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More 05-06 silverado questions

79rustyk10

79rustyk10

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I'm gonna start looking at an 05-06 silverado, maybe an 07 if it's the earlier body style. I'll be looking for a typical extended cab short box half ton. I have no need for anything more than that in the foreseeable future. Just curious when I'm shopping if there's anything specific to these that I should watch out for.
 
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There's not really a whole lot to look out for. They are solid trucks. With that said, there's some minor stuff. Which really depends on the mileage and how it was used and maintained.

A few minor things to check though:
-Make sure the power windows work (regulators go bad but aren't hard to replace)
-Check the fan blower for lower speed operation
-Driver seat likes to rip at the edge
-If drivers door creaks as you open it, then worn hinges.
-If electric t-case, make sure it shifts into every gear
-Check front end out thoroughly, lots of weak steering parts that like to go bad often ie: ball joints, tie rods, idler arms, cv joints, unit bearings, you get the idea
 
Yeah I really figured on front end stuff. If I'm gonna drop 14+ thou on one I'm gonna do everything I can to get it up on the lift to check it out underneath. I knew there wasn't a whole lot, I've never heard of a lot of issues, but I don't have a whole lot of experience with them either.
 
I'd be looking very closely at the frame and crossmembers if rust is prevelant in your area...the tubular crossmembers that the rear shocks mount to on many 2000 and newer GM trucks rot off rather quickly around here...frames also get thin in spots too..
 
Good point on the frames. I'll keep an Eye on that, but it seems like the rockers turn to dust before frame issues around here. Maybe we have different types of chemicals here. They spray here vs using actual salt anymore.
 
You'd never know it here!--look under 8 out of 10 GM trucks that were built after 1990's and especially the 2000 + ones,you'll see flaking layers peeling off like delaminating plywood,or holes where shock mounts tore out,the round tubes they use for crossmembers are either very thin to start with,(and are,compared to older trucks!)--or were made from recycled pre-rotted steel...the tabs the shocks mount too whittle away rapidly,if they dont come right off the tubes,before the rest of the frame develops issues often..

I need to get a digital camera so I can show you guys what used trucks look like underneath,that are not even 10 years old yet..some seem to survive quite well,while others look like they sat in battery acid ...

I dont know what the corrosive de-icing chemical choice of the year was recently,they have gone from rock salt to calcium cloride,to some new "green" types of de-icers that are supposedly less corrosive to vehicles and bridges,but trucks still seem to rot away fast around here--I'm sure lack of washes and a "dry" winter with little rain to wash the stuff off has some effect on it also...its weird how some trucks have perfect sheet metal,but the frames crumble away,while others with perfect frames have extensive floor and cab mount & rocker rust issues..
 
ktmoutfront said:
Those frames had so much grease sealer, I don't know how anything could get to them.
Click to expand...
Rock chips or scrapes will gouge the grease and then moisture gets in and it starts to peel revealing unprotected metal underneath. Its mostly prevelent on edges and corners. That said, I've never seen more than surface rust under any spot that might have peeled. Definitely not cross members rotting through or shocks ripping off :dunno:
 
I'm not saying they all rot badly,but I've seen a good dozen trucks in the past year that would have had to be scrapped,that a friend of mine bought cheap from salvage yards and had them fixed by a good fabricator/welder..
His personal truck is a 2000 Chevy Silverado 4x4 that had low miles,ran nice,and hardly any rot on the cab ,and just over the rear wheel arches were getting ready to become holy when he got it..a quick look underneath it didn't look too bad,so he bought it..

After the electric fuel pump died in it weeks after he registered it,he pulled the bed off rather than drop the tank--he discovered not only the tubular crossmembers in the rear were so flaky he made holes in them when he poked at them,and the frame where two sections slide into one another and are welded near the cab,it was so punky he decided to get another rear half of a frame off a donor that was rust free,and had it grafted on right behind the cab--the front half is like new still!...truck came out nice and drives perfectly,doesn't wear tires out or pull,etc..

Since he bought that one he has bought several more around the same vintage between 2000-2008 and most of them had some "bad" rust at the areas I mentioned that had to be repaired properly to pass inspection...
All I can say is look closely at the frame,they all look good until you really get into the areas you cant see well..
 
Gears! Not all of them were 3.73's I bought a 05 z71 ccswb new it was the last 05 on the lot 3.42's. It struggled pulling my boat , drove it a little while traded it in on a 07 Dmax .
 
Looks like a well maintained truck. I like it except for the wheels... If you plan on towing, buying a truck that's already set up for it might put you ahead of the game. I'd just watch the transmission to make sure it didn't get hot while towing in the past.

The 3.73 gears are nice to have for stock size tires, I threw on 285s on my Tahoe and wish I had more gear.
 
The wheels don't really bother me so much. I'd probably trade towards some newer take offs or something next summer. The 3.42s are my biggest issue with it really, not thst it would matter so much as I'd rarely tow anything. The thing is really clean too. Both friends that came with were really impressed.

I've got a friend who already says he wants the airbags. I'd probably pull the 5th wheel stuff too as I have no use for that. I'm looking forward to seeing it on the lift.
 
Check out that front bumper area, ask why it's sagging, ours here is sagging on the passenger side, but found out it was definitely hit by something, nothing to major to cause damage to the bumper, but it bent the bumper down like the one you have pictured in that link. Looks like the whole bumper on that truck is actually sagging a bit too.

19mpg? really, do they get that much better mileage over the Avalanches of the same year and it's a 4wd too ?? wow..

I better get this thing checked out then :tongue1: because all we can seem to manage is about 16 and we drive VERY light due to gas prices. It doesn't do too bad on the highway, but the overall average is a bit lower than I'd like.
 
I noticed the bumper right away too. That's on the list to check on the hoist.

Yeah I'm not sure about the mileage. Maybe that's the EPA rating, everyone that I know with one doesn't get much better than 16-18 from what I've heard. However an old boss claimed to get 22 with a 5.3 powered Tahoe. Honestly I'd probably be satisfied if I could average 16 or 17.
 
Well I bought it. Couldn't be happier, this is the first really decent vehicle I've had. After having it up on the hoist, I took it out on a couple hour test drive, the more I drove it the more I felt I needed the thing. I brought it to some friends and my uncle to look it over, get other opinions, and everyone had nothing but good to say. Apparently I wasn't the only one who couldn't find fault with it.

The bumper was fixed today too. There was a slight bend in one of the brackets, but no farme issues from collisions or corrosion.

I can really see now how everyone goes with LS engines. With a tune it would be incredible.
 
Congrats. These are great trucks.
I would recommend going through the drive line fluids.

One of the 1st things I would do is a muffler. I did a real mild one on the wife's suburban. Made a huge difference.
 
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