Best I have ever owned
Manifold exhaust bolts rusted out at 160000 miles.
All cab mounts rusted out at 100000 miles.
Body rust at 100000 miles.
Great truck all around, runs great, and has had very few serious mechanical problems.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 23rd November, 2010
This truck has been very dependable
About 330,000 miles - Brake line replacement, some lines were suspect and decided to replace all of the steel lines.
Typical maintenance within the 150,000 miles of use include:
Pads a couple of times (maybe the rotors once), replaced calipers.
Rear shoes (replaced wheel cylinders).
Alternator once.
Battery.
O2 sensor.
Exhaust pipe (from catalytic converter back).
On my third set of tires.
Oil changes, lubes, etc.
375,000 miles:
Engine lost power and exhausted a lot of smoke. Found a whole 1993 C1500 with a 5.0 L for $200. Seller only wanted the transmission, drive shaft, and axle. Truck had 195,000 miles on it.
Swapped engines (including motor mount brackets on frame). Have not swapped the computer or PROM yet (still passes E-check).
350,000 miles:
Interior of cab caught on fire. Melted roof liner, plastic trim above seat height, warped the dash. Replaced seat with a bucket seat from a previous Chevy van (passenger seat is now a portable office).
320,000:
Replaced all steering linkage pivots (not ball joints since I have owned it).
I am sure there were a few other things I have failed mention that can be expected with a vehicle of this mileage.
This truck is always carrying at least a 1/2 ton of tools and equipment. Trips as far as middle Michigan and Maryland from Ohio on a weekly schedule to different construction sites.
The body is in very bad shape (Mother Nature is the only one who washes it).
I just put a new set of tires on this vehicle and feel confident to wear these tires out on this vehicle.
Very trust worthy vehicle. Sat outside all last winter while I was working in FL, came home Febuary, 3 cranks, started up.
Easy to work on (I am a back yard mechanic, not a professional, just too poor to pay someone else to do the work.)
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 30th May, 2009
Best $125 Project truck ever.. Still driving it
125000km - When I first got it.
Seat cover (due to expected wear).
All door-pins (15 min job).
Valve cover gaskets (30 min job).
Cleaned K&N air filter.
Distributor cap and rotor.
Spark plug wires and plugs.
Brake lines from master cylinder to rear, all replaced, rear shoes and drums.
Sanded and sprayed rims back to original gray.
New tires.
Cleaned the interior.
Installed a new deck, amp and sub.
New 4x6 speakers in the dash.
Set of speakers in the back behind the seat.
Oil and filter change.
Transmission service.
Changed oil every 5000 km, and gave it a wash a couple times a month, and a good cut polish 3-4 times a year when the weather is good.
This is the best truck I could have ever bought, my 2nd truck ever, and I wish it was my first.
I brought it off an older guy for $125 because it wasn't running and burning oil. The doors would not close properly, the seat was ripped, brakes were shot, interior was filled with garbage and looked like someone just poured pop or coffee all over the gray dash and let it dry. The stock am radio didn't have an antenna, so that didn't work.
So what do you do when you have a truck like that, work on it on your free time.. 3 months passed and I hadn't touched it, finally my underpowered 89' Mazda B2200 blew the head gasket, I could finally get rid of it and work on my Chevy, took me about a week to fix it up, figured out the firing order was wrong and it started right up. I was told it was sitting for 3 years before that, tossed in new doorpins so easy the doors finally closed properly (one door pin was left in each door before I changed them and the bushings were gone, still kinda of closed tho)
Then figured out that the burning oil was really just a leaking valve cover gasket onto the exhaust manifold, so I replaced those and cleaned them up. Still ran pretty rough at idle tho so I cleaned and re-oiled the K&N air filter that was on there and it helped, but still needed a bit more so I changed the spark plug wires, plug and cap and rotor. Started it up and it was perfect, so changed the oil and filter.
Then the interior, sprayed it down with spray nine and armour-all and tossed on a seat cover and air freshener, and it was good as new. Tossed in a new deck, antenna, amp and sub with the new speakers, and it was really looking good.
I'll tell you what, I spent about $600 in those first 2 weeks on it because I did all the work myself, and I don't regret it for a second. It is all about the maintenance, if you grease the front end, keep checking of your levels (oil, rad, trans), you do your oil changes, and keep your air filter clean, this truck will last forever.
The 4.3 engine is great on gas and has enough power to get where you need to go pretty fast. The truck is just amazingly solid, lots of room to work under the hood, paint is amazing still after all the years it has on it, just keep waxing it.
After all this tho, I am still going to sell it, but only to drive my 92' GMC c1500 with a 4.3 L and auto trans, wish it had a Chevy bowtie on the front, but they are still twins.. Next project 1971 Chevy C10.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 10th April, 2009
That's great, I've been doing it that way for about 17 years now. Buy them broken, fix them easily, drive them in the meantime, sell them for a profit and move onto the next one. I have no idea what it is like to have car payments and every tool I have has more than paid for itself. Stick to the brands and models with good reputation and you will drive free for a long long time. Always learning because its so much fun. A great hobby that pays for itself.
I've heard of 4.3's going to 1,000,000KM's with original parts. The simple EFI are better than vortec in my opinion, the more stuff that can go wrong the more the chance something will go wrong. Keep on wrenching man, that's cool you're doing it the practical smart way.
The payment plan, high paying folks are good too, the more they buy the more stock sitting around for guys like us. So it all works out good for us all.
Writers comment:
Ya, it is nice to hear that you can keep the interest in it for 17 years, I am sure this will be the first of many project trucks for me, itching to finish up my GMC already to get my next one going.. And ya I'm not too sure I want to learn about car payments, I quite enjoy spending that money everywhere else. And ya I have never driven a truck with the newer Vortex yet, but the EFI has more than enough power and with all the room under the hood, so easy to work on.
And ya, I'm going to keep wrenching, just started an Apprenticeship in Heavy Duty Mechanics about a year ago after I finished a year of school for it.. So there will be hopefully many more pick-ups crossing my path..
Advice to anyone out there looking to save money on repairs... Do it yourself.. No matter how little you know about your car or truck, there is more than enough information between the internet and calling the dealership or local parts store to at least change your oil and spark plugs.. There are always spare parts if you make mistakes.
I have a '92 that just turned over 300k, then I hit a deer and took out the radiator, grill and left side signal. I am currently putting her back together. People laugh at me about it but that truck is great. All original engine and trans. I love that truck! But I don't suggest them for other people (don't want to drive the demand up)
7th Aug 2011, 22:14
I love my 98 C1500.