Possibly future 2003 Tahoe owner... not sure yet

[Dan71]

Hello from Virginia!

Long story short, inherited my uncles 1996 Tacoma 4x4 (mint with 122K).... Its just not for me. To small, I hate how I sit in it, but the Tacoma cultists want to pay me stupid money for it so be it.

Now, my neighbor owns an '03 Tahoe, (not sure which package) 5.3, 173k. I folder full of receipts from when they bought it new. I can pick it up for $4k, then I started lurking in the forms and this Casteh 706 head issue has me concerned. Will the cast number be on the head visible with the valve cover on?

This thing is in mint condition, took very good care of it but I'm still feeling this out.

Any comments or advice will be very appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

 

[iamdub]

Hello from Virginia!

Long story short, inherited my uncles 1996 Tacoma 4x4 (mint with 122K).... Its just not for me. To small, I hate how I sit in it, but the Tacoma cultists want to pay me stupid money for it so be it.

Now, my neighbor owns an '03 Tahoe, (not sure which package) 5.3, 173k. I folder full of receipts from when they bought it new. I can pick it up for $4k, then I started lurking in the forms and this Casteh 706 head issue has me concerned. Will the cast number be on the head visible with the valve cover on?

This thing is in mint condition, took very good care of it but I'm still feeling this out.

Any comments or advice will be very appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

Welcome to TYF!

A mint, one-owner and documented well-maintained GMT800 is a dream find. The Castech issue really seems to be more with the '04-'05ish models. Doesn't mean you're in the clear, though. But, it's a much smaller problem than the AFM failure that has GenIV owners chewing their nails. You can monitor a cracked head and catch it before any real damage is done. It's not one of those failures that just happens unexpectedly and leaves you stranded. You can see the head casting number on the far right edge of the head. The heads are all the same (not right or left specific). On the driver side, you'd look near the firewall and, on the passenger side, near the front by the belt tensioner. I think there were the same issues with the 706 sister, the 862. The '03 would have either of these. The only way to tell if it's a Castech head is to remove the rockers and pedestals.

If you have a decent mechanical aptitude, you can repair a Castech failure if it happens. We've walked members through diagnostics and head replacements and even full AFM deletes on the GenIV engines. If it's not consuming coolant, I wouldn't be so concerned about it.



Casting number location. This is on the passenger side of the engine:

 

[Miami-Dade]

Welcome from Walterbough South Carolina.

Moved you here for your answers.

 

[rockola1971]

173k on a 5.3L? Engine is barely broken in. Keep up with oilo changes and that engine will go 300K+ no problem. Look through receipts. I suspect the fuel pump has been replaced and the tranny likely rebuilt in the last 50k. If it has then that is a huge plus. Look for receipt on transfer case rebuild or atleast the rear case half replaced if it was needed and the anti pump rub plate installed. Also the front suspension was likely rebuilt (Tie rods, ball joints, pitman and idler arm, control arm bushings) these are all huge plusses if already done. Now the 4k is a little steep for a 20yr old tahoe BUT if certain combinations of the things ive listed have been done then 4k might not be such a bad deal. I still would work him down to 2-3k if possible.

 

[OR VietVet]

Welcome to the forum. The price seems right as long as is not rusted out. Complete records is great. IMO, the NBS 2000-2006 are the best years and most comfortable. Post pics when you can.

 

[NickTransmissions]

Hello from Virginia!

Long story short, inherited my uncles 1996 Tacoma 4x4 (mint with 122K).... Its just not for me. To small, I hate how I sit in it, but the Tacoma cultists want to pay me stupid money for it so be it.

Now, my neighbor owns an '03 Tahoe, (not sure which package) 5.3, 173k. I folder full of receipts from when they bought it new. I can pick it up for $4k, then I started lurking in the forms and this Casteh 706 head issue has me concerned. Will the cast number be on the head visible with the valve cover on?

This thing is in mint condition, took very good care of it but I'm still feeling this out.

Any comments or advice will be very appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

Since I build transmissions, ill speak to that.

Assuming you decide to buy it, if you don’t see a record for trans services in the past 30-35k miles or so (or ever, lol), id do one. Drop pan, change filter, solenoids and pressure switch manifold assembly. Install new solenoids, filter and pan gasket. About $125 or so worth of parts plus fluid. Dex3 or Dex6 synthetic.

If upon dropping the pan you see lot burnt clutch material and/or metal it will need to come out to be overhauled.

 

[Sam Harris]

Shoot, 4K sounds like a great price to me if it’s in good condition. I paid 5 for mine with 180k, and have since put much more than that into it. Some, due to needed parts replacement, but much more in things I wanted to do, to make her last even longer, as well as a little more fun. Good luck, and I’d say don’t worry too much about the possibility of the castech heads. As mentioned by @iamdub , that’s really nothing compared to the AFM issues on the gen IV, or lifters potentially taking out an engine as we’re seeing with the newer models.
—and, you can at least look to see if it has the castech heads easily, while the AFM, and now DFM failures are impossible to predict, and occur with little to no warning.

 

[RAMurphy]

Welcome to this great forum. I agree, sounds like a great find at a good cost.

 

[mattbta]

My 2004 made it to 165k before my Castech heads cracked. Replaced them myself 2x because the refurbs cracked, too.

Identifying the casting number 706 is a good start (there are reports of 862 cracking as well, but rare) but to know if you have Castech made 706's you need to pull the valve cover and remove the rockers and stand, to look for the manufacturer mark.

 

[S33k3r]

173k on a 5.3L? Engine is barely broken in. Keep up with oilo changes and that engine will go 300K+ no problem. Look through receipts. I suspect the fuel pump has been replaced and the tranny likely rebuilt in the last 50k. If it has then that is a huge plus. Look for receipt on transfer case rebuild or atleast the rear case half replaced if it was needed and the anti pump rub plate installed. Also the front suspension was likely rebuilt (Tie rods, ball joints, pitman and idler arm, control arm bushings) these are all huge plusses if already done. Now the 4k is a little steep for a 20yr old tahoe BUT if certain combinations of the things ive listed have been done then 4k might not be such a bad deal. I still would work him down to 2-3k if possible.

I suggest looking for water pump and alternator receipts as well. It's a 20+ year old vehicle. These are the things that can wear out in that time, or through that mileage.

That said, if you decide to pass, pass on some pictures and info to us. Someone here might want to pick it up.

 

[rtorres]

173k on a 5.3L? Engine is barely broken in. Keep up with oilo changes and that engine will go 300K+ no problem. Look through receipts. I suspect the fuel pump has been replaced and the tranny likely rebuilt in the last 50k. If it has then that is a huge plus. Look for receipt on transfer case rebuild or atleast the rear case half replaced if it was needed and the anti pump rub plate installed. Also the front suspension was likely rebuilt (Tie rods, ball joints, pitman and idler arm, control arm bushings) these are all huge plusses if already done. Now the 4k is a little steep for a 20yr old tahoe BUT if certain combinations of the things ive listed have been done then 4k might not be such a bad deal. I still would work him down to 2-3k if possible.

Out here on the west coast, that rig would go all day on Craighslist for $8,500

 

[rtorres]

Hello from Virginia!

Long story short, inherited my uncles 1996 Tacoma 4x4 (mint with 122K).... Its just not for me. To small, I hate how I sit in it, but the Tacoma cultists want to pay me stupid money for it so be it.

Now, my neighbor owns an '03 Tahoe, (not sure which package) 5.3, 173k. I folder full of receipts from when they bought it new. I can pick it up for $4k, then I started lurking in the forms and this Casteh 706 head issue has me concerned. Will the cast number be on the head visible with the valve cover on?

This thing is in mint condition, took very good care of it but I'm still feeling this out.

Any comments or advice will be very appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

Out here on the west coast, that rig would sell all day on Craigslist for $8,500

 

[wilcfr]

Hello from Virginia!

Long story short, inherited my uncles 1996 Tacoma 4x4 (mint with 122K).... Its just not for me. To small, I hate how I sit in it, but the Tacoma cultists want to pay me stupid money for it so be it.

Now, my neighbor owns an '03 Tahoe, (not sure which package) 5.3, 173k. I folder full of receipts from when they bought it new. I can pick it up for $4k, then I started lurking in the forms and this Casteh 706 head issue has me concerned. Will the cast number be on the head visible with the valve cover on?

This thing is in mint condition, took very good care of it but I'm still feeling this out.

Any comments or advice will be very appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

I owned a 2003. Beautiful vehicle, but was a nightmare. The main isue was the brakes. They would just go to the floor at random times and you'd have to pump fast to keep from having an accident. A lot of NHTSA complaints on the issue. Chevy refused to fix it. But they did sell me a new 2004 for dealer cost, gave me retail on the trade and switched out all my upgrades for free. In discussions with someone who knew I was told it was a master cylinder issue Chevy was aware of. After I purchased the 2004 the service manager admitted that, but said since they couldn't duplicate the problem they couldn't fix it under warranty. Also it died on me three times and had to be towed. This all happened in 18 months. Never had an issue with the 2004.

 

[rockola1971]

Out here on the west coast, that rig would sell all day on Craigslist for $8,500

Here in the midwest a 2003 wasnt worth 8500 5yrs ago. I own not one but two 2003 tahoe LT's and there isnt any way I could get 4k out of each of them right now...but mine dont have just 175k on them either....then there is that salt thing here in the midwest.