How long does your truck last ?

[MossRoad]

That 4.3 was a great engine. We had one in our 93 Chevy G20 short wheelbase van conversion. It ran out of oil three times and seized. I put more oil in it and off it went. Three times! Well over 150,000 when we got rid of it due to rust. It was still running strong. I pulled the transmission out of it, and the computer, and the throttle body, and alternator, and a bunch of other stuff that was the same as our 93 Suburban for spare parts.

 

[spitter]

01 7.3 excursion 285,000 99 F350 ex cab longbed V10 375,000 78 bronco 425,000 460 and the baby 01 f350 dually crew cab 4x4 230,000.:cool2::drink:

 

[DieselBound]

Pretty much all comes down to maintenance. I'm a "collector" of ALH TDI era VWs. The subject of longevity came up and someone responded that they didn't know how long one of these engines could go because he only had 700k miles on it! Of course, this was being maintained by someone who knows these engines well.

About four years ago I bought a truck for, mostly, on-farm use. 1993 F250 7.3L IDI (non-turbo; pre-"Power Stroke"). 248k miles on it. 4x4, 5spd manual (recent clutch job). $2,500. Fixed some fuel return line and GP stuff and got it starting like it should (can sit for months and it'll fire right up!). It's a pig and can barely get out of its way, but I can still load it down and tow most anything that I need, albeit slowly. It's already paid for itself. I don't expect that at my rate of use [3k miles in four years] it'll ever wear out. Took me MANY months of searching to come up with this truck.

 

[Diamondpilot]

That 4.3 was a great engine. We had one in our 93 Chevy G20 short wheelbase van conversion. It ran out of oil three times and seized. I put more oil in it and off it went. Three times! Well over 150,000 when we got rid of it due to rust. It was still running strong. I pulled the transmission out of it, and the computer, and the throttle body, and alternator, and a bunch of other stuff that was the same as our 93 Suburban for spare parts.

My 4.3 blew up at 28,000 miles. To me it never felt right from day 1 vs the 3.0 Ford Ranger it replaced.

Chris

 

[oldpilgrim]

I know several people with Tundras with well over 300,000 miles on them. Done virtually nothing to them and they still look and run excellently.

That's why I bought my 2014.

Then there's this guy.

Meet the One Million Mile Toyota Tundra Still with Its Original V8! - YouTube

 

[motownbrowne]

01 7.3 excursion 285,000 99 F350 ex cab longbed V10 375,000 78 bronco 425,000 460 and the baby 01 f350 dually crew cab 4x4 230,000.:cool2::drink:

At an estimated 14mpg for the v10, that truck has burned almost 27,000 gallons of gasoline to achieve that odometer reading. That's incredible!!

I'm hoping my next truck will be a v10 Ford.

 

[farmboy12]

At an estimated 14mpg for the v10, that truck has burned almost 27,000 gallons of gasoline to achieve that odometer reading. That's incredible!! I'm hoping my next truck will be a v10 Ford.

14mpg? I got excited when my V10 F350 broke 10!


Kyle

 

[ultrarunner]

My 1985 3/4 Chevrolet Van has been most reliable... needed it for a job in Lake Tahoe... little sluggish at altitude and grade with a 305 V8 and weighing 9k pounds...

31 years sitting outside year round and just noticed a rust spot around the windshield...

The truck I use for towing is my 1991 Silverado 1500 with 350 V8... plenty of power for my 7k loads.

 

[Clint S]

Very jealous of you guys getting 2to 300000 k. Trucks around here last 7 to 10 years before they go rotten and fall apart. The salt eats them.

 

[RickB]

Very jealous of you guys getting 2to 300000 k. Trucks around here last 7 to 10 years before they go rotten and fall apart. The salt eats them.

Would be 50 years of driving for my truck.

 

[JMER817]

That 4.3 was a great engine. We had one in our 93 Chevy G20 short wheelbase van conversion. It ran out of oil three times and seized. I put more oil in it and off it went. Three times! Well over 150,000 when we got rid of it due to rust. It was still running strong. I pulled the transmission out of it, and the computer, and the throttle body, and alternator, and a bunch of other stuff that was the same as our 93 Suburban for spare parts.

How did it run out of oil 3x?

 

[Tomtint]

14mpg? I got excited when my V10 F350 broke 10!


Kyle

My 2016 V10 is 7.5-7.6 mpg... I don't think it would see 10 mpg even if it was being towed on the back of a ramp truck.

 

[MossRoad]

How did it run out of oil 3x?

No idea. Never a puddle under it. I'm guessing bad valve guides, bad PCV, loose rings... who knows? I'd check it about every two weeks and it would be fine, then all of a sudden, no oil pressure and it would take 3 quarts. That happened several times as well. The times it seized, I'd not noticed anything wrong... until the thing would just start going slower the more gas I gave it! :laughing:

 

[ns_in_tex]

We have a 96 chev 1500 w/350 engine, we bought new. Just turned 50,000. I think we will wear out before it does.

 

[HHR]

We have a 96 chev 1500 w/350 engine, we bought new. Just turned 50,000. I think we will wear out before it does.

I have a relative with a 97 GMC 1500 with under 60K on it and that includes a trip to Alaska. Also has the 5.7L 350 engine. Just had to have the intake manifold gaskets replaced. Original Goodyear Wrangler RT tires still had great tread and no signs of aging when he replaced them 2 years ago at 48K.

 

[roadhunter]

I have a relative with a 97 GMC 1500 with under 60K on it and that includes a trip to Alaska. Also has the 5.7L 350 engine. Just had to have the intake manifold gaskets replaced. Original Goodyear Wrangler RT tires still had great tread and no signs of aging when he replaced them 2 years ago at 48K.

Those darn intake manifold gaskets drive me crazy. Nearly every chevy I've owned from that era had the issue at least once. I'm always on the lookout for the smell and have even sent the oil off for testing to confirm the issue after the last one was replaced and I thought it was still leaking.

 

[4570Man]

My 2016 V10 is 7.5-7.6 mpg... I don't think it would see 10 mpg even if it was being towed on the back of a ramp truck.

It gets that bad empty or towing?

 

[AGRIMAN]

My 02 250 (bought new) is just over 300k and has always been well maintained. It tows almost daily and other brakes and tires it's been pretty much bulletproof.

Finally had to replace the factory fan belt last year.

 

[1stDeuce]

I'm sure it's been said by now, but where you live makes a HUGE difference in how long your truck lasts... In MI, where I'm from, a truck will rust to the point of being more trouble than it's worth in 10-15 years.

I bought my current truck ('06 GMC Duramax) from ND when it was 3 years old with 120k miles, with no rust. I shortly moved to CO, and then NM. If I still lived in MI, I'm sure it would be a rusty pile of junk with no rockers or wheel wells, but I'm at 240k miles now, and planning to keep it basically forever.

Electrical stuff doesn't last in MI either... connectors leak and lead to corroded wires and modules going out, etc. And brake and fuel lines rot right off the truck. In the dry SW, nothing rusts, and nothing rots. The paint gets baked off, but it still doesn't rust much, if at all.

Suspension parts can be replaced, engines rebuilt, seats recovered. Truck frames seem to be built pretty solidly these days, so frame cracks are not as common on high mileage trucks as they were in the past either, in my experience.

The irony of it is that my truck is 10 years old, and I've had it for 6 years, and the value really hasn't dropped much, thanks to inflation and new trucks costing so much... And I have not desire to replace it with something newer... Planning to be buried in this truck. Unless we move back to MI...

C

 

[jack707]

My 2500hd has over 196xxx miles on it!. With the price of a new or a few yrs.old truck I will just replace the engine when it goes.