idiggplants

hey guys. im about to go look at a silverado tonight. 2004 silverado 1500 ls. extended cab. 5.3L... 6.5' bed. it has 95k on the clock. i was wondering if there were common issues to look for? is it a pretty good truck as far as reliability is concerned? i grew up in a ford household, but i have 0 brand loyalty. im just hoping to get as unbiased opinion as i can.

this will be my second vehicle. also have a corolla for daily driving. the truck will mostly be used for hauling my fourwheelers around, both in the bed and on the trailer. it has a receiver under the bumper. idk if that is standard,or if that means it came with a towing package. either way, it will surely out tow my grand cherokee with a 4.7L that it is replacing.

anyways, thanks in advance!!!!

nauticstar87

04 was a pretty good year for the Silverados. The biggest issue out of em is a gauge cluster issue. Beyond that, they have proven to be quite reliable for the people I know who own 03-05 Silverados.

Tanin Auto

Tanin Auto Electronix here. We are vendors on the site. We can concur on the cluster issues with the years 03-06 but thankfully everyone has us to come to for their repairs. We offer a fast turn around time and can also customize the lighting and needles while the cluster is here too! If you are more of the DIY type, we sell the parts to repair at home as well.

2003 - 2006 Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, Escalade, Envoy, Trailblazer, Impala, Monte Carlo, Cavalier, Sunfire Gauge Cluster Repair

Feel free to contact us at any time with questions or to get started. We take good care of our Chevy Forum friends so make sure to mention that you saw us here! We run specials that are posted in the classified section for vendors here monthly!

Thanks,

idiggplants

thanks for the response. i didnt get the truck, but im going to look at another one tonight. the few concerns ive heard about:
pre 2005 - cast heads - can crack
hvac issues - some sort of solenoid usually? easy repair, i think?
transmissions need regular upkeep
front bearings tend to go
steering stem noise... something most people just learn to ignore?
guage cluster - watch for speedo hesitation, and lights that are out, and hope for the best.

idiggplants

good to know before i have an issue that there is already someone ready to take my money.

Tanin Auto

Haha- Don't worry, it's just a little bit of money And we can always throw in a cool TAE sticker too!

nauticstar87

As long as you keep the vehicle in good running order, heads should never be an issue. Only time I cracked a head was doing some illegitimate trouble shooting on my own vehicle, a bad backfire can apparently crack a head.
Hvac is usually a simple sensor.
Trans really depends on how the truck was treated. A guy I work with has 400,000 miles on his 04 5.3, and has never touched the trans except for fluid change
Front wheel bearings, feel that depends on where the vehicle goes, I've replaced mine on my 07 twice, but it has been through deep water many times.
Not familiar with the steering noise.