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How to know if your odometer rolled over

Fabrimacator21

Fabrimacator21

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Is there a way to check? Since chevy didn't put enough didgets on there are we left to guessin?

I bought my rig with a blown tranny and the guy claimed 88k miles. Seems more like 188k.
 
Ya I would say the best way to do it is to go by the condition of the over all truck. mine said 86k and was a forest truck and I thought maybe it was possible until I pulled the head off the engine to find its been bored 60 over so so I kind of rethought that more like 186k
 
I know on some, the first number will be higher than normal. Like it's about to roll to the next digit...but the one after it is a low number. i.e. The 8 would be higher than the rest of the numbers. Not all gauges are like this though.

Look at the wear items that hardly get replaced. What do the pedals look like? Seat condition? Door panels and arm rests? Does the column feel tight, shifter linkage? These are all things that wear out with high miles but rarely get replaced.
 
Thats where theres a grey area... The previous owner had dogs so the interior is trashed. The column is tight. It's the blown tranny that makes me suspicious. I know some 700's go at 80k though. It basically sat for years when the tranny went but who knows how much he drove it when it ran. I also snapped the crank because I didn't set the tv cable on the new tranny and continued to drive with it shifting HARD. My dad told me it was normal for a corvette 700 to shift that hard. It would actually chirp my 35's with no throttle. I'm still gonna say 188k though. Theres some rust in the pan... could be from all the dog piss though. Who knows.

So theres no surefire way to tell?
 
Only way is IF the odometer numbers don't line up, usually the farthest ones to the left as you look at it. They typically don't after they roll over.
 
dyeager535 said:
Only way is IF the odometer numbers don't line up, usually the farthest ones to the left as you look at it. They typically don't after they roll over.
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That's always a tricky game though. Its definitely not an exact science.
 
Yes, I don't mean that to say that it's always easy to see if it's been flipped. *If* the numbers are off, then it's definitely been tampered with, flipped, or is broken. Doesn't really narrow it down, does it? :)
 
What year is it? 88K miles is not a lot, the rubber on the brake pedal should still be fairly unworn at that mileage, same with floor covering around the pedals. Not much "heel wear"...

Doors should still open and close decently with not much sag in them yet. 188K should have worn door pin bushings. Check the rad for any signs of greening/corrosion. That's more of a mileage item rather than just time.

Rene
 
Also, hasn't been mentioned yet but have you run a carfax on it? Many places that report to carfax take down mileage. Emissions test stations, dealership service etc etc. Should give you a timeline for the odo reading.

Rene
 
tRustyK5 said:
Also, hasn't been mentioned yet but have you run a carfax on it? Many places that report to carfax take down mileage. Emissions test stations, dealership service etc etc. Should give you a timeline for the odo reading.

Rene
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Hmmm... good point. I don't want to pay 30 bucks for the membership though.

It's an '88 k5.

Judging from the general condition of it I'm gonna say 188k. Pedal wear and "heel" wear looks more like 188k.
 
There ya go. plus, for an '88 to only have 88k that's only 4200 miles per year. You gotta be hard pressed to think that is even close to reasonable, unless the vehicle looks really low mile and can be documented.

You might want to post up asking if anyone has a current Carfax thing going, if so they might run the VIN on that K5 for you if you ask nice. Most Carfax deals are good for "X" amount of time and a good number of VIN searches.

Rene
 
i was told a long time ago by a gm tech that the far left # dial has a tang on its backside, and when it rolls over it breaks this little tit of plastic off. he said it was put there for that purpose & the dash has to come out to tell for sure, he said the hi dollar vettes, camaros, novas, chevelles,...etc, get checked and verified this way all the time
 
You sometimes have to be worried as well if someone has swapped out the cluster or not. Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but you never know...
 
Fabrimacator21 said:
I also snapped the crank because I didn't set the tv cable on the new tranny and continued to drive with it shifting HARD.
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Snapped a crank DAMN! I had a shift kit installed in mine so it would shift quickly (I tow a boat) I sure hope I dont snap a crank :doah:
 
Going by the condition of the vehicle is not a trust worthy measure. I bought a 98' with 40,000 miles and the pedals are worn to metal, rust everywhere blown motor trashed interior ect I've seen trucks with 220k that could have passed for having 40k over this one.... A driver with boots on and a heavy foot will wear pedals faster then an old man driver... As far as figuring out if it's been rolled over I have seen the 1st digit move a lil after rolling over, carfax is good if available.. If it's over 100k the condition of the truck is more important to me then the actual miles anyways...
 
Snapped a crank DAMN! I had a shift kit installed in mine so it would shift quickly (I tow a boat) I sure hope I dont snap a crank :doah:
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As long as your tv cable is set right you shouldn't have a problem. Mine shifted that hard because I didn't adjust it right... it even broke the shift servo in the tranny.

i was told a long time ago by a gm tech that the far left # dial has a tang on its backside, and when it rolls over it breaks this little tit of plastic off. he said it was put there for that purpose & the dash has to come out to tell for sure, he said the hi dollar vettes, camaros, novas, chevelles,...etc, get checked and verified this way all the time
Click to expand...

Thats good info... so will all k5's have the "tang"?
 
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