- Oct 18, 2009
- 11,684
- 5,225
- 136
OK......I've got an '03 Silverado, reg. cab and bed, 5.3L V-8. Nothing really special, although it did take a minute to find it back in '13 when I bought it. This is her:
Anyway, three weeks ago, pulling out of the grocery store parking lot onto our town's main drag, the truck spit out a spark plug. Limped home and, needing it on the road ASAP, "fixed" it with a HeliCoil Sav-A-Thread insert, just like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Helicoil-533...63388&sr=8-1&keywords=sav+a+thread+spark+plug
Now, the truck's running nicely, although I've not given her anywhere near full throttle since the repair. (And I cheated. The first attempt at the repair sorta failed in that the recommended high temp silicone sealant to be used to "fix" the insert in the head didn't....insert came out the day after being put in when I removed the spark plug. I used a new insert and LocTite....hasn't moved since.)
Anyway, now the time for a decision is upon me. Really, the only "true" fix to the head is replacement, but the truck's now got 162K miles on it, and a new/rebuilt head slapped on that engine will just about guarantee the lower end will fail prematurely.
Of course, the dilemma is to keep/repair or sell. Now, to most, selling would be the obvious answer, but it's just not that simple. I searched for quite a while before finding this truck. It had meticulous maintenance records, was and is still in great condition, incl. no rust whatsoever, has almost every option I need, except I wish it did have power seats. The truck was purchased new as a 2 yr. lease and when turned in, was immediately purchased by the lessee's son, who kept it from '05-'13.
I actually got to talk at length on the phone to the second owner---his dad was the original lessee of the truck. The dealership I purchased it from was the original selling/leasing dealer in '03 and was the dealership that did all maintenance on her. When I was looking at the truck, they even put her in the shop and up on a lift so we could inspect. Never had a dealership ever offer to do that, much less do it.
The truck still had its original window sticker, all manuals, everything. Not one scrap of info or accessories that came with the truck was missing. It had a set of Michelin tires on her, although they were well used and were replaced a few months after we bought the truck with another set of Michelins. (One of my philosophies about buying vehicles......if the previous owner cheaped out on tires, what other corners were cut/maintenance ignored? Buying Michelins, or another premium brand tire, kinda points towards the owner being willing to spend the money needed on other areas of the vehicle in maintenance, etc. At least that's my view on things.....may be right, may be wrong, but it works for me.)
I love the truck. I doubt it'll be any less difficult to find another with the pedigree this one had when I found her, and I hate to give her up. She's comfortable, reliable (until the spark plug got spit out), and gas mileage isn't horrid.....average is 18.5mpg right now.
So, I really don't want to sell and buy something that may be a can of worms. Replacing the head is an option, but will probably hasten replacing the engine. Replacing the engine is probably the road I'm going to travel down.....looking at sticking in a rebuilt 6.0L in place of the 5.3L. A tad more power (50hp increase) for not much more than the cost of the 5.3. Unsure of the labor to replace the motor, tho. Certain it's more than a nickle.
There is an alternative that's been mentioned to me. Take it to a Ford dealer and have them put a TimeSert in. Since Ford dealers should have plenty of experience putting those in (Triton engines, anyone?), it should be a snap and they're supposed to be a true "permanent" fix.
http://www.timesert.com/
What would you attempt? Put money into the TimeSert first? (What I'm leaning towards.) Replace head? (Prob. $500 for head and gasket set, labor probably as much. And then, most likely will hasten ring failure/blowbuy.) Sell? (Least attractive option in my eyes.)
Anyway, three weeks ago, pulling out of the grocery store parking lot onto our town's main drag, the truck spit out a spark plug. Limped home and, needing it on the road ASAP, "fixed" it with a HeliCoil Sav-A-Thread insert, just like this one:
Now, the truck's running nicely, although I've not given her anywhere near full throttle since the repair. (And I cheated. The first attempt at the repair sorta failed in that the recommended high temp silicone sealant to be used to "fix" the insert in the head didn't....insert came out the day after being put in when I removed the spark plug. I used a new insert and LocTite....hasn't moved since.)
Anyway, now the time for a decision is upon me. Really, the only "true" fix to the head is replacement, but the truck's now got 162K miles on it, and a new/rebuilt head slapped on that engine will just about guarantee the lower end will fail prematurely.
Of course, the dilemma is to keep/repair or sell. Now, to most, selling would be the obvious answer, but it's just not that simple. I searched for quite a while before finding this truck. It had meticulous maintenance records, was and is still in great condition, incl. no rust whatsoever, has almost every option I need, except I wish it did have power seats. The truck was purchased new as a 2 yr. lease and when turned in, was immediately purchased by the lessee's son, who kept it from '05-'13.
I actually got to talk at length on the phone to the second owner---his dad was the original lessee of the truck. The dealership I purchased it from was the original selling/leasing dealer in '03 and was the dealership that did all maintenance on her. When I was looking at the truck, they even put her in the shop and up on a lift so we could inspect. Never had a dealership ever offer to do that, much less do it.
The truck still had its original window sticker, all manuals, everything. Not one scrap of info or accessories that came with the truck was missing. It had a set of Michelin tires on her, although they were well used and were replaced a few months after we bought the truck with another set of Michelins. (One of my philosophies about buying vehicles......if the previous owner cheaped out on tires, what other corners were cut/maintenance ignored? Buying Michelins, or another premium brand tire, kinda points towards the owner being willing to spend the money needed on other areas of the vehicle in maintenance, etc. At least that's my view on things.....may be right, may be wrong, but it works for me.)
I love the truck. I doubt it'll be any less difficult to find another with the pedigree this one had when I found her, and I hate to give her up. She's comfortable, reliable (until the spark plug got spit out), and gas mileage isn't horrid.....average is 18.5mpg right now.
So, I really don't want to sell and buy something that may be a can of worms. Replacing the head is an option, but will probably hasten replacing the engine. Replacing the engine is probably the road I'm going to travel down.....looking at sticking in a rebuilt 6.0L in place of the 5.3L. A tad more power (50hp increase) for not much more than the cost of the 5.3. Unsure of the labor to replace the motor, tho. Certain it's more than a nickle.
There is an alternative that's been mentioned to me. Take it to a Ford dealer and have them put a TimeSert in. Since Ford dealers should have plenty of experience putting those in (Triton engines, anyone?), it should be a snap and they're supposed to be a true "permanent" fix.
http://www.timesert.com/
What would you attempt? Put money into the TimeSert first? (What I'm leaning towards.) Replace head? (Prob. $500 for head and gasket set, labor probably as much. And then, most likely will hasten ring failure/blowbuy.) Sell? (Least attractive option in my eyes.)
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