Parting Out versus Scrap

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by richard2717

This is pretty much the exact truck i have been looking for other than the 2" body lift. Not sure why they needed that. The 8.1 is supposed to be close to the duramax diesel in numbers. I would not be afraid of it.

Engine life expectancy at 225K ?

[57taskforce]

Well I had one in a 2001 3/4 ton suburban that I traded when I bought my Camaro. It had 275ish on it. Ran great. I’m a big 8.1 fan in leu of a diesel. With a new Allison i think it should be set to go for a good while. It’ll have the 11.5” rear end which is plenty strong. As far as the engine goes the one major issue some have had is piston failure. It’s not a widespread problem but it is there. That said, I wouldn’t hesitate on that truck. It’s only about 1.5 hours from me... better hurry and get it jk I don’t need any more trucks.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

Well I had one in a 2001 3/4 ton suburban that I traded when I bought my Camaro. It had 275ish on it. Ran great. I’m a big 8.1 fan in leu of a diesel. With a new Allison i think it should be set to go for a good while. It’ll have the 11.5” rear end which is plenty strong. As far as the engine goes the one major issue some have had is piston failure. It’s not a widespread problem but it is there. That said, I wouldn’t hesitate on that truck. It’s only about 1.5 hours from me... better hurry and get it jk I don’t need any more trucks.

She's staying with friends up by Gunnison right now. Not a fun drive this time of year. Probably best to go Cochetopa and Wolf Creek.

When I was a kid we used to go through Bayfield to camp up at Lake Vallecito - well a couple years we did that, coming up from Phoenix (1967 & 1968).

[57taskforce]

I was listening to the ski report earlier during my still favorite am talk radio show. Wolf creek has had about 12” in the last week. It’s probably not too bad now. This time last week would have been a bad idea.
I’m not sure how much Cochetopa has received.
I’m sure I’ve got some pictures on my phone of Vallecito. We go a couple times a year normally. Always a good time. It’s grown quite a lot over the last 10-20 years.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

I was listening to the ski report earlier during my still favorite am talk radio show. Wolf creek has had about 12” in the last week. It’s probably not too bad now. This time last week would have been a bad idea.
I’m not sure how much Cochetopa has received.
I’m sure I’ve got some pictures on my phone of Vallecito. We go a couple times a year normally. Always a good time. It’s grown quite a lot over the last 10-20 years.

Yeah, for some reason we drove up around the north end and down the east side to I think it was Middle Mountain campground. The road went up the creek to the east from there but I don't think it went all around the lake back then.

We met a couple and their daughter about my age from Michigan. She and I ran around together for a few days Next year we were there a little later in the summer and there was that same couple from Michigan but their daughter had stayed home! Some years later they all met us for lunch after we moved to Colo Spgs, but we were both older and it was sort of awkward.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

Well I had one in a 2001 3/4 ton suburban that I traded when I bought my Camaro. It had 275ish on it. Ran great. I’m a big 8.1 fan in leu of a diesel. With a new Allison i think it should be set to go for a good while. It’ll have the 11.5” rear end which is plenty strong. As far as the engine goes the one major issue some have had is piston failure. It’s not a widespread problem but it is there. That said, I wouldn’t hesitate on that truck. It’s only about 1.5 hours from me... better hurry and get it jk I don’t need any more trucks.

Duh, I just got to thinking there might be an 8.1 for sale here locally because the guy who owned it died. I'm trying to track down his widow and see if she might want to sell it, without upsetting her...

[TwoFiftyShifter]

Even a 6.0 Cheby V8 would work, eh? Could get a deal on one I bet.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by TwoFiftyShifter

Even a 6.0 Cheby V8 would work, eh? Could get a deal on one I bet.

Yeah, that's what I have!

Haven't seen any for sale, on CL anyway.


We're only looking at "older" pickups anyway. I'm only going to help her so much considering she didn't have collision insurance.

[TwoFiftyShifter]

Those Fords are great trucks, but the 6.0 and 6.4 diesels were an absolute mess. The V10s were fine, just drank gas a lot. Guess a GM 8.1L or a heavily loaded 6.0L would too. I really like those cat eye 2500 Chevys. 03-07 I think.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by TwoFiftyShifter

Those Fords are great trucks, but the 6.0 and 6.4 diesels were an absolute mess. The V10s were fine, just drank gas a lot. Guess a GM 8.1L or a heavily loaded 6.0L would too. I really like those cat eye 2500 Chevys. 03-07 I think.

Yeah, I'm looking at some in C Springs and Pueblo. Lots more stuff over there and most haven't been worked to death like rural areas. I'm not sure if her friends will take her that far to look.

I really hate the angry eye Chevy pickups but then it's for my daughter and not me.

[57taskforce]

You’ll find better pricing that way too most of the time. The Gallup, Farmington, Durango areas are always a good bit more expensive than the bigger cities. As far as gas trucks go I’ve had 2 8.1’s, a couple 6.0’s and I still have my ‘98 with the 454. The 8.1 is the absolute best of the bunch for pulling and hauling. The vortec 454 is a dog, the later 07+ 6.0’s will out pull it a lot of the time.(The 6 speed auto is a big big part of that though) Gm screwed the pooch on the cam size and cam timing big time from the factory on the L19 vortec 454. My favorite power plant to date though was the L5p duramax I had in a company service truck when the l5p first came out in ‘17. That thing in stock form was an absolute animal.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

You’ll find better pricing that way too most of the time. The Gallup, Farmington, Durango areas are always a good bit more expensive than the bigger cities. As far as gas trucks go I’ve had 2 8.1’s, a couple 6.0’s and I still have my ‘98 with the 454. The 8.1 is the absolute best of the bunch for pulling and hauling. The vortec 454 is a dog, the later 07+ 6.0’s will out pull it a lot of the time.(The 6 speed auto is a big big part of that though) Gm screwed the pooch on the cam size and cam timing big time from the factory on the L19 vortec 454. My favorite power plant to date though was the L5p duramax I had in a company service truck when the l5p first came out in ‘17. That thing in stock form was an absolute animal.

Thanks! When did they switch from the 4L80 to the 6L90 ?

I have the 6.0 and I can't imagine her needing more power than that, especially since she is planning to sell her cabover camper which would have been a bit of a load with a horse trailer behind. But I don't think she is planning to follow a show/rodeo circuit so it's not like she has to cover hundreds of miles overnight on a regular basis.

I really would like to see her get a Chevy/GMC this time, unless she can find a 7.3 Powerstroke in decent condition. Only advantage to the F-word IMO is that she would have some spare parts from her wrecked one: tires/wheels, grill guard, and who knows what.

[57taskforce]

The 2007+ new body style will have the 6L90E in all 6.0 applications. They are plenty capable trucks for sure. The Fords have there pluses, the solid front axle is tough but rides a lot more rough than the IFS in the Chevy. My K20 rides softer than a lot of the newer Fords, it won’t carry near as much weight though. I had a 2012 F250 company truck for a few years. It was reliable, but as I mentioned rode really rough and I didn’t care much at all for the interior.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

The 2007+ new body style will have the 6L90E in all 6.0 applications. They are plenty capable trucks for sure. The Fords have there pluses, the solid front axle is tough but rides a lot more rough than the IFS in the Chevy. My K20 rides softer than a lot of the newer Fords, it won’t carry near as much weight though. I had a 2012 F250 company truck for a few years. It was reliable, but as I mentioned rode really rough and I didn’t care much at all for the interior.

I guess she's going to hold off for now and fly back home to Michigan as previously planned. Unfortunately, this isn't the only rodeo going on right now

Just curious, do you happen to know when GM stopped putting manual transmissions in new trucks?

Just thinking about a newer K2500 regular cab long box to replace my old K1500, but I will not buy another automatic. I was wanting to find a K20 with SM465/NP205 for my wood and ranch truck but I don't want a total project nor spend a ridiculous amount.

[57taskforce]

Yes sir, the manuals ended with the GMT800 trucks (99-07) the ZF6 manual behind a duramax is a truck id love to have.(that was a factory option)

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

Yes sir, the manuals ended with the GMT800 trucks (99-07) the ZF6 manual behind a duramax is a truck id love to have.(that was a factory option)

Thanks! Finding one is probably almost impossible though.

I was thinking a 6.0 and a 5 or 6 speed manual regular cab long bed would make a good ranch truck for me, if I could get one for maybe $5-$7K. Miles wouldn't too big of an issue since it would be a local driver. I had my mind made up I wanted a 73-87 K20, or maybe just a newer K2500 GMT400 manual rclb, or maybe GMT800 ? Just brainstorming because at some point you're going to pay a minimum amount for a usable pickup regardless of the year.

Everything else we have now is automatic (except the 76 2wd that isn't really running anymore) and I just want my woods/ranch pickup to still be a manual. The 1989 K1500 is "okay" except it's got that semi-worthless light duty five speed, and it's an x-cab (too long!), and it doesn't take too much load to squash it down pretty good.

[1976gmc20]

I took a load of garbage to the dump today, and found a 2002 Duramax, 183K miles for $13.5K for sale at a little used truck lot in town. K2500HD, four door, and long bed.

So now we're going to start all over again! If I got it for her she would have to fly out here and drive it home.

[57taskforce]

Nice, by 183k the injectors have likely been done. It’s a pricey job on those LB7’s but the are very good reliable engines otherwise. I put a set in my father in laws truck last fall. Makes for a long day but it’s not terrible.

[1976gmc20]

So what to look for?

Is there really a big problem with head gaskets? I've heard to look for coolant cap left loose or little holes drilled in top of coolant tank?

There's a guy in town who used to have a GMC dealership but You Know Who took it away from him around 2009. If it looks/sounds okay then I'll see if he will check it out for a hundred bucks or so. The pickup was of course all locked up and there was nobody around. Little used truck place in the old Texaco station. I remember when it was still open; bought gas and got tires fixed there.

[57taskforce]

The Fords are notorious for head gasket issues and stretched head bolts. I’m not aware of any large scale issues with head gaskets on the any of the stock duramax engines. The biggest thing I would look for is if the injectors have been done. If not that WILL eventually turn into a few thousand dollar job. The LB7 duramax was in production from 01-04 and injectors were an issue from pretty much day 1. Gm and others have updated them so once they are replaced you’re normally in the clear. Another thing I would do if you buy it is add a lift pump/filter kit, that will prolong the injection pump and injector life by quite a bit as well as make for much quicker starting.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

The Fords are notorious for head gasket issues and stretched head bolts. I’m not aware of any large scale issues with head gaskets on the any of the stock duramax engines. The biggest thing I would look for is if the injectors have been done. If not that WILL eventually turn into a few thousand dollar job. The LB7 duramax was in production from 01-04 and injectors were an issue from pretty much day 1. Gm and others have updated them so once they are replaced you’re normally in the clear. Another thing I would do if you buy it is add a lift pump/filter kit, that will prolong the injection pump and injector life by quite a bit as well as make for much quicker starting.

We're going to drive back into town and look at it again tomorrow morning. If I don't see anything too wrong I will get our mechanic to look it over.

About how much is a lift pump/filter kit? If we buy it then I'm going to turn it over to her and she is on her own. The black ice wasn't her fault but I'm only doing this once

[57taskforce]

https://www.parleysdieselperformance...xoCb7gQAvD_BwE

This is the kit I put on my father in laws 03 when I did the injectors.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

https://www.parleysdieselperformance...xoCb7gQAvD_BwE

This is the kit I put on my father in laws 03 when I did the injectors.

Ouch! That looks like a bit of a project to install also.

[57taskforce]

It’s definitely a little spendy, took about 2.5/3 hours to install.

[57taskforce]

Well shoot hold on for some reason it posted a Cummins setup. Hold that thought for a minute.