My preference to keep them and re-build/re-place whatever wears out or
is about to wear out
The bigger view of your question is that for those who say to over load
with no down side, forget that things wear out...wear out faster when
at their limits or over their limits (higher speed of wear)
At some point the nuance (nickel & dime) stuff adds up to over whelm
willingness to continue to chase & fix them
I'm close to that point with my 1980 Silverado at 35 years old and +500K miles
It is not whether can afford a brand new one, I can, but whether I
want to buy new Noodling a 1950's Chevy pickup of some sort.
My TV is my 1996 K3500 Sub and am just like the OP thinking/knowing
the 4L80E is close at +163K miles. Worked VERY hard, but taken care
of VERY well.
It has new steering components, right down to a new steering box. So
the precision of IFS is back.
The 7.4L is also showing it's age. Lost a step or two, but still VERY
fun to tow and drive empty. Fun noodling HOW2 rebuild it. 502? or leave
it 7.4L. Forced fed? No headers...older and that kind of noise no longer
sings to me like it did when in my twenties...though still like to
be that old boy racer at times...many times... :B
Plus with the new trucks and their torque management not allowing
full power mode...doesn't behave like a performance truck like mine
still does
For the 16 years not having monthly payments and the cost of new...can
rebuild for another 18 years and still have lots of $$$ left over vs new
Bottom line for me, is that these TV's are *TRUCKS* and are designed
for much longer service than 'cars'.
Just my thoughts and where I'm possibly headed, as am in a very similar
situation...
