My 2000 GMC K3500

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blackhawk17

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Ok, so I finally bought the truck I wanted and kind of needed, a 2000 GMC Sierra 3500 Crew 4wd DRW. It's got 136,000 miles and the 454.

I bought it to pull the family camper and it will probably be my daily driver for a while.

Unfortunately, it's a turd. I put down a deposit sight unseen except for what was on Craigslist. I was in the process of coming back from Afghanistan and wanted the guy to hold it for me. It appeared to be in good shape from the photos and he said it was in excellent condition.

Literally the day I got back I drove 3 hours one- way to go get this truck. When I got there and saw it I was disappointed.

To start, it was the dirtiest truck I had ever seen. The guy lived down a dirt road, and I feel confident that he hadn't washed it in the four years he had owned it. Inside or out. It had a pretty severe coolant leak coming from the heater hose into the intake manifold. It had what seemed to be a pretty good rear main leak (typical). Some of the marker lights were either or or missing entirely. And the battery was dead. It looked like it had been neglected for a while.

Outside of all that it looked like a nice truck. No body rust, no engine codes, no exhaust leaks, no tranny slippage, it drove fine, A/C worked, the interior was dirty but not ripped up or anything. So, knowing that I should have walked away and save myself the trouble, what did I do? Of course I bought it anyway! I gave him $1,000 less than what he was asking and drove away, my wife following me home shaking her head. I went ahead and bought it because I could see that underneath all the dirt and problems it could be a nice truck. And I still feel that way. But after two plus weeks with this thing, I should have give him $2,000 less than he was asking.

New battery, starter, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, air filter, fuel filter, idler pulley, A.C. fuse relay, headlight switch, 2 oil changes plus lots of oil (rear main leak is legit), LOTS of light bulbs and lenses, and about 60 hours of a combo of cleaning and maintenance. And I still have much to do.

Still to fix:
-Power door locks/keyless entry inop
-Passenger side front window switch
-Hard/failed start- fuel pressure regulator/fuel pump?
-Lighting still
-Carpet cleaning (lots of stains)
-Sometimes idles rough and stumbles at takeoff
-O2 sensor failure (code), or just clogged cats (smells real bad when hot)

If I can at least resolve the engine problems before we get out on the road with the camper I'll be somewhat satisfied. I've got about a month to get it all worked out before I need to tow. The door locks are frustrating but can wait. I hear the relay click and most of the doors try to lock/unlock but don't get enough power or something.

Thanks for reading. I'm sure I'll be on here plenty about this thing.


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Jorge6.5

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Nice looking truck! I also own a 454 truck with similar miles.

Hard starts are most likely bad injectors and fuel pressure regulator. Hesitation during acceleration sounds like bad egr valve. Clogged cats are common with these
 

1997-Z71

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Just a thought, the power door locks may be a bad aftermarket alarm/ keyless entry install. I ran into this before and the alarm module was wired correctly however the wires in between were not cut so when lock power you could hear relay but seemed under powered because it was back feeding to unlock power as well. Or it just may be a bad drivers door switch. Good luck, it is a good looking truck. Hope it works out. I cut a hole in my bed to access fuel pump, I can now change the pump in 10 minutes give or take and I made a door out of the cut metal and installed a cabinet lock so the hole is covered when I am not in there.

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nicklatech

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I cut a hole in my bed to access fuel pump, I can now change the pump in 10 minutes give or take and I made a door out of the cut metal

That mod was one of the best things I did. I really didnt want to do it, but the next time I need access to the pump was great. I have a bed liner in my truck so I dont have to see the hole.
 

nicklatech

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The door locks are frustrating but can wait. I hear the relay click and most of the doors try to lock/unlock but don't get enough power or something.

I have the same problem only half my my power locks. If you figure it out then post up the details!
 

1997-Z71

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That mod was one of the best things I did. I really didnt want to do it, but the next time I need access to the pump was great. I have a bed liner in my truck so I dont have to see the hole.

I am planning to have mine bedlined eventually, saving up for it because I want a few other areas done in bed liner as well. The hole would definitely not be as noticeable with bedliner. I, like most truck owners would be, was hesitant especially since it is such a big hole but it has proven to be very useful, and extremely handy
 

nicklatech

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I am planning to have mine bedlined eventually, saving up for it because I want a few other areas done in bed liner as well. The hole would definitely not be as noticeable with bedliner. I, like most truck owners would be, was hesitant especially since it is such a big hole but it has proven to be very useful, and extremely handy

i get almost all my parts off craigslist or the junkyard. If its not there then you wait a couple of months and the parts will be on craigslist or the junkyard. Thats one of the best parts about having a common old truck.

I'm also talking about the drop in bed liners not the spray on.
 

blackhawk17

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Reply to an old post. I dumped the dually last summer right before I moved from Kansas. It had too many issues to get into and I wasn’t actually prepared to use that truck as a daily driver anyway. Took a huge loss, but that’s the way it goes when you jump into things...


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