solenoids going bad?

[firstpeter125]

I dont actually own a tracker, but I'm looking at buying one. Its decently priced, the only problem with it is that one or more of the solenoids need to be replaced.

BTW, its a 96 geo tracker with 138,000 miles, 2dr soft top, 5 speed, 4wd, with 31" tires, no spacers or body lift that I'm aware of, and a new clutch, brakes, and timing belt.

The seller got an estimate for the repairs but it seems a little steep, so I'm looking into replacing them myself.

I know what a solenoid valve is and how it works, I just want to know how many a tracker has, and if there are specific ones that tend to fail. As far as I know, the car still runs fine, so I'm thinking that can rule out any solenoids that would render it inoperable.

I also want to know if its difficult to replace them. I dont have a whole lot of experince with fixing cars, the most I've done is replaced an alternator, carburator, and a distribution cap. But I would be getting help from my dad who knows way more about cars than I do.

I can find out from the seller which solenoids need to be replaced, but I'd like to find out, in the mean time, which ones would most likely need to be replaced.

Also the owner was saying that 96 was the first year chevy used a trailblazer wheel base on the tracker which is supposedly 3 inches wider than the previous chassis, but when I did a little research, I was told that all the trackers from 90-98 had the same wheel base width. Does anyone know anything about this?

[jtgh]

trailblazer, what is that? not in my fsm.

first off its a 96 , nice car with smart ECU.
and 5sp no slush pump.
no AT solenoids anywhere, to replace , blessing.
....

that gets you down to 2 sets.
EVAP
EGR

is bet you he is resetting the ECU codes daily until he sells it.
common practice with PO's

the EVAP has 2 styles this year , one simple other complex but can be fixed easy in most cases ( if the tank pressure can be maintain due to tank leak on top , bad news)
tank pull and expenses
the other is EGR P0400 fail.


how to tell, easy ,drive on free way, over 50 and cruise a few miles hot.
and the cost for 30second ,then back to 50
i bet the cel goes on for P0400
if not then the EVAP will fail.

that is my guess. he has CEL lamp glowing.
ask for the codes.
or pull them your self at Autozone or equiv. free.


its lifted.

[firstpeter125]

Thank you for the info, it took me a few minutes to figure out what all the acronyms meant, but I figured it out.

I have a couple questions though

First, you said there are two sets, does that mean both the EVAP and the EGR have more than one solenoid valve? I know the EVAP has the purge valve, does the charcoal canister also have a valve? If so, are those the only two?

Second, if I were to replace the valve(s) on either system, would I need any parts other than the new valves? Where's a good place to get new valves, and how much do they cost? (approximately)

I double checked on the tires and it turns out they are only 26-28 inches. He didnt know exactly because it was dark out and couldnt read the tire. But apparently they're only a couple of inches bigger than the stock tires which were 24-25 inches?

[ranger88den]

One solenoid for each system. About $65 each @ Southwest Suzuki. Do a search at their website, go to parts, use Suzuki Sidekick, go to emissions, expand egr, then solenoid. Do the same for Evap. They are located at the front of the intake manifold. Good luck

[CodyJ]

The biggest that can be ran is 235's... with no lift/slight rubbing if any.

Other parts than the valve... are other parts that consist of a tune-up more than likely needed? Cap/rotor, spark plugs/wires, air filter, oil change...

[firstpeter125]

So if the valves are only $65 each, and from what I've researched, it only takes a couple of hours at most to replace each one, how come the shop estimated $500???? Is there more to it than that?

[jtgh]

id take the solenoid statement with a grain of salt.
most sellers , think, gee this is bad, ahh thats expensive ,so what is cheap.
so they say, ahhh, bad relay some where (tops answer on here)
id not listen to any of it.
do your own analysis.. IMHO, YMMV.

best practice is to have it for an hour to your self to go thru it and check.
1: full obd2 scan tool , look at pendings.
2: look at what monitors were reset ( oops hes hidding a fail for sure) (pending they will say)
3: compression test.
4: rack it and walk under and look up. see the history of car. NOW.

some can say, gee i want my mechanic to look at it. << VG !
if he/she agrees , then plan it all out.

sorry for 3 letter acronyms, but no one in this bussiness uses the full names.
there are 14 you must learn. for sure. not too bad. out of 1000.
EFI-sensor-theory

hope this helps you.

the EVAP can have 1 valve or many . depends on the exact build date of your car.
you give more accurate data , like vin , minus last 4 digits and we can tell you exactly what you have.
I have 96 fsm in my lap, and on line.
can send full topo map of yours , instantly.

[deeznutts77]

i have a good set of egr and evap sylinoids (blue and black ones). and the trailblazer he was talking about is the chevy trailblazer, it took over for the s10 blazer truck.

[jtgh]

Also the owner was saying that 96 was the first year chevy used a trailblazer wheel base on the tracker ?

i dont know what that means,
most likely same as the Solenoid rumors.

i bet the car has OBD2 errors pending or set.
or
are being cleared daily by PO.

assume it and do not be surprised.

we will fix it after he gets it.

here,it would already be gone. they last 1 day on craigs here.

Originally Posted by deeznutts77

i have a good set of egr and evap sylinoids (blue and black ones). and the trailblazer he was talking about is the chevy trailblazer, it took over for the s10 blazer truck.

[deeznutts77]

aperently the po dont know his a$$ from a hole in the ground, offer him less and get it!