So my grandpa is about to give me his 2001 chevy silverado 1500 with z71 suspension. Here's the deal. It has been used very, very rarely (it only has 28,000 miles on it).Although that is great due to low milage and a body/interior in near mint condition I have my concerns. 1. it cant be good for any kind of truck to sit that much without being used. 2. since it hasnt been garage kept Im worried that sitting in the driveway might have led to some rust. When I had it up on a lift about a year ago for an oil change the mechanic said it looked pretty great and had what he called minor rust.

So here is my question. Is there anything I should look out for? what kinds of problems would sitting so much lead to? I would gamble to say it has been driven once a month the past few years. two years ago I drove it from Ohio to Minnesota on a trip and it did just fine, with the exception that it sucked down a ton of oil on the first leg. I assumed this was because it was filling and re-lubricating all of the gaskets and stuff since they had probably dried out. After getting an oil change up there and filling her back up, she really didnt use any oil on the leg home.

Is there anything I should do that you guys recommend before I take ownership of it? Should I take it to the mechanic and have them do some sort of inspection? I have hardly any mechanical background but everything sounds like it works fine and it starts up right away and runs like a top.

I have attached some pictures for you guys.

 

I would replace all the hoses and Serp. belt. Also it might be a good ideal to replace all the fluids, diff. tranny, transfer, and radiator. Since the truck is 12 years old with original tires they too should be replaced.

 

What TMW said
And After some long trips, I would crawl under to check for any leaks.
After sitting for that long... some gaskets or seal may have dried up.

 

Yep - replace everything rubber except for the brake flex hoses. I wouldn't mess with those unless they look cracked or have damage to them.

Replace the tires if they show dry rot. They most likely will, because it was stored outside. So replace the radiator hoses, serpentine belt(s) (does it have an A/C belt, or is that for the newer ones?), flush your transmission fluid, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid, front/rear and transfer case fluids. You should also check your air cleaners for build up of debris. I've seen many times that rodents like to next in air boxes. Especially check your cabin air filter, because of setting outside, you probably have lots of small vegetation built up in the air box.
Also letting a good shop inspect it is probably a good idea. If they're maintenance freaks, they'll tell you about all the fluids I just told you. It's also likely that your brake rotors are rusty and pitted as well, which decreases on the surface area available for your brake pads to apply on. In other words, rusty pitted brake rotors decrease braking capacity. A good shop will tell you all these things.

But your brakes, fluids, rubber hoses/belts, and tires should all be looked at for dry rot and deterioration. Also if you take it in to the shop, have them look at your spare tire to make sure it holds air and is in good shape. And if it were mine, I would run a can of Seafoam through the gas tank to clean out the varnish that has undoubtedly formed on your fuel injectors.

 

Does anyone have an idea of how much these suggestions would roughly cost me at a mechanic? Im not really mechanically inclined - i have done stuff with my jetski engine but would be hesitant to do so on a truck

 

For the fluids, belt and hoses my guess is $200-300, maybe even a little more. Money well spent.