[GMAN]

You can have your truck painted when you plan on taking some down time. Check around and you should find a good deal. There is a body and paint shop near me that primarily works with auto dealers. Their prices are pretty competitive. I found them when I hauled cars. They do good work and are very reasonable compared to other shops. You might check around to see if there is anyone near you like this shop.

The engine and drive train are the most expensive maintenance or repair issues. Water pumps can fail at some point as can turbo's. I had to replace a turbo on one of my trucks last year. Labor and parts came to about $2,700. I would not recommend replacing one until it failed. Keeping oil changed at regular intervals can prolong the life.

I may replace hoses and clamps prior to the failing. I usually don't go to the expense of replacing parts before they fail. The original turbo had over 150,000 miles on it when it failed. The second one had over 700,000 miles on it when it failed. There is no way to tell when the new turbo will fail. Hopefully, I will get another 700,000 miles on it. If you want to replace some parts I would only replace things such as u-joints and hoses. Most other things that fail will give you some warning.

[lowrange]

Originally Posted by GMAN

You can have your truck painted when you plan on taking some down time. Check around and you should find a good deal. There is a body and paint shop near me that primarily works with auto dealers. Their prices are pretty competitive. I found them when I hauled cars. They do good work and are very reasonable compared to other shops. You might check around to see if there is anyone near you like this shop.

The engine and drive train are the most expensive maintenance or repair issues. Water pumps can fail at some point as can turbo's. I had to replace a turbo on one of my trucks last year. Labor and parts came to about $2,700. I would not recommend replacing one until it failed. Keeping oil changed at regular intervals can prolong the life.

I may replace hoses and clamps prior to the failing. I usually don't go to the expense of replacing parts before they fail. The original turbo had over 150,000 miles on it when it failed. The second one had over 700,000 miles on it when it failed. There is no way to tell when the new turbo will fail. Hopefully, I will get another 700,000 miles on it. If you want to replace some parts I would only replace things such as u-joints and hoses. Most other things that fail will give you some warning.

Maybe that's the better focus, of parts that fail without warning, which should you replace as preventative maintenance. Maybe that's what I need to say to a shop if ever I find one. It sounds like the list is pretty short, though. I guess instead of dumping 10k into the truck, I should dump 10k into a savings account.