Truck is in the shop. Shop owner called and said the frame is rotten

[zxcvbob]

I towed my truck to the shop to get the brake lines fixed, and the emergency brake center cable replaced.  Figured it would cost me about $500 or $600.  Mechanic called and told me the bad news.  Said it could cost as much as $2000 to fix, they wouldn't really know until they got into it.  It's a common problem with 2001 GM 1/2 tons, and most people just scrap the trucks.

The body has a little rust but not bad.  The motor and transmission are in great shape.  The air conditioner works.  It has brand new tires (about 200 miles on them)  And the *one* part of the truck that you can't fix is shot.  Probably because they switched from C channel to boxed rails, and mud and salt gets inside the frame members.

So now I gotta buy a new truck, and I really don't like the new ones.  :(  I don't even like shopping for vehicles.  (bitch, bitch, bitch)

[Hawkmoon]

Fix the old truck.

My brother's Nissan Hard Body literally broke in half right behind the cab. A friend recommended a welding shop that specializes in repairing rusted frames. I don't think he ever told me what it cost to have it repaired, but he's a cheapskate so it couldn't have been all that much or he wouldn't have done it.

Jeep Wranglers are notorious for frame rot. A friend of mine repaired the frame on his just a few months ago. There are pre-cut, weld-in parts available for the Wranglers. Don't know about for the GMC/Chevy pick-em-ups, but it's not difficult to lay out the template and cut the pieces.

[charby]

Buddy has a similar truck with similar problem. He got it repaired for around a grand but he took the bed off himself, ordered the parts and paid a welding shop to cut and weld.

[Brad Johnson]

GMCs of that era are notorious rusters even down here in the dry southwest. Up there in salt country? Count yourself lucky it's lasted this long. If there's enough left of the frame to fix, buy a lottery ticket.

Brad

[lee n. field]

It has brand new tires (about 200 miles on them)

That's usually when we get bad news about a vehicle, after putting on a new set of tires.   Happened more than once.

[grampster]

Spending 2 or 3 grand to fix it is better than $45,000 to replace it.

[dogmush]

Spending 2 or 3 grand to fix it is better than $45,000 to replace it.

Maybe, maybe not.  With the higher price tag, you'd at least have a new truck.

Bob, spend a little time and look at truck values in your area, as well as taking a long hard look at your truck's mileage and condition.  It might be worth fixing, or you might spend $3000 to have a really nice $1500 truck.  Used truck prices are pretty high around my neck of the woods, but you can still get a later 2000's decent truck in the $5k-$6k range local to me.

There's nothing great or special about a 18 year old Silvarado to justify spending very much of it's total value to repair it.

[charby]

Maybe, maybe not.  With the higher price tag, you'd at least have a new truck.

Bob, spend a little time and look at truck values in your area, as well as taking a long hard look at your truck's mileage and condition.  It might be worth fixing, or you might spend $3000 to have a really nice $1500 truck.  Used truck prices are pretty high around my neck of the woods, but you can still get a later 2000's decent truck in the $5k-$6k range local to me.

There's nothing great or special about a 18 year old Silvarado to justify spending very much of it's total value to repair it.

Bob and I live about an hour apart, due to the depressed Ag economy there is no such thing as an affordable used truck. Farmers aren't trading trucks off and hanging on to their trucks longer. It's really silly what a pickup with 190k miles on the clock will bring.

[zxcvbob]

Bob and I live about an hour apart, due to the depressed Ag economy there is no such thing as an affordable used truck. Farmers aren't trading trucks off and hanging on to their trucks longer. It's really silly what a pickup with 190k miles on the clock will bring.

The prices are ridiculous -- in Minnesota.  Also there don't seem to be any standard cabs available.  (although I did find a nice GMC 7500 dump truck with 38000 miles on it for sale for $8000. That had a standard cab, and I think the $8000 includes a snow plow and some other implements)

I have family in Texas and am going to put some feelers out down there for a used truck.  I could fly down for a visit and drive it back.  Maybe a 2009 or so Silverado 2500 "work truck" with 4WD.  I assume GM still uses heavy steel beams under 3/4 tons.  The problem is 4WD is not common in Texas.

[HeroHog]

Replacing the frame isn't THAT huge an operation. I've done MANY on cars and trucks. Takes a bunch of jack stands and an engine hoist. You don't pull the engine, just support it and the body, unbolt and lower the chassis, roll it out from under the body and park it next to the replacement frame, then you swap everything from the old frame to the new one and reverse the chassis removal to get it all back together.

[charby]

Replacing the frame isn't THAT huge an operation. I've done MANY on cars and trucks. Takes a bunch of jack stands and an engine hoist. You don't pull the engine, just support it and the body, unbolt and lower the chassis, roll it out from under the body and park it next to the replacement frame, then you swap everything from the old frame to the new one and reverse the chassis removal to get it all back together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_9CvFFICn4

[RoadKingLarry]

The problem is 4WD is not common in Texas.

 

Since when?

[Hawkmoon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_9CvFFICn4

People who can't make videos should not try to make videos.

I wouldn't trust that clown to repair my lawn mower ...

[bedlamite]

Time to build a brodozer/mud truck subframe.

[zxcvbob]

Doing some research, I think maybe I should be looking at slightly older trucks instead of newer ones.  Mid-to-late 90's.  I'd go with early 90's but those use R12 refrigerant.  Like a Chevy C/K 2500.    They look good, and I can find standard cab 8' bed trucks (that's what I want) with less than 100000 miles for $6000 or so.  There's one in at a dealer in Wisconsin about 2.5 hours away that looks good, but I can see a little rust in the pics.  Oddly, the ones I've found in Texas either cost a lot more or have very high mileage.

[brimic]

  It's a common problem with 2001 GM 1/2 tons, and most people just scrap the trucks.

GM would actually be making some great vehicles if they didn’t have design features flaws that caused them to *expletive deleted*it the bed catastrophically after 7-10 years. That’s been my experience with the last few GM vehicles I’ve owned- a major problem would come up, the dealerships would have a technical service bulletin for the problem (never a recall) and the repair would be muy expensive /rant

[Jamisjockey]

Doing some research, I think maybe I should be looking at slightly older trucks instead of newer ones.  Mid-to-late 90's.  I'd go with early 90's but those use R12 refrigerant.  Like a Chevy C/K 2500.    They look good, and I can find standard cab 8' bed trucks (that's what I want) with less than 100000 miles for $6000 or so.  There's one in at a dealer in Wisconsin about 2.5 hours away that looks good, but I can see a little rust in the pics.  Oddly, the ones I've found in Texas either cost a lot more or have very high mileage.

Because people in Texas drive a lot of mileage.  Check the Southeast US too.  Less rust and mileage.
You might have to hop a flight somewhere to purchase and road trip it home but it might be worth it to save a couple grand.

[Jamisjockey]

Oh, and why not a Ford?
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=517740684&zip=28532&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D28532%26listingTypes%3DUSED%26maxMileage%3D150000%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26maxPrice%3D8000%26incremental%3Dall%26firstRecord%3D0%26marketExtension%3Don%26modelCodeList%3DF150PICKUP%26makeCodeList%3DFORD%26searchRadius%3D200&listingTypes=USED&numRecords=25&maxPrice=8000&firstRecord=0&modelCodeList=F150PICKUP&makeCodeList=FORD&searchRadius=200&makeCode1=FORD&modelCode1=F150PICKUP&clickType=listing

Found more affordable ones that fit the bill over GM out this way.

[Hawkmoon]

I'd go with early 90's but those use R12 refrigerant.

That's a feature, not a bug.

http://www.redtek.com/win_12a_refintro.html

There's one in at a dealer in Wisconsin about 2.5 hours away that looks good, but I can see a little rust in the pics.

Run away.

My idiot brother, after having had the frame repaired on his Nissan, decided that he wanted a newer truck. But he still wanted a Nissan. So he spent a lot of time on Autotrader, and finally settled on a truck just a few years newer than his. I think he went to look at it in person before closing the deal. He went from a good-running V6 to a 4-banger with more miles on it than his old truck. He lives in Salt Central (Connecticut, the home of liquid applied auto eater). Did he buy a truck from down south, or out west? Oh, hell no. He bought a truck from Maine, because the western and southern trucks were "too expensive."

So he brought the "new" truck home, started to move the snow plow rig over to the "new" truck, and found that the frame was nearly as bad as his old one had been before the repair -- and every fastener he touched broke because of rust and corrosion.

Do they use salt on the roads in Wisconsin?

[zxcvbob]

Run away.

My idiot brother, after having had the frame repaired on his Nissan, decided that he wanted a newer truck. But he still wanted a Nissan. So he spent a lot of time on Autotrader, and finally settled on a truck just a few years newer than his. I think he went to look at it in person before closing the deal. He went from a good-running V6 to a 4-banger with more miles on it than his old truck. He lives in Salt Central (Connecticut, the home of liquid applied auto eater). Did he buy a truck from down south, or out west? Oh, hell no. He bought a truck from Maine, because the western and southern trucks were "too expensive."

So he brought the "new" truck home, started to move the snow plow rig over to the "new" truck, and found that the frame was nearly as bad as his old one had been before the repair -- and every fastener he touched broke because of rust and corrosion.

Do they use salt on the roads in Wisconsin?

I agree.  But if it was closer I'd at least take a look at it.  It's a 3/4 ton so a little body rust is not indicative of structural rust, OTOH it's not a good sign either.

I found one in Pasadena TX searching on Carfax.com that's interesting.  But the price looks too good.  Maybe just because of that dent in the bumper, I dunno.    https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/1GCGC24R2XF035964  I think they just dropped the price another $200 from last night, but not sure.

[bedlamite]

Do they use salt on the roads in Wisconsin?

Yes. lots of it.

[Brad Johnson]

Don't be afraid of a high-mileage southwestern states truck. Long distances are just a fact of life here, most of it on highways. The lack of road salt and dry climate means a well-maintained high mileage truck in these parts is "just getting broken in".

Not sure who's telling you that 4wd trucks are less popular here. They're everywhere, especially in more rural areas.

Brad

[charby]

Not sure who's telling you that 4wd trucks are less popular here. They're everywhere, especially in more rural areas.

Brad

Not like in the upper Midwest, it is near impossible to find a mid or full size 2wd truck that less than 25 years old. About the only people up here who buy 2wd trucks are service type vehicles.

[Brad Johnson]

Not like in the upper Midwest, it is near impossible to find a mid or full size 2wd truck that less than 25 years old. About the only people up here who buy 2wd trucks are service type vehicles.

My bad... I should have added the qualifier "in Texas".

Brad

[charby]

My bad... I should have added the qualifier "in Texas".

Brad

95% of 1/2 and 3/4 ton pickups are 4WD here, is what I was trying to say.