Bought a K2500, wrong mileage, needs some work, advice?

You can ask the manager of your local O'Reillys or NAPA for a recommendation, but you're subject to getting referred to their best customer, and not their best shop. I worked at a NAPA many years ago, and the best shop was not always our best customer, but they were who we recommended. That was thirty years ago, and they're still my go-to shop if I don't want to turn the wrenches.

Definitely go through all the fluids, engine oil, transmission oil, both differentials, and the transfer case. Might not hurt to flush and fill the coolant. Then you know where you stand there.

I would then do a full tune up with AC Delco parts - plugs, wires, cap, rotor (you can substitute on the cap/rotor for a set with brass contacts), but stick with AC Delco for the plugs/wires

Thanks! The wiring looks pretty thin right before the sockets in the engine bay, and that seems like an easy enough thing to start with.

I'm still waiting to hear back from the insurance people, but hopefully, they'll repair the bed and then I can start using the truck again.

Maintenance items to start with.
Distributor cap
Rotor button
Plugs
Wires
Fuel filter*
Oil*
Oil filter*
Pcv valve*
Thermostat
Air filter*
It is preferred that all tune up and Maintenance parts be gm genuine or acdelco unless marked with a *

@jmnw how did this work out with insurance and keeping the truck?

jmnw said:

Hi all,

I'm in a bit of a predicament: do I keep spending money on my new to me K2500 or cut my losses?

TL;DR: I bought a truck that had 199k miles, but it turns out it is probably closer to 300-400k+, and it's needing steering work done right now.

I just bought a 1996 K2500 Silverado long bed 4x4 last week for a road trip. It's a 5.7, 4.1 ratio, 4L80 transmission, 8-lug wheels, plus a shell. I was in a hurry, so I didn't do my due diligence - I didn't run a Carfax. I paid $4500 for a truck with 199k miles on the odometer, and then I spent $1600 getting the front-right wheel speed sensor replaced for ABS, the cruise control fixed, front brakes done, and the front sway bar linkage replaced (I think, can't recall). I also put in a new stereo and speakers for ~$400 (3,000 mi trip planned). I have a Chilton manual waiting for me at home, and I was pretty excited about owning this truck. This forum was really helpful in finding the RPO codes and learning more about it.

After getting it loaded for my trip, I drove 500 miles from WA to ID on Sunday, and I discovered the front steering is really loose with a pretty big dead zone -- it's pretty hard staying in a lane on curves. I hadn't noticed because I'd only test driven the truck in the city with 90 degree turns. I took it to a shop, and they found the pitman, control arms, and a bunch of other stuff needs replacing, and that it might only scratch the surface of what's wrong and not correct the steering problems. It's about $1300 to do. The parts are taking awhile to come in and no work has begun, so I've been marooned here for awhile. (Truck has been at the shop for a few days, so I've forgotten some of the specific parts that are worn.)

I was okay with spending this to get the truck safe and functional, but then I found out via Carfax that my truck had 220,000 miles on it in 2011. It had about 110,000 in the early 2000s too. So, I have no idea how many miles are truly on the engine, transmission, body, etc. I just feel gutted and fleeced.

I think my main fear is that fixing the steering issue (or at least replacing the worn out parts) will be the tip of the iceberg. I have no service records other than Carfax, and it does not show a lot to begin with.

OPTIONS
1. Keep the truck, fix the steering, and brace myself for who knows what may come. I don't know how much I should expect to spend to keep a 1996 with unknown mileage and care running.

2. Sell the truck, buy an '02 Sierra 2500 HD with the 6.0L engine for sale here with one owner and ~160k miles for <$9000. It has a canopy and long bed too. I'm not sure if going 6 years newer will be that much better, but the one owner is certainly appealing. I prefer the GMT400 styling to the GMT800, but this one has a lot going for it.

3. Sell the truck, buy a '98 K2500 for sale with the 7.4L and 173k miles for $6k too.

4. Sell the truck, save up for something else. I just can't stomach paying more than $10k private party for an old anything.

The worst part about selling the truck is that I'm not sure I can get what I have paid for it+repairs because now I know of the unknown mileage and will obviously disclose it.

Thanks for reading and any opinions and thoughts!

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Did you buy this from a private party?
Did you buy this from a dealer?
Did you buy this from an online post?
Washington State has always had a problem with "curb stoning"
Was it titled to the person you bought it from and was the title signed while you watched?
On an old stlye title, is the sellers report tear off part on the bottom of the title missing?
was it registered to the title holder or someone else?
Does the VIN on the title match the VIN on the truck and the VIN on the registration?
How old is the date on the title?
Did you get a written bill of sale?
In washington a title or registration may drop out of the system after 5 years.
We have all kinds of laws but nobody enforces them.
"Title washing" and "Pass through titles" are a big problem here.
In order to have a dealers license in WA you need to have lot and a full time staff.
and a cheap ****** bond.
But we used to have "appointment only" dealers licenses.
And we also do not have vehicle inspections in Washington.
But putting a mechanics lien on a vehicle here takes three years and a bonded title.
So everybody washes the title or passes it through.
It is a really odd process.
My 03 sentra was a total.
I had to surrender the title to the state.
Then they sent me a new title
Carfax has no record of that and the car had a clean title before I even bought a part for it.
We resotored a 69 GTO 400 4 speed bucket console air power window power lock car and spent 48,000 dollars on parts and the Washington State Friggen Patrol inspection recommended a 3 year bonded title because I did not have a reciept for the rear window regulaters that I hacked out of a junk car in a friggen cow pasture in Renton.
48,000 thousand dollars in parts and paint.
Yep, it was the most complicated car theft in history.
******* assholes.
So we went down to the private licensing joint and titled it for 48 bucks because we knew them.
Dont be surprised if a high mile vehicle looks good in Washington.
Our boneyard trucks dont even have any rust.
But jinky titles and sketchy paperwork and odometers are pretty normal here.
And just a nighmare to straighten out.
I hope you have clean paper especially going to another state.
And, keep the truck.
10 grand for another truck is 6 grand you can put into that truck and drive it for a decade and still pay for some gas and beer.

jmnw said:

Hi all,

I'm in a bit of a predicament: do I keep spending money on my new to me K2500 or cut my losses?

TL;DR: I bought a truck that had 199k miles, but it turns out it is probably closer to 300-400k+, and it's needing steering work done right now.

I just bought a 1996 K2500 Silverado long bed 4x4 last week for a road trip. It's a 5.7, 4.1 ratio, 4L80 transmission, 8-lug wheels, plus a shell. I was in a hurry, so I didn't do my due diligence - I didn't run a Carfax. I paid $4500 for a truck with 199k miles on the odometer, and then I spent $1600 getting the front-right wheel speed sensor replaced for ABS, the cruise control fixed, front brakes done, and the front sway bar linkage replaced (I think, can't recall). I also put in a new stereo and speakers for ~$400 (3,000 mi trip planned). I have a Chilton manual waiting for me at home, and I was pretty excited about owning this truck. This forum was really helpful in finding the RPO codes and learning more about it.

After getting it loaded for my trip, I drove 500 miles from WA to ID on Sunday, and I discovered the front steering is really loose with a pretty big dead zone -- it's pretty hard staying in a lane on curves. I hadn't noticed because I'd only test driven the truck in the city with 90 degree turns. I took it to a shop, and they found the pitman, control arms, and a bunch of other stuff needs replacing, and that it might only scratch the surface of what's wrong and not correct the steering problems. It's about $1300 to do. The parts are taking awhile to come in and no work has begun, so I've been marooned here for awhile. (Truck has been at the shop for a few days, so I've forgotten some of the specific parts that are worn.)

I was okay with spending this to get the truck safe and functional, but then I found out via Carfax that my truck had 220,000 miles on it in 2011. It had about 110,000 in the early 2000s too. So, I have no idea how many miles are truly on the engine, transmission, body, etc. I just feel gutted and fleeced.

I think my main fear is that fixing the steering issue (or at least replacing the worn out parts) will be the tip of the iceberg. I have no service records other than Carfax, and it does not show a lot to begin with.

OPTIONS
1. Keep the truck, fix the steering, and brace myself for who knows what may come. I don't know how much I should expect to spend to keep a 1996 with unknown mileage and care running.

2. Sell the truck, buy an '02 Sierra 2500 HD with the 6.0L engine for sale here with one owner and ~160k miles for <$9000. It has a canopy and long bed too. I'm not sure if going 6 years newer will be that much better, but the one owner is certainly appealing. I prefer the GMT400 styling to the GMT800, but this one has a lot going for it.

3. Sell the truck, buy a '98 K2500 for sale with the 7.4L and 173k miles for $6k too.

4. Sell the truck, save up for something else. I just can't stomach paying more than $10k private party for an old anything.

The worst part about selling the truck is that I'm not sure I can get what I have paid for it+repairs because now I know of the unknown mileage and will obviously disclose it.

Thanks for reading and any opinions and thoughts!

You must be registered for see images attach

Click to expand...

hate this for you

Wow, I never got alerts that there were more replies on this thread, but I've been using this forum for reference quite a bit. Thank you all for the replies!

I have been meaning to post a thread with my truck, but the short of it is: I still have it! I still like it, but in retrospect, I should've sold it immediately and spent another $10k on a newer (used) truck, since I ended up spending a lot on this old thing. 2021 was a rough year for the truck with two trips on a tow truck.

The mini-saga:

The guy that hit me offered me a couple hundred dollars to avoid insurance, but I'm glad I went through with calling his insurer -- it was over $2k for the bedside. His insurance covered it, which was nice.

I found a good shop here that put a new pitman arm in, and that fixed most of my steering issues. The part ended up failing after a year, but it was a Napa shop, so it was warrantied. The steering still has some slop, but the truck doesn't get tossed when hitting a pothole in a curve on I-90W outside Snoqualmie anymore. I had the shop deal with the non-working AC, which was expensive, but I've forgotten the parts and price by now.

I welded a bunch of pinhole leaks in the exhaust. I should probably replace it at some point, but it's okay for now.

I worked in NM for summer '21 and made the long trip down. The wiper linkage broke in a downpour, and I had to use paracord to manually operate the blades till I could get to a town and get some rain-x to help. I keep a stubby Phillips in my truck just for the wiper cowl now, along with two sets of paracord for a worst case puppet show. I'm still nervous to run wipers on high for long.

I camped in my truck a lot over summer, and it was nice. It's not so bad sleeping in the extended cab for "stealth" camping, but I used an airbed in the back as well.

Heading back to WA at the end of summer, my truck lost all oil pressure outside Malta, ID. Clunking and bad noises at 11 PM. Got towed to a shop in Burley at 1 AM and slept in the cab. The owner found a bunch of metal in the oil the next day, and I ended up leaving my truck there for a few months while they put a Jasper engine in for ~$5k. If I'd had more time, maybe doing an LS swap or something other than another 350 would've been cool, but I didn't have the time for research and planning. I had a truck bed full of tools & gear and needed to get home before my son was born. Ended up renting a U-Haul in Boise because you can't leave Burley. (Even my bike got flat tires trying to pedal through town.)

While preparing for a Thanksgiving trip, I noticed the oil cooler line was leaking and cockeyed in the new radiator. Stupidly tried to back it out and re-thread it, but that was a mistake. Didn't have time to work on it further and needed to hit the road the next day, so I had a mobile mechanic come by, and he replaced the radiator while leaving me with a pile of bolts. Car drove but later realized most lines were loose and leaking.

That same trip, I was driving on the freeway at 80 MPH (in MT) when the engine lost all power. Couldn't start it and was stranded for the second time, but this was worse since it was with my wife and infant son on a winter night. Thankfully, my family drove an hour and a half to pick us up while the truck got towed to a decent shop. The shop found the new distributor cap had melted, and they replaced it quickly. I got the truck back and broke the interior driver's door handle off. That was a pain to replace.

The rest of 2021 was better. I put new KO2s on, and I made the WA-MT trip in ice with no issues (most of the time in RWD). I drove a few snowy trails and had a lot of fun.

2022 was just doing truck stuff, and the truck wasn't loaded onto a flatbed once! It went to the shop a few times for a frozen drum brake (needed resurfacing) and other minor stuff I can't recall.

The future

I'm too invested in this truck to sell (too many things to fix still too), but I foresee buying a crew cab one-ton with a much higher towing rating than my truck. I'm not sure how much longer my son can fit in his car seat in the backseat, so a crew cab would be really nice. Additionally, I've needed to haul trailers heavier than the 7500# of this truck, so I'd like to have something more capable. It'll be hard to justify two trucks here, so I might have to wait until we find a place with some land.

My current TODO list:

* Figure out why the driver's side floor is getting wet -- I think it's the door seal. I just sealed off the passenger side area under the cowl and behind the coolant tank, and thus far, that seems to have worked for that side. I replaced the outer felt gasket seals, but I think it's the full-door seal that's seeping.
* I need to repaint my hood. The first snow the truck saw (under my possession) was just what the paint needed to peel off. I was supposed to do this last summer but didn't get around to it.
* It is super tough to get the hazards on, which is something I need to fix sooner than later because the truck will need them again.
* I replaced the receiver with a heavier duty one (a class IV), but I need to fix the wiring to the trailer brake controller.
* Related, I still haven't connected the third-brake light for the shell.
* I need to replace the front seats -- I put some leather patches over the gaps (+ stuffed new foam in) after the previous owner's duct tape failed, but they are pretty rough.
* Hi-beam indicator is absent and ABS indicator is always on (have had two shops check the latter). I think the LED bulbs I put in are flipped or busted, but I haven't wanted to deal with the dash for the last year.
* I sound-deadened the driver's side door when I replaced the handle, and I need to do the same to the passenger side so I don't have to store these extra sheets anymore.

Here are some overdue photos of the last few years:

At the skatepark:


Getting through part of UT:


Taking a break in the desert:


Taking a break for awhile:

MT:

FS roads:


Smushed dog (backseat has a carseat & dog):


The other photos I have are too big and need resizing, so I'll do that some other time.