New here in the forum, hello all.

Here is my Chevy story and it is a good read I think....well here it goes............I have owned a couple of Chevy's in the past 40 years of driving. Mostly in the Northeast and coast and yes they rust terribly. So I never owned one long enough to need to repair it and never had one really worth repairing.........Then I make a cross country move to Albany Oregon and first, here in the valley about 49+/- miles south of Portland everyone seems to have a truck. So when I was in need of a new vehicle I found two facts, one, mostly because trucks are popular in Oregon they run higher than what I have bought them for before.

However I then stumbled onto a 1998 white Chevy Silverado C/K 1500 4X4 for $2500.00 back in September 2019. Now I am no mechanic, just owned a lot of used vehicles in my lifetime so I have encountered many issues and learned a little each time...But I digress. Anyhow, I drove it around the block ......literally and then offered $2100.00 the lady accepted the offer right away. The lady told me it was a work truck (here in the grass seed capital of the world) this means it works on farms and towed all kinds of stuff. It also had 265,000 miles on the odometer, however it had an engine swap to a quote "A rated" used motor from a local pick your part. I believed her and completed the purchase.

I know of a website I used in the past called LMC for detailed small and large chevy parts and figured I could find anything it may need, it has a new compressor as well so it should have good AC etc etc....well then two months later the truck although it had been super dependable and never got me stranded, I began to like her but then I come home from work, park the truck and she starts pissing antifreeze. Now from my non-mechanic experience I know I got a bad water pump. The next morning I drive to the closet repair shop which luckily is two blocks away, get a ride into work and I must have been very lucky. The shop called me that afternoon and said I can pick it up after work...YES! Just $430.00.

Now I am feeling more confident each day in my new-to-me Chevy truck and I go on a 120+ round trip to Eugene, know she starts everyday and never leaves me stranded...Next before the trip back from Eugene my battery is dead. So as I look at the battery while receiving a jump, I notice it is the right size but a "walmart special", now I don't know why, but I have a spot for another battery opposite side under the hood. (if you know please educate my ignorance) Anyhow, back on the road and I need a good battery and problem solved $165.00.

So weeks go by truck feels squishy and drives like a boat and she looks sad from the front, leaning slightly to the right like she is just having trouble but again "NOT A MECHANIC" so I focus on why I cannot find out how and where I can get good solid interior parts, seat covers, new headliner, where the hell does my cup go, cool upgrades from a series that's been around for decades, but I have failed to find those sites yet.

Then the reason my girl was hunched to the right.... as I return from an all day errand run with lots of stops and plans to drop off the groceries and go fly my drone, when just as I complete the back up into the closest spot to my apartment and throw it in park and then it happens......................

The right side front end just crumbles to the ground, wheel folded in, axle and boot pulled out, lower control arm now has a 2 inch gaping hole which let go of the ball joint and fell right when I parked. Bent stuff was everywhere Thank Goodness it was not the day before while driving 70 on a back road. So it was my day off and a AAA tow to a shop and two weeks later control arms (both sides bent) lower control arm, both brake calipers and pads, (should do both sides anyway) and $1880.00 later.

She is back on the road, two day later....I see it leaking antifreeze again...argh!!%%$^%@!! looks like a water pump but it can't be, I just replaced it in November 2019 it's March 2020 why??? But it did not leak a lot so I drive it to work the next day anyway with gallons of water on board, I get to work no overheating, normal the whole trip and all day not not a drop of anything....Yes

Okay I am solid, drive home that evening and park her and she leaks about the same amount as the day before about a pint only at home???? Next day drive to work, park her, not a drop had leaked all day, drive home that night she leaks again ONLY AT HOME!!?? About a pint. I play this game until 6 days later while trying to pick up mom's power chair, I see I am leaking again and NOT AT HOME!!! So I send it back to the shop....two days later, it is NOT the water pump...YES!!! Mechanic: "wait a second, I am not done, I found the leak!" oh NO! "it's the intake manifold, and I usually do a tune up when I do these and I think one of your spark plugs was an original, when I removed the wire the plug broke in two, and by the way you got an exhaust leak. Great, forget the exhaust leak, how much to get her back to running again, Tune up and manifold gasket replacement $1175.00.

My thoughts had been to just sell her, but then I thought she looks good now with the front end done, water pump done, intake manifold repair done! So I said well I paid 2100.00 front end work 1880.00 and now 1175.00, 430.00 water pump and 165.00 battery...HMMM I now have $5750.00 invested, perhaps I should keep her!

She is now it is My solid truck! .....................I just need to fix her, I need to find a headliner, inside and exterior door handles, she is all power windows locks etc I need to get all the switches working and I have NO LIGHTS except tail and headlights, no bed light, no cab lights and the headlights need help. I think I now want to make her and I happy forever!!! Where does everyone buy parts and cool upgrades?? Because now I have to believe "Chevy Runs Deep!"

 

Welcome! If you want to save some money on repairs, I would suggest you look into tackling some repairs yourself if you feel comfortable. A basic tool set and a good repair manual will go a long way. You mention you have no lights, and this is a really good opportunity to start. Check your fuses, grounds, and the bulbs themselves. It could turn out to be a really simple fix.


Youtube can also be an amazing resource for learning how to repair and diagnose issues. When you order parts, keep in mind cheapest isn't always best. I've found this to be especially true when it comes to electronics, and I tend to buy OEM if I can.

Repair Manuals-

Haynes Manual- Pretty good value. Downsides is they try to fit a lot of information into a few pages.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Repair-Manu...YAAOxyg7xSaIV7

Factory service manuals cost a lot more, but provide all the information you'd probably ever need.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1998-C-K-Tr...gAAOSwdHteYpzf

Where to buy parts-

RockAuto is a very popular site, they carry many different options for parts.
https://www.rockauto.com/

OEM parts sites will generally be more expensive (especially shipping charges) but you're getting genuine parts.
https://www.gmpartscenter.net/?gclid...MaAtoCEALw_wcB

Ebay and Amazon will also have parts vendors.

 

@Chris94 thank you so much! I truly appreciate the leads on stuff. I am definitely going to get a basic repair tool set, jack stands, floor jack etc. I truly need to tackle the balance of fixes and upgrades for my new love My 1998 Chevy Silverado C/K1500 on my own, I really have come to fall for this truck, I may never stop spending money on her because she will give years of fun! Thanks again Chris!

 

Great intro Dan - Welcome!!

 

@Rednucleus Thank You! Thought I would share my reasons for finding the forum and I know I will need to ask for advice at some point! Thanks again glad you enjoyed my Chevy Story!

 

Welcome from the Netherlands! And have fun learning to fix your Chevy.

Oh and what I usually do when I buy a car and maintain them myself is make a base card with information on it. Just a paper with the basic information of your truck, which transmission, engine, is it a c or k, standard parts numbers like oil filter etc., Also write down when you changed what part.

The older Chevy's are great to work on, not so complex, cheap parts and a lot information online. But a good workshop manual will do wonders if you never worked on 1 before.
Like said above on YouTube there are many videos on how to repair and maintain your truck. Only thing that could get a bit more expensive is OEM interior parts, but maybe if you live in the USA and call some local car junkyard the will have it cheap.

And by the way how can you not post a picture of the truck with that intro story! Makes me curious to see it now 👍😁

 

Welcome, and good luck with learning how to do your own repairs. Most of the time they’re not as complicated as people think, they just require patience and attention to detail.

The reason for having a 2nd battery tray is because GM trucks are manufactured to allow for either a gas or diesel engine to be installed without a lot of extra modification or down time - it’s a practice they still utilize today for Silverado’s (at least as recently as 2018 models). The smaller trucks like the Colorado don’t have them.

Around the time your truck was built (not sure the exact years, or maybe it was an option), they used to install a large plastic box on the extra tray that could be used for storing an extra quart of oil or other fluids - could probably still find one if you wanted it.

 

@Gumby22 I would love to find that box, very cool, I will be looking

 

I just googled “Chevy under hood storage box” and got plenty of results. Just briefly scrolling through, I Didn’t see any new ones, but there were lots of used ones for the 95-99 range.

It might take some hunting, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you could find a plastic tote type of thing that would fit in the space and do the same thing.