Questions for the mechanically-minded in these parts .... My fiancee wants to buy an old pickup to haul stuff around and to/from her farmhouse and property. I just talked to someone who's selling this truck for $750. The seller says that cosmetically it's not the best (not a concern to my lady) but that it runs fine and mechanically it's in good shape, other than the oil burning. Asking for speculation here, but what could the oil burning mean? Assuming it means eventual engine work, what could be involved and how much might it cost?
Take the truck to a mechanic you trust. Pay her or him to check it out completely. If you don't know a mechanic, go to the cartalk web site and find their list of user-reviewed mechanics. They call it their mechanics files, but I bet they spell it funny, like mecan-x or something. Burning "a little oil" could be minor or could be serious. And get a mod to move this thread to the Other Cars forum, where it belongs.
80's Chevy truck burning a little oil... well DUH. There could be several reasons for it... Valve stem seals were my general problem... worn rings could be another... One test that is relatively easily done is the cylinder compression test... if you know and trust your mechanic, have them do the test... if you're not sure, have the results given to you and take it to someone else to repair (valve seals is not that hard or expensive to do)... a good farm truck can burn a little oil and you wont be burned in the use of it... unless it's the rings... then it's going to get worse, and more expensive... but lucky you... you could get a motor from the wrecking yard and drop that in... 80's chevy motors aren't that expensive from the yards.
Compression test or cylinder leakdown test. That will tell you if it is the rings or valve guides. Its probably both if the engine has a lot of miles.
An '87 Chevy would have either a 305 or a 350 V8. These are fairly inexpensive rebuilt, and are readily available as "turnkey" crate motors I'd worry a lot more about the transmission. Those 700 R4's have a well-deserved reputation for grenading themselves. If it's a 2wd, a popular conversion once the 700R4 quits, is to put in a crate TH400 You don't need an automatic overdrive transmission for farm chores
Thirty year old truck. Have everything checked out and tested by a mechanic. The engine could be bad, the transmission could be bad, the wheels could be about to fall off, the brakes could be about to fail. Or it could be good enough for farm work.
Thanks for the feedback. I had already suggested she have a mechanic give it a once-over before she buys. (I'm not sure she'll listen. ) I just wanted to get some sense of whether this is something she should even bother looking at, if possible. FYI, it's a 350 V8. The seller says the transmission was recently rebuilt. It has a new state inspection sticker, which means all safety-related components should be good -- brakes, tires, lights, suspension, etc.
Well, we took a look this evening. Just a little whiff of smoke coming out of the pipe. But a mile up the road on our test drive the temperature light came on. The owner said that was new. Uh-huh. Anyway, between that, the concern about the oil, and some other minor things, she said, "No, thanks." Thanks again to all who offered input.
Sounds like all's well that ends well A lot of things could cause overheating, especially of a neglected cooling system. Could be a stuck thermostat. The fan clutch might be shot (If it's original, I will *guarantee* the fan clutch is shot!). Missing fan shroud. Low coolant level. Plugged rad. Cylinder head gasket bad. Etc etc etc A decent crate motor is around $1,500. For a work truck, first thing I'd do is toss the fan clutch, and put in a hub spacer. Then put on a high volume flex-blade fan, like the ones from Flex-a-lite. A decent heavy duty rad is around $120. So if you shop around, and are handy with working on equipment (That model Chevy is still fairly easy to work on), say around $2,000 in parts you have a decent work truck again The question mark is that 700-R4 automatic transmission. Also the rear axle, it may be close to death as well. A neighbor of mine near my hobby farm has an 85 Chevy pickup, which also had a bad 700-R4. He converted it to a TH400 crate transmission from TCI, works fine An easy way to fry a 700-R4 is to incorrectly set the TV (Throttle Valve) cable. Shifting will be harsh, line pressure will be incorrect, the clutches will slip, and you will cook the transmission If you need a new transmission, the TH400 crate transmission from TCI is around $1,800. The rear end, I'd go with an aftermarket Dynatrac Dana 60 I finally got a handle on that 1967 Chevy C-10 I want to restore. As you can tell, I'm going with a reliable "mild" crate motor, TCI transmission, and Dynatrac Dana rear end with Detroit Locker.
Get a Toyota PU circa 1990 4 cylinder with fuel injection. Bullet proof and will run forever if you maintain the cooling system. I sold one with 300,000 miles to a friend . 5 years later its still going strong and we are still friends.
I sold my GF's 93 Toyota PU after buying the Prius. I was using it as a commute vehicle. It only had 83k miles, but it was too small for me, especially headroom wise. The guy I sold it to was taking it to his GF to use as a farm truck.
Well, sometimes its nice to have a full size pickup with a genuine 8 ft box. If I got a 20-30 year old pickup that needed a motor and transmission, and it was cheap enough, I'd take on the task. If you're not handy with mechanical work, then you're better off looking for - and paying much more - for a truck in good condition The reason I prefer older Chevy trucks is that the parts are numerous, readily available, and reasonably priced. Seems everybody and their dog now makes repro sheet metal, new wiring harnesses, interior trim, crate motors, crate transmissions, suspension parts, etc for older Chevy pickups
Yeah, I'd like her to find something like that if it's in her price range. The Chevy we looked at really was too big for her anyway, IMHO, based on what she's told me she wants to haul. (It was a 3/4 ton.) I suggested from the beginning that she find a small pickup. In fact, we're going tomorrow to look at a 1987 S10.
