Hey Scotty, I just recently purchased from my cousin a 1997 Chevrolet K1500 Silverado trim pickup with the venerable 350 vortec engine. It has the Z71 off road lift. It has a coolant leak - I don't know where - but it has one. It sags a couple inches on the rear passenger's side, and the air conditioner doesn't work. The passenger door's pins and bushings are worn. It has 208,200 miles on it.
I promised my cousin I'd take care of it, and I'm a man who believes one should keep his promises, so I'd rather get it fixed than junk it. Unfortunately I have zero automotive experience or skill. I do need a pickup because I live on a rough dirt road and I have animals to feed, plus I need room because I'm kinda overweight. It's also been a dream of mine to own a medium or full size pickup and take it on a 500-1000 mile road trip and back. What kind of cash am I going to need to spend to get this thing in reliable enough working order that I can take such a trip plus use it daily?
Identify what's the most worn and most important for your safety and the truck's ability to provide it first and go from there. Slowly replacing things as you find them is better than dumping a ton of cash all at once, especially on something like the tranny if it starts acting up.
Start to do things like belts, replacing vacuum lines, shocks, maybe springs... the basic wear and tear stuff. That will get it riding decent and get you comfortable with the truck. That will build your confidence level in divingfurther into it if need be. You'll start to notice if things "feel" off as you drive it and get acclimated with it. I personally replaced an idler arm in my 42 year old Pontiac today and I've never had the confidence to mess with major steering components like that until now.
More than the truck is worth. That's the truth of it.
A lot of things like hoses, belts, bushings, etc. will need replacement from just age alone. 209k miles....transmission and engine are both suspect and need to be checked out.
If you are comfortable throwing thousands at it, then it could work. I would advise against it.
The thing is, even looking at the local used market - Craigslist, Ruby Want Ads, Facebook, and the like, to say nothing of the dealerships...used trucks in worse condition sell for thousands in this market. I'd have to spend that kind of money to get basically anything around here.
I've got a few thousand to spend on it. I'm just wondering how much I might have to.
can't give you an estimate without seeing under your hood. Coolant leak could be a $20 hose, or $1,000 intake gasket. What I can tell you is a 24yo truck with 200k+ miles is going to be a bit of a money pit. Have a mechanic look at it and give you his opinion.
Luckily I have a former client I became friends with who is a mechanic. I currently don't drive it daily; I use it for necessary stuff like getting feed or when I don't have the car available. But the car is a tad cramped and the dirt road I live on beats the crap out of the poor thing, which is why I want the truck with the tougher suspension to become a daily.
That is a good truck. If your ac needs a new compressor, only buy a new compressor; do not get the current one rebuilt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDuGeQnMOzk
I'm not too worried about the A/C as my "day" job is a night shift. If I ever get to take a road trip though...that may change.
As far as your AC not working, it could be as cheap as a R-132a freon leak that needs the system to be 'sucked down', recharged and "sniffed" for leaks and tighten or replace the connection(s) or as expensive as a compressor that has a leak or came apart inside. An accumulator, sometimes called a dryer, that vertical aluminum cylinder bolted to the firewall, is usually replaced at the same in case it has shavings inside from a broken compressor.
I understand wanting to keep an older pickup around. I have a '96 Cheyenne, over 200k, that's cheap on insurance, tags and taxes because of it's age. It's handy to haul stuff that won't fit in a car and as a backup transportation in case the car is out of commission.
