WHT Z06: Assorted Hacks

WHT Z06: Assorted Hacks

Here is a list of hacks I've done to my Z06. Many involve OEM parts.

Hack Description

Floor Mats Floor Mats Upgrade

Fob Fob Panic Button Disable

Reverse Solenoid Replace The Reverse Lockout Solenoid

CAGS Solenoid Replace The CAGS Solenoid

US Flag Aluminum US Flag

Weatherstrip Lubricant GM Weatherstrip Lubricant

XM Band Deletion Remove the XM band From The Radio

Hack	Description
Floor Mats	Floor Mats Upgrade
Fob	Fob Panic Button Disable
Reverse Solenoid	Replace The Reverse Lockout Solenoid
CAGS Solenoid	Replace The CAGS Solenoid
US Flag	Aluminum US Flag
Weatherstrip Lubricant	GM Weatherstrip Lubricant
XM Band Deletion	Remove the XM band From The Radio

Floor Mats Upgrade

After a decade for driving it was time to replace my ebony mats and I wanted to stick with OEM. The attachment for floor mats in the C6 changed from studs to hooks in early 2007. My Z06 was built in March and came with studs. When it was quickly apparent that the stud version of the mats (GM part 15272757) was no longer available I decided to convert to hooks.

Service bulletin 08-08-110-010 describes the conversion and (thanks to the Internet Archive) the text is available here. Here's the list of parts I used:

GM Description

25864433 Floor Mats, Carpet, Front (ebony)

10351595 Hook, Front Floor Panel Carpet

GM	Description
25864433	Floor Mats, Carpet, Front (ebony)
10351595	Hook, Front Floor Panel Carpet

My strategy was to use masking tape and a sharpie to mark the position of the old mats and then cut slits in the carpet for each hook such that the new mats would end up in the same place.

Notes:

You need two hooks for the left/driver's side and one for the right/passenger.
The location of the right/passenger side hook moved in late 2013.
When installed the hooks cover the old stud holes in the carpet.

Fob Panic Button Disable

The panic button the key fob can be annoying when your keys or whatever set off the alarm. Eventually I got fed up and put a piece of tape over the contacts for the panic button:

Reverse Lockout Solenoid

I started noticing that sometimes reverse was available while driving down the road. This was because my reverse lockout solenoid was failing. I replaced it with the car jack stands. It was not an easy process.


Original	Replacement

The original solenoid was much larger than the replacement (GM 19178634). The factory service manual calls for a Kent Moore J-41099 (which is a fairly deep 34mm socket) which I didn't have at the time but honestly I'm not convinced there is a enough room to use a ratchet with the transmission still in the car so ultimately I found it easier to remove the entire assembly and replace the solenoid on the bench using a large crescent wrench. I was able to torque the new solenoid in with a 27mm deep socket.

After removal I tested the original solenoid with a suitable 12V power supply; I found that it frequently would stick in the retracted position, accounting for the symptoms I observed.

CAGS Solenoid

My T56 transmission has leaked a tiny amount of ATF over the past few years. Googling showed one possible source is the skip shift (aka CAGS) solenoid. Apparently the original design starts to leak internally. One way to solve this is to replace the solenoid with a plug (e.g. the one sold by ICT Billet) but if you do that you'll need to plug an aftermarket skip shift eliminator into the harness or else you'll get an engine check light. But since I use the CAGS LED Fuse method I need the solenoid to be present.

Original and Replacement

When I removed the old solenoid I found ATF in the connector. Given it has a seal it was pretty obvious that the leak was internal to the solenoid.

Just like the reverse lockout solenoid, the original takes a 34mm deep socket and the replacement a 27mm.

US Flag

I'm not really big on putting decals or bumper stickers on my vehicles but I like displaying the US flag. I got this aluminum flag from ebay.

Weatherstrip Lubricant

GM Weatherstrip Lubricant (GM 3634770, also known as Krytox) is a silicone-free grease used for dressing weatherstripping. It works great but is expensive.

It's listed in TSB (#99-08-64-016A) as being one of the two products that should be periodically applied to weatherstrip surfaces. A cheaper option is dielectric silicone grease (GM 12345579 or equivalent).

XM Band Deletion

Some folks who do not subscribe to XM don't like seeing the XM1/XM2 bands displayed on the base or navigation radio. This is just a matter of unplugging the module which is located behind the carpet above the left rear wheel well or on convertibles between the seats and under the waterfall behind the center console.

When the radio does not receive any frames on the J1850 bus from the XM module it will remove the soft button for XM bands.