1999 Chevy Suburban, 5.7 L. 147,000 miles, all power options feels like the exhaust is clogged at lower speeds

140

Asked by jcmnh Feb 07, 2014 at 07:43 PM about the 1999 Chevrolet Suburban K1500 LT 4WD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

A month ago, I slid off a solid sheet of ice driveway sideways into an 18" ditch, my
son had to go out the passenger window to get out, to give you an example of how
deep the snow was up the side of the truck.

It took about 15 minutes to get it out, in 4H and 4L, but the wheels were spinning, no
traction and mud and sand was everywhere, I even found sand behind the gas door.

Since this happened, it feels like there is a "clog" in the exhaust when I drive up to 30
mph. Plenty of power when I accelerate, the engine is fine, runs very smoothly and
quietly, there is no smell, like when a CC is bad, but a friend who is a mechanic
listened at the tail pipe and he said "there's a miss".

I always use Gulf regular from the same station, I put fuel injector cleaner and gas
treatment every other time I put $50 in, which would be every other week. I was
wondering if putting seafoam in before I pump gas would help?

Any ideas?

Thank you

4 Answers

50,605

Check to see if you have dented or bent your exhaust pipe somewhere. Listening to the exhaust pipe and hearing a miss is like a proctologist telling you your tonsils are bad. Go to the other end of the truck and check there for any misses in the engine. You should get a code showing. You also should not tell us you have smooth running and acceleration. Check all the wiring even to all the sensors and make sure you have clean connections and they are secure. When you went into the ditch, you forced snow and/or dirt up onto your undercarriage, and the weight of the truck against the snow and possibly dirt caused some rearrangement under your truck.

140

Thank you.... I'll have my own mechanic check for a dent or bent pipe. I have to say it actually does sound like there's a "miss" at the tailpipe, like someone isn't breathing absolutely correctly, you can feel it, too, while idling and under 30 mph. With the hood open the engine sounds like it is running very smoothly and very quietly, and over 30 mph it accelerates very smoothly and the feeling of a "clog" goes away entirely. I figured that snow and dirt got into the undercarriage, I have gone thru the car wash several times with an undercarriage wash and it is better than it was, but still not the way it ran before going into the ditch - should have just called AAA to get me out - all this could have been avoided.

50,605

Calling triple A may not of avoided what was done, but it would have defeated the reason for the four wheel drive. And you son got to see how it's done.

140

He's 34 years old, 6' tall and 225 lbs, he's actually seen a lot in his life in general! He was the one that pushed my truck backward out of the ditch and UP the driveway hill. 4 wheel drive would have been totally useless had he not been with me to push! AAA would have meant no damage would have been done!

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