What to buy a Ty?

[SteveD]

Hi everyone! I am new here and need, I repeat need to own a Ty! I have been looking and researching for a few months and have always wanted one. I have read the buyers guide here, but and loliking for more help. Can anyone please give me advise on buying a Ty? Anything at all would be appreciated. I don't want to get taken by a smooth talker when buying or buy just not knowing. I am extremly worried about "traked trucks", OD fraud, when most trucks start to have problems, turbos (which I know little about), does anyone know of a good mechanic in the Twin cities or Denver (the two places I am looking at trucks currently). Really anything useful you can give. I would like to be a happy owner of a reliable truck that I can show off and not completely redo.

Thanks!
Steve

 

[MRKING]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

Welcome .These 17 year old trucks get expensive quick if you have mechanics doing everything . On a good day , you may have ignition problems , false knock , or a list of other little bugs that seem to work there way out from time sitting, or just stuff going bad. These turbo motors are finicky , and wrenching yourself will save you both time and money . If you want a ty as a daily driver , make sure you find the right one ahead of time .Paying more up front in price or down the road on a cheaper truck that needs repairs is another good question .There are some locals that can usually check out prospects ,and dont quickly jump at a good price . Have it inspected by someone who knows syty's and have them datalog what the motor is saying .

There is a large turnover rate on these trucks where unkowing buyers pick up a deal , dump in thousands of dollars in mods , and sell months later when there not running properly . Most of the time , they are running worse when sold than bought . A modded truck is deffinately going to need twice the attention a stock truck is . There is a ton of great info on this site to dive through if you come across any speedbumps .

 

[SteveD]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

I am looking for a truck that will not be a daily driver, nor will it be tracked. I would like to have a good or great truck to drive here and there, talk and meet with other owners about, and possibly show just for fun. I am not intrested in anything moded out, with unoriginal paint sceems, or stolen or repoed trucks. So, I have really narrowed my search I know, that is why I need help. So I can make a good decision and become a happy Ty owner. If anyone knows of a truck or trucks for sale in the midwest or close to it let me know please.

 

[autoaddictions]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

I wouldnt be so concerned about the tracked trucks. Theres two ways to look at it. Most people that race there trucks take pride in making them run as close to perfect as they can. And for the most part are mechanicly inclined thus leading to a better running truck.
Ive seen trucks that have 18,000 miles on them run like crap and ones with 100,000 miles on them run great. It really is a crap shoot. good luck in your findings

You might want to get some jack stands, syty's love to keep them company,

 

[abqsy2194]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

I wouldnt be so concerned about the tracked trucks. Theres two ways to look at it. Most people that race there trucks take pride in making them run as close to perfect as they can. And for the most part are mechanicly inclined thus leading to a better running truck.
Ive seen trucks that have 18,000 miles on them run like crap and ones with 100,000 miles on them run great. It really is a crap shoot. good luck in your findings

You might want to get some jack stands, syty's love to keep them company,

so very true especially about the jack stands.....on a side note steve d if your interested in a sy i got one for sale

 

[HOTROD048]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

I've Got One For Sale It Is 100% Stock Looks And Runs Great.

 

[CodyTY23]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

i've got a Ty for sale. I'm right out side of Denver.

 

[SteveD]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

Not intrested in Sy's, sorry not my thing. I am intrested in hearing about peoples Ty's though. HotRod and Cody, I would to hear about your trucks and see pictures.

So I should not worry much about tracked trucks? That is the first time I heard that, anyone else have anything to say about that? I am intrested mostly in original trucks, that is partially why I am not wanting one that is tracked.

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

I would personally want either a truck that has been babied (rare) or one that the owner is on top of maintenance, scan tool reading and it has it running 100%. Its not as common as it should be as well.

 

[Baythan]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

If you buy from a SyTy.net board member, you're likely NOT to get hosed (not saying it doesn't happen, in fact, it recently did). But it's a small community and many of the trucks and their history are known by a number of people who have been here a long time (not me).

Even so, do not buy a Ty WITHOUT first taking someone knowledgable with you to check it out. There are about 1,001 things to look out for on these trucks (and inevitably, all 1,001 show up eventually), and without the knowledge, you're buying stone cold blind and will pay for it later. Good luck. Start saving for repairs.

 

[HOTROD048]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

Hey Steve D My Truck W/pics Is On The Board Under Trucks Forsale Thinking About Selling My Ty. The Truck Is In Good Condition And I'm The Second Owner With All Receipts And Docs.

 

[JSM]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

Learning to work on them yourself is VERY valuable, once you get to that step the issues you WILL run into are not AS bad on the pocket.

Buying a truck here will increase your chances of finding exactly what your looking for. Just letting people know on here what your looking for can help. Don't be afraid to travel or buy one long distance if you find someone to help you out locally to the truck. Not many trucks around and by limiting your range might lead you to buy a truck your not wanting.

Not sure where you budget is, but I see trucks from many members on here for sale throughout a year, etc I would buy without even taking a 2nd look. Chromy ty is one that recently sold twice I would have bought sight unseen if I was looking.

If you are going to pay for work to be done, I would suggest a different vehicle to enjoy.

 

[SteveD]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

Well I love these trucks, and I haven't even been in one. Of course I would love to find one near home, but I do understand the chances of that. Do you think I would be better off trying to bring a propective truck into a mechanic or try and find someone who owns one to help my buying decisions? I would love to say that money is no matter, but that is not true. I am still trying to figure out what my cap is, and that is a big reason why I started this thread. From what I have heard here and through other owners, is buy something that has been treated with the utmost care. The smaller the miles the better.

What is it about these trucks that makes them so costly to keep up? Is it the owners, manufacturing, or just that they are studs and people want to show it?

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[odium]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

Run away!

 

[SteveD]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

Run away!
__________________
1993 GMC Typhoon
Forest Green and Grey

Who are you and why would you say such a thing?

 

[odium]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

Just giving you a hard time. They are fun trucks when they are running right and looking good. I'll try to keep mine forever now that I've got one.

 

[Tooky]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

These trucks are unreliable, poor quality control, and fail often without explanation. They are much more difficult to repair than just about anything else. It seems every repair has to be a custom one-off industrial-strength solution. One of the biggest problems is the stock transmission can barely handle the stock torque output of these turbo motors. You can't just call up your local transmission shop and have them sell you a "built 700R4". It has about a 90% chance of failing prematurely. This site is littered with threads of sorry owners who experienced this exact problem. Myself included (it took 3 tries before I got one that worked and then over 100 hours of my own time to repair it again and recalibrate it until it finally worked LIKE STOCK).

The motors are a little more reliable BUT easily self-destructed if anything goes wrong with the boost control. This is another common problem. The truth is that to make these things run right you need to run the correct amount of boost and the correct amount of fuel octane and log the knock retard on a laptop datalogger. A lot of people either don't believe that or aren't willing to accept the truth and wind up taking their chances, some with success, some without.

JS Manufacturing said it best, if you are not willing to become a "shade tree mechanic", this vehicle would not be a good one to own. Even with an unlimited source of money, you still would have a VERY difficult time finding someone to pay to do all the repairs properly. But, you could get lucky and buy a real nice truly "unmolested" stock one and enjoy it for years...

 

[JSM]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

99.999999% of mechanics will make it worse. I don't care if you have the greatest mechanic around town, if he/she has never worked on a syty, knows them in and out chances are they won't be doing you any good.

Not saying they are hard to work on, well ok slightly and you need extra patience but they require things slightly different than the normal car. When you mechanic decides it needs new spark plugs, calls up the store to have some brought in they will be wrong. Not wrong enough to cause it not to run, just wrong enough to cause you to ask 1000 questions as to why it makes noises like marbles, why when you get in boost it stumbles, what shop can do a motor rebuild. This is just one example.

They are great trucks and can be a lot of fun, just come into it expecting to become your own pit crew also. You will have a ton of support from a great group though (here).

If you do go look at one, bring someone from the board.

 

[SteveD]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

I really appreciate the info all. I have to admit it makes me a little worried, but damn, I really want a Ty.

 

[Mtn Z]

Re: What to buy a Ty?

Don't be deterred. I really wanted one and I did tons of reading so I knew what I was getting into. You just have to be realistic and remember that at the very least, SyTys are 14 years old. Be patient and there will be great rewards. But, you still have to buy jackstands. :lol: