2000 Chevrolet Silverado bulb sizes
I found the website below sorta on accident. It’s useful information though. I haven’t verified that every bulb listed is the correct one.
http://www.lightsfor.com/chevrolet-silverado-2000-2011-light-bulb-size/
Low Beam Headlight Bulb Size: 9006 or 9006 HID Upgrade Kit
High Beam Headlamp Light Bulb Size: 9005 or 9005 HID Upgrade Kit
Parking Light Bulb Size: 3157A
Front Turn Signal Light Bulb Size: 3157A
Rear Turn Signal Light Bulb Size: 1157 or 3157LL
Tail Light Bulb Size: 1157 or 3157LL
Stop Light Bulb Size: 1157 or 3157LL
High Mount Stop Light Bulb Size: 921
Fog/Driving Light Bulb Size: 880
License Plate Light Bulb Size: 194 or 67/97
Back Up Light Bulb Size: 1156 or 1156 or 3156
Front Side Marker Light Bulb Size: 3157A
Rear Sidemarker Light Bulb Size: PC195
Ash Tray Light Bulb Size: 194
Glove Box Light Bulb Size: 194
Map Light Bulb Size: 168 or 211-2
Dome Light Bulb Size: 211-2
Step/Courtesy Light Bulb Size: 1003 or 211-2 or 74
Trunk/Cargo Area Light Bulb Size: 912
Under Hood Light Bulb Size: 89 or 93
Instrument-General Light Bulb Size: 161 or 194 or 74
Check Engine Indicator Light Bulb Size: 74
Hi-Beam Indicator Light Bulb Size: 74
Seat Belt Indicator Light Bulb Size: 74
Brake Warning Light Bulb Size: 74
Automatic Transmission Indicator Light Bulb Size: 161
Directional Signal Indicator Light Bulb Size: 74
Daytime Running Light Bulb Size: 4114LL
4 Headlight mod (99-02 only)
This modification is possible on most years. Basically, the way stock headlights work is when you click on the high beams, the low beams click off. Like this:
Low beam:
Yellow wire – at resting state “off” is 12V+, drops to ground when turned “on”
Orange wire – remains at 12V+ constantly
High beam:
Purple wire – at rest “off” is 12V+, drops to ground when turned “on”
Orange wire – remains at 12V+ constantly
I live out in the country and having the ability to have all four lights on in the “high” mode would be awesome. All too often I see deer just dying to throw themselves at my truck. If I could light up a lonely road, maybe I could anticipate it better.
I googled how to do this on my truck and this is what I found out.
1. Open hood
2. Remove brace from firewall to Driver’s side fender.
3. Remove top of Circuit panel.
4. Unhook the snaps from the passenger and drivers side of the cover.
5. Roll entire circuit board over towards the passenger side.
6. Locate the Grey connector. (There is only one)
7. At location D3 (3rd down 4th to the right) is a light gauge yellow wire. It is the only yellow wire in this row.
8. Tap this wire and ground it to the Light ground on the firewall. Follow the lead from the Hood mounted light, and you will find it …just to the left of the Master Cylinder.
9. Put your stuff back together.
I found the information here:
Quad Headlights Mod
This sounds simple enough. While I have the headlight assemblies out for the Euro upgrade, I plan on making this mod.
DDM HID headlight upgrade
Since I’m going to all the trouble of replacing my headlights with the European versions, I figured I would upgrade to HID lights while I have them apart.
What are HID lights?
High-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps produce light with an electric arc rather than a glowing filament. The high intensity of the arc comes from metallic salts that are vapourised within the arc chamber. These lamps are formally known as gas-discharge burners, and produce more light for a given level of power consumption than ordinary tungsten and tungsten-halogen bulbs.
Automotive HID lamps are commonly called “xenon headlamps”, though they are actually metal halide lamps that contain xenon gas. The xenon gas allows the lamps to produce minimally adequate light immediately upon powerup, and accelerates the lamps’ run-up time. If argon were used instead, as is commonly done in street lights and other stationary metal halide lamp applications, it would take several minutes for the lamps to reach their full output.
My European headlight parts finally arrived! (Plus some other parts too!)
I ordered all the parts I needed to complete the swap over to the European adjustable headlights. Earlier I had came across a fella that was selling the headlight assemblies, brackets, and motors.
I did some research, (really tough research) and found all the missing part numbers I needed to swap for a factory style setup. Since I was ordering factory parts from the general, I decided that I would go ahead and order some of the things I needed to swap in the 4L80E and NP149.
I had actually ran into a problem that I hadn’t even considered. When my list was complete with all the obscure part numbers I needed, I tried to order the parts online. The first place I tried cancelled my order because I didn’t have the correct VIN number.
Apparently you’re not supposed to order these parts unless you actually have a European vehicle. I don’t see why it would be a problem. Maybe it’s a liability thing?
So I tried ordering the parts from a different online seller. We went a few rounds, but they finally sent me the correct parts after I told them that I was 100% sure the part numbers were correct. They told me that with the European parts, I would not be able to return them.
So I’m not sure if I got lucky and got my parts, or if there is a rule that GM will not sell overseas parts for domestic vehicles. I also looked into the legality of the headlights and Oregon recommends them.
Below are the pictures of the parts I ordered.
First up, here’s a pic of the pocket that goes where the push button 4WD selectors are. I’ll be removing the buttons because I’m putting in the AWD transfer case, it’s complete automatic in nature.
4L80E information, swap information, and diagrams
Below are some exploded diagrams illustrating the various parts and functions concerning the 4L80E.
(Some of these images are oversized. Due to the limitations of this blog theme, they are being cut off. If you would like to view the entire image, simply click on the picture and they will open up through my photobucket account.)
I finally found a NP149 transfer case.
I’ve been looking for a NP149 transfer case to swap into my Silverado. The NP149 came in Silverado SS’s, Denali’s and Escalade’s. It’s certainly not rare, but is somewhat uncommon.
Here are some pictures of the transfer case.
Yeah, so I powdercoated my wheels…
Once I decided that I was going to go ahead and powdercoat my wheels, I posted a thread on performancetrucks.net asking for advice.
What powder should I go with? Gloss black? Semi-gloss? Satin? I googled it to see what others had done. Coincidentally, I happen to like the look of the Plasti dip.
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Plasti Dip your wheels. Really?
Since I finally found the wheels I’ve been looking for I decided I wanted to have them powdercoated. I’ve got a black truck this time around, and eventually I’d like to completely black it out.
Before I commit to the black, I decided to try something I’ve read about online. I honestly didn’t think it would turn out as good as it did. I didn’t even do that good of a job prepping them.
At long last… I finally found my Centerlines!
I bought my truck a year and a half ago. Ever since I bought it, I’ve been looking for a particular set of wheels.
Here is a pic of my old Silverado. I found the wheels that are on it on Craigslist back then. I found them on accident actually.
In a way, this truck is my inspiration for my current build.
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LS6 camshaft and valve springs. CompCams pushrods.
I want to upgrade the camshaft to compliment my procharger. There are an infinite amount of possibilities.
You could choose from many, many different grinds from the various aftermarket companies. Or, you could have a custom grind made.
Some people swear that having a cam made specifically for your application is the only way to go. To some degree they’re probably right. It’s also the most expensive way to go.
Here are my stock cam specs.
5.3L
190/191 int/exh @ 0.05″ duration
0.466″ / 0.457″ int/exh lift
114 LSA
Below are the Z06 (LS6) cam specs.
2001 LS6 cam
207/217 int/exh @ 0.05″ duration
0.525″ / 0.525″ int/exh lift
116 LSA
2002+ LS6 cam
204/218 int/exh @ 0.05″ duration
0.551″ / 0.547″ int/exh lift
117.5 LSA
The cam I bought second hand is a 2002+ model. At first I bought the 2001 unintentionally. I hadn’t realized there were different camshaft specifications between the various years of the Corvette Z06. So after I found out I had the 2001 camshaft, I was on the lookout for a 2002+ model. Luckily, I was able to sell the 2001 for what I paid for it.
Here are some pics of my Z06 camshaft. You can identify this by the 5308 number on the end.
Adapting a 4L80E to NP149
Alright, so I want to run a 4L80E transmission and a NP149 transfer case. The 4L80E is a much stronger transmission and the NP149 is an AWD transfer case.
The 4L80E came in 3/4 ton and up trucks for many, many years. The NP149 came in the Silverado SS, Cadillac Escalade, and Yukon Denali.
Unfortunately, none of the trucks that had the 4L80E came with a NP149. So there are two different ways to overcome this. You can either turn down the output shaft on the transmission or replace the input shaft on the transfer case.
I plan on replacing the input shaft.
Reason being, is that the turned down output shaft is prone to failure in high horsepower applications. The transfer case input shaft, on the other hand, has proven to take the abuse of over 1200 horsepower!
These adapters are for sale by a fellow named time2kill on SilveradoSS.com.
LS1 electric fan conversion
In 2007 Chevy went to a factory electric fan system. Along with an electric fan they also upgraded the alternator to 140 amps (from 105) and installed a larger radiator. This netted a factory gain of 10 horsepower.
So the best thing to do is swap the larger radiator, alternator and fans. Since I’m trying to maintain a budget I will not be doing this.
It turns out that an electric fan from a LS1 equipped Camaro fits the 99-02 (maybe to 06) Silverado trucks.
What’s neat is you can actually reprogram the stock computer to control this fan as if it was there from the factory! Hopefully when I’m done, it will look and act as if it’s factory.
Here are the pics of my setup.
Mine came with this controller. Honestly, I don’t know anything about it.
Yank Torque Converter
I was going to just run the stock 4L80E torque converter. Knowing that my supercharger starts to build it’s power at the 3000 rpm range, when I came across a SC3000 Yank torque converter, I bought it.
A 3000 stall torque converter seems like it would be way to tall for street use. Everything I’ve read says that prochargers love high stalls though. Some folks even run a 3600 rpm stall on the street!
Here’s a link to my torque converter on Yanks site.
Yank SC series torque converters
Here are some pics of my Yank torque converter. As you can see, it looks brand new! That’s because the seller shipped it off and had it rebuild and then immediately shipped it to me. He never even opened the box!
Yank it and get it off quicker!
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What’s the plan for the stereo?
I love a nice sounding stereo. I was into car stereo back in the mid 90’s. Over the years I have listened to several different brands. I’ve acquired a certain taste for what I think sounds good.
Some of these components people have never even heard of. I currently have half the pieces, and have an idea of what I want for the other half.
Head unit
IDA-305S
Procharger P1-SC
I sold a bunch of things on craigslist. With that money I bought a P1-SC Procharger. I was looking into various ways to boost my vehicle. The procharger just sorta came up out of the blue. I had been searching off and on for several months for a good deal on some sort of forced induction. The only problem was it was about 300 miles away. Sometimes you just have to make the drive for a good deal.
Here’s the description of his ad:
This is the procharger P1SC, its intercooled and was Installed on my chevy 4×4 Tahoe with the 5.3 litre motor. it will fit any of the 4.8 5.3 or 6.0 chevy engines. it was custom tuned with 42 lb injectors and dynoed at 323.5 hp at the wheels… the procharger was rebuilt last year and has about 10000 miles on it since… also comes with the injectors and the diablosport tuner. It works great, has no problems whatsoever… call chris
To be honest, I didn’t know much about the procharger. So I started a thread in performancetrucks.net asking for advice. Was his asking price fair? What kind of gains can I expect? What mods should I make to my truck to support the additional horsepower?
The guy I bought the setup from had it installed on his 2000 Tahoe. I’m installing it on my 2000 Silverado, so the install should be easy. It’s literally the same setup.
Here are the pics of the kit:
Lowering a 4×4
I picked up some lowering spindles recently. Here’s the pic he sent me. (I only bought the spindles.) They are made by McGaughys.
Here’s their website:
I want to lower my truck about 2 inches. I’ve never been a fan of completely slammed trucks. I just want to lower the center of gravity a little bit and try to improve the handling.
The challenge is lowering a 4wd truck. I’ve never lowered a 4×4. Most people would say it’s pretty gay. I bet most people haven’t thought it through.
Do you know how much traction I’ll be able to get with 650 horsepower and 4wd? (650hp is the long term 6.0/4L80 goal.)
So there are several ways to lower my truck. The simplest is to replace the torsion bar keys. This clocks the torsion bars a tiny bit and allows you to go down about 2 inches.
At first I ordered a set of the keys. Mostly because of price. I found them second hand for 40.00.
We all know how the spindles work. They just move the hub up 2 inches which lowers the truck down 2 inches in relation to the wheel. Ultimately this is a better solution than keys. It maintains a completely stock ride.
When I found a deal on a set, I decided that was the way to go. After I get them installed, I’ll decide if I need the keys or not.
Well, that takes care of the front, but what about the rear?
Since my truck is a 4wd, it comes with blocks in the rear between the leaf springs and axle. One trick you can do on these trucks is to remove the blocks and install 2wd U-bolts. I believe the previous owner did just that. So instead of installing a leveling kit and lifting the front, he lowered the rear. Which is why my 4wd truck sits so low.
There are several ways to lower the rear. What I am going to do is the easiest. That’s installing taller shackles. The only downside to installing shackles is it changes the pinion angle slightly. So there’s a chance I may have to use shims. I really won’t know for sure until I get the shackles installed.
Now, if you install the shackles with replacement hangars, I don’t think the pinion angle is affected. I don’t want to do that mostly because it’s a complete bee-iotch. They are riveted on from the factory and it’s quite the challenge to get the factory hangars off.
I’ll take lots of pics when install time comes.
The next step after shackles and spindles will be sway bars. I’m not sure if I want to do both, a front and rear sway bar, but I definitely want to add a rear sway bar.
There are a lot of different choices available for shocks. I did a fair amount of research and I asked around for advice. What I ended up deciding on was KYB MonoMax Heavy Duty Monotube Shocks.
Here’s a video explaining the difference between mono tube and twin tube shocks.
Now I searched around and the cheapest place I could find these was amazon.com.
Front 565067
Rear 565103
There are the part numbers and you’ll need two of each.
Detroit Trutrac. What is it and why do I want it?
My truck has an open differential. Meaning, when I floor it, one tire peels out. From the factory you can get whats called a G80 option. This will supply the rear differential with limited slip. My truck didn’t come with this option.
So now that I’m adding more power to my truck, one of the things I have to address is traction. I need some sort of limited slip. I figured I had two basic options. I could either find a stock rear end with the appropriate gear ratio and the G80 option or go aftermarket. After doing some research, I found that the stock limited slip has it’s limits. Since it uses clutches to engage both tires, it’s prone to failure when high horsepower is applied.
So that leaves the aftermarket. There are several solutions, but what I decided on was a Detroit Trutrac. These are supposed to be one of the least intrusive, yet strong rear differentials. I needed something that was very streetable.
Here’s what the manufacture has to say:
The Detroit Truetrac was the first helical gear differential ever introduced into the automotive aftermarket as an Eaton brand. It remains the leading helical gear-type limited slip differential in the industry. Detroit Truetrac’s proven helical gear design eliminates the need for wearable parts, resulting in maintenance free traction recognized not only for its toughness, but its smooth and quiet operation as well. Proven design, low cost and effective performance all make the Detroit Truetrac limited slip differential the ideal choice for a wide variety of vehicle applications. No maintenance – Just Traction.
I ended up buying my Trutrac second hand from performancetrucks.net.
Here’s a pic:
The above photo gives you an idea of how it works.
Here’s a link to the website and PDF.
European Headlights
I hate European headlights/taillights on domestic vehicles. The aftermarket “Euro” headlights always look cheap and plasticy to me.
So when I came across a set of actual European headlights I had to have them. To be quite honest, I didn’t even know they existed.
Here’s what I found out.
First off I asked the seller how he even found these lights and this is what he said:
I saw a thread on another forum years ago where a guy stationed in Germany had spotted an export Tahoe. GM had modified trucks to meet European standards which included different headlights, side markers and exhaust tail pipes that went straight out the rear instead of the side.
Building a subwoofer box. Working with a regular cab.
I knew designing and building a subwoofer box for a regular cab truck was going to be a challenge. I’m a tall dude, and I need every inch of leg room I can get. So that meant getting creative with the space I had available.
First off, I don’t like huge boomy bass. If a fan of 10 inch subwoofers. They respond quickly, and still have a reasonable amount of surface area. It just so happens that I had 2 extra laying around that never made it into a project.
Here’s what I had to work with behind the seats.
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Sound Deadening
The first thing I actually did to my truck was start the sound deadening process. This basically consists of tearing everything out of the truck, laying down a dampening mat, and then putting it all back together.
I love a nice stereo. Part of a nice stereo is sound deadening. Most people skip this step, but I hate vibrations and respect other people’s privacy. It bothers me when you hear some dummy’s loud stereo booming as you drive down the road. It bothers me more when you hear his license plate or trunk vibrating. It sounds like crap.
This is where the dampening comes in. It basically adds mass to the thin metal and stops it’s vibration. This is the first step in the sound deadening process.
I’ve used several different brands and the one I like the best is Second Skin. The product I used is called Damplifier. Damplifier Pro is probably better, but I’m a cheapskate so I’ve only used the regular stuff.
The tear down begins!
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You gotta start somewhere. How about a little backstory and the plan for Charlie?
Okay, you’ve gotta start somewhere. I bought my 2000 Silverado in the fall of 2010. About 3 years ago I had a 2002 Silverado. I traded it off with the the big gas mileage hike and got a SRT-4. A year later, I started carpooling. The SRT-4 was so loud, that I convinced myself that I needed something quieter. A friend of mine suggested taking a look at Volvos. I ended up with a S40 T5 AWD. I loved the car, but quickly found out that it costs quite a great deal of money to mod a Volvo. The S40 was simply stuck at factory settings. About a year after I bought the Volvo, I realized that my family could really use a truck and quite honestly, I missed my Chevy.
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Why Charlie Murphy?
My last major project was a 1970 Camaro that my wife named Cindy. When I decided I was going to keep my truck forever, I asked my wife what I should call the project. Her answer? Charlie Murphy.
Okay, so my wife named the truck Charlie Murphy after the Chappelle show skit.
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Hey, I’m new to this!
Hello world!
Ha ha. It seemed only appropriate. What else would I choose as my first comment?
Okay, maybe you didn’t get the joke…
Anywho, I’m starting this blog as an online record of my Silverado buildup. I’ve never blogged in my life, so bear with me. I’m sure there will be misspellings and typos. I’m sure it won’t be as polished as others, but what I can assure you is, it will be accurate. I’m a complete nerd about researching things.
In the past I built up a 1970 Camaro on nastyz28.com.
Here’s a link to the project thread:
I enjoyed writing the thread quite a bit. This time around, with my next major project, I’m going to try blogging instead. At some point I may rewrite the Cindy thread through WordPress. Who knows?
So a small introduction. My name is Justin and I live in Oregon. I am passionate about Chevy’s. I’ve wanted to build a LS engine ever since they came out. But, I can’t justify having 2 Camaros, or a Corvette. So I did the next best thing I could think of. I bought a Silverado that has an engine that’s sort of a cousin to the LS engine. That’s what this blogs all about.
Project "Charlie Murphy" 