1997 Chevrolet Silverado from North America - Comments

I recently purchased a 1998 Silverado with 5.7 and Automatic from my Uncle. The truck only has 65000 miles. I do enjoy the truck, but he disclosed that he had to replace a bunch of parts on it already. Basically he said I should not need to do anything to it as he has already had to do it! I guess I should have taken that as a warning, I now find the coolant leak everyone mentions... At first I see nothing like a drip, I just smell it and notice the radiator low. Then yesterday, I start the truck and let it warm up. After warm, I step back and see the steady drip under the tranny. I crawl under and find the leak running down the block from the back right of the motor and down the tranny body, to the ground. I figure it is the manifold as all else says, but it is hard to see due to obstruction. Maybe a head gasket, but not sure yet... I should have went with my instinct and bought the Toyota I wanted to start with...

Here's a my.02 worth.

Our daily driver is a 97 4WD Suburban with 120K miles on it. In the last year I have replaced the following: Fuel Pump $150.00, Water Pump $100.00, Radiator $350.00, Both inside front door handles $45.00 each, Both Rear tail light circuit boards $30.00 each, Front right half shaft, hub, caliper, rotor and pads $800.00, ignition switch $400.00, had the driver seat bracket repaired $50.00, and now the intake manifold is leaking $300.00. Just dropped it off at the shop today for that repair. I have changed the oil (Mobil 1) faithfully since the day I picked it up from the dealer. We have pulled our trailer twice a summer the day we picked it up and generally used it to climb the snow covered streets in winter. We purchased this vehicle to replace our 1992 Dodge B350 RAM Van as our daily driver when it reached 285K. BTW, the Dodge Van is still running. The only major repair done on the Van in 15 year is regular maintenance and a new transmission. We love the Suburban. It's a great driver, more comfortable than the Van... but in the last 12 months I have poured over $2300.00 into it to keep it on the road. I am considering selling it after I get the intake manifold fixed and getting something else because I am worried about transmission problems. It's time to service the transmission, but after all I have read I am nervous about touching it... any suggestions or recommendations?

I have a 97 k1500 5.7 vortec with 120000 miles on it. I bought it in 2001 with 63000 all I replaced was the fuel pump and water pump and also had the intake leak which I fixed my self for 50.00 which was not hard if you're mechanically inclined. Gm had the intake problem with all vortecs due to plastic gaskets. if you over tighten the gasket especially when it leaks you make it worse. I left it the way it was and drove it for a year before fixing it. my 460le tranny is no problem except for the 2 sets of you joints due to excessive lash in rear end which is normal for the year it was my problem due to cheap replacements. the amount I spent on the truck was worth 2 new truck payments, mine's paid for. I wouldn't trade my chevy or gm vehicles for any thing else. All I owned were GM and I never got stuck in them. My whole family is a GM family and will always be due to they never had a problem, also when I met my now wife girlfriend she traded her 2month old celica for a chevy truck shes been a chevy lover for 5 years and got the inlaws to trade toyota for chevy and they love it. gm makes the most reliable and comfortable vehicle around people just have to realize cars are mechanical and mechanical things break nothing last forever even foreign vehicles.

My 1997 Gmc Surburban.75 ton 4x4 with 454

I bought the GMC new in 1997. I have replaced two air conditioning compressors, 3 front rubber boots for the 4x4, 2 water pumps, 3 alternators, 1 starter, 1 fuel pump, 3 times for intake manifold leaks,1 raditor, 1 inside door handle, I eat front brakes pads every 20,000 mile, had to replace both emergency brake cables because the would freeze in winter. Had to replace the distributor gear, had to reseal the rear differential. At this time the rear air does not work. I had the winshield wipper recall. Have gone though 2 master cylinders. Yes I have 200,000 miles, but the truck is a constant problem.

I had a 97 Silverado C1500, yes the power was there it would go like a rocket, but it had the manifold leak, break line problems, wiper recall and overall poor quality control and cheap materials inside. The 95-98 GM trucks seem plagued with these issues and unless you are a mechanic I would stay away from them. Also the next generation have lots of costly problems. Why put up with that nonsense if you have to pay the mechanics $80.00 an hour to work on them. Have you noticed the size of the service bays at the dealerships? that's where the money is people, fixing the junk they sell when the warranty goes off. I will never buy another GM, Ford, or Chrysler truck again, I tell you that. In my opinion they are overly complicated money pits.

1998 Yukon - bought the truck in 2000 with about 40K miles on it. I now have 139,700 miles on it and performing my first major repair. You guessed it - intake coolant leak. I plan to tackle the job this weekend. Prior comments on this site will certainly help me. I will report back once the job is complete for those of you plagued with the same job.

I am surprised to read so many problems with the GM trucks on this site. I must be fortunate with a strong truck. I love it and plan to keep it going strong.

My '98 Z-71 5.7L has been great for seven years now, but little things are starting to add up. Just replaced leaking oil cooler lines at 83,000 miles for $300 at the local dealer. He told me I have a water pump leak, but I can't afford to let him fix it. I bought a new after-market pump, but I haven't yet figured out where/how to access the radiator drain petcock. The only thing I see that looks like it might be a drain is at the bottom left corner of the radiator, and I can't get there from here. Is there a trick to it?

Replaced driver's door hinges at about 80,000 miles. Broke the serpentine belt tensioner at about 75,000 miles, replaced it myself. No other major problems except gas mileage. About 16 mpg is eating my lunch at the pump.

My wife bought a 2003 Honda CRV a couple of years ago, and so far I'll take a Chevy any day. The Honda's interior materials seem inferior. Driver's seat cover is wearing through, and the steering wheel rubber is flaking off. The air conditioner compressor came unglued at 40,000 miles, which cost me $595 for labor with the Honda dealer paying for the parts.

My next purchase likely will be GM of some sort.

I've had similar experiences too many who have posted here. I bought a used 1997 Suburban 4x4 about 6 months ago, and have had to replace both front ball joint, pitman, idler arm, tie rod ends, front brake pads (twice), master brake cylinder, rear shoes, U-joint... and the transmission set a 1870 code, developed a leak at the transfer case, and finally lost 3rd and 4th and will need replacing. The brakes are still mushy after bleeding system several times. The A/C compressor has failed. The in-tank fuel pump quit in the middle of a trip ($400 towing charge, plus $185 parts). The fuel tank developed a leak because grit and salt gets between the skid plate and the tank and causes corrosion. Ditto for fuel and lines. I can hardly wait to see what fails next! If I can get everything working OK for a week, I'll try to unload this problem-prone gas guzzler before the intake manifold leak shows up!

__Bill in BC.

I bought a new GMC suburban 4x4 1500 in 1997. I now have 73,000 miles on it and have had virtually no problems. Replaced brake pads a couple of times and have just replaced a serpentine belt tensioner all of which I consider maintenance. I am delighted with it; its comfort for long distance driving, its towing ability and its handling and hope that it'll continue to behave as well as it has to date!

I also gotta 97 silverado 5.7L. It's starting to shift hard in 1 to 2 and a little in 2 to 3rd. I've found out that after you drive for oh about 5 minutes the problem fades away. Otherwise it's a nice truck, just had to replace a water pump valve (common on 90's silverados) if any1 knows how to fix this hard shift plz post a comment thanks.

I have a 97 Z71, pretty good truck, but has just left me stranded. ecm b 20amp fuse popped. now you can't even put a fuse in it before it pops. unplugged everything in that circuit and no results, can't even find any burnt wires. Also I can't find the oil pressure, fuel pressure switch? I've got GM schematics and a chiltons manual, no help on it, a little help please.

The same problem happened to a friends 1500...he found there was a short in the radio, so when he disconnected it the fuse stopped popping.

I have a 97 silverado with a little over 280,000 miles no major work done to it. so to the people that say it isn't possible believe me you take care of this truck and it will take care of you.

I have a 1997 5.7 Z71 Silverado, Its sitting in the driveway now for the sixth month first the transmission went out at 97,000 and I had that repaired then the head gaskets leaked and I repaired that. What a pain to repair. I had a fuel pump installed in 2005 and now it has gone south after less than 3 years and it sit gathering dust in the drive, I'm looking foward to getting it running again so I can sell it. Oh I forgot the 800 dollar ball joint repair in 2006 while I was on a vacation. I can't stand watching the truck of the year award on the chevy commercial on tv. Maybe I could get a aware for a junk pile. I have had Fords trucks and Dodges in the past,250,000 on the Ford and the only repair was a water pump and some belts and tires. At least they ran until they were paid for. I'll never buy another Shi... Chevy Again New or Used. I won't let my family buy one.

I bought this truck in 2003 w65000 miles on it. Intake leaks repaired twice in the past 3 yrs. Upgraded to 140 amp alternator. Replaced waterpump twice. And now no reverse. Going forward is a problem to. This is a well maintained truck. Other than the above problems above. I love this truck.