[BigCaroona]

Hi all, looking at a sierra today and would just like to know what things to check on it. Will be checking for rust and everything like that but just after some major things to look at before thinking about buying.
Cheers.

[Gwagensteve]

Make sure the car is cold when you start it.
Smoke on startup (valve stem seals)
Automatic Choke operation
Listen for knocking when the engine is cold indicating piston slap from worn bores
Engine should pull smoothly and rev freely- don't be afraid to rev it out.
Excessive steering play- I think 40mm at the steering wheel is the service limit.
Notchy vibration when pulling away (driveshaft universal joints)
If it's a soft top ideally you should fold the windscreen to check for rust in the cowl or bottom of the screen frame
Check for oil on the inside of the rear wheels/brakes
These cars are never all that quiet but there shouldn't be noticeable whine from any particular area of the car when at speed.

They're not an expensive or difficult car work on or fix.

[BigCaroona]

Cheers mate

[Gwagensteve]

Oh, if it's a coil model (sj80) you shouldn't buy it at all, but if you know the pitfalls of the coil car and still want one-

Cracks around the radius arm mounts on the axles
Cracks or evidence of repair on the top shock mounts
Listen very carefully for knocking under light load- the coil Sierra motor is renowned for dropping piston skirts
Steering shimmy

Steve.

[BigCaroona]

OK buddy thanks

[BigCaroona]

What's so bad about the coilys?

[Kor3y101]

^^ don't even start..
Hahah

[Gwagensteve]

Hah! This is the noob section so I'll briefly respond.

The coil sierra was a stop-gap model to address the relatively poor on road behaviour of the leaf sprung Sierra.
It was sold from 1996-1998

It has a surpringly large number of unique parts, making upgrades and sourcing parts difficult.
It has very little aftermarket support because it was sold for such a short period, and never in the US.
The front diff and all axles are unique and have limited or no aftermarket support.
The transfer case is chain drive for quietness on road, but has poor gearing and the gearing can't be changed.
The body on the soft tops no longer has a removable windscreen frame so they are very susceptible to being written off after a light rollover.
The suspension is a disaster. Excessive front roll stiffness, inadequate rear roll stiffness, brackets the break off, shock mounts fail, very limited front wheel travel, almost no aftermarket support.

After all that, they're not even much better on road although they do steer better.
The three most sought after Sierra upgrades, EFI, power steer, and automatic transmission weren't made available locally, so it's not even a trade off of desirable features vs some issues like a jimny.

[BigCaroona]

Cheers mate this ones an 85 model so I should be all good