Back in '97, as I was moving out of my parent's place, my step-dad brought home a nearly-new C1500 Silverado ECSB. It was beautiful, power everything, tinted windows, AC...the only thing that would have made it better would have been the 5.7 instead of the 4.3.
Anyway, fast forward 127,000 miles, 22 years of neglect & my siblings tearing it up, in Dec of last year, he finally relented & handed it down to me. The last time I was in the truck, my brother & I were driving across Texas after attending our grandfather's funeral in 2003. We had a blowout at 75mph & the front passenger wheel was destroyed. Ol' step-dad never bothered to find a matching replacement or put 4 matching wheels on it.
So, where to begin? When I got it:
It has a groan in the steering when turning left only.
The steering wheel is cocked to the left, the truck pulls (slightly) to the right.
It's down on power but up on fuel usage.
The AC only blows hot air.
Cruise control doesn't work.
Paint in horrible shape, clear peeling, huge dent from side-swiping something on the passenger side.
Dash cracking, front windshield has numerous cracks/spider-webbing.
Idler pulley & belt tensioner both need replacing, belt, too.
Condition of fuel pump, filter, air filter, spark plugs/wires unknown.
Setbacks along the way:
Engine covered in grease, oil, dead leaves, etc. After a short drive w/the wife, what do ya know...it catches fire. No major damage, but scary.
As of today:
4 matching wheels, tires are in sad shape.
Needs alignment
AC blows nice & cold.
Pulleys, belt replaced.
Air filter, spark plugs, wires, distributor cap/rotor all replaced.
Fuel filter replaced.
Runs much better, but still needs lots of TLC.
Gonna have the front end looked at soon, tires & alignment done after. Fuel pump, brake system & power steering pump will come next, since they all seem to work fine right now & after inspection in Feb (passed) mechanic didn't mention anything about them.
Dear ol' step-dad doesn't seem to care very much that the truck is (slowly) being brought back to life. Oh, well, he probably never should have owned it in the first place.
This forum has been SUPER helpful as a resource, so thank you all for building this awesome little community!
Cheers!
Anyway, fast forward 127,000 miles, 22 years of neglect & my siblings tearing it up, in Dec of last year, he finally relented & handed it down to me. The last time I was in the truck, my brother & I were driving across Texas after attending our grandfather's funeral in 2003. We had a blowout at 75mph & the front passenger wheel was destroyed. Ol' step-dad never bothered to find a matching replacement or put 4 matching wheels on it.
So, where to begin? When I got it:
It has a groan in the steering when turning left only.
The steering wheel is cocked to the left, the truck pulls (slightly) to the right.
It's down on power but up on fuel usage.
The AC only blows hot air.
Cruise control doesn't work.
Paint in horrible shape, clear peeling, huge dent from side-swiping something on the passenger side.
Dash cracking, front windshield has numerous cracks/spider-webbing.
Idler pulley & belt tensioner both need replacing, belt, too.
Condition of fuel pump, filter, air filter, spark plugs/wires unknown.
Setbacks along the way:
Engine covered in grease, oil, dead leaves, etc. After a short drive w/the wife, what do ya know...it catches fire. No major damage, but scary.
As of today:
4 matching wheels, tires are in sad shape.
Needs alignment
AC blows nice & cold.
Pulleys, belt replaced.
Air filter, spark plugs, wires, distributor cap/rotor all replaced.
Fuel filter replaced.
Runs much better, but still needs lots of TLC.
Gonna have the front end looked at soon, tires & alignment done after. Fuel pump, brake system & power steering pump will come next, since they all seem to work fine right now & after inspection in Feb (passed) mechanic didn't mention anything about them.
Dear ol' step-dad doesn't seem to care very much that the truck is (slowly) being brought back to life. Oh, well, he probably never should have owned it in the first place.
This forum has been SUPER helpful as a resource, so thank you all for building this awesome little community!
Cheers!