I'm in several car forums and generally don't like "dear Abby" type advice questions. But here I am breaking my own rule. Thanks in advance to any of you with an opinion and time to share it.

Short version: Wife fell in love with a beautiful Vienna Green '03 DII four years ago (@37K miles) I'm a car fix-it guy from way back and decided it couldn't be that risky - despite my research. So now it's at 73K mi and we no longer need it (one SUV too many) It's still a beautiful truck that drives great. And it spent all but one of it's years in CA so there's no corrosion anywhere. That's the good news list.

The bad news is that we hit the trifecta a far as '03-'04 issues go:

It has intermittent rough idle and misfire (needs yet another set of wires)
Three Amigos, of course. Had the codes pulled a while back and got wheel sensor and shuttle valve errors.
And finally, it's time for head gaskets - or a least a valley gasket. Leaking a pretty small amount of coolant (no change in at least a year) and has vacuum leak error codes.

Other than that it's still a nice daily driver.

Values for that generation are low and we got it at a good price - but I'm in a quandry. My mechanically inclined side says fix everything before selling. And I've done a lot more complex stuff than head gaskets - even the modulator rewiring project sounds "fun".

On the other hand it's not that rewarding to do major work on a car just to sell it and I'm not sure we'll end up that far ahead price wise (it also has a cracked front bumper - not too obvious but still another strike against it.

So the idea of making some Disco fan a great deal also seems attractive. If we can find the right buyer.

Thoughts, advice and opinions would be welcomed.

Many thanks,

Ron

 

If you don't mind doing the work yourself, you will likely get a good ROI on fixing it before you sell it. Big selling point to call out that the head gaskets were just done. Being you have an 03 with very low miles, you could still get a decent price for the truck.

 

Fix it, then dump it.

Basically, what Snafu said.

 

The three amigos modulator rewire is cheap (basically free), works well, and is fairly easy to do. The wires aren't too bad either. As for the leak, I would make sure it's a head gasket or valley gasket before making that big of an assumption. Do a coolant sniffer test. It could just be a hose, the reservoir tank, or radiator. As for keeping or selling, well that's up to you. Personally, I would fix the amigos (for free), put in new wires and plugs (and maybe coil pack). Then, figure out what the leak is. For a couple hundred bucks and some time all your problems could be solved.

 

make sure it is clean and running.
no check engine light.
Then dump it.

Unless you are doing the head gasket yourself - then you will spend $2,000.
You WILL NEVER get that money out of it as people will talk the price down.
SO, dump it.

 

Thanks to all for taking time to respond with great advice. I'm usually enthused about reviving cars and would definitely do the all work myself -IF- I thought it would not be throwing good money after bad.

I realize now that in trying not to write a long post I left out some important info:

The HG suspicion comes from the fact that the coolant just disappears (no drips or puddles) - and I finally found a lot of dried orange residue on the back of the block/top of the bell housing. We're still losing about an inch every month (~500 mi) but it's been that way for more than a year. We initially discovered this problem by letting enough coolant depart that there was a definite overheating episode. Fortunately my wife shut it down as soon as she saw the steam but it can't have been healthy for the heads.

Valley gasket MIGHT be the cause becasue I also have the 1171/1174 OBD combo. I read many posts on this, checked everywhere for leaks with and without starting fluid - and swapped in a known good MAF. All without success - so we have the Check Engine Light to contend with when it comes to selling.

I'm now thinking about investing a few bucks in a smoke test to at least see what I can learn about the 1171/1174's and then deciding. I'm certain that once I start pulling parts out I won't be able to resist going all the way with HG, water pump, etc. (I can't stand putting things back togehter half-repaired.)

Reading recent posts about stripped head stud holes is not helping me get excited for this.

Thanks again for your great input!

Ron

 

Invest and keep it or fix the easy stuff and sell it. Unless it's an extremely low mileage rig, you won't get your money back from any major jobs sugh as HG.

 

I did the three amigos fix in the parking lot at autozone... Took about an hr just to make sure it was the right wires and SNIP SNIP....crimp... then done.