Might buy a 2001 Chevy truck, any common problems?

novaderrik wrote: no one mentioned the brakes lines that like to explode one day for no apparent reason..

I was going to mention it but you beat me to it! The steel lines rust and finally pop. We've had (emphasis on had)three GM trucks of that generation in the company fleet and it happened to every one. As of about a year ago NHTSA had an open investigation on the problem but I don't think it ever went into a full blown recall.

Jeff

Keith Tanner wrote: Never mind, I was commenting on society at large. I have no input on what goes wrong with a Chevy, as I've never owned one and thus have not been educated by everyone else as to what will go wrong.

i'm sure you've asked questions about vehicles you were looking to buy- whether it was online or among your circle of friends..

or were you just thrown off that the title of this thread wasn't "learn me late model Chevy trucks"?

I understand completely what the thread was about, and thanks to those who had actual constructive input.

I did not have any information, so I thought I'd make a humorous observation on the fact that other truck enthusiasts seem to delight in informing new owners exactly how their truck would fail. It's not something I've encountered with other vehicle subcultures. I'm sorry I didn't communicate this well, and I apologize for a poor attempt at entertainment.

In reply to novaderrik:

I'm pretty sure you're confusing what Keith said. He was just stating that people (society in general) have no problem coming up to you in public and expressing problems with the vehicle that you own. Its more annoying when they didn't personally own the vehicle, they're just "channeling" other people's issues that they heard. I think his original statement was supposed to be half joking and half serious. He never said anything towards the problems you'd find with a Chevy Truck.

I personally have experienced that with my Rx-7. I can't tell you how many people asked me if it had caught on fire yet while I was pumping gas.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Damn, that's what I get for leaving my computer for 20 minutes.

Keith Tanner wrote: I understand completely what the thread was about, and thanks to those who had actual constructive input. I did not have any information, so I thought I'd make a humorous observation on the fact that other truck enthusiasts seem to delight in informing new owners exactly how their truck would fail. It's not something I've encountered with other vehicle subcultures. I'm sorry I didn't communicate this well, and I apologize for a poor attempt at entertainment.

seems some folk are more sensitive than others ... I on the other hand knew EXACTLY what you were getting at with your original post

The only major problems my Dad's 2001 Silverado 1500 has had were front ball joints that he left way too long (had to replace one lower control arm, it was so badly worn) and the transfer case lube pump pounded a hole in the case and it lost all its' lubrication. This was left unnoticed until the rear support bearing seized (in the middle of winter, on an icy bridge no less) and caused the truck to spin. The bearing "fixed" itself by spinning in the case until my dad stopped driving it.

(sigh)

All that's been fixed (still throws a TPS and O2 code once in a while; have to investigate that someday) and I have to say after driving it a bit: Damn, this thing's got some giddyup even with a 4.8L.

Preventative maintenance, don't skip it.

friend has a suburban of that era... I know the speedo was a common failure point... and as mentioned the brake lines have failed twice now once while I was living in the area and was able to splice in a clean fix, the second was after I moved from the area so some common friends helped her out... I think the ended up taking it to a shop that the pastor used to work for and let them deal with replacing the hard line.

note that this was a suburban that lived only a few years up in PA, the rest of it's life was spent in north FL, no visible rust on the lines at all...

I used it a few times, towed a few cars with it, was a great truck, towed like nothing was behind it even with the overweight uhual trailer.

Keith Tanner wrote: I understand completely what the thread was about, and thanks to those who had actual constructive input. I did not have any information, so I thought I'd make a humorous observation on the fact that other truck enthusiasts seem to delight in informing new owners exactly how their truck would fail. It's not something I've encountered with other vehicle subcultures. I'm sorry I didn't communicate this well, and I apologize for a poor attempt at entertainment.

i see it all the time in the automotive "subcultures" i encounter- turbocharged Buicks, Chevelles, Camaros, and what not.. people pop into those boards that are thinking about getting one of those cars and ask what kinds of problems to look for and what to offer and things like that.. i also get calls, texts, and facebook messages from people i know in my "real" life asking about known problem areas on different vehicles they are considering- i'm apparently some sort of an automotive expert or something. which is kind of funny, because my "expertise" is pretty much in 20+ year old domestic junk you can buy for $300...

You need to work on your reading comprehension.

I'm not talking about a request for information before purchase. That's completely normal and understandable.

I'm talking about random people coming up to you - in real life, AFK - and telling you what is going to go wrong with the vehicle you are currently driving. It's along the lines of "Is that your Dodge/Chevy/Ford/Studebaker? My uncle/brother/sister/me/parole officer had one of those and it was nothing but trouble. The engine/transmission/steering/rusty frame/ball joints/wiring harness failed every 25 miles and the interior/seats/radio/fenders/chrome fell apart. Worst vehicle I ever saw."

So, if you want to know what's going to go wrong with a truck, all you need to do is buy one. Then these people will come out of the woodwork and tell you what's going to go wrong. Get it? It's a funny.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

I have to admit that I didn't understand your original post either. You apologize for not being clear, then you tell novaderrik to work on his reading comprehension?
I have to say, I don't know why you keep going on about people that tell you things when you don't ask in a post that asked. A humorous post is one thing, but totally side tracking the thread because of a humorous post that wasn't clearly humorous is another. Let it go.

Hey, I come over here from OT so I don't have to read argument threads.

Hey Keith, I know what you're talking about. I get it all the time with my MG, as I'm guessing you get with your GT. "man, I (my brother/sister/dad/grampa/etc) had one of those dang 'ole furrin' MG's once. Damn thing never run right."

Everyone just needs to get a little more dude here.

Keith Tanner wrote: You need to work on your reading comprehension. I'm not talking about a request for information before purchase. That's completely normal and understandable. I'm talking about random people coming up to you - in real life, AFK - and telling you what is going to go wrong with the vehicle you are currently driving. It's along the lines of "Is that your Dodge/Chevy/Ford/Studebaker? My uncle/brother/sister/me/parole officer had one of those and it was nothing but trouble. The engine/transmission/steering/rusty frame/ball joints/wiring harness failed every 25 miles and the interior/seats/radio/fenders/chrome fell apart. Worst vehicle I ever saw." So, if you want to know what's going to go wrong with a truck, all you need to do is buy one. Then these people will come out of the woodwork and tell you what's going to go wrong. Get it? It's a funny.

i like ice cream.. Rocky road, preferably, but New York Vanilla will do, too.

Hm, where's a reasonable place to get an OEM quality fuel pump for a 2001 Chevy Silverado 1500? It appears that Murphy struck again (that or the +400,000kms on the odo) and the pump has stopped pumping.

I called one of the local dealerships and got quoted $525-550 for the (gold plated?) pump.

Employee price, cost + 10%, on a pump for my wife's Av was $279US for a new Delco of which I don't remember paying for.

Lots of good info in this post (stuff I needed for my friends truck). My friend has a 2000 GMC 2500 6.0 with 150K miles, I get to do the work on it, but the drivetrain is mine when he is done with it.

I did the exploding brake lines all stainless (major PITA), rusting ABS plate, and replaced the frontend(ball joints, tierods, ball joints, etc.), rear bumper(rust) and I get the drivetrain once he is done with it. Parts are not that expensive and it has been easy to work on except for the rust.

Did I mention that they definetly like to rust at the rockers.

I've had my 2000 Chevy for 3 1/2 years. It's just rolling up on 200,000 kms. I know, not a lot, but it's seen some use. I use it for towing (6000-8000 lbs) fairly regularly in the mountains. Daily driving. etc. Best darn vehicle I've ever had. Mines a 2500 so it's a 6.0/4L80 trans, but other than that it's similar. All electronics etc all work. Love it.

In reply to doc_speeder:

You're a lucky guy.

My 2002 Avalanche is running great at 114k miles. Have never had a problem with it.

I guess it all depends on the upkeep, and if it was abused, but I have found that most of the GMT800 trucks hold up very well.