Turning the obs into a daily....

[Archaic2021]

So I've posted a lot before about my new 97 obs that my grandad left me.

97 Silverado 200xxx miles, really don't know the history all I know is what I have done.

Upgraded Injectors
Oil change
new wheels and tires
Plugs, wires, rotors, and distrubutor cap.
Radiator
Ball joints.

The truck is very clean inside...a few dings on the out.

I drive 90 miles a day and my work car is a 97 honda accord. Ugly on the out decent on the inside.

I'm really thinking about selling the honda to fund the rest of the truck. We plan on buying me a new vehicle but it will be another year or so.

I thought about selling the honda and doing the following to the truck.

a/c repair
lowering kit
tint
radio
and some odd and ends.

just really unsure about going down to a 1 vehicle for my self. Both are 97 models.

Gas is coming down...

5.0 with 3.42 gears not really sure on how much gas I'll spend but not having to pay for the extra insurance will help.

Not to mention the honda may need a few repairs in the future and it will definetly need a new set of tires.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

The Honda will get at least double the mileage that your pickup will do on the highway.

If you keep up on oil changes and routine maitenance(assuming its had that in the past), the pickup should last you for a while. I daily drove a 1998 ECSB Z71 to 228K, and aside from the 4L60E giving out, the rest of the pickup was awesome. Had a 1995 RCSB 2wd that had over 200K that I daily drove before that. My 7.4l K2500 'burb has 117k on it and I daily drove it for 2 years.

Comes down to dollars I guess, where is the break even point in selling the Honda? What is comfort worth, cause I bet the pickup makes that drive more enjoyable?

 

[Archaic2021]

The Honda will get at least double the mileage that your pickup will do on the highway.

If you keep up on oil changes and routine maitenance(assuming its had that in the past), the pickup should last you for a while. I daily drove a 1998 ECSB Z71 to 228K, and aside from the 4L60E giving out, the rest of the pickup was awesome. Had a 1995 RCSB 2wd that had over 200K that I daily drove before that. My 7.4l K2500 'burb has 117k on it and I daily drove it for 2 years.

Comes down to dollars I guess, where is the break even point in selling the Honda? What is comfort worth, cause I bet the pickup makes that drive more enjoyable?

Comfort is a big issue The honda is a coupe and 5 speed. And while not bad the truck is waayyyy more comfortable on the interstate.

 

[Erik the Awful]

At 90 miles a day, the Honda is saving you $5 a day in gas. That's about $100 a month. If you're tired of the Honda, sell it this week while car prices are still up. Wait a month as car prices drop, and then buy a nicer gas-saver.

 

[stutaeng]

I don't recall if that was you that created a thread on a similar question or if I replied there... anyways.

Transmission fluid flush, PS fluid flush, brake fluid change and purge. Inspect/replace brake wear items. Change air filter and fuel filter.

Consider inspection everything rubber such as hoses and belts. Grease/inspect entire drive line.

Have a stash of money for when stuff breaks. Don't spend unnecessary money on stuff that ain't broken. Build a log of maintenance items and dates, mileage, etc. Write in replacement items for warranty purposes.

That's just me. Good luck.

 

[TreeGeared]

Unless you have extensively gone through the truck I would not go down to one vehicle. Any vehicle at that age and mileage can have surprises. In this situation a backup vehicle is a safe bet.

 

[Archaic2021]

Unless you have extensively gone through the truck I would not go down to one vehicle. Any vehicle at that age and mileage can have surprises. In this situation a backup vehicle is a safe bet.

This is the one thing stopping me...with selling the honda I could fully fund the truck to be finished.

But unless my commute gets shorter I am hesitant.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Unless you have extensively gone through the truck I would not go down to one vehicle. Any vehicle at that age and mileage can have surprises. In this situation a backup vehicle is a safe bet.

Yes that's the situation I am in now! Gotta get the Burb going this weekend so I can give the rental car back. I thought I had some wiggle room on my trucks, but they had other ideas didn't they?!

 

[boy&hisdogs]

If you want to do a trans flush beware... I've heard that flushing a high mileage automatic can sometimes do more harm than good by knocking old crap loose. At 200k your trans is on borrowed time already. They seem to go out around 160k-180k. Mine went around 160k if I remember correctly but I had 33s and a 5.7 so it was working a little harder. If it was me I'd just drain from the pan like an engine oil change. You'll probably have to drop the pan unless the PO put an aftermarket one with a drain plug.

My 98 just hit 200k recently and the injectors went bad. When I opened it up I was surprised to see it already had the upgrade done, and the spider is stamped 2011 if I'm reading it correctly. I don't remember having it done but I do vaguely remember a pretty hefty dealership repair bill not long after buying it in Dec. 2010. It had a leaking intake gasket throwing a code so I'm guessing the injectors would have been done at that time. It would have been around 80k miles or so.

I also had to replace the fuel pump at some point several years ago, it got louder and louder until it just wouldn't start. I replaced it with a Bosche one and it's been running strong and very quiet.

When it had stock tires and 3.42 gears I was getting around 16mpg. This was tank avg but mostly highway. You'll never get anywhere close to what the Honda gets but lowered, tuned, alloy wheels, small street tires, etc with the 305 I would guess might get 18-20.

Personally I think that having a second car is worth it when both are 20+ years old. Even if you fix the truck up and drive it more the Honda would be nice to have as a backup. My truck hasn't run in 2 months because the OEM injectors were backordered and I just happened to find a guy on ebay that had a NIB set. I got lucky and was able to borrow a car for the time being but if I didn't have access to an extra car I'd be in trouble.

 

[Menissalt]

Tansmission fluid flush, PS fluid flush, brake fluid change and purge. Inspect/replace brake wear items. Change air filter and fuel filter.

Consider inspection everything rubber such as hoses and belts. Grease/inspect entire drive line.

Have a stash of money for when stuff breaks. Don't spend unnecessary money on stuff that ain't broken. Build a log of maintenance items and dates, mileage, etc. Write in replacement items for warranty purposes.

Exactly this. I took mine to a shop I've used for years and had them check *everything* after my last issue. Nothing that needed replacing suprised me and they even found a squirrel nest, fortunately without squirrels. Getting the basics covered & inspected will save you a ton of time, money, and frustration. Having had an alternator go out with a truck full of people in the boonies during Texas summer was... an experience

I want to reiterate keeping receipts and add you should insist on getting model numbers for each part used and the labor rate(s) and hours billed. This can help you make sure your money is getting used right but there are other big advantages. One is future maintenance; knowing what has been installed, particularly if it isn't a direct oem replacement, will aid you everytime it gets worked on. Then there's insuring it; without detailed records, regardless of who is at fault for any incident, insurance companies will not cover anything more than base value. Lastly, if you sell it or pass it on the build log adds a ton of value to whoever gets it.

If you're interested here's my build thread. Most of the details I keep are there but what I use as my "official" log is a bit different.

If you want to do a trans flush beware... I've heard that flushing a high mileage automatic can sometimes do more harm than good by knocking old crap loose.

First, I'm no expert here so if what I'm about to say is wrong and an expert sees this, please school me.

As I understand it this is accurate but might be misinterpreted. Changing trans fluid, and cleaning your engine with something like sea foam, can remove old crud that was acting like a band-aid covering existing issues. The cleaning itself doesn't do any harm. If you're prepared for the potential cost, get it done and fix anything that needs it. You'll want to do this sooner than later since relying on bandaids can turn at any moment and it'll probably be at the worst time.

I also had to replace the fuel pump at some point several years ago

I also want to second this based on very recent personal experience. From what I've seen around this forum the oem pumps last ~100k give or take. I actually told a shop I wanted to replace mine because i knew it was at the end of its rope at 127k and I was already getting other necessities repaired. They looked at it and told me it was fine and not worth replacing yet. It gave up the ghost today, less than 50 miles driven about ~3 months later.