i hear that the air pumps for the secondary air injection systems are made really dumb. the way their designed allows water into the pump giving you an average 2-4 years life on your air pump, of course buying a new air pump with warranty usually takes care of this problem. the air pump is fairly easy to replace. look up obd2 codes website put in P0410, it expains it all and links you to a TSB regarding this. Also my mechanic tells me that the coolant system's go out sometimes due to the coolant used. Apparently DEX-COOL coolant is not the best for these, even though its made for GM vehicles specifically. Dex-Cool coolant leads to a brown mudlike buildup in the tank ,tubes,and radiator. If you have that mudlike **** in your tank, thats what caused it. ea, often resolved by replacing the whole coolant system ive heard. i havent replaced mine yet, i might do so

 

first off i'd like to say these are great little trucks . they ride nice , get decent mileage, look good, come with lots of options . past that i would have to say if you get one look for 98+...as 96 -97 seem to be the years with the most problems. maybe these were the transitition years , start of obdII , refinements and/or detriments with the 4L60E tranny.

i have a 1996 4dr 4wd 4.3 vortec .......strong motor, sound body .......the electrical system and tranny on the other hand leave a lot to be desired .

good luck with your search ...dont let others misfortunes deter you from finding a good truck .

 

pop the radiator cap and start it up. if you see bubbles in the radiator you got a bad head gasket. put the cap back on (obviously)