Well, folks, I do hate to do this but I'm putting up my truck for sale 
I'm only doing it because I need the "utility" of a Suburban like I used to have for 8 years. I'm not leaving the GMT400 community though. I'll be starting my long search for a good condition 96-99 K2500 diesel 'Burb. Most of them in the NorthEast are either in crappy shape or they sell like wildfire the instant their posted. They seem to be in really high demand here - maybe because of the good mileage for such a heavy truck.
This my personal 1997 1500 series, 1/2 ton, GMC Sierra pickup truck. I've owned the truck for a little over 1 year now. Vehicle is currently registered and inspected in New York State. The previous owner told me he changed the intake gasket and rebuilt the transmission about 30,000 miles ago. I cannot verify but the driveshaft looks fairly new.
I've only put on 4000 miles in one year and never had any trouble at all. It's really hard to believe the truck has 154,000 miles on it. Transmission has zero slipping. In the past 12 months ago, the rear brakes were changed. In the last 6 months, I've replaced the front rotors/pads, completely rebuilt the front-end (tie rods, pitman arm, all ball joints) and changed the oil twice.
Specs:
* Year: 1997
* Make: GMC
* Model: Sierra
* Mileage 154,000
* Price $4,500
* PICKUP LOCALLY ONLY
* Body Type: Extended Cab, Standard Bed (ECSB) - 6.5'
* Trim: LT
* Duty: Light, 1500, or 1/2 ton
* 4wd: Yes - push-button, solenoid activated Part-time four wheel drive - works great
* Limited Slip: no - non-G80
* Final Drive ratio: 3.42
* Exterior Color: White
* Interior Color: Tan leather
* Power Accessories: locks, windows, driver seat
* Air Conditioning: Yes! Works great!
* Tow Package w/Oil and transmission coolers
* Class III hitch
The Bad:
* The very front of the hood has a few minor dings but no paint damage
* The very bottom of both rear doors have VERY MINOR surface rust - mostly paint. Easily remedied with a little sanding
* The undercarriage is in good shape with minor surface rust commensurate with age
* Intermittent Check Engine Light or Service Engine light as mentioned above. I have not had time to troubleshoot but, again, it has no effect on driveability or anything else.
* Characteristically with these GMT400's, the driver seat leather is ripped as shown in the pictures. The passenger leather is fair/good. The rear leather is excellent
* The tires have only about 10% life left unfortunately. You will need new tires pretty soon. They drive fine but will likely not pass the next inspection.
* Previous owner installed 5 running lights - ala heavy-duty truck. Sometimes, some of them light up, sometimes they don't. This is a purely cosmetic issue. Running lights are not required on a 1/2 ton truck.
The Good:
* Extremely solid truck. Goes on many Home Depot runs and totes my motorcycle around everywhere with no effort
* 5.7 liter, L31, 350 Cubic Inch, Vortec v8 runs flawlessly. No oil burned whatsoever. Starts every time. Good for many, many more miles
* No leaks of any kind
* Includes Flowmaster CBE (Cat-back Exhaust) with dual tips exiting the rear
* Class III hitch and harness
* Plastic bed liner in great shape
* Tint all-around although I suggest removing the rear tint - it's hard to see at night even for me who loves a good 20%. The stuff the previous owner put on is maybe 5 or 10%
* All accessories work as they should including Air Conditioning, radio, etc.
* As is common with these trucks, the front-end got wonky after a while driving like a bowl of Jello. I spent $1,500 a few months ago replacing every consumable front-end component except the shocks. I was going to put on a lift kit but decided to sell the truck. Drives down the road perfectly straight and handles now as it should.
* Push-button 4wd works great in winter!
* Paint looks pretty damned good for a 15 year old truck
* No body damage other than very minor scuffs and age-appropriate wear
* Interior is in overall great shape! I'd rate it a 7.5 with normal wear and tear. No stains, no burns, no pee or freaky smells.
Mods I've done:
* Black OEM fender flairs
* Stainless steed nerf bars/steps
* Front-end rebuild: Tie Rods, Ball Joints, Pitman arm
* New Interstate battery 8 months ago
* Replaced all four speakers with new Kenwood poly speakers all-around
* Replaced broken door handle with new one
* Installed keyless, remote-start/alarm system
* Replaced previous owners sprayed/blackened tail lights with new eBay, sparkly LED-looking tail lights.
I'm only doing it because I need the "utility" of a Suburban like I used to have for 8 years. I'm not leaving the GMT400 community though. I'll be starting my long search for a good condition 96-99 K2500 diesel 'Burb. Most of them in the NorthEast are either in crappy shape or they sell like wildfire the instant their posted. They seem to be in really high demand here - maybe because of the good mileage for such a heavy truck. This my personal 1997 1500 series, 1/2 ton, GMC Sierra pickup truck. I've owned the truck for a little over 1 year now. Vehicle is currently registered and inspected in New York State. The previous owner told me he changed the intake gasket and rebuilt the transmission about 30,000 miles ago. I cannot verify but the driveshaft looks fairly new.
I've only put on 4000 miles in one year and never had any trouble at all. It's really hard to believe the truck has 154,000 miles on it. Transmission has zero slipping. In the past 12 months ago, the rear brakes were changed. In the last 6 months, I've replaced the front rotors/pads, completely rebuilt the front-end (tie rods, pitman arm, all ball joints) and changed the oil twice.
Specs:
* Year: 1997
* Make: GMC
* Model: Sierra
* Mileage 154,000
* Price $4,500
* PICKUP LOCALLY ONLY
* Body Type: Extended Cab, Standard Bed (ECSB) - 6.5'
* Trim: LT
* Duty: Light, 1500, or 1/2 ton
* 4wd: Yes - push-button, solenoid activated Part-time four wheel drive - works great
* Limited Slip: no - non-G80
* Final Drive ratio: 3.42
* Exterior Color: White
* Interior Color: Tan leather
* Power Accessories: locks, windows, driver seat
* Air Conditioning: Yes! Works great!
* Tow Package w/Oil and transmission coolers
* Class III hitch
The Bad:
* The very front of the hood has a few minor dings but no paint damage
* The very bottom of both rear doors have VERY MINOR surface rust - mostly paint. Easily remedied with a little sanding
* The undercarriage is in good shape with minor surface rust commensurate with age
* Intermittent Check Engine Light or Service Engine light as mentioned above. I have not had time to troubleshoot but, again, it has no effect on driveability or anything else.
* Characteristically with these GMT400's, the driver seat leather is ripped as shown in the pictures. The passenger leather is fair/good. The rear leather is excellent
* The tires have only about 10% life left unfortunately. You will need new tires pretty soon. They drive fine but will likely not pass the next inspection.
* Previous owner installed 5 running lights - ala heavy-duty truck. Sometimes, some of them light up, sometimes they don't. This is a purely cosmetic issue. Running lights are not required on a 1/2 ton truck.
The Good:
* Extremely solid truck. Goes on many Home Depot runs and totes my motorcycle around everywhere with no effort
* 5.7 liter, L31, 350 Cubic Inch, Vortec v8 runs flawlessly. No oil burned whatsoever. Starts every time. Good for many, many more miles
* No leaks of any kind
* Includes Flowmaster CBE (Cat-back Exhaust) with dual tips exiting the rear
* Class III hitch and harness
* Plastic bed liner in great shape
* Tint all-around although I suggest removing the rear tint - it's hard to see at night even for me who loves a good 20%. The stuff the previous owner put on is maybe 5 or 10%
* All accessories work as they should including Air Conditioning, radio, etc.
* As is common with these trucks, the front-end got wonky after a while driving like a bowl of Jello. I spent $1,500 a few months ago replacing every consumable front-end component except the shocks. I was going to put on a lift kit but decided to sell the truck. Drives down the road perfectly straight and handles now as it should.
* Push-button 4wd works great in winter!
* Paint looks pretty damned good for a 15 year old truck
* No body damage other than very minor scuffs and age-appropriate wear
* Interior is in overall great shape! I'd rate it a 7.5 with normal wear and tear. No stains, no burns, no pee or freaky smells.
Mods I've done:
* Black OEM fender flairs
* Stainless steed nerf bars/steps
* Front-end rebuild: Tie Rods, Ball Joints, Pitman arm
* New Interstate battery 8 months ago
* Replaced all four speakers with new Kenwood poly speakers all-around
* Replaced broken door handle with new one
* Installed keyless, remote-start/alarm system
* Replaced previous owners sprayed/blackened tail lights with new eBay, sparkly LED-looking tail lights.
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