Sup everyone,

I have a 01 gmc sierra v8 4.8 that I’ve had parked for over a year and a half without any need to fix it since I have a company truck. It’s gotten to the point now where I need another vehicle and with used car prices and rates the way they are, has me thinking twice about purchasing a used newer one.
I have so many questions but I at least want to get this truck started to get it checked out by a mechanic and see if it’s even worth fixing or if it’s better to just purchase.
The biggest question I have is about the fuel. With the length of time it’s been sitting what should I do with the fuel.
I already have to change the fuel pump and fuel filter which caused the truck to fail in the first place, according to a mechanic that looked at it at the time.
I would also like to hear what other suggestions y’all might have as to steps to take in order to get the truck up and running after a year and a half of sitting.
thanks and hope to get some good advise.

 

When you replace the pump just suck all the fuel out. Then dump a bunch of new fuel in the tank, a bottle of seafoam to help clean the injectors and see how it does.

Check all your other fluids, make sure they are full and try starting it. That's all I would do to see if it will run okay. Once it's running you'll want to do an oil change, new brake fluid, probably new brakes from have lot rot and rust on them. Probably will need new tires, dry rot and flat spots from sitting that long. Some new headlights and go from there.

 

What part of TX are you in? We have a lot of Texas members here.

I would do exactly as posted above.

 

That truck looks pretty clean on the body, except for the hood/roof paint. That summer sun takes it's toll on automotive finishes. If you could just get the hood and roof resprayed, I bet it would look very nice.

Ditto on the other points mentioned.

As far as fuel, just add some stabilizer. I've got a truck sitting for like 2 years now. I start it and let it warm up for 15-20 minutes every month or so. I actually drove it the other day around the block and it seemed to run good.

 

I’ll consider all the advise given. Thanks.
and i’m from tomball btw.
and as far as cosmetics.
My first thing I’m going to do is get the stock 01 wheels and maybe level out the back while soon after updating headlight and getting my uncle to paint the hood.
I’ve also had the transmission and drive shaft rebuit . A couple years back.
Along with replacing the water pump, radiator around the same time and did the shocks two years ago.
another reason why I don’t want to let the truck go since I know it fairly well.
now the next question I have is the engine.
It still has the original engine and never had an issue with it other than an oil leak. Which I was told it was the rear main seal and possibly head and oil pan gaskets.
but this truck had over 300k miles on it.
I’ve had thought about either refurbishing/ rebuilding engine or just going for either a new or used one?
what would be the most cost efficient thing to do?

 

Head gaskets are the least likely oil leak spot.

Cost efficient would probably be buying a new engine. I would rebuild the one you have though because sometimes you can get away with it lol

 

Remanufactured engine would be easiest if you have the budget. Just a "remove and replace" task and easily be done in a weekend with engine hoist and minimal tools.

But if you have the time, tools, garage/shop and knowledge and that engine runs good, you can overhaul it yourself. It doesn't sound like this a daily driver. Time is the biggest issue when trying to overhaul an engine on a daily driver that you need, like Monday morning to get to work.

Could very easily do a mild (or wild) cam and make it into a reliable truck or weekend fun truck, depending on what you are looking for.

Or, just fix what's leaking and keep on truckin'... maybe spend the money on the faded paint instead. IDK

 

Thanks again for that advice.
I’m looking for this truck to be my daily driver for a while so I’m trying to make it as reliable as possible and will then turn into just an extra vehicle once rates and hopefully pricing go down on the newer ones.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a hoist to do extreme work on the engine, So I will have to turn to a mechanic shop to do either an engine replacement or refurbishment of this one. At that point it’ll probably be cheaper to just get a refurbished or new engine due to labor cost being what I’ll pay more for during a rebuild.
If anybody has any recommendations on engines, shops or even places to look a refurbished engine in Houston, TX, let me know.