2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 review from North America

Power steering pump went out at 20000 miles; had it replaced under warranty.

At 40000 miles the oil pressure gauge stopped working. I did not fix at the time, but later at 100000 miles the speed and tach went out so I bought new instrument cluster. Cost $500.00 to buy new.

Replaced clutch at 95000. The clutch itself was not worn out, but glazed over due to a leaking slave cylinder that leaked brake fluid on the clutch for my guess is 30000 miles.

At 130000 miles the alternator stopped charging. I replaced it only to find out that the alternator was not the problem. The problem was wire in the harness had broken in half. Easy fix. Hard to find though.

The rear axle leaked almost from the day I bought it. This was caused by a new two piece oil seal on the axle; a stupid idea from Chevy. But a re-engineered one piece unit is not available that fixes that problem. I replaced these seals twice before the one piece was available at about 85000.

Parking brake release cable broke at 150000 miles.

Recently the A/C in the truck sometimes changes from cold A/C to hot heated air without notice or reason. I have not tried to fix this yet because turning the truck off then starting it again fixes the problem for now.

This truck is by far the best work truck I have ever owned. It has not been trouble free, but the important things have never failed. I have a single cab long bed, and this set up has proven to be very useful to me. I am in construction so the long bed gets used almost every day.

The engine on this truck is very powerful. I have no problem keeping up with traffic or passing anything I want. I pull a lot for work and often pull a 12000 pound goose neck. The 6.0 can handle it all. It is not as good as a diesel at pulling to be fair, but it will get up to highway speed and has no problem keeping up with traffic till you get over 10000 pounds.

I have never had any problems with this engine. At both 100000 and 200000 I changed the spark plugs and wire. I change the oil every 10000, but use Royal Purple and a good oil filter. Best gas engine I have ever had. Sadly though engine is starting to burn a little oil. Usually less that a quart every 10000 miles. I think that is is due to valve guides wearing out, not to piston rings. Because the engine is every bit as strong now as it was the day I bought it.

I have a five speed manual transmission that I love. The NV 4500 that is in this truck is bullet proof. 2000000 miles and no problems. Only one clutch replaced and that was because of a leaky slave cylinder. I can think of no one I know that has a heavy duty truck that they use to pull with, that has as many miles as mine, with an auto that has not had problems with their transmission.

The interior of the truck is nice. It by no means plush, but is not uncomfortable. The seats are vinyl and are starting to tear. The dash is in good shape; no cracks or splits. There is some color coming off in some places, but nothing bad.

I know that the list of problems seems long, but this is a work truck that gets driven hard and worked hard. I had a Dodge before this that I wore out in 100000 miles. This truck is still running strong and I expect to get another 200000 mile from it before I replace it.

Some of the things that have astounded me about this truck are. The brakes lasted me 190000. I have never had the front end aligned and it still drive straight as an arrow. The doors still shut without slamming and banging. There are no creeks or other anonymous noises. The A/C has never been serviced and still blows cold as the day I bought the truck. The front sealed bearings are still good. The rear bearings are still good. I have had no steering problems. Only small stuff that you would expect on any truck.

My biggest complaint is gas mileage. I get 13 on average. When the truck was new I got 19 on the highway and 16 in the city. 17 average. Now just 13. I blame this one two things; one the engine is old. Two ethanol in fuel hurts gas mileage. Even so I love this truck.

I would recommend this truck to anyone.