# 1998 chevy silverado



## fishhook (Aug 29, 2002)

Last month i bought this pickup and sold my reliable 1991 nissan pickup. Never put a nickle in that nissan except for tires and oil changes since it was new.

Well i have the chevy for about a week took it for one drive and i noticed a puddle under it. I've been awful busy so it took me a couple weeks to take it in. anyway, I've owned the thing for 3 weeks, put a total of 140 miles on it and found out yesterday the water pump is out and it also needs an intake gasket. I'm a little dissapointed to say the least. I don't know if the individual i purchased from knew this or not, but i'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was a stand-up guy, didn't know about it and i just had some bad luck.

Question is, after this stuff is fixed is the vehicle going to be susceptable to these problems again. Pickup has 96,000 miles on it and i don't plan on driving it much, so i just want something reliable i can get in and drive when i need it. heck i was only averaging 4,000- 4,500 miles a year now-days on my nissan. It only had 132,000 miles total.

If this year of chevy is known to be problematic I might just cut my losses and drive it till next fall and sell it. There seem to be alot of these pickups around so I thought they would be reliable, but this isn't a good start. I miss my nissan!!!


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## Springer (Dec 21, 2004)

Those two items are very typical for Chevy's from 70 - 150,000 I would say that 90% of them go through these two items.

You will probably be looking at a fuel pump coming up also those typically last about the same. Look around now I bought a pump last year for $320 from a small town dealer and paid $100 for a local shop to put it in.


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

Don't be too afraid.

We have 98 Chevy as a second pickup and it just turned 90k. and I just replaced the intake manifold gasket..
I have owned 2 other Chevy's of the same vintage and each one of them have had the gasket replaced..
They are great trucks..There are a ton out there with 200k plus on them. One of mine, I put nearly 300k on it. With very few problems..(new motor and tranny at 175k)

Other common problems I had with each one at one time or another (usually over 100k):
The heater fan control (dial) will go out.
Fuel pump, like springer said, (although, both of mine made it to at least 150k.)
Door handle or two broken.

These are my favorite vintage of Chevy's. I had an 04 that was a pile!! I bought a Ford swearing I wouldn't own another 1/2 ton chevy in that 99-06 era..
I hated the 5.3 motor and every little thing that could go wrong did...
I hope the new ones are better,as I'm still a chevy guy.


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## Triple B (Mar 9, 2004)

I have a 95 GMC, and am having comparable problems with mine. I have a question for anyone who may know. the vehicle has burned oil since i bought it. it started missing awhile back and i had new plugs, wires, and D-cap put on it. it was fine for awhile but now is acting up again. I checked all the plugs and found that the first cylinder was completely fouled over. I replaced it and within a week it did it again. I had an auto shop check the compression and they said that there is little compression in that cylinder. It still runs ok, but i noticed a lack of power and decreased gas mileage. also when i step on the accelerator it shakes the whole vehicle. anyone out there know what the problem could be. I have limited experience with vehicles, but I'm thinking it may be a valve or a cracked head? any ideas????


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## Triple B (Mar 9, 2004)

also, this may be a dumb Q, but what is a minofold intake gasket and what are the symptoms that it may be shot???


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

Yep. Sounds like a valve or head problem.



> also, this may be a dumb Q, but what is a minofold intake gasket and what are the symptoms that it may be shot???


Basically like it says.. its the intake mainfold gasket... 

You'll be leaking antifreeze from the rear of the engine..toward the firewall.
You'll also be able to smell antifreeze when you shut it down after a long drive or while its warm and at idle.


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

96-98 chevys are notorious for transmissions going out at around the 100k mark. still wouldn't go with anything else though


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## Ryebo28 (May 10, 2011)

sometimes, old truck just a junk. No matter what pickup accessories you put there, some parts are already malfunctioning. Its advisable to buy a new one rather than a used but not usable pickups.Just based on my experience.


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## Andy Weber (Nov 18, 2009)

Ryebo28 said:


> sometimes, old truck just a junk. No matter what pickup accessories you put there, some parts are already malfunctioning. Its advisable to buy a new one rather than a used but not usable pickups.Just based on my experience.


? Not everyone can afford a new one, so for some people buying "used but not usable" is the only option. We have a 93 that we just use to pull and push snow, and I think we replaced the starter a few years back. And last week I spend 5 hours replacing suspension components. Still goes like a champ.


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