American 4wd trucks??

"TANKIE" sez:

I've had my first and last GM truck, a '97 Suburban. It had a creampuff existence and regularly serviced by a friend of the family gentleman and seemed like a predictable buy. I got it 4 yrs. old with 47,000 mi. on the clock. From there to the 97,000 mi. it had on it when I finally got rid of it, I had to replace:

AC compressor and purge system - $1000 Transmission rebuild - $2000 Intake manifold leak - $600

2 alternators @ $150 ea. - $300 2 oil lines @ $65 ea. - $130 front ball joints - $700 brake vacuum booster - $400

The transmission failure & the intake manifold leak are notorious on this and related models. Other things waiting to grenade are the fuel pump module and the Eaton limited slip differential. I couldn't take it anymore and dumped it & now drive a nice new Tundra Double-Cab.

Good wrenchin' to ya, VLJ

It sounds like it didn't have a creampuff existence. It sounds more like it may have been abused. I know several poeple who own GM truck vehicles of around that vintage, most have more than 100k miles on them, however you seem to have had substantially more problems.. I don't doubt your problems, but I have to wonder if your vehicle led a harsh life or was just a lemon.

Either way, I think you'll be very happy with your new Toyota Tundra.

__________________ Note: To reply, replace the word 'spam' embedded in return address with 'mail'. N38.6 W121.4

Tundras are made in Princeton, Indiana, USA

My '86 Ford Ranger...nothing but trouble, from day 1. My '86 Toyota pickup...now with 276,000 miles...nothing but joy and still running!!!

"Skip" sez:

Doh! At least I got the first letter right ...

Good wrenchin' to ya, VLJ

Hey, you were only one state off.

Tough call to make. I, on the other hand, know a close friend with 220K+ miles on his 2000 Chevy top of the line pickup (yes, that many miles in that small time). My dad has a 2001 Ford with the 5.4 that has 100K+ miles on it, no real problems. My work truck (97 Chevy s-10) has 127k miles on it and other than regular maintenance and a water pump, has had no real problems. And being a delvery truck (just deliveries around town) it has had a HARD life. Don't get me wrong, I would still buy a 'Yota over any other truck if given the chance, but it may just be coincedence, on my side or yours.

I replaced the radiator 3 times, water pump once, and various other problems on my 1994 Ford Ranger all before 58000 miles. I kept all the maintenance up on the truck. I now have a 1996 Tacoma with 83000 miles, no problems. don't even get me started on my wife's former 1993 Blazer. What a money pit. She now has a 1996 Camry. Toyota rules!

Ditched my 85 blazer after TWO tranny failures before it hit 60,000 miles. I traded it in on a Toyota 4x4 and now I'm on my second Toyota, a 99 Tacoma. Never had to take either in for anything but maintenance.

Probably too many Toyotas with mega relatively trouble-free miles to be a coincidence.

If it happened to be just a few that one person knew about, maybe it could be considered a coincidence. Kind of reminds me of the argument about smoking being bad for you. In every crowd, there has to be at least one person who has or had an uncle or grandfather, or had a friend who has or had an uncle or grandfather who smoked 23 packs a day and lived to be 130 years old... :>))

Tom - Vista, CA

I like to brag about my 1988 Toyota 2WD pickup that I bought new and still drive. It has 171,6xx miles on it. I guess I'm not really an authority, though, since I've only owned one... :>))

I remember a Volvo commercial on TV back in the early 70's or maybe late

60s's, where one neighbor owned an older Volvo and his neighbor owned an American car. The ad did a time lapse type bit where the neighbors are shown washing their cars in their driveways, on each side of a hedge. The guy with the Volvo continues washing his same car and every few seconds the neighbor is shown with a shiny new car. The neighbor says something like: "Sure I love American cars, that's why I buy so many of them!"

Tom - Vista, CA

Just to spin the discussion slightly, I'll comment on my expenses for my '89

4x4, SR5, x-cab, V6:

Bought it with 124k summer of 2001. Today's mileage is about 173k.

Here's what I've spent outside of oil changes, filters, etc:

$200 - 7/2001 - Drivers side CV boot $200 - 3/2002 - Pax side CV boot $200 - 9/2002 - Drivers side CV boot $230 - Replace oxygen sensor. (Would have done it myself, but it was rusted in there pretty good) $160 - New muffler - tailpipe section. (Seems to eat one every 75k here in Wisconsin.)

That's about it.. But still much less than I see others spending on their Rangers, etc. :) I'm still kinda ticked about the CV boot issues.. The originals lasted 125k, but as you can see, the drivers one busted again 14 months later.

I also have my oil analized about every 15-18k miles. Passes with flying colors. No high levels of metal, antifreeze, or fuel are found. So I'll be keeping this truck for a while. :)

Ben

92 Chevy S10 Blazer - 4.3L V6 185K Miles - LEAKED quart of oil every 3600 - 4000 miles

Ball joints @ 70k Ball joints, pitman, idler arm @ 165k Starter motor around 80k Alternator @ 150k Waterpump @ 165k

Other work was standard maintenance, tires, battery, brakes, oil changes etc.

I've been reading a bunch of old threads in this group, and came across this. I'd like to know more about this "having oil analyzed" business. This is the first I've ever heard of it (mind you, I don't pay all that much attention to car stuff). Where does one have it done? Is it expensive? Isn't it kind of overkill as far as car maintenance goes?

Just curious -- it sounds like information that would be interesting to find out about just what's going on inside my vehicles.

In article , "vlj" wrote: [oil analysis]

Thanks. Cool! I think I'm gonna do this! Like I said, I'd never heard of doing this before, but it makes sense because I hate guessing & doing things "on faith."