Found a pretty good deal on an 05 crew cab LT with leather... Z71. The truck is clean, but it has 141,000 miles on it. I need a 4WD for my lawn business, but not sure what to look for considering the high mileage. Is there anything that typically goes out on this year model that I should be concerned about?

 

The question is how was the truck cared for? If it had regular oil and filter changes and all the other maintenance was done on a regular basis then it should be a good truck. These truck are solid and last a long time. I just sold my 99 with 175,000 miles on it and I changed the oil and filter every 4,000 miles. It ran just as good as when it was new. See if they have the maintenance records.

 

Unfortunately there are no records. A fellow purchased it from a dealer who taken it in on trade, then he traded it in to this local dealer.

 

Then it is going to depend on your inspection of the truck and your gut feeling. You will have to go with that.

 

1. Check the RPO codes in your Service

Parts ID sticker in the glove box, be

sure you see a "Z71". All things considered,

it's had four owners, and 2 of them were

dealers, who sell (oh, SNAP) Z-71 decals.

2.Bad front hub bearings will set you back @350$,

per side. Have a mechanic check it out.

3. Thoroughly test the climate control.

 

Thank you for that information. I am picking it up in the morning for a test drive and plan to have a mechanic friend look it over for me.

 

Finally picked up this truck... figured at $10,500 it was going to be hard to beat, even if it ends up needing a little work.

I took it to the Chev dealer and had it serviced, but they stated unless I knew for sure if the transmission had been serviced, to NOT service it, because it would sometimes cause issues to surface quicker than they normally would. I kinda wanted to scratch my head... seems like finding out if something is amiss would be better early on than later when it might do more damage, but I realize I am not knowledgeable enough to know what to do and whether to trust what he says. Do any of you have an opinion on it?

 

I DNK about reasonable PM

"stirring up problems", although I

have heard the hype. My take on it is thus-

change the transmission filter, don't

"backflush" the system. Re-use the original

HD gasket, it's better than the replacements.

If you let that transmission filter clog, it's going to

cost you mpg, big time. YMMV, but I'd get that

statement from the dealer in writing. Who pays,

when you do nothing, and the tranny goes bad?

 

I suspect what the dealer is saying is that they will probably do more then just change filter and fluid. The flush is what can cause problems for the seasoned transmission...
flushing can loosen up things that are better off not loosened after a period of time...
I would agree that putting in a new filter, cleaning the pan magnet (or installing one if it doesn't have one) and just replacing the fluid that comes out is better then nothing...

 

Makes sense. I will discuss this with them before I pick it up.