So a couple weeks ago I bought a 1998 silverado 3500. Raised 6", intercooler and pyro, boost, and tranny temp guages, custom exhaust, neat gooseneck hitch and airbags. 215,000 miles on it. I paid $5800. Needed new brakes and had a coolant leak, but it was a pretty good deal, I thought.

So the diesel shop I took it to to get checked out called me and said "there are so many things wrong with this truck that I don't know where to start. Can you get your money back?"

I replied no, and asked him to elaborate. He's still coming up with an estimate, but gave me this list:

brakes, front and rear are shot, ABS light is on
front end is completely worn out - suspension, tie rods, the whole ball of wax
leaking wheel seals
one rear shock missing altogether!
airbags and hoses to the airbags are damaged
exhaust leaks at the manifold
coolant leak
air filter plug - charge air cooler falling off
boost leak somewhere
pcm is throwing a boost code

he did say that the engine and tranny seem to be in decent shape and the black smoke was just the result of a plugged air filter.

Thinking it through, I'm kind of annoyed at his message about getting my money back and think he might have just been "softening me up" for a whopping estimate. (if you have thoughts on what a new front end and new brakes and such should cost I'd love to hear them before replying to his estimate when I get it on Monday)

I'm pretty decent with mechanical stuff, in general, but I'm a bit daunted by a modern diesel and turbocharger. I'm tempted to have them do the coolant leak and boost issue and leave the brakes and suspension and exhaust work to me. I figure at least with those pieces although there may be tricky mechanical problems, at least they aren't particularly complex systems like the engine and turbo are.

I don't have much in the way of tools, just basic wrenches and sockets and such, but the dieselpages book on the 6.5 has a short chapter on redoing a frontend and suggests that the specialty tools can be rented. I have a decently flat driveway to work in and have the time to mess with it for a while.

Suggestions? Either on good books I need to read, tools I should buy rather than rent, other ways of breaking up the work, etc?

Thanks a lot!

--Derek