Reliability

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I have a 94 Silverado with a 5.7 liter (Tbi) and a manual trans. It has almost 160,000 miles and some of the electrical is already going out (door locks). I was wondering how much it has left in it before expensive things start breaking lol. I don't know if this is the right thread or not sorry
 

RichLo

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my 5-speed 93 has over 250,000 on the clock and still has 30psi oil pressure at idle when hot. Just keep up with the little things as they happen so your not overwhelmed with multiple little things one day.
 

redfishsc

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I've seen door locks go bad on 3 year old vehicles. Keep up the maintenance, don't let potentially big issues go uninvestigated, and bask in the reality that you drive one of the most common vehicles ever (tons of parts competition thus reasonable prices), and the engine and trans are both reasonably affordable to replace with fresh remans.
 

BowtieBrody

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Switches and things like that are little, like redfishsc said, tons of parts and tons of aftermarket support on these trucks; keep up the maintenance and you'll be cherry. You can go to any junkyard, and I mean ANY yard and you're almost bound to find one or 6 parts truck that matches yours.

That being said, I've driving GMT400s ranging from 136K (my dad's C3500 454/4L80E), 153K (my 96 K2500, 454/80E), I had an old Suburban that at the time I stopped driving it had over 250K on it and still held 40 PSI at hot idle, and a 300K rusty old K2500 that ran like a ***** ape.

It's all in the maintenance.
 

kennythewelder

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GMT 400s are maybe the most dependable Chevy trucks ever built. 350000 miles is the norm. I have seen some with 450000 miles, and have seen a documentary on one with 1 million miles. My 97 had 235000 miles, and runs like a champ. My 93 WT when I had it, had 285000 miles on it when the trans went out. I sold it to a co worker. He had the trans rebuilt, and it is still on the road today, as far as I know. I sold it to him in 2009, and he sold it a few years later. IDK how many miles it has now. He says he still sees it from time to time.
 

Eveready

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GMT 400s are maybe the most dependable Chevy trucks ever built. 350000 miles is the norm. I have seen some with 450000 miles, and have seen a documentary on one with 1 million miles. My 97 had 235000 miles, and runs like a champ. My 93 WT when I had it, had 285000 miles on it when the trans went out. I sold it to a co worker. He had the trans rebuilt, and it is still on the road today, as far as I know. I sold it to him in 2009, and he sold it a few years later. IDK how many miles it has now. He says he still sees it from time to time.
At that rate mine might have a few more trips to the dump in it.
 

Tavi

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Reliability is subjective. TBI motors tend to not make enough power to break or wear many items. Well maintained vehicles will last a lifetime. But sometimes they throw a monkey wrench at you. A recent short has left me stranded and scratching my head.

No series of vehicle is going to be free from any potential problem. But I feel our 400s have relatively few. Most are due to age and not using quality replacement parts when things do fail.

Personally, fixing problems monthly is still cheaper than any car note you can pay.
 

honkon

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I haven't been impressed by the reliability of mine so far. Seems to be falling apart at about every corner. Dash is so cracked it's falling apart, ac lost its charge, thermostat stuck open, axle seal started leaking, driver's window switches stay broken, rear barn doors leaked, fan clutch is stuck, it burned a quart of oil about every 300 miles before I pulled the engine to rebuild it, there's a hell of a shake at highway speeds that I think might be a balljoint or something.
All of that culminated in the 3 months between when I finished the trans and pulled it off the road to pull the engine. I don't blame the truck so much as the previous owners. It was clear upon tearing the engine apart that they didn't care to even change the oil regularly. I guess what I'm dealing with now is the result of them putting off the little things for years. Goes to show that being a government vehicle doesn't really guarantee that it was maintained. I don't think I'll be buying another vehicle from Bradley County sherrif's office. They also didn't bother to mention the rebuilt title.
 
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chipskittles

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Keeping up with the little things is what keeps a 20+ year old truck on the road. The average person these days can't be bothered to even check their oil and wonder why their car lets them down. Honkon, your truck sounds like the previous owner just drove it. Sadly, that's about the norm nowadays.
 
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This was really helpful thanks. Also I think my clutch might be going out and figured this isn't a DIY sorta thing, any estimate on prices for putting a new one in?
 
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