1998 Chevrolet Silverado review from North America

Blower motor started making an annoying tick-tick-tick noise on low speed. I replaced it with an original GM part bought from a dealer for about $100. Has worked ever since. That was about 3 years ago.

Some radio button backlight bulbs blew out, so you can't read the buttons at night. I removed the radio myself, took it apart, got down to the circuit board that has small 12v lamps soldered in place. I unsoldered them and replaced them with some 12v grain of wheat lamps I had, but you can find better and more exact replacements at Radio Shack for 50 cents each.

Now for the expensive stuff. Both anti-lock sensors went bad in the front wheels, causing the anti-lock to come on just as you would be pulling to a stop, making the brakes chug-chug-chug a little before stopping. Total cost was $600 to get both wheel hubs with integral sensors replaced.

Water pump leaked over 100,000 miles. Had to be replaced.

Right front wheel brake rotor broke completely off from its center so it was just spinning free in there (so there was no braking action on that wheel). Rotor replacement - about $75.

Tail gate latch and handle have required frequent cleaning and lubrication to keep them working. They "ears" that stick out the sides of the tailgate, which engage in the body to hold the gate closed, get hung up otherwise, and the gate won't latch. I've used lots of carb cleaner to dissolve away all the old dirt and grease, and relubed with grease, white lithium, plain old oil, WD 40, you name it. Nothing seems to do any better. Lately, I've had the best results by just cleaning it off well with Gum Out, and spraying everything down with WD 40 --- no grease, no oil. This seems to keep the latch mechanism cleaner and it works longer before starting to hang up.

Rear right radio speaker quit about a year after I got the truck. Removing them is a nightmare because you have to tear out the inside rear pillar trim (this is an extended cab model). Rather than do that, I used an Xacto knife and steel straight edge, and cut a rectangular panel right out of the interior plastic trim, pulled the speaker out from the front, and mounted a much-improved Alpine 2-way speaker in there. I did the same thing on the other rear side. The stock GM rear speakers are really awful anyway.

After screwing the new speakers in, I simply snapped the cut-out rectangle back in place. This was about 2 years ago. They don't pop out, and they don't rattle. Yes, if you look at them, you can see the cut-out border, but it really hardly shows. I don't think anybody would even notice it if it wasn't pointed out to them.

Just had to have a new fuel pump put in. Total with labor was $600. Pump just quit one morning right in the driveway (didn't hear it spin up for a few seconds when turning the key). Lucky it wasn't in the middle of a long highway trip or a family vacation!

I have a slight intake manifold coolant leak. It dribbles out of one corner near the back. You won't even see it, it's so slight. But over a couple of months, you'll notice the coolant level go down, and you can sometimes smell it. It's been like this for almost 2 years. I have no intention of dumping another $500 into this unless it gets any worse, which it hasn't in all this time.

The truck runs smoothly, has plenty of pick up, and is very good on gas. I get about 19 mpg with an even mix of city/highway driving, which I think is very good for a big V-8 truck. If you are a lead-foot, it's mileage will drop to about 15. But if you drive it "nicely" it will reward you.

It's comfortable, good-looking, and has never broken down on me on the road or left me stranded.

However, as you can see from my repair laundry list, this truck has been EXPENSIVE to maintain. I had a 1989 Silverado before this, and except for a blown head gasket at about 100,000 miles (cost be $700), that truck was trouble free right up to the day I traded it at about 192,000. This 1998 has not been nearly as reliable.