A step back, in a good way

[oldodge41]

I bought a new truck. 2025 Silverado, 2500HD. Much to my surprise it has grease fittings on the front steering and suspension. Nine in total, I didn't expect to see them on the factory parts. Pleasantly surprised. Us old guys find satisfaction in the strangest things.

 

Edited April 5 by oldodge41

[JBNeal]

I heard that radio and HVAC knobs are making a comeback by popular demand...the Laramie has a drop-in oil filter element which I kinda chuckled at when I 1st saw it, but I appreciate after years of doing oil changes...of course there's a trick to not making a mess, but it's way easier to swap out than the spin-on filter on the QuadCab; that one marks its territory every time 👈

[LazyK]

Radio???

Is that still a thing.

[Sniper]

Hmm, got a call from our fleet manager couple weeks ago.  Time to replace the 22 Silverado 1500 4x4 I currently have, over 101,000 miles in less than 2 years.  Yes, I know 2022 was three years ago but it took 1.5 years to get the POS because of "covid".  It was ordered in Oct 2021, got it May of 23.  Getting a Silverado 2500 long bed as the replacement.  Not sure if it'll be a 25 or a 26 though  All I can say is that the dash on the 1500 has a lot of blue painters tape on the shiny bits because the sun will shine off it into my eyes.  The electronics, primarily the display, gets freaky on occasion.  Sometimes I have to shut it off and wait 20 minutes or so for all the computers to shutdown before it works right again.  About a month ago I had to take it to Chevrolet because it had a reduced performance check engine light on, seems the manifold to the turbo split, turbo 4 not an option on the 2500.  Just replaced all the tires last week, two of them were original.  Still running the original brakes.  Every morning, when I first drive it the trans free spins for a bit then catches, been doing that for a long time.  Only does it after sitting overnight and it's not like the old Torqueflight morning sickness.  It'll run and drive for about 30 seconds, freewheel, then catch and go, then be fine the rest of the day.  What else... oh yeah, the average mpg isn't really all that better than the 2019 Silverado 2500 LB 4x4 I had, 6.0 V8.  Both averaged about 17 mpg with how and where I drive.

[Ivan_B]

I've bought some replacement parts with the grease fittings on them, about 10 years ago. Definitely would not expect it on a new car, though. I believe that, at least some, commercial trucks still use them (because these types of parts are more durable/stronger). So maybe the Silverado wants to be perceived as a real truck? Or else, they just use some of the same parts with the big ones  

Is there anything about these said in the owner's manual? Like get a grease gun and lubricate them every time it rains? 🥲

[Ulu]

My 2012 Tacoma has Zerks on the steering joints and ball joints.

 

It’s pretty easy to service. No jack required to grease it or change oil. It’s just tall.

 

The spin-on filter is on top, between the battery and air filter. It has it’s own little drain rail and tube. You can stick a 16oz plastic bottle under the tube to catch the drips.

 

But there never is more than a drip, because the filter is inverted, and it has an anti-drainback valve in the filter.

 

All modern filters do, but they don’t work as well if the filter lies sideways.

 

That allows some oil to hang in the horizontal passages, which won’t happen if the filter is inverted.

[Dan Hiebert]

I've a 2019 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 (I still can't bring myself to just call them just "Ram" trucks).  No grease fittings at all that I can find on it.  Kind of strange not doing the grease zerk hide and seek thing once a year.  I wonder if your Silverado has them because it is a HD 3/4 ton truck, rather than 1/2 ton?  

[Eneto-55]

28 minutes ago, Dan Hiebert said:

I've a 2019 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 (I still can't bring myself to just call them just "Ram" trucks).  No grease fittings at all that I can find on it.  Kind of strange not doing the grease zerk hide and seek thing once a year.  I wonder if your Silverado has them because it is a HD 3/4 ton truck, rather than 1/2 ton?  

I'm curious if your 2019 is the new model (5th gen), or the 4th gen 'Classic'.  (We have a 2019 1500 2-wheel drive 4th gen.)

[Dan Hiebert]

12 hours ago, Eneto-55 said:

I'm curious if your 2019 is the new model (5th gen), or the 4th gen 'Classic'.  (We have a 2019 1500 2-wheel drive 4th gen.)

It's the new (5th gen) model.  I was "meh" when the 4th gen came out, then when the 5th gen came out the styling really caught my eye, and it was getting time to get a new truck.  I am slightly curious if grease fittings have found their way back onto them.  We had a 2001 4x4 Dodge pickup that only had two or maybe four grease fittings.  I had noticed the number of fittings grew over the years on that model.  Just one of those "things that make you go hmm".     

[Eneto-55]

11 hours ago, Dan Hiebert said:

It's the new (5th gen) model.  I was "meh" when the 4th gen came out, then when the 5th gen came out the styling really caught my eye, and it was getting time to get a new truck.  I am slightly curious if grease fittings have found their way back onto them.  We had a 2001 4x4 Dodge pickup that only had two or maybe four grease fittings.  I had noticed the number of fittings grew over the years on that model.  Just one of those "things that make you go hmm".     

Glad that you like yours. We also have a 2019 non-MoPar "family car", and the electronic business is just over the top for me (don't like it). Oh, it's been a good vehicle, and the MPG results are the best of any vehicle we've had in the past.

 

Price also led us to the Ram Classic (bought it used, w/ 105,000 + miles on the clock), as well as the cab design. My wife didn't want a single cab, and the shorter doors in the rear allows for a fairly decent length bed w/o making the whole thing super long.  (I also don't like the design that has no pillar between the front & rear doors.  I'm not crazy about automatic transmissions, either, but while my wife CAN drive standard, she sort of insisted.)

[Dan Hiebert]

On 4/8/2025 at 7:50 AM, Eneto-55 said:

Glad that you like yours. We also have a 2019 non-MoPar "family car", and the electronic business is just over the top for me (don't like it). Oh, it's been a good vehicle, and the MPG results are the best of any vehicle we've had in the past.

 

Price also led us to the Ram Classic (bought it used, w/ 105,000 + miles on the clock), as well as the cab design. My wife didn't want a single cab, and the shorter doors in the rear allows for a fairly decent length bed w/o making the whole thing super long.  (I also don't like the design that has no pillar between the front & rear doors.  I'm not crazy about automatic transmissions, either, but while my wife CAN drive standard, she sort of insisted.)

Yeah, I'm not keen on the electronics, either.  It's had four recalls, all were for computer programming fixes.  The last one was for the traction control which could "fail and cause a crash", but no immediate fix.  They finally sent a fix four months later but the temperature of the computer module, located over the driver's fender, had to be over 55 degrees to take the fix.  This was in December.  In northern Maine.  And the dealer is an hour drive away (further north, too), so they had to park it in the shop for an hour to warm up before they could do the five minute fix.  At least they let me know that beforehand.  I tried to minimize the electronic wizardry, only got three options, 4x4, towing package, and the smaller hemi.  Gets good MPG for a truck, and the thing rides better than any car we've owned.  I would have preferred a manual tranny, too, but they don't put those in them anymore.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I care not for all the bells and whistles....first they annoying, while safety minded by design, they are dumbing down drivers daily to depend on the sensor alerts and not honing driving skills.  I bought my newest vehicle in 2015 and now have 35K miles on it...I bought it because it was an AVP trim Caravan.  Very much a base model with few appointments.  For that reason, I bought the vehicle.  Turns out, 2016 was the last year for the AVP.   My vehicles are getting older, scouring for a low mileage older vehicle has not been very successful.   Unfortunately, Mopar does not offer anything I want these days.... dragging my feet but one day, got to get a bit of an upgrade to my 06 daily and hoping not to make it the low mileage 94 cruiser van or even the 90 B250 which is super smooth.  While nice rides...they do suck up a bit of fuel for the local commute. Not happy with today's choices. 

Edited Thursday at 12:43 PM by Plymouthy Adams

[Los_Control]

I actually have a mental phobia about newer vehicles ... I wont even sit in them or be driven around in one ....

I sat in a 2016 Ford Expedition one time .... Niece just bought it new and wanted me to back it up to hook up a trailer to it.

Wheres the keys? .... just use the start button.

You do not have a tow ball? .... Yes it is folded up into a pocket under the bumper ... figure it out I never used it she said.

 

I literally freaked out over this thing and refused to drive it ... she thought I was nuts ... sure she is right. She is a head nurse on her floor in a major hospital in Seattle.

 

Once I sat in it and had it running ... all the electronic gadgets back up mirror, stow away tow hitch ... heated seats ... it felt like I was in a cockpit of a space ship.

I felt it was stupid to put that many resources into a car ... I refused to support it or even sit in it.

 

The more I learn today about the electronic gadgets on them, the firmer I feel in my convictions.

Engines that shut off at a stoplight and start when you hit the gas pedal .... engines that turn off 1/2 the cylinders when the car feels you do not need them .... I don't go for that crap at all and firmly will not even ride in one .... as long as I have a choice ... call me crazy, just the way I am.

 

Neighbor brought over a 2018 Ford 4x4 a few weeks ago to look at the turn signal bulb ... I looked at it and changed the bulb ... I never got into the truck though.

 

I'm sure it is a mental disorder of some sort ... but it's all mine   

Theres a reason why I own 3 vehicles and 1993 is the newest ... even my riding mower is a 1992

[Eneto-55]

One little thing they could do to help out in the cases where you have to rent a vehicle, would be to put the wiper controls in the same place on ALL vehicles.  A few years ago - the first time we ever rented a car - My brother said "Follow me", jumped in his Dodge PU and took off. It was just getting too dark to see well inside the car, and I'm sitting there trying to get the lights on, or maybe that was automatic, must have been something else. We have 3 MoPar vehicles, and they are pretty standard, but the one non-American vehicle is just plain weird. Hold the brake down to start the car. My habit has always been (often times it was necessary) to give the gas a quick jab just as I hit the starter.  Now that 'stranger' is messing me up. The MoPars we have all still immediately adjust the wiper speed when you change it. This other one, it waits until the next time it feels like doing something before I can see if I'm turning, pushing, or pulling the wiper stalk in the right direction.

Edited yesterday at 02:07 AM by Eneto-55
typing error.