Howdy! New poster, necro thread. This seemed better than starting a new thread since there is some good info here. I'm just beginning my journey of consideration of a PIU. I like the idea of the "extra bits" but I am leery of the actual level of maintenance that the fleet owner would have done. I have read the threads on the PTU fluid and the timing chain/water pump. I like to do my own work, but there's a limit the older I get!
With that said, should I look for well under 100K units or a bit over? If under, with my 10K miles per year driving habits, based on miles alone, I could judge the time until some of the more major stuff needs to be done. I know idling plays a big role with these, so that begs the question: would a vehicle with 105-110K miles have had the water pump changed? Do fleets changed them based on the "severe" category, and would an 80K mile unit have had it done?
Everything I'm looking at to replace one of my two vehicles with has some "major" thing to keep in mind, but I think I am ready to jump ship from GM as I don't like the engine issues the Traverse/Acadia platform has been plagued with. Not sure if the newer ones have corrected this, but newer = more $$, and I'm a working stiff. I haven't had a Ford since my 1986 Taurus (2.5 w/ 5-speed) that I sold in 1994 along with a clapped out Ranger that I picked up and kept for a few months about the same time. I need something with some decent towing capacity as I have a small cabin cruiser and use the Trailblazer as the tow vehicle. My wife's Sportage won't do it but it is a great winter vehicle. They will both be replaced within the next 2 years or less but I think the Kia may go first as I would have to do some mods on the PIU to make it a tow vehicle. That all depends on when I purchase the PIU, assuming I do of course.
My normal routine when I buy a used vehicle is to change just about any maintenance item to have a baseline, but you can only tackle so much at once on a daily driver. Thanks for any thoughts and experiences.