K1500

[WACO]

Amongst all the talk about diesels on here, I am looking to get a little gasser starter truck here pretty soon. Mainly looking at the 88 and up Chevy K1500s as they seem solid and the price is right. I would have this truck for a few years until I can afford the diesel I really want. Now heres my question: I am seeing a few of the 96 and up ones (with the Vortec engine) for sale in my price range but with a lot of miles (150 +). I am seeing a lot with over 200 also, making me think these trucks with around 150-175 might still have some life in them. Has anybody owned these trucks and can enlighten me? I would be towing my Wrangler 2 maybe 3 times a year and thats it. Mainly the truck would pull a 3000 pound boat here and there and be a dd.


Thanks

 

[Eric]

Have you thought about picking up two rigs? A small car for a DD and an older Truck as a tow rig?

If you are not going to use the tow rig much there are some really cheap ones out there that are a little old, but still work fine.

A small car as a DD even a cheap comuter can last a while.

Just my .02

 

[WACO]

I thought about that. I dont tow nearly enough to have a designated tow rig, plus cant afford 2 vehicles. Trying to find something that I can get around in and get at least mid teens for gas mileage, and can tow the Jeep once in a blue moon, and a 19 foot boat.

I should also say I will probably drive the Jeep and this truck about 50/50 (for now), as the Jeep is definatly, and always will be a driver. It is just the more stuff I do to the Jeep the more I am not wanting to HAVE to drive it. Plus having something that can tow would be nice.

 

[NotMatt]

At least get a 2500 if you're going to tow a wrangler... seriously. Towing a jeep with all the tools, spare parts, full tank of fuel, (basically ready to wheel) with an older half ton SUCKS, trust me. Get a trailer with brakes and a good brake controller too, your sphincter will thank you later.

 

[Trailtoy1993]

At least get a 2500 if you're going to tow a wrangler... seriously. Towing a jeep with all the tools, spare parts, full tank of fuel, (basically ready to wheel) with an older half ton SUCKS, trust me. Get a trailer with brakes and a good brake controller too, your sphincter will thank you later.

x2 on the 3/4 ton, the half ton tranny is gone at 100,000 or so and the 3/4 is gone at 150k if its been towing. The 99 gmc 2500 at work **** a tranny at 126k and at 170k the motor is getting noticably weaker and it has the heavy duty tow package for that year on it. IMO the chevy is the lightest weight and worst tow vehicle of the big three but thats just an opinion based on my experiences. (i use dodge and have used ford, and chev)...... Good luck with your decision! I also x2 the buy a DD and find an old one ton to tow with.

 

[zukkev]

Even for the occasional towing you plan on doing, I'd also recommend at least a 3/4T; I had a '92 Excab 4x4 with the 5.7L/4L80E combo getting close to 15mpg empty on the freeway, and it towed beautifully, was just under-powered when pulling anything 6K and heavier, was getting about 11mpg towing my Sami...It pulled my Sami on a trailer just fine, but was only about 5K (rig and trailer)....It had 188K on the odo when I sold it, and was still going strong when I last talked to the guy that bought it.....

 

[Lincolnlock]

I used to tow with a 96' extended cab short bed chevy on bags and 20's. It got 6-7 mpg when towing. It would tow but 45 to 50 mph up the pass was seriously crappy. Just buy a cheap 1st gen cummins. Even if it's ugly it will never let you down. My friend drives a 92' regular cab, dually. The truck has 550,000 miles and is the ugliest truck ever. But it tows like crazy and was $3500.

 

[zukkev]

I used to tow with a 96' extended cab short bed chevy on bags and 20's. It got 6-7 mpg when towing. It would tow but 45 to 50 mph up the pass was seriously crappy. Just buy a cheap 1st gen cummins. Even if it's ugly it will never let you down. My friend drives a 92' regular cab, dually. The truck has 550,000 miles and is the ugliest truck ever. But it tows like crazy and was $3500.

X2 on the 1st gen thing; Plus it gets pretty reasonable mileage (15 towing?-guessing)

 

[WACO]

Thanks guys I appriciate your information.


I would love a first gen cummins, but I have only seen them in the 6500-7500 range, and even then there are a ton of miles on them and everything but the enigne is worn out. The Chevys I have been looking at are 4-5k, so with the money I save I could put in a good transmission if need be. Also, if we are talking a half ton, the corporate 14 bolt would bolt right in (so I 've heard). I dont really mind going that slow over the pass for the very few times I would, heck I'm used to it anyway in my 4 cyl TJ. This truck would have to pull double duty too, because I just dont have the room or money to have 3 vehicles.

That is the way I am looking at it at least.

 

[Clark]

i use a 1/2 ton to tow my rig(4runner/10k trailer), it works really well for towing once a month. I am using an 06 gmc sierra denali with the 6.0L though. If i was getting an older one like 96-99 i'd get atleast a 3/4. I used to tow with a 89 gmc 3500 (454/th400) and my new sierra tows just as nice, only it's not as big and heavy. I was going to get diesel but for another 10K i couldn't justify it for what i use it for. Just my .02:awesomework:

 

[crash2]

When towing---remember the legality side of things. A 1/2 ton is only rated for a certain amount of weight

 

[Clark]

For sure don't exceed the tow limits, or overload your rig.:redneck: I'm towing about 6K with my trailer fully loaded. My truck is rated to tow like 8900. I have brakes on both axles, and a good controller. I don't plan on towing more than that anytime soon. If you are considering towing a jeep, get a light trailer with good brakes, and you should be fine with an older 1/2 as long as you don't want to go fast. BUT if you can get a nice 3/4 or 1 ton for the same price, go for it. My decision to go 1/2 was based on this:

I use the truck for DD, baby hauling, home depot loads, tow my rig to the trail, don't plan on using it offroad,

2006 Sierra Denali Crew Cab Fully loaded, DVD,2 tone leather, plush insides, all wheel drive(not 4x4) 6.0L 29k miles, factory warranty, 1 owner, tow what i need $23K blue booked at 31K

2001 2500 90K miles, 6.0L, bare bones almost work truck, dings dents etc, tow what i need, but still a 6.0L $20K

2004 2500HD duramax crew cab, bare bones cloth, no sunroof, nothing, 80K miles, no warranty, higher fuel cost, more maintinence, DURAMAX/ALLISON tow anything.$33K

2006 2500HD all the bells and whistles, low miles, warranty, etc. $43K

for you:

1999 1500 Z71, low miles, clean, maintained, extended cab -$4500

1999 2500/3500 crew cab, clean, maintained, low miles-$9,000

1990 3500 454/TH400 high miles, beat to hell, works like a champ-$2500

Just don't buy anything too crappy that you'll need to dump $$ into or else in the end you could've bought the better truck to start, and skipped doing all the work, and wasting your time.

 

[WACO]

Thanks for the replies.

For the amount I will be towing the Jeep I really couldn't justify spending more money on an older truck with worse gas mileage. I just picked up a well maintained 99 Tahoe LT with 142 on it for well under blue book. I plan to install a trans temp gage and maybe a shift kit (need to research) to help keep the 4l60e alive. My plan is to keep this vehicle (at least as a "tow rig") for a couple years until I can afford the 3/4 ton diesel I really want. But again, for the lack of towing I will do, I just want something that is nice to drive and can tow the Jeep when/if needed.

 

[Clark]

sounds like it should work fine for pulling double duty on the weekends, just go slow, those tahoes are dirt cheap these days what'd you get it for like $3500?

 

[WACO]

4 grand. Thanks, yeah for these first couple years I can do 60, and less on the hills. As long as I dont need to rely on the Jeep for sole transportation and have something that can carry stuff.

 

[Clark]

and to think that was a 45K dollar truck only 9 years ago, price is 10 times less now. If you get the itch to go bigger:stirpot: , atleast you won't be losing any money. I mean you could burn it to the ground and scrap it, and be out less than what you'd lose driving a diesel off the lot.

 

[WACO]

and to think that was a 45K dollar truck only 9 years ago, price is 10 times less now. If you get the itch to go bigger:stirpot: , atleast you won't be losing any money. I mean you could burn it to the ground and scrap it, and be out less than what you'd lose driving a diesel off the lot.

Yeah depriciation is pretty insane. That was another factor in buy this rig, hopfully it will not go down much more!

One more thing I forgot to add as to why I bought a 1/2 ton chev instead of a diesel is that if something *did* go out in a diesel, it would be a lot more money than a new 350 or 4l60e.

 

[64FJ40]

I'd go right ahead and pick up a TransGo shift kit and a new Valve Body Separator Plate (pretty cheap on ebay) and install them right away. Pretty easy job, and it will improve the shifting a ton. You don't realize how much it's slipping trying to be smooth - and all that slipping adds up to shorter lifespan, especially towing anything. And I'd be surprised if at least one of your valve body check balls wasn't wedged in tight in the soft stock separator plate.


I'm not any kind of auto tranny expert, and I know there are probably bigger/better/stronger mods for the 4L60E out there, but for the relatively small investment and simplicity of the job, this is a good bang-for-the-buck upgrade IMO.

 

[WACO]

Thanks for the info! Yeah I plan to adress the transmission pretty soon. In years past I have pretty much been anti-auto transmission, but now am warming up to the fact that if taken care of will work. Plus in seattle it is really nice not to be "stirring the pot" in the traffic, especially on hills. ( Alot of people on westlake have probably seen how slow a vehicle goes with a 4:1 )

But I have a pretty good understanding of how everything works in a vehicle, except in autos! I need to start doing some research so I know what things like a seperator plate and valve body do.

 

[64FJ40]

But I have a pretty good understanding of how everything works in a vehicle, except in autos! I need to start doing some research so I know what things like a seperator plate and valve body do.

Actually, the beauty of this work is that you don't. :redneck: I understand the concepts behind an auto tranny, but I still don't really know how it works.

In short, once you pull the pan off the bottom, the lower valve body is about 2" thick and held on by about a dozen bolts IIRC. The separator plate is kind of like a 1/16"-thick steel gasket between the lower valve body and the upper part. It's got a bunch of holes in it that act as passages and restrictor orifices. There are also a few steel balls that act as check valves for directional fluid flow. These wear on the stock plate until the hole they're supposed to seal gets big enough that the ball sticks in it, preventing flow in either direction.

The shift kit just replaces a bunch of springs and shift servos. It's a fairly in-depth deal, but not hard and I did one a few years ago with absolutely no prior knowledge of automatics.