Keep and repair or Replace?

[07Chevy]

Longtime Stalker first time poster. Born, raised and still live in Mississippi so Overlanding isn’t really the norm. A friend and I have decided to try to make a trip or two per year to the Ozarks or Appalachians for some camping and hiking. So we are in the infancy stage of planning, but Number 1 on the list is naturally a vehicle. I have a 07 Chevy Silverado CC Classic with the 4.8. It has 297,000 miles. I bought new in 06. In 2015 the motor developed what 2 different mechanic shops have said is lifter tap. It’s extremely loud and only goes away if you lightly accelerate and keep the RPMs above 1500 and below 2000. Warm or cold doesn’t matter. If you accelerate hard it stays ticking. I’m not 100% sure it’s the lifters, but I’ve been driving it 20-40 miles per week for over 2 years like that (Accord is my DD). Besides that the only mechanical issues it currently has is that the front suspension needs some work.
So I need some help in what to do from the experts. These trips will be between 5 and 10 hours one way. Should I sink some money into my Chevy or look at getting something with lower miles?
I’ve looked at SUVs (4Runner and LC) but I really really like haveing a bed to throw things in. I looked at Tacoma’s (had a 87 Toyota Truck in High School), but I’ve gotten bigger and they seem a little small for a 10 hour trip.
Kind of liking the First Gen Tundras right now.
Thoughts? I’ve still got some ideas, but wanted to get a little feedback.
Thanks everyone.

 

[twodollars]

Google 4.8 long block, there's a wide range of options. If your mechanically inclined and have a decent set of hand tools it's not too bad of a job. Of course the rest of the truck also has that many miles, so if your not into regular repairs, maybe something newer makes more sense. Personally I really like not making vehicle payments, so my burb is 25 years old, over 325k on it, and always needs something.

 

[Halligan]

Your pushing 300,000 miles which to be honest is nearing the end of life for all mechanical components on your truck even with regular maintenance. Fix the engine today and tomorrow it's the transmission. Fix that and something dumps in the axles or T-case. If your mechanically inclined and don't mind spending your free time wrenching then you can keep your truck going. But hitting the road to go wheeling in a tired truck can lead to expensive tow bills.

 

[rayra]

mid-2000s GM trucks are very inexpensive to fix, if you can do the work yourself. For about $3-400 including lifters, gaskets etc. There's a few other things you ought to swap while you are in that far, too.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...1500,4.8l+v8,1442048,engine,valve+lifter,5548


Stuck lifters are common in these motors. It's typically the #1 or #3 cylinder. And why some lifter kits are sold in 4-packs. You can just change out those two cylinders.
There's also all sorts of YouTube videos on various methods of flushing or targeted attack which will reduce the issue without having to do any mechanical work.

But 300k mi is long in the tooth. See the second link in my sig for related details.

 

[07Chevy]

Thanks for the replies. I can handle most of the current and any future mechanical issues. I’ve kept her running this long without any major failures. My concern is am I living on borrowed time or would it be better to go ahead and get something with a couple of hundred thousand miles on it. I guess my question should be- If someone were to give you, free of charge, a 2007 Chevy Silverado Classic Crew Cab 4x4 with 300,000 miles, tapping lifter(s), and a pretty much worn out front suspension would you take it and put the money into it to make a 10 hour trip or would you try to find a lower mile vehicle to start with?

 

[AlexCold]

If the truck were in good shape otherwise, I'd run it.

If you're really worried about it and you have the funds, start with something newer with less mileage. But the issue there is you don't know how hard those fewer miles were.

 

[rayra]

Thanks for the replies. I can handle most of the current and any future mechanical issues. I've kept her running this long without any major failures. My concern is am I living on borrowed time or would it be better to go ahead and get something with a couple of hundred thousand miles on it. I guess my question should be- If someone were to give you, free of charge, a 2007 Chevy Silverado Classic Crew Cab 4x4 with 300,000 miles, tapping lifter(s), and a pretty much worn out front suspension would you take it and put the money into it to make a 10 hour trip or would you try to find a lower mile vehicle to start with?

I'd take it and start banking money for a new transmission. It'll likely go before the engin does.
I'd try a flush and then other methods for the sticking lifters - but NOT synthetic oil if the vehicle hasn't already been running on it, do that and your oil seals are just going to RAIN. And the and the front suspension, I'd get the bushings and balljoints and rebuild it. And a set of new coil springs is only $100. Just be damned careful messing with them. I was incautious once and nearly lost my left hand, when the compression tool broke and my hand was somewhere it had no business being.

 

[Mccool]

Lots of good info already. Like rayra said, parts are cheap and these are very easy vehicles to work on. But 300k is a lot, expect recurring issues.*

That said, id make a few trips in it (after fixing lifter issue) and verify that overland travel/camping is something you enjoy before dropping tons of money into a new "overland" specific vehicle.*

Heck, take the accord. It will get you to the ozarks to camp and hike. My wife and i have had plenty of awesome adventures in her VW GTI. The best vehicle to see new things is the one you have... (assuming it's reliable)

 

[1stDeuce]

Does it have decent oil pressure? I helped a guy buy a Quigly van from the business next door. It had almost no pressure at idle, and ticking lifters. If you revved it a little, it would stop ticking, and get to about 6psi. He put a new (high volume) oil pump on it in my shop, and it had 60psi at idle! No more ticking. Our guess is that the pressure relief in the original pump was stuck... It happens with the 4.8/5.3/6.0's sometimes. That van runs great with 278k miles on it.

If you've taken care of the truck, and you like it, I'd say fix whatever is wrong and keep running it. It owes you nothing, and the longer it goes, the less you spend vs. a newer vehicle.

FWIW I've got 250k on my '06, and I'm not planning to ever get rid of it. I'll probably have to rebuild the engine and trans eventually, but either one is still less than 6 months of payments on a new truck, and I LIKE THIS TRUCK.

 

[fowldarr]

The missing factor here, is how would you pay for the newer, low mile rig? Are you going to finance it? Do you have cash? If you are financing, how much are you looking to spend? Cash...how much?

If you gave me your tired old truck and $6k, I would fix it and run it all day long and it would be super awesome. If you gave it to me and I had to finance the repairs, probably not....

 

[Marine]

I'm with the fix it and keep running it. Put cash away when you can then upgrade in the future buying your next one with cash.

 

[TexomaPowerboater]

I'd move on to a new truck. I think if you want to offroad or go on long road trips you need a more reliable truck.

 

[KLAKEBRONCO]

No matter the amount of work or money involved you absolutely will be money ahead to rebuild vs replace. The rebuild cost you may not recoup if you decide to sell so THAT is the decision to make. Do you want to keep this truck for awhile longer?
A rebuilt truck is a great way to have a nice reliable rig but I'd probably start with something older yet to save money and for simplicity's sake

 

[07Chevy]

Thanks everyone. What’s causing me the biggest issue is the unknown. The Chevy is running fine besides the litter tap, but I wouldn’t take it on a long trip just because of the high Miles. So my thoughts are that I should just start replacing everything (front end wear parts , motor, trans, etc.,) even though they are currently good for peace of mind and hopefully not end up stranded. That’s why I even considered looking at something else. Maybe a $10,000- $12,000 Truck with 150,000- 175,000 miles. I know that anything can break down at any mileage and not knowing how a new to me used truck was maintenaned is worry some. I guess it’s a leap of faith either way. Again thanks everyone.

 

[07Chevy]

Quick question- while researching other potential trucks I’ve dug through lots of post on many different manufacturers areas on here. You see builds for almost every vehicle, but I didn’t find much on Nissan Titans. I see some, but not as many as Tundras, F 150, Silverados/ Sierras.., For Nissan it’s mainly Frontiers and Xterra. Any idea why?