NewER 4x4 pick up

[Dreamn4GN]

time has come to buy a truck. Was looking at the 2000-2005 silverados with the LS motors. Only looking to spend like 7500$. I know what those high mileage ls motors can do. But will they hold up towing and hauling ? Just looking for some direction. Always liked the older silverados. Are those ls motors reliable as I think they are? How are they as daily drivers? This will be my primary ride to and from work. Use my jeep Cherokee for woods and trails and snow.
Thanks

 

[Pronto]

Watch out for frame rust. I've got a 99 Sierra new style 2500. It's not the HD frame but has the 6 liter. It's easy to drive, a monster in the snow. Drove 5 miles through 26" of snow in last winter's first blizzard like nothing.

 

[forcefed3.8's]

My dad has an 03 gmc 2500hd with just shy of 300k on. I have replaced every fuel line, brake line, and trans line from rust, but other than that, radiator last fall, fuel pump last month, and front diff last winter. It is a plow truck, so rusty, and extra abuse on the front differential. He just pulled a camper to Florida from NE Ohio for the winter with no problems. Still runs like new.

 

[novaderrik]

it's not uncommon to see them with 250,000 miles on them, still running strong. here in MN, the rocker panels on any truck more than about 7 years old are shot- but that is true for all brands, and not just GM..

my mom's boyfriend has an 06 1/2 ton "WT" with the 5.3 that has 370,000 or so miles on it. he pulls a trailer with 9 big round hay bales (~1000 pounds each) on it, and it gets it done without much complaint.. it doesn't leak or burn any oil and always starts right up in the dead of winter. the only real problem with it is a weird harmonic vibration in the exhaust when accelerating lightly- sounds like a baffle in the muffler or something- and i don't think the front differential ever unlocks because the front end always "skips" a bit on low speed turns, which chews up front tires a bit faster than it should. it's a farm truck, so he hasn't bothered to get the diff looked at.

 

[TexasT]

We have a 2003 2500hd. I bought it in 10 I think, with 100k miles. I think it has 150k or so but the dash quit so I'm not sure. I've been told to look out for the rear brake lines as the rot out. Ours came from out of state as the cab corners and bumper is showing rust but it is a truck and we bought it to haul and tow. Last Monday made a trip four hours south to pick up the daughters car that quit. Not effective cost wise but we got to see the daughter so worth it. Not sure what these go for but I paid about 11k when I bought it and figure to drive it until it doesn't run any more. I just change the oil/filter , put some tires on it and had to clean out the iac once when it wouldn't idle.

 

[t-typinator]

As stated above check the frame very closely.
I went looking for a newer replacement for my 98 Silverado (Last year of the old style).
and ran into 2 in the same day with rotted out frames , (1 was a 99 the other an 02) 1 was actually broken, and this was about 4-5 yrs ago so now they are even older and i'm sure lots more rotted ones.
The ones i saw were both rotted by the rear wheels around the area's where those big round tubes go from one frame rail to the other, they were probably rotted in other places also but when i saw that i just stopped looking at the vehicle and left.
I also saw one not too long ago that was rotted real bad under the cab area like in the second video.
Companies actually now make and sell these sections so you can cut out the old rotted sections and weld in their new sections. (Thats how common it was/is.)
Since then i have found out that is not the only bad area, the whole frame is prone to rotting and breaking including where the body mount's are.
See the below video where he put huge washers in the mount holes and fixed other sections also.
Neither of these 2 video's are as bad as the 2 i had looked at a few yrs ago.
If i remember correctly they blamed it on bad mexican steel at the time, and as far as i know gm never made good on any of them.
Google 99 and up rotted Silverado frame for more info.

Ps, all the break lines and i believe fuel lines also rotted out real quick for some reason.
I would suggest buying the newest you can find in your price range, but even some of the newer ones have had frame problems .
Just as a side note my 98 2500's frame has 0 rot, but it also had a somewhat easy life and the body is pretty rust free also.

Good luck.

 

[Pronto]

Typical NE rust on my truck.

And a repair. The piece was from a shop in RI that makes frame parts. It was a really nice fix. Special thanks to Haywire for the super welding job! I cleaned up the surface rust and under coated. It's barely noticeable.

 

[Pronto]

Next truck I'm going to Fluid Film the shit out of it.

 

[novaderrik]

here in MN, i have never, ever seen a late model Chevy truck frame that was anywhere nearly as rotten as those pics- i've seen it on a couple of farm trucks from the 70's, but not on anything newer... i've seen the receiver hitch tube rot out due to people being too lazy to stick a damn garden hose in there once a year to rinse the accumulated shit out- which is also probably why the welded in tubular crossmembers rotted out in the pics above- but the frames don't fall apart around here..

i've also read all over teh internets for the last decade about how the brake lines are grenades with the pins pulled that can blow at any time, but i've never had anyone i know tell me that it's happened to them..

 

[Pronto]

Notice the brake line, they all have been done. The spare is gone along with the rear frame tube. The hitch which is in good shape is holding the rear frame. The truck was originally from maine. Runs fine. Actually, today it's going to a bodyman that works out of his house to redo the rockers and fenderwells for cheap.

 

[Phoneguy]

This is why I bought a truck out of Florida. Although I bought a diesel, I picked up a 2006 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLT 4x4 crew cab in July that has no rust issues at all. It was quite a bit more than what you are looking to spend but it is a nice truck. It gets right at 15 mpg towing the car too.
Look around for a southern truck , you will be glad you did.

Bryan

 

[Dreamn4GN]

Thanks guys. I'm in south jersey. So rust could be a big issue. For the right truck I'd be willing to increase the price range. I want this truck to run for along time. I heard those trucks rust, but not as much as you guys mentioned. I'd totally fly south for a truck and drive her back. Knowing me I'll be Looking for along time. Nothing's wrong with my daily, just need a mans vehicle. Tired of asking to borrow old mans truck to haul some shit.

 

[Phoneguy]

I looked for a couple of months before I found this one

 

[JustABuick]

time has come to buy a truck. Was looking at the 2000-2005 silverados with the LS motors. Only looking to spend like 7500$. I know what those high mileage ls motors can do. But will they hold up towing and hauling ? Just looking for some direction. Always liked the older silverados. Are those ls motors reliable as I think they are? How are they as daily drivers? This will be my primary ride to and from work. Use my jeep Cherokee for woods and trails and snow.
Thanks

I have been looking for a YEAR off and on for an 00-06 Silverado/Sierra around the same price range. I've given up looking in Ohio, they're either destroyed or way overpriced. It's surprising how hard it is to find one considering how many were made.

 

[Dreamn4GN]

Very clean. I'm kind of a two door guy. I'd like a nice extended cab.

I have been looking for a YEAR off and on for an 00-06 Silverado/Sierra around the same price range. I've given up looking in Ohio, they're either destroyed or way overpriced. It's surprising how hard it is to find one considering how many were made.

I agree. That or they are overpriced I feel. Not paying 10-12k for a truck with almost 180k miles. Don't care how clean it is. Worse comes the worse I'll trade in one of my cars and pick up more time at work and buy new or lease.

 

[Pronto]

They are REALLY pushing the 4 door models. I have no need for one of those. I would rather have a shorter truck and either the extended cab or regular cab. It's usually just me in the truck. The wife rides in it one a year going to pick out a Christmas tree.

 

[Phoneguy]

Used truck are outrageous in price !!!
Have you seen the prices for a new crew cab 4x4 Denali Duramax? I seriously don't know how people can afford to pay 80k for a truck !!
My first house cost 46k....

 

[JustABuick]

Very clean. I'm kind of a two door guy. I'd like a nice extended cab.

I agree. That or they are overpriced I feel. Not paying 10-12k for a truck with almost 180k miles. Don't care how clean it is. Worse comes the worse I'll trade in one of my cars and pick up more time at work and buy new or lease.

100% agree. I couldn't have said it any better myself. 180k miles is still 180k miles on the trans and suspension, even if there isn't any rust....

They are REALLY pushing the 4 door models. I have no need for one of those. I would rather have a shorter truck and either the extended cab or regular cab. It's usually just me in the truck. The wife rides in it one a year going to pick out a Christmas tree.

I've had dealerships try to promote the 4 door models like it's a plus, and want to charge more for them.....I just want an extended or regular cab and an 8 foot bed....

Glad I'm not the only one who thought these truck prices were outrageous. Yeah, I can kiss goodbye to the thought of ever buying a new one.

 

[mtocrs1]

I bought this new in 2005. It has been great. It does have a little rust starting but easily repairable if I get to it soon. We really haven't had any problems to speak off. The drivetrain had been bulletproof. It pulled out boat around without any issues and it weighs 7500 pounds. Not screwing with the torque management is they key to the transmissions longevity. If it has a performance tune run for the hills.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pronto]

Avalanche 's are cool, but you can't fill up the bed with broken pine branches and leaves like you can a regular pu bed. I've got a cap and can really back in the leaves for fall cleanup.