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Trucks...

#281
Mike N said:
James, didn't you recently buy a 93 ish Blazer and a similar year Tahoe??
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yup, 1993 Blazer back in 2013, we both miss it. It was a family owned vehicle since new here at the shore... had its butt dipped in the bay while towing the family boat too many times. The frame and body weren't worth the effort. I sold it for 1/2 what I paid (with full disclosure) to a disabled Vet from the neighborhood. He stops by with it from time to time.

The wife wouldn't mind a 1992 to 1995 K1500 Blazer again... we will see what pops up for sale for the right price/condition first. The Volvo Suv is an easy purchase currently. There are at least 5 for sale within 60 miles of here right now.
 
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#282
Love the old Chevy trucks. Always been a Chevy guy myself. Had a 1997 Suburban, 1969 Camaro, and 1998 Astro Van (yes, it was the family van). They're all gone now. I currently own a 2003 Duramax and a 2011 Camaro.
Duramax and Camaro.JPG
 
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#283
cm3ohana said:
Love the old Chevy trucks. Always been a Chevy guy myself. Had a 1997 Suburban, 1969 Camaro, and 1998 Astro Van (yes, it was the family van). They're all gone now. I currently own a 2003 Duramax and a 2011 Camaro.
View attachment 3711590
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My DD is also a 2003 Duramax.

Have you replaced the injectors yet?? Seems to be common on the 01 - 03 LB7 engines.
 
#285
cm3ohana said:
Sure did at around 120,000 miles. Hoping it last another 100,000 before it may need to be replaced again.
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I'm at 230,000 miles and it's hazing a little bit out the tailpipe. I'm trying to put it off for now...... still getting 20 mpg and I'm not seeing fuel contamination in the oil.

When replacement time comes, the parts are expensive and for the amount of labor I'm going have in the job (as a professional mechanic, I'll be doing it myself) I have no intentions of putting anything other than new injectors in it....... no chance I'll go the reman route.
 
#286
Mike N said:
I'm at 230,000 miles and it's hazing a little bit out the tailpipe. I'm trying to put it off for now...... still getting 20 mpg and I'm not seeing fuel contamination in the oil.

When replacement time comes, the parts are expensive and for the amount of labor I'm going have in the job (as a professional mechanic, I'll be doing it myself) I have no intentions of putting anything other than new injectors in it....... no chance I'll go the reman route.
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It’s great that you can do the work yourself. You’re saving a boatload of labor $$$. I know cuz I had to pay for new injectors and the labor. But, love the truck. Glad to meet a fellow Duramax owner.
 
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#288
I bought a 97 Ram new, drove it 250,000 miles. 4x4, 5.9, gears, etc. Never failed to run, could drag a hippo out of his pond. It got so rusted, dented, and nasty that my wife told me I couldnt park in sight of the house. Wife wanted me to get something nicer, "with a little style". So, I did.

Jeep.jpg

Technically, it can be considered a truck...the first ones were designated "truck, 1/4 ton, 4x4".

However, I do have to move cages, loads of feed, construction materials, etc. So, our donors bought this rig for the rescue.


06 ram logo.jpg
Yeah, it's got a hemi.
 
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#289
cm3ohana said:
It’s great that you can do the work yourself. You’re saving a boatload of labor $$$. I know cuz I had to pay for new injectors and the labor. But, love the truck. Glad to meet a fellow Duramax owner.
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I love my truck, too. No idea why I waited so long to get a diesel, but at this point I'll never go back to gas. Previous owner was quoted $3500 for reman injectors installed, they decided not to and sold me the truck for peanuts. Until I see a huge drop in fuel economy or oil contamination, I'll let it go for now.

Nice to see another Duramax and Camaro owner here, too. I've owned several Camaros and I've still got a 79 Z/28 and an 81 Sport Coupe in my garage.
 
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#290
mikeoso said:
I bought a 97 Ram new, drove it 250,000 miles. 4x4, 5.9, gears, etc. Never failed to run, could drag a hippo out of his pond. It got so rusted, dented, and nasty that my wife told me I couldnt park in sight of the house. Wife wanted me to get something nicer, "with a little style". So, I did.

View attachment 3715020
Technically, it can be considered a truck...the first ones were designated "truck, 1/4 ton, 4x4".

However, I do have to move cages, loads of feed, construction materials, etc. So, our donors bought this rig for the rescue.


View attachment 3715023 Yeah, it's got a hemi.
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I had a 98 Ram 1500 with less than than 90,000 miles that I bought for $500 because it needed an engine. $300 later I had a used 360 (or 5.9 in metric speak) installed and running well. Truck had 6" of lift and 35" tires and was a blast to drive for four years until I nuked the rear differential. Rather than put a used axle in it, I decided to sell it........ and it's a good thing I did. Within a few months of the new owner getting it, the transmission failed in typical Mopar fashion.

Much as I like Dodge trucks, they've never figured out how to build a decent transmission.
 
#292
Wish I could talk about trucks. I've never owned a truck, but I've been going over getting a beat up old Ranger for quite a while now though. I've been reading into them. I dunno, I don't do much lugging of heavy equipment or trailers or anything, and if I'm offroad all I need are two feet and a heartbeat - but tbh when I get out of a field exercise I get a lot of kit, too much to fit in the trunk of my current ride (kinda circling the drain tbh), and it smells like something died and forgot to shower. It'd be nice to carry the odd sheet of plywood or two and have somewhere to throw all of that used up kit instead of in the backseat. I dunno, just musing. It's really cool seeing some of these nice old workhorses, though :)
 
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#295
#298
Random thoughts:

Being weird, my first trucks were a Corvair Rampside and a Corvair Van. I could write about these for days, but the no AC thing finally wore me out; plus needing a place to park them; plus the fact that when you try to regularly drive 40+ year old vehicles, you're going to be fixing something or other pretty much every week.

Long stretch without any kind of hauling vehicle. Honestly this was a big pain in the butt; but somehow I managed.

About a year ago my wife bought me a 2017 F-150; 4 wheel drive (not lifted), V8 engine, full towing package; extended (NOT crew) cab with 6 1/2 foot bed, to go with the new wee Airstream trailer. I must say, it's an awful nice truck, although the "minimalist" concept has long since gone by the way. That worries me a bit when the thing gets older and things, especially electronic things, start failing. Biggest issue is that this is by far the largest automobile I've driven since I learned how to drive 45 years ago in an old full size Chevy station wagon. Soon as I got my license, I started driving a succession of small cars and have done so ever since. I've been driving the big Ford for a year or more and I still can't park the thing worth a darn.
 
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#300
Something that's been bugging me:

Does anyone know what to call those toolboxes/storage lockers that used to be optionally fitted to pickups, under the bed, accessed by a little door on the side of the bed? Why did they quit offering this option? I wish I had one on each side to put my "running tools" (the stuff I always carry, socket set, wrenches, jumper cables, trouble light, etc.)
 

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