moral support required!

[derekja]

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

[Arlie]

If the engine and tranny are OK and you like truck (you wouldn't have bought it if you didn't right?) things are not so bad. You really didn't spend that much (check out the price of a new one!).

If you have basic mechanical skill, don't mind doing this kind of work, and don't live where it's really cold, go for it! You'll know a lot about your truck and get a lot of satisfaction from having fixed it yourself.

A good factory repair manual will help a bunch. Below is an online deal that will be the best $24.95 you've spent in a long time.

http://www.alldata.com/products/diy/index.html

There's lots of knowledge here on this site if you get stuck on something. Be very sure to read about cooling issues and attend to the leak.

BTW: next time get an inspection before you hand over the cash!

Arlie

[trbankii]

BTW: next time get an inspection before you hand over the cash!

X2! Nothing exactly sounds like grounds for giving up on the truck. Although I'd add the airbag stuff to the list of things that I'd hire out... If I had known about it before buying the truck I'd use these items to talk the price down somewhat.

[derekja]

Good to know on the airbags, I don't know much about them.

Thanks for the manual suggestion. Is that a decent alternative to the $175 (ack!) GM service manual set that I've seen referenced on here?

I do like the truck a lot. And although the shop is still trying to diagnose the boost problem and hasn't given me an estimate yet, I don't see that any of this threatens my keeping it. Just money and time...

I wish I had gotten an inspection first, but that is so hard to do. There must be a way to manage that better, but I watch craigslist for a couple months, call on trucks that seem reasonable and usually get told that someone is already coming to look. When I do end up being first, there are always other people interested if I don't take it. I found the coolant leak and brake issues and talked him down $1200 on that basis, but I obviously missed a fair amount. I mean, the other alternative is dealer-sold used vehicles, but the markup there is huge as compared to buying from an individual.

Thanks for the thoughts!

[DmaxMaverick]

The alldata manual is the same as the Helm GM shop manual, only in electronic form. IMO, better for many reasons. The least of which is the price. I have a subscription for every vehicle I own or have the pleasure to maintain.

[trbankii]

You see the manuals on eBay every now and then.

As for being told that someone else is looking - that is always the story... Oldest trick in the book - "You better buy it now because the next guy is coming along any minute with cash..." If he had other hard offers he wouldn't have been talked down the $1200...

My standard statement when selling something is "You were first to call and have first shot at it. Either buy it and take it or make definite arrangements or I call up the next guy" whether there is a next guy or not. Too many times that someone has asked for me to hold something for a day, week, or whatever and never bothered to call back. I'm more than willing to work with people, but I've held things only to have it fall through when I could have sold it and been done with it three times over with those waiting next in line...