It looks as if I may look for a new vehicle. My 1996 silverado with 356,000 miles is tired. I am looking at this:
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To be honest, I am tired of working on stuff. I know this truck with the 5.
4 has 115,000 on it. But how reliable are they and are there any problems I can expect in the future with this mileage. I dont mind wrenching, just do nt want to have to do it every day as it seems I am having to do now. With proper maintenance could I expect to get 300,000 on a truck such as th is?
has 115,000 on it. But how reliable are they and are there any problems I can expect in the future with this mileage. I dont mind wrenching, just dont want to have to do it every day as it seems I am having to do now.
No - The Ford Triton engine is a pile of doggie doo - The Boss' van already spit up one sparkplug and wrecked the coil-pack, and the rest can't be far behind.
Keep the Chevy and replace or rebuild the "tired" parts as they need it. As long as it isn't rusting away and you keep ahead of the little problems before they get big, you can keep it running for another 20 years with proper maintenance.
Engines can be rebuilt, or you get a new Targetmaster "Crate Motor" complete and literally drop it in. (Ford doesn't offer that!) Transmission shops can do a rebuild of a C4 or C6 in their sleep. Brakes are easy, tires are normal wear. Paint is a normal wear item, you might be due.
Even suspension rebuilds aren't that hard - I put upper A-arm bushings in my C-3500, the hard part was making the press tooling to get them out and in - and it turns out most of the problem was crap tires.
I have found the Consumer Reports used-car reliability ratings to be a very good guide. They don't pay attention to the fact that imports are more expensive to buy parts for than domestic cars, but the actual reliability numbers seem to match reality fairly well.
I don't know for sure if they rate trucks, but if they do, it's worth subscribing to CR for a year just to get access to the web site long enough to buy a truck. Then let your subscription lapse until you need another one.
Note that some of the other testing the Consumer's Union does is laughable pseudo-science. Fortunately they tell you what they've done, so read any articles carefully and size your grain of salt appropriately.
has 115,000 on it. But how reliable are they and are there any problems I can expect in the future with this mileage. I dont mind wrenching, just dont want to have to do it every day as it seems I am having to do now.
Properly maintained they are not really a particularly BAD engine. I know quite a few still going at 300,000 miles (500,000km) and as many SBCs die an early death as FordTritons or Modulars. The OHC Ford engines ARE more expensive to repair when they do go south. And Ford DOES offer "crate engines" which are at least as good quality as GM's "target master" remans. Some of them are pure unadulterated KaKa.
The one COMMON problem is cracked exhaust manifolds - which are a minor problem but can be a headache to replace. Good excuse to put a set of headers on.
No, that's far too late ;-) Proper Maintenance starts at about 2,000 to 3,000 miles, when it get's it's first oil change a bit early - And if it uses up more than a quart per 1,000 during break-in, you start an oil consumption investigation with the dealer right from the get-go.
The goal is one quart between 12,000 changes, but I'll begrudgingly accept a quart every 3,000 to 5,000 with 5W30 and 0W20 super-thin stuff they like to specify now. Any more than that, start looking for leaks and rings/valves problems.
And you get the Factory Service Manual and actually do the things it calls for, or make sure someone else does - hit all the grease points underneath, put a dab of grease on the door latches and checks, hinges and pivots.
The first oil change (sometimes two) is conventional oil till it stops using any - Once you know the rings are seated you switch to synthetic oil, and stay with it.
And you have to stay with the factory oil change intervals while it's still in warrantee, after that you can stretch to 12 to 15,000 with the synthetic.
The most important: Look, Listen, React. If it makes a new noise or shake, find out what it is and whether that's good or bad.
Most big problems start out small, if you hear the "scrunch, scrunch, scrunch" as the brake pad backing just barely kisses the rotor and do the brakes That Day, you just saved $50 to $150 on a replacement rotor.
Now you really should have caught it on a visual check before it got that far, but "Stuff Happens" and you drive other peoples' cars too. So you learn to listen for that distinctive scraping noise.
If you EVER hear that scrunch in the brakes, it has not been properly maintained. You should ALWAYS know how much friction material is left on the pads/shoes - and be able to guage how much longer they will last - replacing them when they are unlikely to last 'till the next inspection. Sliders and calipers don't seize if properly maintained and inspected either, so unexpected uneven wear should not be an issue on a "properly maintained" vehicle. If when checking the brakes a slider is corroded or sticking, you free it up and lubricate it to prevent sticking, or replace it - and you check it closely at the next inspection. That's what "service records" are for.
It's called "preventative maintenance" for a reason. I've owned vehicles up to over 240,000km without a single "repair" - meaning correcting a failure - by simply doing pre-enptive maintenance when indicated - catch it just before it fails.
My current truck has only 312,000 km (give or take) and is just nicely broken in - still has the original rear brakes - new ones sitting on the shelf ready to replace when they get worn down far enough to make it worth while. I've had many customers in the past get over 500,000km without a single "unscheduled" repair - or a lost time breakdown - and extremely reasonable operating cost on a per mile basis. Service is almost ALWAYS cheaper than repair.
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