New 9-7x owner saying hello

[Sweekster]

Hi All,

Figured I'd introduce myself. Name is Duane. Picked up a fairly clean 05 9-7x 5.3 a couple weeks ago and was already hit with the locked transfer case. Not being able to parallel park your ride sucks. I ended up having it replaced and a new clutch pack kit installed in the rear diff. From the looks of the old stuff things were very close to catastrophically failing. It's all good now though. Anyway, just saying hello.

Here's a pic.

Yeah those Boss wheels were on it when I bought it. I'm not a fan of them. Saab 18s or Traiblazer ss 20s eventually.

 

[Hypnotoad]

Welcome!

 

[Uncle Blazer]

Welcome.

I like the way the wheels look on your ride. Although the SS rims would look nice too.....

 

[fletch09]

Welcome

 

[MAY03LT]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Sweekster]

Thanks . Maybe if they were not chrome I would like them better. I read somewhere that the Aero wheels were 20 as well. Options..

 

[Short Bus]

Thanks . Maybe if they were not chrome I would like them better. I read somewhere that the Aero wheels were 20 as well. Options..

FR SS 22" , or lift it and put on 16 or 17" rims and 32" tires

Welcome

 

[Boricua SS]

welcome

 

[barron03]

Welcome

 

[TexazReece]

Welcome to The Nation

 

[stormsurge]

Welcome to the show.

 

[Porkins]

Welcome on in, make yourself feel at home.

 

[djthumper]

Welcome!

 

[Denali n DOO]

Welcome to GMTNation The Better place to Be!!!

 

[Wooluf1952]

Welcome

In case you haven't heard:
http://gmtnation.com/forums/topic/218-welcome-to-gmtnationcom-heres-the-story/

 

[Canadian Mike]

Welcome to the Nation!

 

[Jkust]

Welcome...IMO the 9-7 is the nicest in the bunch. I've had three in our platform and was hesitant to buy the 9-7 as my third one but am glad i did. There are a few telltale signs as to which engine you have in the 9-7 besides the badge and I can't see either of them on your truck. The i6 has different rims than the 5.3 which are different from the 6.0 and the i6 generally (because the were optional) didn't have headlight washers and HID's which were standard on the 5.3 and 6.0. Which engine did you get? Post up some more pics of the rest of it.

 

[Sweekster]

Welcome...IMO the 9-7 is the nicest in the bunch. I've had three in our platform and was hesitant to buy the 9-7 as my third one but am glad i did. There are a few telltale signs as to which engine you have in the 9-7 besides the badge and I can't see either of them on your truck. The i6 has different rims than the 5.3 which are different from the 6.0 and the i6 generally (because the were optional) didn't have headlight washers and HID's which were standard on the 5.3 and 6.0. Which engine did you get? Post up some more pics of the rest of it.

I need to give it another good cleaning and I will pic whore it out for sure. Mine is 5.3 powered with hids and headlight washers. Bose cd6, xm, onstar, etc. Doing the sirius conversion next weekend since we already have an account. Our other ride is a 5.7 powered grand Cherokee. Is the only bluetooth option either the costar unit or the scosche? I won't be activating the onstar so I really don't need that function.

Overall I like it- although I'd like to maybe look into a 6L80 swap. But that's just wishful thinking.

Thanks again for the warm welcome

 

[Jkust]

Sounds nice. I've had 3 of the 5.3's and they can move out when you push them and really go when your at highway speeds and need to pass a line of cars. My Wife's Rainier/5.3 is tuned and it really hauls ass off the line. I'd love to hear how an aftermarket blue tooth works out in our platform. There was actually an oem blue tooth offered in 09 that is still available on Ebay last I checked but it seems there was some politics behind not allowing it to be sold oem. It'd need to be programmed at a dealer which seemed to be where the problem lies.

How would you compare the performance of the 5.7 to the 5.3? Does the Jeep blow it away?

As for the truck itself I've spent a grand total of 300 dollars the full year i've owned it and the 12k or so miles i've driven it for rear pads and rotors. It's been one of the better vehicles i've owned in the last several years and by far the best value of any car i've ever bought. I'm going to need tires soon so that'll be at least a grand though.
Does your dash cupholder still work?

 

[oh05ext]

welcome,i like the saab's but they didnt have a 3rd row option which we need.looks good now turn it into a pic whore and post em up

 

[Jkust]

welcome,i like the saab's but they didnt have a 3rd row option which we need.looks good now turn it into a pic whore and post em up

Yeah bummer right. No ext's/third row gmt got made after the 06 model year as we all know but the SAAB would have been a nice version if they made it. I kind of like that now that we don't have any 3rd row vehicles any longer, we never have to drive all the kids' friends around. The extra space for out family trips/gear would be nice though.

 

[jrSS]

Welcome!!

 

[AV8ER]

Nice ride and welcome to the Nation!

 

[Bscfrank914]

Welcome 9-7 Brother

 

[Sweekster]

Sounds nice. I've had 3 of the 5.3's and they can move out when you push them and really go when your at highway speeds and need to pass a line of cars. My Wife's Rainier/5.3 is tuned and it really hauls ass off the line. I'd love to hear how an aftermarket blue tooth works out in our platform. There was actually an oem blue tooth offered in 09 that is still available on Ebay last I checked but it seems there was some politics behind not allowing it to be sold oem. It'd need to be programmed at a dealer which seemed to be where the problem lies.

How would you compare the performance of the 5.7 to the 5.3? Does the Jeep blow it away?

As for the truck itself I've spent a grand total of 300 dollars the full year i've owned it and the 12k or so miles i've driven it for rear pads and rotors. It's been one of the better vehicles i've owned in the last several years and by far the best value of any car i've ever bought. I'm going to need tires soon so that'll be at least a grand though.
Does your dash cupholder still work?

This replaced my 98 Durango 5.9 4x4 with the 3rd row seating. The third row was used maybe ten times in 8 years I had that truck so I don't miss it. The jeep is rwd and it revs up a bit quicker and it's lighter so under those circumstance it does blow the saab away in that comparison. The handling is a bit better in the saab though. The main advantage the jeep has is the 5th gear and better mpgs.

From what I read about the Scoshe bluetooth unit, it is plug and play but most things are down through the radio with the steering wheel controls just for answering calls. The more expensive costar unit totally replaces the onstar and works in the "traditional" sense. I'll look into that oem unit and see where that goes so thank for the tip there. I'm also gonna look into getting a techII and factory manulas to diagnose this thing myself. When my transfer case locked up I called 3 local dealerships and they would not touch my saab. The trans shop I ended up taking it to was walking distance and the owner's wife happens to drive an envoy denali awd so he was well familiar with it and was not surprised when they looked at my truck and found the drive train fluids to be the incorrect colors. I do plan on having this truck for a while sooo...yeah

 

[Jkust]

This replaced my 98 Durango 5.9 4x4 with the 3rd row seating. The third row was used maybe ten times in 8 years I had that truck so I don't miss it. The jeep is rwd and it revs up a bit quicker and it's lighter so under those circumstance it does blow the saab away in that comparison. The handling is a bit better in the saab though. The main advantage the jeep has is the 5th gear and better mpgs.

From what I read about the Scoshe bluetooth unit, it is plug and play but most things are down through the radio with the steering wheel controls just for answering calls. The more expensive costar unit totally replaces the onstar and works in the "traditional" sense. I'll look into that oem unit and see where that goes so thank for the tip there. I'm also gonna look into getting a techII and factory manulas to diagnose this thing myself. When my transfer case locked up I called 3 local dealerships and they would not touch my saab. The trans shop I ended up taking it to was walking distance and the owner's wife happens to drive an envoy denali awd so he was well familiar with it and was not surprised when they looked at my truck and found the drive train fluids to be the incorrect colors. I do plan on having this truck for a while sooo...yeah

Interesting the Jeep handles better than the SAAB. The SAAB has one of the higher skid pad ratings i've seen suv-wise and will over handle the tires and handles night and day better than the rest of the platform as it has a lot of upgrades. Of course the down side is the ride is rougher say compared to my wife's current Rainier that is so smooth. End of the day the Jeep is a nicer vehicle in some ways that's for sure.
Way back when my wife got her first 2004 Rainier, the axle shaft seal started leaking and nobody but a GM dealer would touch it then I found an honest local, independent shop that was unphased. The key is to find a good small time mechanic that won't rip you off and is actually qualifed.

I like the idea of blue tooth but so far I just listen to pandora through the rear dvd player and can talk on the phone through it as well with the extarnal mic cord.

 

[Sweekster]

Interesting the Jeep handles better than the SAAB. The SAAB has one of the higher skid pad ratings i've seen suv-wise and will over handle the tires and handles night and day better than the rest of the platform as it has a lot of upgrades. Of course the down side is the ride is rougher say compared to my wife's current Rainier that is so smooth. End of the day the Jeep is a nicer vehicle in some ways that's for sure.

I think you misread. The Saab does handle better than the jeep. I do agree the jeep is just a bit nicer though. I want the bluetooth and the nav to make "modern" if that makes sense. I'm going to be doing a bluetooth/nav retrofit in the jeep as well. I'm weird about having the cars equal as possible. Makes it easier when I have to drive the wife's car and vise versa. Funny thing I haven't tried the cup holder yet. From what i've read I haven't got high hopes that it will.

 

[AV8ER]

If you want nav and bluetooth there's quite a few headunits you could get with both in them.

 

[gmcman]

Welcome!

Nice looking ride.

 

[Sweekster]

If you want nav and bluetooth there's quite a few headunits you could get with both in them.

Yeah I know but that's not what I want for it. The more OEM the better for this one. Thanks though.

 

[Jkust]

I think you misread. The Saab does handle better than the jeep. I do agree the jeep is just a bit nicer though. I want the bluetooth and the nav to make "modern" if that makes sense. I'm going to be doing a bluetooth/nav retrofit in the jeep as well. I'm weird about having the cars equal as possible. Makes it easier when I have to drive the wife's car and vise versa. Funny thing I haven't tried the cup holder yet. From what i've read I haven't got high hopes that it will.

Ha thats funny, I do way too many things at once. The cupholders broke almost the instant you used them right off the lot. They are around $50 to replace if I recall. My 9-7 is in near perfect condition since a single lady owned it and almost never had a front seat passenger and never a rear passenger and It doesn't look like she ever carried any cargo. The rear tv was never even used. All that said the cupholder retracts and springs back just fine but the actual part you put a cup won't lock into position. They were just made to break.

If I could blue tooth music with one of the options I wouldn't mind having one of those set ups...but i have the factory nav and so don't want to go the easy route and replace the head unit even though I realize modern systems are much more capable.

 

[Sweekster]

Confirmed. Cup holder just spins...

 

[20rainier04]

Here's an option for you to keep it stock. I have the Belkin AirCast for my Bluetooth needs. Very simple install!! I had it for about a month now and I think it works great. You do need a aux port. I was lucky, the previous owner had a Sound Gate iPod adapter installed so I used that for my aux. Bluettoth capabilities work great, even Siri works with this unit. My only gripe is that I have to control the iPod/iPhone manually...but I can live with that.