new truck for christmas

[MH Hawker]

Last week when I went out to warm up my old S 10 to hunt down some breakfast when it started it was making a nasty knocking noise, so instead I dropped off at my mechanics. 2 days later I got a call saying the # 2 cylinder has piston slap and the best he can find on a used motor is 4 k and its a 97 so its not worth it. So today I spend the better part of it out looking at trucks and man is it ruff out there the people on the car lots must be starving. After about 4 hours I came home and had a beer just to settle down.

I did run across what I think is a decent deal on a 05 cheve 1500, Z 71, silverado, crew cab 4 dr, 4 wh dr, 5.3 vortez V8, 76,000 for 14,000, 9600 towing capacity and I would guess 15 mpg at best.

I will go back tomorrow and talk money.

 

[southkogs]

Re: new truck for christmas

Price sounds reasonable comparative to what's in my area right now. I do a little better than 15MPG average with both my Dodge and my Ford, but they're 2WD.

Good luck with it.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: new truck for christmas

My only experience is, Z 71's were popular and run hard. I'd go to ebay and shop some. Big investment = due diligence

 

[rockyrude]

Re: new truck for christmas

The 5.3L is solid, it's been around awhile. Sounds good on mileage, everything I'm seeing here is over 100K. You could run it through Kelly Blue Book to see if the price is close.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: new truck for christmas

Price is not bad.....but I will admit I am a Toyota person (own 2 and a chev 2500 too)

 

[matt167]

Re: new truck for christmas

S10 probably has a broken piston skirt causing a little rock. Your mechanic can pull the head/ heads and pan and put a new piston/ rod in it for much less than $4k, or you could live with it and it will likely last a while. Even if it dropped the cylinder, it will still get you home. Those 5.3's are good engines but notorious for developing piston slap by 100k miles, so if it bothers you with the S10 that has probably served you well, it will drive you crazy in a truck you just bought.

5.3L with the right gearing should at least touch 20 MPG unloaded

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: new truck for christmas

Well it was time for a change the S 10 served me very well for a lot of years but it will be a lot easier towing with a V 8 and the crew cab sure will come in handy. And so far I really like it.

 

[southkogs]

Re: new truck for christmas

Congratulations on the new truck!

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: new truck for christmas

thanks

 

[Big Bubba]

Re: new truck for christmas

Very nice truck MHhawker,
I had a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado, LS model, 4X4, with 5.3 liter engine, 142,000 miles, extended cab short bed that I had for about 8 years and absolutely loved it but when I got, last year, a 30 foot fifth wheel camper I thought the truck was not strong enough to pull it and I thought I would tear it up pulling it so I traded it even this year no cash out of pocket for a 2000 year, Chevrolet, LS model, C3500, dually 4-door crew cab, long bed with 7.4 liter engine with 127,000 miles on her but I have had to replace the lower intake manifold gaskets myself and I am trying to figure out a slight transmission issue with lose of fourth gear after warm up and harsh 1 to 2 shifting but think it is either worn valve body or maybe a worn torque convertor but will get that fixed here in the new year, 2013. Other than that I love my new to me truck and if I get the transmission issue solved it is as good as new to me. Congrats!!! on your new truck it is nice and it should serve you well my 1999 Chevy Silverado did for me and I would still own it today if I did not get that 30 foot fifth wheel camper it was the best Chevy truck I ever owned.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: new truck for christmas

Big Bubba:

Sorry you're having problems with your tranny, but they're actually the weakest link in 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks. The problem is that people try to pull heavy loads too fast, and their tranny coolers are just not up to the task. 142K miles is probably better than average before tranny failure because of too high of heat. What's especially bad is that the heat issue can be easily solved with a secondary tranny cooler like a TruKool for just over $100 + installation. They're available at every national auto parts store for your truck.

And don't know if you have the Allison transmission on a gas unit, but it is no better than any other automatic on the market. Every automatic tranny in this size truck will have a few weak links.

You'll just need to find a good transmission shop to rebuild your present tranny. Sometimes it's less expensive to go to a GM dealership and purchase a Mr. Goodwrench OEM rebuild with a new torque converter and a 3 year warranty.

I'm running a SuperDuty diesel, and a couple of super of tranny rebuilders charge $4,500 for a rebuild on the older 4 speed auto's--but you cannot tear them up; one has a lifetime warranty. Ford OEM rebuilds on my tranny start at about $2200 @ TousleyFord.com + labor to swap the units out. GOOD LUCK!

 

[emilsr]

Re: new truck for christmas

Congrats on the new truck! You're going to like the extra oomph.

Mileage will depend on the rear axle ratio and tire size. I just traded off a '97 Suburban for a 2500hd; the 'burban had 2.73 gears and stock rubber; got around 18mpg on the highway with that truck.