* This vehicle was built and sold as a 1999 vehicle but it is in the “old” body style which supposedly was only built till 1998. The new body which started in 1999 did not include this vehicle. Therefore anytime I am looking for parts I need to list the vehicle as a 1998.
Mileage 241,345 as of 9/29/21
I got this vehicle as a gift / payment from a friend that I did a favor for. One of my college room mates moved from Texas to Idaho and I drove the contents of his storage compartment up to him in a rental truck. He was originally selling the truck but after I managed to bend the bumper and passenger fender by driving into my house (long story) he told me I could keep it after I fixed it. A very kind offer, I gladly accepted. I have always wanted another truck, I had one for a few months after high school and I have missed having it. I really love it.
I’ve kept it going over the years. I replaced the starter with the previous owner but that ended up being a problem with the battery cables. I had to replace the passenger front fender, grill, and front bumper from misjudging just how wide the turning radius is when turning around the oak by the garage. I have replace a leaking A/C compressor (twice) and need to do it again. I changed the rear brake shoes and cylinders. I replaced the rotors and pads up front. Two expensive tires and a battery needed replacement, and all the lights changed out to LEDs. Numerous oil changes have been done. I added a touch screen, bluetooth, double din, stereo, removed a single din worthless stereo and a separate cd player and replaced it with a cubby hole. I added new speakers and a powered sub. I put a tool box in the bed. I have replaced the pins and bushings in both doors, the bushings on the lock mechanisms on both doors and the passenger sided needs it again. The inner door panel has been replaced once on the drivers side, but it still gets stuck and is breaking again. I am going to replace it with some sound deadening backed aluminum blacked out diamond plate. The huge project was when after 240k miles the transmission exploded. It took me 10 months and probably $2000 but I learned how and rebuilt it myself from scratch along with the transfer case and the drive shafts. As you can tell I like this truck. I will continue working on it, and hope to get “ahead” of maintenance and into some upgrades with engine, paint and interior projects.
Update as of October 2022. The engine is dead! While I was replacing the wiring harness in the Caddilac ESV, I lent the truck to my daughter so she could get back and forth to work and school. On one of those trips home the truck shook violently at a light and would not start again. I got there and gave it a try. With a good battery and the lights on, the truck would just click and dim the lights but it would not turn over. After finding black chunks in the oil on the dipstick. I can only assume that it is dead due to neglect. I can’t really blame her, I should have changed the oil before I gave it to her to use.
Tres is a damn good friend and helped me grab another motor out of a donor at a junk yard. That was a whole day affair. So it is currently (Nov 2022) sitting in the shop waiting for me to go through it before replacing the one in the truck with it and working on a rebuild. I hope to get to it this week.
