To do... or not to do... 2001 Tahoe 199,000 ... no reverse

[Dadnatron]

We have been babying along our vehicles for the last year or so. Everything we have is over 150K. Audi A6 at 180K, Toyota Sequoia at 180K, Tahoe at 199K.

My wife's Tahoe just dropped Reverse gear. It will still go into all others, but Reverse is out. We haven't had anything more going on with it, although, I hear a very subtle knock when idling... kind of like a lifter is on its way.

I am trying to figure out whether to go for the fix of a rebuilt replacement, or just call it good, and walk away. I am surprised that we went 200K with it honestly. The only thing that has had any issues was the AC, heat mixer vacuum switch, and changing fluids/brakes.

About 2 years ago, I had a Toyota 4Runner which was my favorite vehicle. I put 186K on it, and one day, the front differential went out. Nothing before had gone bad, so I had them fix the differential, and within 400 miles, my engine blew. Bucket of bolts, dropped lifter through the cylinder type sound. I didn't even look. I towed it to the garage, they said Yep, its done, and I gave it to a friend who junked it.

So, I am leary of putting too much $$$ into this Tahoe, but I would like to get some more cheap mileage out of it if possible. I hate the idea of a car payment. I haven't had one since I bought my mom a car a few years ago. But, I also know that at any time, my Sequoia or A6 could go as well, leaving only the F350 dually diesel running, and it really isn't a commuter.

So... what say you? I'd take $1000 for another 3-6mo of driving over $1000/mo payment. (I don't run out my payments and I wouldn't even want more than a 2yr loan if I could swing it. But I have too many other bills at this moment.)

Do you think it is worth giving it a shot and fixing the transmission or would you just call it good and walk away?

I am right at 50/50. I haven't taken it in to see the cost of a rebuild and installation. So if you have some guidance on reasonable $$$ for this, I'd appreciate it.

 

[LouNY]

Salvage yard guaranteed used?

 

[Peter 315]

I would walk away , When they get old its one thing after another

 

[hawkeye08]

Replace the transmission with local rebuild. Put pump saver in transfer case (If you have 4WD) while it is out. A common cause of transmission issues is putting it in drive before the reverse motion is stopped. Even backing up slow and then putting it in drive to move forward before you have stopped completely puts a bunch of stress on the transmission.

I can get a good local rebuild here for $1300-1500 (removing and installing myself). The pump saver repairs a defect in GM transfer cases (I should say that it helps prevent a failure).

Here is a local craigslist ad, not saying he is any good, but has a good story to tell.. you might have some in your area.
4l6e 4l8e 7r4 Transmission Rebuilds Best Price 4l6 GMC CHEVROLET - auto parts - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

 

[countrybumpkin]

I’m in the same boat as you, I have a 99 Yukon , I use all the time as a run around to keep from using my F250 or Jeep, the sun shell just broke at 160,000 they want 1800 for a complete turn key rebuild on the 4l60e , no way I want to put that type of money in it, so I’m going to pull it and fix it myself, but I have a shop and lift and don’t mind working on it. Your really just going to have to decide which is best for you, the older and more miles the more repairs that will be needed. Is this a vehicle that you can do without now and then until repairs can be made or is it one that you can’t do without.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I wouldn't buy one with that kind of miles and no reverse but it's your's and you know how it has been taken care of, around here $1000.00 to $1800.00 will get you a full rebuild and at the end of the day you know what you have and it will have some re-sale value with a working transmission.

 

[4570Man]

For me it would depend on the rest of the vehicle condition and the cost of fixing. I put a transmission in one of my junk trucks. Junkyard transmission $250. Clutch rebuild on transmission $120. Shade tree mechanic $200 to swap. If the Tahoe is 2wd swapping transmissions is way easier. There's no way I'd pay upwards of a thousand on an already junk vehicle. My suburban has 206,000 miles and is still a solid vehicle that doesn't nickel and dime me to death. My Silverado had 227,000 when I sold it and was a piece of junk. My buddy has a Silverado that has 250,000 miles on it, and it's a piece of junk. My conclusion is highway only vehicles are good for more than 200,000 miles and pickups that are off roaded are about junk by then.

 

[Dadnatron]

KBB trade in value in 'good' condition is $1,760... so I think I am going to wave goodbye.

Anyone have any idea about selling to a junkyard or best place/way to get 'top dollar' at this point? I've driven everything into the ground before, and this is no exception. However, I've never had something I could actually still drive to the salvage yard.

Do you just drive up and say 'here it is, what will you give me?'

Not that I want to spend a bunch of time and effort on this, but if you guys have any thoughts on getting what I can out of it, I'd appreciate it.

 

[Peter 315]

KBB trade in value in 'good' condition is $1,760... so I think I am going to wave goodbye.

Anyone have any idea about selling to a junkyard or best place/way to get 'top dollar' at this point? I've driven everything into the ground before, and this is no exception. However, I've never had something I could actually still drive to the salvage yard.

Do you just drive up and say 'here it is, what will you give me?'

Not that I want to spend a bunch of time and effort on this, but if you guys have any thoughts on getting what I can out of it, I'd appreciate it.

Here you go Donate Car to Kars4Kids | Top Rated Car Donation Charity

 

[Rock Crawler]

My father has a 1999 F-350 7.3L that has 185,000 miles on it.

In 2016 we put a 2015 F350 8' bed and step tailgate on it, that was $3500.
In 2017 spent:
$2500 on a 4R100.
$400 rear driveshaft
$1,300 on complete strip down and then re-assemble of front axle for carrier bearings, seals, U-Joints, ball joints, unit bearings. Gears were fine.

2018 was $3200 for new (not reman) diesel injectors, glow plugs, glow plug relays, under valve cover wire harness.

$11,000 in repairs in the last 4 years. I keep telling him to throw up the white flag. The door bottoms are going bad again and the cab corners are starting to blister. So in the next year he will be spending a few more grand on body work since he will not drive a vehicle with any exposed rust.

But that same money could have made payments on a much newer, slightly used truck that has nicer features. But, the guy loves his old Steelers truck!

 

[jwstewar]

Before I just drove it to the junk yard and get $250 for it, I would throw it on Facebook/Craigslist advertise it for $12-1300. Who knows, maybe someone out there has a transmission they can stick it and be good to go.

 

[truckdiagnostics]

There is a lot that can be repaired on a transmission with out buying a rebuild. Reverse solenoid? Some things can be repair by just dropping the pan..... any diagnostic codes?

 

[WilliamBos]

It will need an overhaul, do not buy a scrap yard trand, you will get all the issues that your current trans has.
Id wave goodbye. Sell private.

Good luck.

 

[WM75Guy]

As far as the problem goes the first site has some good info. Towards the bottom describes the no reverse problems. Sounds like a tear down to diagnose absent any codes. A rebuilt tranny looks to be anywhere from $1200-$1600 from a Google search plus labor, so say at least $2000 total.

Some dealers have a minimum trade value if it will drive onto the lot. I would take the $2000 plus any trade in value or sale price on Craig's List and get something newer, not necessarily new. You can get momma a really nice 3 year old Cadillac CTS for $25K-$30K. A new report shows the CTS to be the vehicle that loses the most value (51%) after 3 years.

P.S The white one has 8522 miles for $27,180.

4L6E Transmission Problems | GM Transmission Resource

4L6e tranny - Google Search

Tyler - Preowned Cadillac CTS Sedan Vehicles for Sale

 

[4570Man]

My father has a 1999 F-350 7.3L that has 185,000 miles on it.

In 2016 we put a 2015 F350 8' bed and step tailgate on it, that was $3500.
In 2017 spent:
$2500 on a 4R100.
$400 rear driveshaft
$1,300 on complete strip down and then re-assemble of front axle for carrier bearings, seals, U-Joints, ball joints, unit bearings. Gears were fine.

2018 was $3200 for new (not reman) diesel injectors, glow plugs, glow plug relays, under valve cover wire harness.

$11,000 in repairs in the last 4 years. I keep telling him to throw up the white flag. The door bottoms are going bad again and the cab corners are starting to blister. So in the next year he will be spending a few more grand on body work since he will not drive a vehicle with any exposed rust.

But that same money could have made payments on a much newer, slightly used truck that has nicer features. But, the guy loves his old Steelers truck!

I'm glad that's his truck, and not mine. Over the 2 years I owned my 227k mile Silverado I put a water pump, door lock switch, battery, headlight, wheel bearing, radiator, and had drop the transmission to put bolts in the torque converter that broke off. Not counting labor total repairs was about $300. My surburban has been family owned since it was new. It currently has 206k miles and has had 2 wheel bearings a water pump, a ABS module, a door lock switch, brakes, an air intake gasket, and probably some other things I don't remember. I'd say $1000 repair cost is being way generous. I've had my dump truck about a year and and it has 107k miles and has had an alternator, and water pump. I'm sure there's some small parts I'm forgetting and I didn't include fluid changes tires or brakes since any vehicle needs that.

 

[EddieWalker]

My wifes son had an older Expedition that had similar miles and it was becoming an issue for them. Junk yard offered them $400 for it, they cannot afford to go to a dealer and try to trade it in, so they put an add on Craigslist asking $1,000 and they took the first $800 cash that showed up at the door. They guy brought a tow rope because he was told it might not make it home.

To me, 200,000 miles on a vehicle is like 10,000 hours on a tractor. You can keep them running, but you have to be willing to work on them all the time, and not have to rely on it to work every day. If you put the money into fixing the transmission, you still have a vehicle with 200,000 miles on it and a long list of things are real close to failing. What do you do when your wife, or child cannot get it to start, an hour away, late at night? How many times do you want to deal with this happening?

 

[4570Man]

My wifes son had an older Expedition that had similar miles and it was becoming an issue for them. Junk yard offered them $400 for it, they cannot afford to go to a dealer and try to trade it in, so they put an add on Craigslist asking $1,000 and they took the first $800 cash that showed up at the door. They guy brought a tow rope because he was told it might not make it home.

To me, 200,000 miles on a vehicle is like 10,000 hours on a tractor. You can keep them running, but you have to be willing to work on them all the time, and not have to rely on it to work every day. If you put the money into fixing the transmission, you still have a vehicle with 200,000 miles on it and a long list of things are real close to failing. What do you do when your wife, or child cannot get it to start, an hour away, late at night? How many times do you want to deal with this happening?

I’d have to disagree. A 10k hour tractor is pretty much guaranteed to be a piece of junk. My 200k vehicle is still reliable and might not have been the best idea ever but was taken on a 3k mile trip last year. It’s never failed to start with a cause other than a dead battery and had never left anyone stranded. I see pickup trucks all the time with over 300k miles and 400k is not uncommon.

 

[EddieWalker]

I’d have to disagree. A 10k hour tractor is pretty much guaranteed to be a piece of junk. My 200k vehicle is still reliable and might not have been the best idea ever but was taken on a 3k mile trip last year. It’s never failed to start with a cause other than a dead battery and had never left anyone stranded. I see pickup trucks all the time with over 300k miles and 400k is not uncommon.

And I see tractors with 20,000 hours on them that are still on the job. But just because you can site a few cases where a vehicle is still running reliably after 200,000 miles does not change the simple fact that it's well worn out by then. Most rental yards sell off their equipment at 2,000 hours because after that, it's hard to make a profit on them. Car rental companies get rid of everything before it has 20,000 miles on it for the same reason.

The question remains, are you comfortable having your wife or daughter relying on a vehicle with 200,000 miles on it, out late, by themselves, an hour away from home? What if the vehicle has already broke down on them once? Now you know it will happen again, the question is when will it happen again, and how much will it cost you the next time?

 

[Tractorable]

I would say that cars and trucks keep getting better and better. Used to be that a car with 100K was junk. Now you have engines with 250K that don't even burn a drop of oil. Seems the rest of the car falls apart around the engine nowadays. Or, when the transmission fails it doesn't make economic sense to fix it, like in the OP's case.

I have a Honda Ridgeline with 215K on it. Runs like new. I'd drive it cross country tomorrow without concern. However, for our daily 100mi round trip commute we drive a new Toyota Avalon. And when we drive separate cars, I always have my wife drive the new car. If the Ridgeline ever breaks down I want to be the one driving it.

 

[4570Man]

And I see tractors with 20,000 hours on them that are still on the job. But just because you can site a few cases where a vehicle is still running reliably after 200,000 miles does not change the simple fact that it's well worn out by then. Most rental yards sell off their equipment at 2,000 hours because after that, it's hard to make a profit on them. Car rental companies get rid of everything before it has 20,000 miles on it for the same reason.

The question remains, are you comfortable having your wife or daughter relying on a vehicle with 200,000 miles on it, out late, by themselves, an hour away from home? What if the vehicle has already broke down on them once? Now you know it will happen again, the question is when will it happen again, and how much will it cost you the next time?

I don't have a wife or daughter, and new vehicles aren't immune to breaking down. And it's not a few cases. I see literally hundreds of vehicles for sale with over 200k miles and and plenty with 300-400k. If those vehicles became pieces of junk at 200k miles they would have probably been junked. My Silverado was piece of junk at 200k miles but it had a rough life and rust was starting to win the battle. I stick to my original claim that a proven reliable and well cared for 200k mile vehicle is a non issue.