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HELP! ASAP! Buying this z71 later today!

2K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  JagT20N 
#1 · (Edited)
Im going back and forth. This '06 silverado z71 looks great in EVERY way except this... i need some opinions on the undercarriage. I took a ballpeen hammer to a lot of different areas and nothing broke thru and sounded solid, but im nn mechanic by ANY means. My dad was a steelworker and said it seems sound and alright. Opinions please. I was told it can be sandblasted and rustproofed? I reas that chevy used a wax based coating that wears after a few years. It was a michigan truck before making its way to PA. Im going to pick it up today. Got it for 4k under market value with 60k miles on it. Please and thank you guys!

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#7 · (Edited)
Our '03 Z71 does not look that rusted. Then again we live in the NorthWest. We do not ever buy trucks from the coast!
I love this truck "almost" as much as my 2016....almost!

Forgot to mention that you should check the VIN to make sure it does not have engine issues. Ours had that and we had to replace the engine last year. I will get more info from my mechanically inclined other half, he knows more.
 
#11 ·
Thanks! We got a carfax on it and everything seemed to check out. I will be the 3rd owner and i think owner 2 only put like 10k miles on it over a few years. Avg'd out to like 4k/year. Im small time so it wont be driven a huge amount as im currently in a 97 taco (WHICH I LOVE) its more for next year to haul a zt and trailer.
 
#9 ·
I'm sure you will get plenty of life out of it, but expect to be replacing brake lines and the such. Definetky have it sandblasted painted and oil coated, store indoors during winter. I always buy aouthern trucks. Recently flew down to Florida and bought a 03' 2500 with 212k miles frame looks 10x better then my 10' 1500 with 70k miles. Road salt and snow suck!!
 
#14 ·
too much frame rust for me , owners most probably lived on dirt roads which here in michigan causes trux to rust big time . and besides the under carrage parts all that rust no doubt up in the body panels and maybe been covered up by paint . that frame rust so bad i fear a break . plus you say dont even need the truck now , ide lay off
 
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#16 ·
that truck has about 5-7 years left in it in a winter state with salt , in Pa it might last longer ( might be less due to inspections ) due to the weather is not as harsh and they do not use liquid salt on the roads as heavy , those hangers are the worst I have seen and I live in chicago ( they do sell whole replacements from the frame rail out ( Main springs looks they have been replaced as it paint on it and has a odd slipper , common problem with them they snap right behind the hangers in the front ) check the torsion bar rear mount areas for cracks or excessive powdery ( like cinamon ) rust ( signs of metal fatigue ) ,
.. zraff said, what it will need to make it dependable ( fuel and rear brake line are notorious for rotting out/leaking right behind the front edge of the fuel tank along the frame rail ) , and when /if you do it buy stainess prebent replacements from inline tube or buy the 25' roll and bend yourself or buy the cunifor from napa , you spend a little more but they will never rust .
for the frame, its up to you , But do not use sand ( holds water and embeds in metal ) use walnut shells and knock the loose stuff off and then encapsulate the rest with a convertor then epoxy ,
one thing to worry about is look on the build sheet on the glove box door if it has the G80 (we call them gernade 80) option , thats the POs gm limited slip ,its a centrifical locking limited slip ( gov-loc) and are known to break or gernade the whole carrier ( drivers side snout behind bearing or the pinion group ) but still be drivable , take the vehicle for a test drive and on dry hard pavement make a low speed real tight left then to right turn while putting some torque on the driveline ( brakes ) , if it makes a snapping or creaking noise , let it go . its a $1000+fix .
what kills them is when plowing the fast drive to reverse application if the wheel is still spinning is often what does them in or spinning one wheel and then getting traction ( they lock and unlock then relock, apply the clutches hard and bang ) . I used to replace about 15-20 of them on plow trucks or farmers field trucks a year , and we upgraded to yukons or detroits .
 
#17 ·
Ok. Well i ended up getting it. I dont know if i said this, but i only plan on putting maybe 4k a year on it as it will solely be a work vehicle and not used much if at all during the winter (i have another 4x4 for that) Im def not plowing this year. I have a 90 day warranty on the truck and am taking it to a local guy i know next wednesday. So stay tuned and i guess learn from any potential mistake i made? It drives pretty nicely but I def feel that "creeking" when the brake is applied. We'll see. Stay tuned.

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#18 ·
since you do own it , I would have your mechanic pull the cover and to a visual on the rear end just to make sure, also to check the cover to make sure its not rusting from tthe inside out which is common on northern trucks ( on the carrier it's left side right behind the ringgear is where the crack will be if its broken and it might ooz" silver blood" from any movement ) and a fluid replacement will not hurt ( no need for the LS supplement as they do not need it with the synthetic oils and make sure its synthetic ( its more expensive but is worth it ) its a nice vehicle , neighbor kid had one and wrecked it , was a nice looker and runner but the kid is a idiot and should be a bus rider as he never spent the money ( beer was more important ) to repair it properly and finally he wrecked it ..
 
#19 ·
Not sure if any of you are still following this thread since its a week late, but i took the truck to 2 mechanics, 1st one is local, i trust, and 2nd was the dealership. 1st told me the brake lines were better than he'd seen on alot of trucks, told me "you got a real nice truck", gave me the code to take to the dealer cuz my "service 4x4" light came on.

Took it to dealer, dealer said its a "grounding wire" that needs to be traced and its giving a false indication and its not a problem. Got it in late so im taking it back another day for them to trace.

Going to get the undercarriage blasted and coated soon.

All in all i like the truck a lot, it rides nice and does everything ive asked of it so far.

Thanks for all the comments guys.
 
#20 ·
one reason why people like the chevys is the nice ride , but you pay with tire wear , try keeping the pressures up near max sidewall inflation and they last longer specially the fronts , ride is a little harsher but the tires will last 2x longer .

just watch the rear end , no burnouts . and try to keep wheel spin to a minimum . if 4 wheel will not get you out of a pickle then it needs a winch .
 
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