshift structures. Looks like it's just starting to come back slowly though.

[Turbine Doc]

We had some damage, we evacuated so no loss of life, I was 300yds from the Gulf, were I not at 15 feet I probably would have lost the house rather than just get flooded, my neighbors houses that used to block my view of the gulf now just have slabs, some aren't coming back, some are as soon as they get their money/insurance issues resolved.