How good is your insurance? If good, watch the weather channel and drive to the nearest disaster and make it fit. Hopefully you get a blizzard or something.

 

Actually I have Allstate on that one. When a semi threw a car at my mazda pickup, it took me 2 months to collect 1/3 of its value. I need better insurance. Or hope that the dealership is foolish. I am really thinking fix brakes sell truck

 

You Could get another 75k out of it. 300k from those trucks isn't unheard of, so long as maintenance is upkept. If the oil pressure is low, then all bets are off.

 

Fix brakes sell truck wouldn't be a bad move though.

 

It's at the shop for the brakes, one that has time to slap an oil pressure guage on it and see what it's actually doing. I bought it expecting it would be good until 300K but the previous owner was a father and son team that bought a wrecked truck and put it on the road. Front end and driver door damage. I had the front end basically replaced in 2020, as well as check engine light stuff, got ripped off by a shop for a $2500 repair it didn't need, but it is what it is. I have about $9000 in it, I've put about 16,000 miles on it since August 2020, mostly trouble free, it's all metal, 8 ft bed, both of which I wanted and the AC works.
With current prices on trucks if I fix the brakes and sell it, I can maybe pay off all my credit cards BUT I will be totally dependent on a 1975 chevy pickup with a million miles on it and about 170K on the current engine and trans. And I run a mobile pond service so I drive a LOT

Question is, will truck prices come back down in the spring or continue to rise. If they are going to continue to rise, I should get the oil pump done. I've babied it and put in neutral and revved to raise pressure every morning, I don't think I've hurt the engine. Yet. Which is why it's at the shop. prevention is good I trust the guy working on it now. (His partner not so much, we have history - but not as bad as last year's shop)
Thanks Chevydude for reading this.

 

I'd sell both trucks. Might get a lot for that 75, a lot of people looking for older trucks to mod and they've gone way up. Collect like 20-25k combined and buy a new Civic or Accord so you have something comfortable and reliable.

 

While I appreciate your suggestion Signal, I am pretty sure my pressure washer, shopvac, pumps and tank won't fit in a Civic. I have to have a pickup and any bed shorter than 8 feet I have to have 2 pickups. I am hoping the 2005 survives because in this market it's going to cost me $15k to replace it. I love my 1975. I am not letting it go, it is my leisure vehicle and my backup when the other truck is in the shop.

but if prices are going to drop and the 2005 oil pump has shortened its lifespan, the local dealership is hunting for trucks to buy. Payoff credit cards and run the 75 this winter. It hates summer.

Except for work I barely drive. Maybe 1000 miles a year personal. Sold the supra back to my daughter because it needs a head gasket afain and she needs to handle her car. I can't supervise that repair properly

 

While I appreciate your suggestion Signal, I am pretty sure my pressure washer, shopvac, pumps and tank won't fit in a Civic.

Buy a Pilot or some other Honda SUV that will fit all of that. It'll probably all fit in a Fit, with the seats down. You can drive that car for the next 10 years and only worry about oil changes. The trucks you have would fetch a premium right now in today's market. That 75 can pull 15k easy if it isn't rusty, without running. Silverado you could probably sell for 10k as needing work. Stop paying for all these repairs and take advantage of the market. These trucks were worth nothing a few years ago. Sell them, and buy an economical car that fits your needs.

 

On that era Chevy 5.3L and 6.0L's it's common for a bad oil pressure sensor to cause those low oil pressure warnings. It's at the back of the intake manifold, almost under the intake, and depending on the exact truck and model you can sometimes get it changed out without pulling the whole manifold off. In my sister's old GMC Envoy I got it all changed out with the intake still on, only to drop a crow's foot socket back there.... so after 2 hours of screwing around with magnets I ended up having to pull the intake anyway to get my damn socket back!

Overall there's a lot of good reasons to stay with that truck. Bummer that you've been taken for a ride to such great expense on service, but honestly that era Chevy truck is a lot easier to work on than the MK3 Supra in a lot of ways, and I'd encourage you to get an OBD-II code reader, and get comfortable working on it, because they're really not that bad at all.

To answer your question directly - I've seen a lot of '04-'07 Silverados with the 5.3L and 6.0L V8's with over 300k on the odometer. Keep the oil changed and basic maintenance up to date, and say under the listed towing capacity when towing, and they'll live a very long time. I've seen more of them get sold because the seat was destroyed or some misc electrical annoyance pushed the owner into a new truck than anything else. The truck itself was still just fine as a work truck. Otherwise, the 4L60E trans is an easy rebuild which is why the trans shop guy likes those. I personally love the 6L80 and 6L90 6-spd auto transmissions they started using in 07 on the Denalis and Escalades, and those were in most everything else by 2010 or so. But the 6L80 isn't as tolerant of neglect, like leaving the same trans fluid in it for 100k miles, as the 4L60E is.

 

Following up Wreckless, lots of these engines are running into the 300k and then some. Many are getting swapped and boosted past 200k. Are you able to see where your oil pressure is at when running? And how many miles you have on your current oil? Those newer engines from that generation typically have better oil systems then say the earlier 99 and 00's so hopefully it is just the sensor failing on you like wreckless mentioned. Another thing, is the o-ring on the oil pickup tube that may need to be replaced. I have done it on a few swaps without dropping the pan completely but have not done it on a stock silverado. Not sure if the access will be the same

 

I spoke with the shop yesterday. They put another pressure gauge on and tested and the oil pressure is fluctuating. They are going to drop the oil pan check the O-ring on the oil lift tube and check the screen to be sure it's not all clogged up put it back together and check pressure.
The current oil in the truck is fresh synthetic 5w30 with maybe a thousand miles on it I did the oil change myself to be sure I got a new filter.
Having priced trucks lately, I hope it isn't the oil pump, but if it is, it may get a new oil pump.
Thank you for your comments, they are helping.

I had the oil sending unit replaced about 6 months before the problem appeared, I didn't have them check it this trip, but when it went our it read a solid 80 on the guage for a 50 mile trip and went to shop the next morning

 

So I think the left rear brake collapsed into the drum on the 1975, I'm sitting waiting for a tow, reminiscing on sitting in supra waiting for a tow.
Called my shop, they changed the oring on the oil lift tube and the 2005 seems to be fixed. I keep shops in business, lol

 

Could be a spring in the rear brake, or star wheel needs adjustment.

 

Could also be a rear end, although I have the differential oil checked fairly regularly. It was a horrible grinding noise, very deep and loud, and did in neutral rolling down hill too. I didn't roll it far, just checking.

Got it towed in, picked up a 2005 with 45 psi oil pressure on start up that is holding steady, I am thrilled.
I love my 1975 but I do not love depending on it.

 

oh the 05 may live again. right on. my 07 is going to get rockers and cab corners so I can run it another decade. used trucks are wild right now, Im staying out of that market

 

The market is truly wild right now. If I hadn't promised it would go to my grandson one day, I think I would consider selling my 1975. That is given it survives its current adventure, which it probably will. Once I heard the noise I stopped. The 2005 lives and with its shiny new o-ring (dropping oil pan cost $300), it's pushing 45 psi nice and steady!

 

Sell your trucks. You don't know what to do to fix them, and they're worth a preimum now. Buy something with a warranty that fits you equipment that has a warranty. Or go broke chasing bullshit from shady mechanics and lose money from your business. Not sure what the confusion is here?

 

I'll sell when I retire. I'm not putting $40k into a vehicle that smells nice just to pile equipment coated with pond.sludge in it. Been doing this 22 years, started in a station wagon. Old pickups are best.

 

What my trucks help me do. Anything with a roof is an issue if I've got tall washers, trash pump, stacked tanks and multiple hoses. If I have a truck in the shop for an oil change in spring and don't have a 2nd truck I am losing money. I am 2.5 years from retirement, I won't be adding debt, my trucks are paid for and I just keep fixing. I've had that 75 over 20 years and never had to replace the rear end. If it's out, it's time to fix while I can still get the part... Thank you all.

 

Pretty nice work you do!

 

Thank you! I hire great helpers, pay well and feed them well. I haul all the big tools though....as a rule. Once a while we load a second truck. My 2005 has beautiful oil pressure now.