I have a 2001 Silverado 1500 5.3L truck with 70,000 miles. I recently took it in for the usual oil change and tire rotation and came away with a list of things the shop said needed to be done. My fuel gauge sending unit needs to be replaced, front brakesand rotors, an intermediate steering shaft s, transfer case output seal and front drive shaft yoke replacing along with the throttle body cleaning, coolant flush fuel filter and assorted little sundries. The shop wants about $3,500 for the whole kit and kaboodle. Anyone else have experience with this much going wrong at one time? Is it worth doing or should I be looking for a new truck?
What kind of shop is this? Absolutely get another opinion from a trusted mechanic, not a chain. Use the ‘mechanic finder’ on this site if you need one. Have you noticed any problems that would be explained by that long list of repairs?
My fuel gauge sending unit needs to be replaced, IS IT BROKEN?
front brakesand rotors, DO YOU HEAR THE WEAR WARNING?
an intermediate steering shaft IS STEERING LOOSE?
s, transfer case output seal and front drive shaft yoke replacing NOISES?
along with the throttle body cleaning, ROUGH RUNNING?
coolant flush IS IT TIME ACCORDING TO YOUR MANUAL?
fuel filter and assorted little sundries SAME QUESTION?
It’s entirely possible that your truck could need all of those things but you have not provided any details as to symptoms that may exist.
Fuel gauge unit for example. Does your dashboard gauge work or not? If not, it’s likely the sender and this is often provided as part of the fuel pump assembly.
Throttle body cleaning? Maybe, or maybe not. Dirty throttle bodies may set a Check Engine Light, cause erratic idling, etc.
Just offhand, I’d take a deep breath and back up for a minute before considering 3500 bucks. Get some more opinions on this.
The amount is not broken down as to parts and labor, etc. but it seems high to me for what is being done.
Did they give you reasons for this list of stuff?
- Does your gas gauge not work?
- Do your front brakes squeak and squeal?
- Does fluid leak from your transfer case?
Some of these need clear explanations, such as the steering shaft, the transfer case seal, and the drive shaft yoke. Throttle body cleaning, for some reason strikes me as unnecessary. Sure it couldn’t hurt, but are you in dire need of one? Same goes for the coolant flush and fuel filter: if either of these were done less than 30K miles ago, they probably aren’t all that important.
Hi All,
Thanks for getting back to me. Let me try to add some insight, I didn’t think I could list everything but I will try now. I took it back to the dealer where I purchased it. I usually do my own simple maintenance, oil and filter changes, rotate tires etc. Otherwise I don’t have the time or knowledge to figure it out. Trucks and cars were much simpler back in the 60s and 70s.
-The gas gauge works fine after it drops down to about 7/8ths or 3/4ths. When I fill up the truck the gauge goes to empty and the low fuel light comes on. They want $792 to drop the tank and change the sending unit.
-The steering was making a noise turning left only. They want $192 to change that out.
-They said the brakes and rotor are almost metal to metal and the rotors cannot be machined smooth $582
-Transfer Case Output Seal they said was leaking and the front drive shaft yoke was rusted and doesn’t do it’s job $681
-Throttle Body $139
Coolant Flush The manual calls for this at 100K but they said it has been eight years and that should be done $149
Fuel Injector cleaning $140 I really don’t know about this since my knowledge of fuel systems in cars goes back to carburetors.
Inside cabin air filter they said was dirty and clogged $80
Oil and filter and tire rotation changing is not a big deal.
Again thanks for your time, this came to me as a shock when they called with the list.
So some of this certainly needs to be done, but don’t take it to the dealer, find a good independent mechanic, have him give you a list and a cost. I would not do the throttle body and fuel injector cleaning unless it is running rough. These are often unnecessary.