I have a 2005 GMC Sierra 1500 CCSB 2WD pickup with the 5.3L V8 that my wife and I have owned for a long time, and I frequently drive back and forth between Houston and Dallas for work. It's been a very good truck, but it has >250k miles on it, and stuff is wearing out. I could just keep it, but I don't have a lot of time to work on cars right now, and it's expensive to pay someone else to fix things as they break. Plus, I thought it would be nice to have 4WD, better gas mileage, and a longer bed.
So, about a year ago, I decided to "upgrade" to a newer truck with fewer miles on it. I ended up buying a 2014 Ram 1500 ECSB 4WD with the 3.6L Pentastar V6 and ~140k miles. It ran great on the test drive, but began running poorly after sitting for a day or two. Long story short, I pulled the right cylinder head and found coolant in the #3 cylinder. I don't see any cracks in the cylinder head or bore sleeve, so maybe it was just a head gasket failure. But, that cylinder bore probably needs to be honed, and I don't know if the bottom end suffered any damage. I have the tools to pull the engine, but unfortunately, I really don't have the time to mess with it.
So, the Ram has been sitting, and I'm still driving my Sierra, which now has 261k miles on it. I have to admit that I'm not going to have the time to pull that V6 any time soon. I need to either sell it as-is and take my loss, or drag it to a shop to fix. Last year, my local mechanic's shop estimated just over $8k to put a Jasper rebuilt engine in it.
Finally, I get around to asking my question: What do you think this truck is worth as it sits? $4,000? Other than the engine, it seems like a good truck. It looks good, the body is in good shape, and the interior is pretty good, too. There is a tiny rust bubble spot on the tailgate. I know it needs brake pads and probably rotors. It only came with one key, so another needs to be made/programmed. The driver's seat is showing some wear on the edge. The shop told me that the airbag light is on because of a bad sensor in the driver's seat. The CarFax report looks clean, other than a few minor accidents at the front of the truck, which have apparently all been repaired.
So, about a year ago, I decided to "upgrade" to a newer truck with fewer miles on it. I ended up buying a 2014 Ram 1500 ECSB 4WD with the 3.6L Pentastar V6 and ~140k miles. It ran great on the test drive, but began running poorly after sitting for a day or two. Long story short, I pulled the right cylinder head and found coolant in the #3 cylinder. I don't see any cracks in the cylinder head or bore sleeve, so maybe it was just a head gasket failure. But, that cylinder bore probably needs to be honed, and I don't know if the bottom end suffered any damage. I have the tools to pull the engine, but unfortunately, I really don't have the time to mess with it.
So, the Ram has been sitting, and I'm still driving my Sierra, which now has 261k miles on it. I have to admit that I'm not going to have the time to pull that V6 any time soon. I need to either sell it as-is and take my loss, or drag it to a shop to fix. Last year, my local mechanic's shop estimated just over $8k to put a Jasper rebuilt engine in it.
Finally, I get around to asking my question: What do you think this truck is worth as it sits? $4,000? Other than the engine, it seems like a good truck. It looks good, the body is in good shape, and the interior is pretty good, too. There is a tiny rust bubble spot on the tailgate. I know it needs brake pads and probably rotors. It only came with one key, so another needs to be made/programmed. The driver's seat is showing some wear on the edge. The shop told me that the airbag light is on because of a bad sensor in the driver's seat. The CarFax report looks clean, other than a few minor accidents at the front of the truck, which have apparently all been repaired.
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