2013 Chev LML Turbo-Charger Fail, Time for upgrade?

[Bob/OlallaWA]

If the repair is covered by extended warranty you a golden. If not and you pay to have it repaired, why trade it off for a new model with the same basic engine you have now? Is Ford a better way to go, what about the Ram, I don't have an answer for that question but I drive the GM stuff and will continue to do so.

[GeoffnCheri]

Yes, but the question: Is this the beginning of the end, will I have to make a $1500-$3000 repair now every few months?

Basically, I am thinking that if the extended warranty company ponies up I will keep the truck. If they say no pay Jose I will do an intermittent maintenance to clear the codes and start looking for a new truck. I asked the service writer about cleaning the EGR valve and the turbo-charger. He said that is band-aid stuff, works for the short term but does not correct the underlying issue. I really liked this guy.

I completely understand. My 2011 F-250 has 103,000 miles. I know if I am likely to experience a catastrophic failure it will likely be within the next 15000 miles. It hurts my heart to think I may have to replace it within the next couple of years. I do not miss vehicle payments. For me it would come down to cost of repair. Even with a 3k to 4k repair, I would still consider it as I know what I would pay on a new vehicle before I reached 112k on a new truck. If the repair got me another 112k, I would be in. JNHO. There is no right answer and good luck in whatever you choose.

[bertschb]

...Basically, I am thinking that if the extended warranty company ponies up I will keep the truck. If they say no pay Jose I will do an intermittent maintenance to clear the codes and start looking for a new truck

This is what I would do. Of course, I'm always looking for reasons to upgrade stuff!

I really hope the warranty company steps up because that would at least give you time to consider your options - including waiting for the new 2020 HD GM trucks this fall.

[D2Reid]

Thanks folks, too many replies to respond to individually, so here is a synopsis:


KevininPO, thanks for the additional info, I will try to process it tonight.

Country Campers, you drive your truck about 1/2 of what we drive ours, and we are mostly towing in hilly mountainous conditions. You should get double what we get...

Toes in the water Dan, that was us, we have been a solid 2 years trouble free. The dealership/service department that we dealt with was crap, they were very guarded and non-communicative, but the magic words "It's covered under warranty" was kind of where I quit asking questions. I purchased the extended warranty at that time and have been paying them $89 per month every since. More on that later....

cfowler55 - I hear you. These trucks have their own individual subsystems, we had horror stories with our 2010 Chevy and the fuel injection system, I spend big bucks installing after marked stuff to prevent fuel problems and fuel injection problems, no I get turbo-charger issues... So rest of truck is doing good, if it's not one thing it's another, such is life.

El Rojo, LOL, the extended warranty company wants to send out an adjuster to evaluate the situation. Be here in a couple of days, maybe. In the mean time the RV resort is booked for the weekend, they need us to vacate. Rock and hard place. Essentially, if we had all the time in the world to wait on the extended warranty company to evaluate the situation we would just sit around and wait on them, but, we don't. RV park says vacate or there will a hit contract put out on us, ok, I exaggerate a bit, but they do need us to vacate as they have already sold all of the sights. DUH, we need the truck to move. They have been great about it, but they have limitations and we are pressing them.

CoChris, 3rd party. American Auto Shield. Can't say they are bad, after all I have paid them about $2500 and I am looking at a $5700 repair. If I was them I would be cautious also. If we had the option to wait a week or three that's what would we would do, but right now we need to keep moving. A month from now we will be stationary for days, great take all the time you want, but right now we need to be out of this park NLT Saturday.

I have already authorized the repair and will pay for it out of pocket and then dicker with the extended warranty company later knowing full well I have no leverage.

Bob/Ollala WA, That's kind of the rub. I found a nearby F450 for 88k. It would do nicely with the much needed extra capacity. Ready to pay. Pulled the two trucks up to each other and discovered the F450's bed rails are 2" taller than my Chevy. Doesn't sound like much, but it reduces my bed rail clearance to only 2". If I only drove on the highway and parked in flat RV parks that would not be a problem, but I am often in hilly RV parks where you challenge the 4" clearance I have now, as evidenced by the destruction of my roll top bed cover rails. I looked at different tires and wheel to compensate, but that in turn changes the gear ratio, not something I want to decide about in a few hours, it will take deep research and consideration.

GeoffNCheri, your thinking is correct, how long to go before repair cost outweigh value. In my old truck repair cost had reached 11k, truck worth 10k, no brainer. In this case truck value 25k repair cost 5k. But is this the only one. Essentially I have no choice but to make this repair, but I am definitely shopping for a replacement. Just remember I am not normal, I work our truck at least twice to three times what a normal person will do, averaging 2000 miles per month pulling a 20k trailer at least half of that and mostly in mountainous terrain. Not normal.

bertschb, I still like the extra capacity of the F450, and will continue to research that avenue. The 2020 Chevy/GMC is enticing, but it isn't here yet and I am always a bit hesitant on the "newest", you just don't know if they have created more problems than they fixed.

Bottom line: I have decided to have the repairs done, $5703 is the estimate. Turbocharger, EGR, Regin system, thermostats. Done Thursday maybe Friday. If the extended warranty pays anything then I come out ahead. Bottom line is I need to get us back on the road to meet our volunteer obligations. 5k versus backing out of an obligation is not acceptable to me.

More later.

[bertschb]

Toes in the water Dan, that was us, we have been a solid 2 years trouble free...

Dallas-
I didn't realize you already had the engine replaced. Knowing this, I would definitely replace the truck once you get it repaired. I've seen these scenarios before and they always end up being a money pit.

Just my opinion of course but that's what you were asking for.

A new truck will have a new warranty, better towing performance, better safety equipment, more tech gadgets and depending on which brand you get - more towing-specific features. With as much towing as you do, these are all things that will make your life easier, safer and less stressful. Of course, you have to pay for it!

[D2Reid]

Dallas-
I didn't realize you already had the engine replaced. Knowing this, I would definitely replace the truck once you get it repaired. I've seen these scenarios before and they always end up being a money pit.

Just my opinion of course but that's what you were asking for.

A new truck will have a new warranty, better towing performance, better safety equipment, more tech gadgets and depending on which brand you get - more towing-specific features. With as much towing as you do, these are all things that will make your life easier, safer and less stressful. Of course, you have to pay for it!

I tend to agree with you. I went to buy a new F450, but when the bed height was 2" taller than my Chevy it gave me pause. I already have clearance issues, if the bed height increases then I will have many more problems and subsequent damage. Changing wheels/tires to drop the height changes gear ratio, I am not smart enough to analyze the effects of that change on the fly, I will have to research it. It may be negligible, I just don't know so I am unwilling to make an $88,000 dollar purchase without knowing for sure what I am doing. Phew that's a lot of money.

New truck warranty. I pulled up my info on my Chevy, we bought it 8-2015 and it had 20000 miles on it. 44 months later it has 113,000, or about 2000 miles per month. So a 36,000 mile warranty will last us about 18 months. Drive train warranty does a lot better, it goes to 100,000, or 50 months, a little over 4 years. LOL, they want to finance the difference I don't have in the bank for 60 months. In other words in year 5 I will still be paying for a truck that has no warranty. I know, that's just one way of looking at it.

So I am getting the repair done, taking the money out of my new truck savings account and hoping I can get another 24 months out of my current truck. By then the 2020 Chevy/GMC will have been out for a bit and if there are any hidden inherent design flaws they will manifest and become known.

I will be eyeballing around for a used F450, I would like to increase my towing capacity as we are right on the edge of max with the Chevy.

As always, there are no right answers only decisions to be made.

[bertschb]

As always, there are no right answers only decisions to be made.

That's for sure! Hope you get many more miles out of your truck. Enough to let you choose when you want to replace it rather than a mechanical failure forcing your hand.

[Txfivver]

Dallas just curious why you are considering the F450 and not a 350? I would measure the bed height on an F350 before I did anything. The 350 will have a several hundred pound higher payload rating than the 450 and the height may be lower. I know you have a heavier trailer than mine so the pin weight has to be over 4000 pounds so payload is important. Both trucks are rated at 27500 max fifth wheel trailer rating. The 450 is higher than 350 when gooseneck towing. Most loaded F450's will show about 4700 lb payload whereas the F350 will be 5200-5400 lbs payload. I realize its easy to spend other peoples money on the internet lol but these trucks are major long term investments just like the trailer. I want the newest best vehicle to pull mine. Plus I would put an 8yr 150K mile Ford extended warranty on it and you should be set for a long time. Just my .02c Good luck with whatever you decide.

[D2Reid]

Dallas just curious why you are considering the F450 ….

It's a numbers game. Here's the numbers I have;

Year Make Model GCWR Max5thwheel
2013 Chevy K3500 30500 22300
2020 Chevy K3500 43500 35500 (Car and Driver)
2019 Ford F350 36000 27500 3.55 Rear Diff
2019 Ford F450 41000 27500 4.30 Rear Diff

Here's the fun part, depending on where you get your information the numbers will be different. I have spent the last 2 hours putting that information together, and it differs what I was told yesterday. Bottom line, I was looking for the 41000 pound gross combined weight. Plus the 4.30 rear differential is very enticing to me, I don't tow over 60mph so need low end torque more than I need high end speed. My gross combined weight hovers around 29000 right now. I would dearly love to have a little more margin. We won't be adding any weight because we are at the full timers issue of no more room. Before we buy something new we must decide what to get rid of.

The real problem was I am broke down with the RV park telling me I have to get out. That made me feel rushed in my decision making process, didn't have time to really analyze it and make a proper decision, I knew from previous research that the F450 would be mo betta, so tried to rush that, till I hit the bed height issue. So by repairing my Chevy I have purchased some time to properly research. If feel a new truck is in my near future.

[CoChris]

For low speed maneuvering, one thing to consider is the Ford F-450 has the wide track front end and will turn much tighter then the F-350 (wide track front end no longer available 2017 on). Might want to look at the turning radius of any/all TV you are considering.

Good luck Dallas.

Chris