Aging 2004 Tahoe dilemma

[kurtibm]

I am at 300k on a 2003 Z71. Best vehicle I have ever owned.
You don't say what your 04 has option-wise, nor what part of the country..but with a few caveats, a complete used rear axle including the housing runs about $500 to $700 (with about 100k mi.) depending on axle ratios , 4x4/2wd, brake options.... A competent, independent shop should likely charge $400 or less to swap them. Look on car-part.com to check your particular parameters and location.

 

[Flash1976]

I need to have my rear differential replaced on my 2004 Tahoe with 197000 miles. It is expected to cost around 1500-1600 and the idea of repairing it ourselves is not an option. Is there anyone that has experienced this natural slow death of their vehicle with this high mileage that saw the life of their vehicle extended for a good amount of time? Or does everything just start going down from here? Can anyone give me a "ballpark" timeline as to how much more life we have with this vehicle? The transmission was replaced in 2015, so I'm not worried about that as much as the steering,suspension,driving, etc. Thanks for any advice! We also have twin babies, so safety is important to us, and our next purchase would have to be another suv or minivan (the minivan i would not be so excited to buy, but it is more economical)

My 2000 Tahoe 4x4 has 465,000 miles on it, I drive it everyday and everywhere. Never have had to replace the rear end. Replaced the original tranny at 160,000, so the current one has over 300,000 miles on it. Original engine, good compression, and does not burn oil. It is the best vehicle I have ever owned.

 

[MidwestMike]

I know a few people have rolled a lot of miles on, but I look at the repair cost as a percentage of the vehicle value.

If the truck is worth $4000-$4500, you are putting 33% of the value of the vehicle in a single fix. And it's not like your replacing 33% of the vehicle, or replacing a "larger part of" like a motor.

Along the same lines, what would be the max anyone would put in to getting a vehicle back on the road?

Would you put 50% in?
20%?

I know I would not put 2 grand in to a 4 grand vehicle.

(And we all know that this money does not add to the value of the vehicle, it just keeps it running).

 

[swathdiver]

While trucks at this age are about fully depreciated, they cannot be replaced as inexpensively. They are a tremendous value for what they are.

 

[MidwestMike]

While trucks at this age are about fully depreciated, they cannot be replaced as inexpensively. They are a tremendous value for what they are.

What would you cutoff be for a percentage of value to put in to repair?
(other than new motor)

 

[Scottydoggs]

being i still do all my own work, nothing would stop me if i had faith in the rest of the truck or car.

hell my 98 regal with 242,000 on it is all new under the body. i just put a $1400 fully rebuilt tranny in it, new struts, all new suspension front and back, newer wheels it just got new tires. 2 years before i dropped in a 100,000 mile replacement engine. and as it sits its worth maybe $2500, but its also got 2 k in bolt on mods too. so clearly those would have to come off and it put back to stock and the mods sold off, unless someone wants to pay extra for all that fun stuff.

at this point being i got the hoe, now its been reduced to just a toy now. its still got the same tank of gas from when i got the tahoe a few months back now. it gets driven pretty much around the block to get the rust off the rotors every few weeks lol

but even with all ive put into that car, its still cheaper then a car payment all day long. biggest hit i took was that tranny, and the engine ran up a $400 bill after all new gaskets paint and porting tools. and the engine cost me gas to pick it up. aka free. all other repairs fell under or around 200 bucks at a time. aka painless over 8 years time. except tires of course but they had not been replaced in 5 years.

 

[Flash1976]

being i still do all my own work, nothing would stop me if i had faith in the rest of the truck or car.

hell my 98 regal with 242,000 on it is all new under the body. i just put a $1400 fully rebuilt tranny in it, new struts, all new suspension front and back, newer wheels it just got new tires. 2 years before i dropped in a 100,000 mile replacement engine. and as it sits its worth maybe $2500, but its also got 2 k in bolt on mods too. so clearly those would have to come off and it put back to stock and the mods sold off, unless someone wants to pay extra for all that fun stuff.

at this point being i got the hoe, now its been reduced to just a toy now. its still got the same tank of gas from when i got the tahoe a few months back now. it gets driven pretty much around the block to get the rust off the rotors every few weeks lol

but even with all ive put into that car, its still cheaper then a car payment all day long. biggest hit i took was that tranny, and the engine ran up a $400 bill after all new gaskets paint and porting tools. and the engine cost me gas to pick it up. aka free. all other repairs fell under or around 200 bucks at a time. aka painless over 8 years time. except tires of course but they had not been replaced in 5 years.

You are exactly right!! A brand new $65K Tahoe will depreciate more in year than the worst case maintenance issue will cost you. Plus add in the payments, or cost money, and it is slam dunk. Putting in $2000 to fix a $4000 truck is still the best choice by far.

 

[swathdiver]

What would you cutoff be for a percentage of value to put in to repair?
(other than new motor)

I don't look at it that way Mike. If I like the truck, I'll keep the truck. The only thing that would cause me to move on is rust, major rot type rust. I was talked out of my favorite car thirty years ago for economic reasons and have always regretted that decision and the loss of that car.

 

[sonic_the_hedgeh]

I need to have my rear differential replaced on my 2004 Tahoe with 197000 miles. It is expected to cost around 1500-1600 and the idea of repairing it ourselves is not an option. Is there anyone that has experienced this natural slow death of their vehicle with this high mileage that saw the life of their vehicle extended for a good amount of time? Or does everything just start going down from here? Can anyone give me a "ballpark" timeline as to how much more life we have with this vehicle? The transmission was replaced in 2015, so I'm not worried about that as much as the steering,suspension,driving, etc. Thanks for any advice! We also have twin babies, so safety is important to us, and our next purchase would have to be another suv or minivan (the minivan i would not be so excited to buy, but it is more economical)

Sorry to hear. I just bought a 2004 GMC Yukon XL Denali. It has about 315,000 kms and never had the rear differential replaced. It doesn't burn oil. Only thing I found was the previous owner had not been checking fluids and ran almost every fluid low. Thankfully I don't think it has done any damage. I am getting it into a shop soon for fluid changes on the entire drive train.

Not sure why your rear differential would go that soon. Might have leaked or perhaps previous owner abused it? The only suggestion I have is the check an auto wrecker and see if you can get one for half the price or less. If they want more than 700 I would simply say there is no guarantee that it works. Unless they have a good exchange policy.

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

 

[whymeintrouble]

I need to have my rear differential replaced on my 2004 Tahoe with 197000 miles. It is expected to cost around 1500-1600 and the idea of repairing it ourselves is not an option. Is there anyone that has experienced this natural slow death of their vehicle with this high mileage that saw the life of their vehicle extended for a good amount of time? Or does everything just start going down from here? Can anyone give me a "ballpark" timeline as to how much more life we have with this vehicle? The transmission was replaced in 2015, so I'm not worried about that as much as the steering,suspension,driving, etc. Thanks for any advice! We also have twin babies, so safety is important to us, and our next purchase would have to be another suv or minivan (the minivan i would not be so excited to buy, but it is more economical)

As a father of twins I completely understand the need for safety. I have a 2005 Z71 Suburban. it currently has around 195500 miles on it. Depending how long you have had the vehicle will help you make your decision. Plus having a good mechanic (assuming you don't do stuff yourself) whom you trust is pretty damn important too. I bought the 05' in April '08 when it had 45,678 miles on it. The truck has been fantastic overall, although replacing the rear A/C lines last year sucked and was costly. The biggest part to me is knowing exactly how the truck has been treated and how it was cared for. Do I beat on my truck sometimes, hell yes! But I also spend the extra money to make sure she is taken care of. I make sure I use high quality parts and fluids. The rear main seal just started leaking in the last month, nothing serious yet. I know it will definitely mean a rebuild in the future, but once it is done I know it will be a rock solid motor, with some extras Then a transmission will be needed if/when it dies down the road sometime. But once I've got those replaced I see nothing major in the future. and she'll be able to do another 200k + with ease.

another thing to think about is to participate in a site like TrueDelta https://www.truedelta.com/ I like them because they offer me a place to record things that get replaced and I can tell how much they cost, etc. It does two things, keeps track of my truck for me and helps them gather data, which helps them get more views and hopefully more participation.

summing up, if your vehicle has overall been good for you and you've owned it for a while and know what has and hasn't been replaced keep it. fyi, a new Tahoe would cost an ungodly amount(at least to me) to purchase now-a-days. even a couple years old is still pretty rediculous. I payed $30k for mine in '08 and thought I was crazy then(probably still am ) for paying that much. enough babbling, best of luck to you.