Good deal? 2000 silverado in need of repair

Mike XXX · July 19, 2020

I need a reliable "beater" work truck and found a 1 owner 2000 Silverado 4.8L 2WD locally on craigslist that looks great and might fit the bill but it needs a repair. The GM brakelines have rusted out and need to be changed.

There isnt much rust besides those corroded lines though and the engine with 75K and transmission are good. It has a nice bed liner, new tires and tow hitch.... and just a few cosmetic issues that dont matter for my purposes.

The seller wants 2K or best offer but I am worried about that brake line repair. Im not too comfortable doing it myself. And since it needs repair Im not sure how to make heads or tails out of the KBB value.

Is 2K too much for a 20 year old truck in this situation?

Edited July 19, 2020 by Mike XXX

chem_man · July 19, 2020

I don't know how to value used trucks, but I can comment on the rusted our brake lines.

You have three choices on the brake lines if you want to do it yourself. 1) Purchase a prebent brake line kit which from what I have read is a real pain in the you know what to install. 2) Purchase steel brake lines (2 sizes if I recall) in 25 foot lengths, rent or buy a brake line flaring kit and replace the existing lines yourself by fishing the brake lines through the body and frame (less hassle than installing prebent lines). 3) Purchase NiCopp brake lines (again, 2 sizes 3/16" and 1/4" if I recall correctly) in 25 foot lengths, rent or purchase a brake line flaring kit, and fish the NiCopp through the frame and body.

I've done both 2 and 3, and number 3 is way better and much easier to successfully flair than steel lines. Steel lines need special tools to bend without kinking, and they can be a royal pain to properly flair. NiCopp is so much easier to work with and it does not rust such that the few extra dollars it costs over steel makes it a no-brainer. Also, proper flairs are so much easier to do.

I've used NiCopp to replace lines on both my 99 Silverado and 2004 TrailBlazer, and I'll be replacing the lines on a 99 Buick Century and 92 Olds 88 in the coming weeks. Without NiCopp I would be dreading the jobs.

The hardest part will be removing the old lines from the ABS unit, but with some Aero Kroil and patience it can be done. Just get the right wrenches and go easy.

I'll say this, these Silverados seem to go forever with routine maintenance, so if the owner of the truck did regular oil and filter changes and other maintenance as lined out in the Owner's Manual, you will likely not get burned. Plus, repair parts are plentiful and the engines are fairly easy to work on compared to other vehicles.

Good Luck!

riverbanks · July 19, 2020

I just started using dorman s.s. lines,easy,hard one is behind the tank,tape the end closed and push and rotate thru the tight area,it goes,and as far as the abs unit,snap all lines off and use a socket on the flare nut

davester · July 20, 2020

I got the prebent nylon coated set of lines from GM a couple years ago, and installed them. It took some work to get them in right, particularly to get the 4 lines that run along the frame rail from the driver's front wheel to the abs unit in the right order. The rear line wasn't that hard for me, because I have a cab&chassis, with a wood floor deck, and I can easily remove the boards to work on stuff. Makes doing fuel & brake lines, and fuel pumps, etc WAY easier to do...

If you do get a pre-bent set, double check that it also comes with the lines that go across the rear axle. The GM kit doesn't, and the lines were NLA separately. Some third party kits include them, others don't.

Edited July 20, 2020 by davester