Are 04 Chevy Z71's pretty good?

[SAWYER]

I am looking to maybe buy this as an extra vehicle, the price seems very cheap so it makes me concerned. I am going to go look at it Tuesday if he hasn't sold it, he said he would do 3999 so I don't have to pay taxes if I pay cash. He claims it has no mechanical issues, anything I should look for or be cautious of?

https://jonesboro.craigslist.org/cto/5931396303.html

 

[herm0016]

Good reliable trucks. If it runs and shifts well, it's a pretty good deal.

 

[leper84]

No mechanical issues... except for the airbag light, ABS light and check engine light all lit up as clear as day with the engine running in the last pic.

 

[JulesMaximus]

No mechanical issues... except for the airbag light, ABS light and check engine light all lit up as clear as day with the engine running in the last pic.

Yeah, that would put me off quite frankly. Does the seller have any maintenance history on the vehicle?

 

[SAWYER]

Not that I know, I will probably look at it tomorrow and take bluetooth code reader and see if that tells me anything

 

[Slacker]

Cl listing deleted

 

[Pacfanweb]

They were fantastic trucks. I wouldn't care about the engine light. It's 12 years old, things happen.
My 04 Surburban (same thing, just with an SUV body in the rear) has had the engine light on for 7 years.
I clear it every year for it to pass inspection. It's a code for the torque converter. Been on for over 150k miles.
Really, some of the best trucks ever made.

 

[clok1966]

No mechanical issues... except for the airbag light, ABS light and check engine light all lit up as clear as day with the engine running in the last pic.

ABS is most likely the front wheel sensors, VERY common, where they go into the hub they get rusty. The sensor is pushed up (rust expands) and the sensors read wrong, and the ABS light comes on. Pull the Sensor out, clean the surface, grease it up so it wont happen again (for awhile) and you should be good. This also effects the 4WD as it read the ABS sensors to see if the front tires are "slipping" , the AUTO setting wont work, and in standard 4W High or Low it can make it feel like the one tire is braking when tight turning on non slippery surfaces. Depending in miles (100, 000+ is my guess by price) you may just want to invest in 2 front hubs (they include the sensors most of the time) as they will be well within replacement time.. Check engine light is probably the P0446 (gas tank vent code) which will make ZERO difference on how the truck drives. Never need to fix if you don't mind the light. QUite common on these trucks too. Sometimes that code is even a bad sealing GAS cap. But it could be anything, did you code read it?

The real problems with these trucks, Piston slap on many.. annoying sound, but seen um with 300,000 and piston slapping like a jackhammer when cold. For some reason they seem to plug heater cores, listen to the Dex-cool haters/lovers.. seen it on tucks with it or without it, so no idea.. also easy to combat if you back flush them every 80,000 or so.. hoses are right at top of firewall, wont even lose much anti freeze. Blend doors on heater failing.. also not hard to fix if you can lay on floor for 20 minutes... While I wouldnt say problem, water pumps seem to go at about 120,000, watch the weep hole (again easy, when you check oil take a look).. But the worst, leaky intake gaskets.. I have not had one on mine, but several friends have had it, leak at very back so its hard to catch, heat often dries it so it wont leave a puddle but you will smell slight anti freeze smell under hood.

Me i have had a few, some 5.4 Fords, and 1 dodge.. THIS IS OPINION only, the fords seem to ride slightly better, would take the 5.3 chevy over the other two for POWER anyday, GM has the low end torque the kicks in right away, while the other two need some RPM's. My Fords seemed to have way more RUST on the frame i cant understand this, but they just seem that way (and every dam one has had exhaust manifold leaks when they got over 100,000),.. The dodge, just didn't do it for me.. no real complaints except the interior was more wore out then my other trucks, maybe just beat on more when i got it. AGAIN ALL OPINION this last part.

So did you buy it? and damn this thread is month old..

 

[Meghan54]

Just an FYI, clok....the 5.3L V-8 from Chevy of this vintage does not have coolant flowing through the intake manifold, so I don't know how your friends are having coolant leaks from these engines.

Now, the 4.3L V-6, on the other hand, does have coolant flowing through the intake, so there's that. And the 4.3's are notorious for coolant leaking from intake manifolds, at the rear where you can't really observe the leak. But not on the 4.8L, 5.3L nor 6.0L. The V-8's can and do develop air leaks, but cannot leak coolant.


The water pump "failures" that seem to be endemic to the 5.3L, and other V-8's in the trucks, seem to be more centered on the gaskets leaking well before the pump itself leaks. I replaced a perfectly good water pump on my '03 Silverado a few months ago because the right side gasket was leaking and damned sure looked like the pump itself was leaking. But, of course, the only way to determine if it's the pump or gasket is to remove the pump...so why not replace it while you have it off?

ABS is most likely the front wheel sensors, VERY common, where they go into the hub they get rusty. The sensor is pushed up (rust expands) and the sensors read wrong, and the ABS light comes on. Pull the Sensor out, clean the surface, grease it up so it wont happen again (for awhile) and you should be good. This also effects the 4WD as it read the ABS sensors to see if the front tires are "slipping" , the AUTO setting wont work, and in standard 4W High or Low it can make it feel like the one tire is braking when tight turning on non slippery surfaces. Depending in miles (100, 000+ is my guess by price) you may just want to invest in 2 front hubs (they include the sensors most of the time) as they will be well within replacement time.. Check engine light is probably the P0446 (gas tank vent code) which will make ZERO difference on how the truck drives. Never need to fix if you don't mind the light. QUite common on these trucks too. Sometimes that code is even a bad sealing GAS cap. But it could be anything, did you code read it?

The real problems with these trucks, Piston slap on many.. annoying sound, but seen um with 300,000 and piston slapping like a jackhammer when cold. For some reason they seem to plug heater cores, listen to the Dex-cool haters/lovers.. seen it on tucks with it or without it, so no idea.. also easy to combat if you back flush them every 80,000 or so.. hoses are right at top of firewall, wont even lose much anti freeze. Blend doors on heater failing.. also not hard to fix if you can lay on floor for 20 minutes... While I wouldnt say problem, water pumps seem to go at about 120,000, watch the weep hole (again easy, when you check oil take a look).. But the worst, leaky intake gaskets.. I have not had one on mine, but several friends have had it, leak at very back so its hard to catch, heat often dries it so it wont leave a puddle but you will smell slight anti freeze smell under hood.

Me i have had a few, some 5.4 Fords, and 1 dodge.. THIS IS OPINION only, the fords seem to ride slightly better, would take the 5.3 chevy over the other two for POWER anyday, GM has the low end torque the kicks in right away, while the other two need some RPM's. My Fords seemed to have way more RUST on the frame i cant understand this, but they just seem that way (and every dam one has had exhaust manifold leaks when they got over 100,000),.. The dodge, just didn't do it for me.. no real complaints except the interior was more wore out then my other trucks, maybe just beat on more when i got it. AGAIN ALL OPINION this last part.

So did you buy it? and damn this thread is month old..

 

[joutlaw]

I had a 2004 regular cab standard bed Z71 with the 5.3L V8 for 7 years. It was a very reliable truck mechanically, but had some quirks:

Steering shaft popped and creaked. Replaced it and it was fine until I sold it several years later.
HVAC blend door actuators - absolutely garbage on these trucks. Luckily, my drivers side was fine but the passenger side would swing hot to cold back and forth when driving. I ended up replacing the actuator and the new one did the same. Ultimately, in the winter I'd wait until it swung to the hot position and unplugged it - and then the reverse in the summer.
Stepper motors in the cluster - my coolant temp gradually went bad. I thought I was overheating, but then determined it was just the stepper motor. I got the entire cluster reworked for under $100. Fun fact - you can drive these trucks without a cluster . I just used GPS on my phone to know how fast I was going.
Center console lid will break easily.
Piston slap as described above - sold mine with 180K miles and still ran good.