We decided to buy a used 4-wheel drive pickup truck in 1996. My husband needed a work truck. We looked around and found a great deal on a
1990 GMC full-size pickup. There were features which helped in our decision to buy this particular truck over others.
Heavy Duty Suspension Package: The suspension can handle very heavy loads with out squatting the suspension completely. My husband has personally hauled 3,161 lbs. of sand in the bed of this truck and there was still room for the suspension to deal with the road.
This truck came equipped with heavy duty leaf spring and shock suspension in the rear and heavy duty coil spring and shock suspension in the front.
8 Foot Bed: The bed on this truck is 8 feet long by 4.5 feet wide. This allows for much cargo space. The tailgate also has steel hinges that double as supports for extra long loads.
Tires: This truck came equipped with 265-75-16 inch, six-lug wheels. These are great for added traction off-road and in the snow. They also act as a second suspension system in a way because most half ton trucks don't have the load capacity of a heavy-half.
Heavy Duty Rear Bumper: The rear bumper is made of double layered hardened steel and equipped with a tow ball which has a 6,000 lb. towing capacity. This is only a factory specification. This truck can tow much higher loads. For instance, my husband had an instance where a full sized van was stuck in the snow, down a steep embankment. He rigged a tow chain with a come-along to the rear bumper and to the front A-frame of the van and was able to pull this van out within seconds. (This also had something to do with the horsepower tweaks that have been personally done.)This will be explained in the engine description.
Body Design: The body design is fairly square and on the large side. If you are looking for aerodynamics this is not the truck to buy. There is, however, a problem with rust. The 1990 model year is the year before GM used galvanized body panels. The bed of the truck is already rusted through at the fender wells. On the brighter side, the steel that this body is made from is very strong. For example, my husband hit a steel girter at 30 mph, head on, and the front end did not touch the radiator. To give you an idea, the radiator is only about 4 inches from the front of the truck. I would say on any other vehicle a collision at this speed would have done much more damage.
Brakes: This truck came equipped with front anti-lock disc brakes and rear drum brakes. The braking system in this vehicle is very good. We bought this truck in 1996 and it is now the year 2000 and it just now needs new brakes.
"On the Fly" 4-wheel drive: The 4-wheel drive system has 4 positions.
**2-wheel high: This is used under normal driving conditions.
**4-wheel high: This can be used on or off road. Mainly used for snow covered roads, adverse weather conditions where extra traction is needed and for having a little fun in the mud.
**4-wheel low: Low range is used for navigating steep inclines, deep sand and for example, pulling a boat and trailer out of the water. This would be for all around extra power in 4-wheel drive. Very powerful, but use caution when in this position because the transfer case is made of cast aluminum and can crack under too much of a load, especially in reverse.
**Neutral: In our opinion, the only time this position should be used is in the unlikely case in which this truck would have to be towed. This position allows for no gear movement in the transmission or any other gear driven parts in the drive train.
The 4-wheel drive system can be engaged at speeds of up to 20 mph. However, we do not recommend this because it has a thermal locking front axle that takes about 15 seconds to engage. This could be an unsafe practice in two ways: 1.) You have to take your eyes off of the road to bend down and engage the 4-wheel drive. 2.) If you step on the accelerator before the 4-wheel drive light comes on, you will snap your U-joints on your front drive shaft.
Engine: This truck came factory equipped with a 210 hp, 350 CI. engine. In most cases, this would be plenty of power for the average driver. The power for this model year was unmatched but causes a bit of a problem on wet or snowy roads. I would recommend putting some type of weight over the wheel wells in the bed.
We found the need for more power. My husband likes to use this truck, in the winter, to help stranded drivers get back on the road. This takes more power than the engine puts out stock.
The engine is throttle body injected. This helps out much with fuel economy. We estimate that we get about 18 mpg in the city, which is excellent for an engine this size. We have had no problems with engine performance, cold starting and overall internal engine function. The engine now has 76,000 miles on it and is still as strong as the day we bought the truck.
Transmission: This is probably the one major drawback that we found with this truck. It comes stock with a 4-speed automatic 700R transmission. These transmissions do not have a long life span. The truck is now 10 years old and the transmission had to be rebuilt last year. When the transmission went we called everywhere trying to find one. The only place to find one was at a dealer. This is the only vehicle we have owned where the transmission has not outlasted the life of the vehicle. If you are thinking of purchasing this model year truck, be sure and find out if the transmission has been rebuilt or replaced in the life of the truck. If not, plan on having to replace or rebuild the transmission soon after purchase.
Seats: We were lucky enough to find this particular truck because it came equipped with bucket seats. These trucks usually come equipped with bench seats. My husband's personal taste was bucket seats. The seats are made of cloth and are comfortable in the city. You will tend to bounce around a little bit on long trips.
Handling and Steering: Due to the size of the tires and the strength of the suspension system, this truck is able to handle much like a car. The wheel base gives you the ability to make abrupt movements without fear of roll over. This is an excellent feature in emergency situations such as sudden stops. However, I would not recommend this to a 4-wheel drive novice. The steering is not too loose or too tight. It is much different than that of a car in that the steering wheel is much larger. We have found the steering to be on the smooth side.
Options which came with this vehicle:
**
Tilt steering wheel
**Cruise control
**Rear Cargo Light
**Delay Wipers
**AM/FM Cassette Stereo
**Sliding Rear Window Glass
**Lighted Windshield Visor
**Chrome side mirrors
**Tow Package
**Heavy Duty Suspension
In conclusion, if you are in the market for a quality used 4-wheel drive pickup, we would recommend the 1990 GMC K1500 Sierra Heavy Half. Here's a few helpful hints to help tweak the power in this truck.
**Replace the entire ignition system with all accel parts.
**Install a Magna-flow exhaust system
**Replace the factory prom chip in the ECM with an after market power chip.
Just these few things will boost your horsepower to just about 300hp.
Note: Don't forget to ask about the transmission.
Amount Paid (US$): 7,200
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1990
Model and Options: K1500 Sierra Heavy Half
