25,000 Mile Maintenance

redjewel2ss · February 27, 2012

my truck is approaching the 25,000 mile mark and i figured then was a good time to do some recommended maintenance on it.

oil was changed and tires were rotated around 20,000 miles, so they aren't needed right now. i rotate the tires every oil change which has been about roughly every 8,000. its first oil change was at 4k, and since then i've changed it when the oil life indicator reaches 20%.

i figured i should clean my K&N air filter which was installed around 6,000 miles, and clean the throttle body. i was thinking about changing the diff fluid too. and of course check the level of all the other fluids.

a service tech at the dealer told me all the suspension/steering joints were sealed and don't need lubing. however i noticed my tie rod ends have service ports on them. should i lube those up? i've heard of lubing the driveshaft, but have not looked at mine on how you do that... is there a special fitting i need for the lube gun or is it just like the tire rod ends?

what else do you guys recommend?

Dave4x4 · February 27, 2012

I'm curious as well I'm not far behind I think I have 2k miles till I hit the 25k mark.

jdubub · February 27, 2012

Curious here as well, I'm 4k away from it

Morgan1986 · February 27, 2012

I dont know in the 900s but do you guys have grease nipples under your truck by the wheels . On mine I have 3 I think on each side I grease up every time I change the oil. They take a bit of grease every time .

redjewel2ss · February 27, 2012

your thinking of the upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends. the gmt900s have sealed ball joints and grease nipples on the tie rod ends. your not filling the ball joints up to where grease is oozing out of the boots are you? not supposed to do that with ball joints.

Morgan1986 · February 27, 2012

your thinking of the upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends. the gmt900s have sealed ball joints and grease nipples on the tie rod ends. your not filling the ball joints up to where grease is oozing out of the boots are you? not supposed to do that with ball joints.

I have done that on accident before by pumping to much in. I personally think its good to always add some fresh grease. They have those nipples there for a reason. I do believe grease decays or gets old after a while. Working on commercial fishing boats I have to grease alot of moving parts and I truly believe if it has a nipple to grease and if it takes some grease do it . I think in those self grease enclosed things they go bad after a while. The ford front ends did not seem to last as long in the 1500 model and I think its alot to do with a option that you can grease them and there built a little better . I am comparing my 05 silverado to the 05 ford .

redjewel2ss · February 27, 2012

your thinking of the upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends. the gmt900s have sealed ball joints and grease nipples on the tie rod ends. your not filling the ball joints up to where grease is oozing out of the boots are you? not supposed to do that with ball joints.

I have done that on accident before by pumping to much in. I personally think its good to always add some fresh grease. They have those nipples there for a reason. I do believe grease decays or gets old after a while. Working on commercial fishing boats I have to grease alot of moving parts and I truly believe if it has a nipple to grease and if it takes some grease do it . I think in those self grease enclosed things they go bad after a while. The ford front ends did not seem to last as long in the 1500 model and I think its alot to do with a option that you can grease them and there built a little better . I am comparing my 05 silverado to the 05 ford .

there's surprisingly not much talk on here about failing ball joints. those i've read are in the gmt800s with a lot of miles on them or those that bought the 3.5" rough country lift!

jdubub · February 27, 2012

Right at 25k is when I need to change my oil again.

I will probably just grease the zerks, clean MAF, clean throttle body, make sure air filter is spotless, and run a bottle of techron cleaner through the tank.

But..... since you are thinking of changing your diff fluids, and we are the same neck of the woods........ can I bring you mine

redjewel2ss · February 27, 2012

Right at 25k is when I need to change my oil again.

I will probably just grease the zerks, clean MAF, clean throttle body, make sure air filter is spotless, and run a bottle of techron cleaner through the tank.

But..... since you are thinking of changing your diff fluids, and we are the same neck of the woods........ can I bring you mine

we can work on yours first, that way if something breaks, its your problem, and i don't make the same mistake twice

haha, just kidding, i totally know what i'm doing

jdubub · February 27, 2012

Right at 25k is when I need to change my oil again.

I will probably just grease the zerks, clean MAF, clean throttle body, make sure air filter is spotless, and run a bottle of techron cleaner through the tank.

But..... since you are thinking of changing your diff fluids, and we are the same neck of the woods........ can I bring you mine

we can work on yours first, that way if something breaks, its your problem, and i don't make the same mistake twice

haha, just kidding, i totally know what i'm doing

touche

MaverickZ71 · March 2, 2012

On the GMT 900s, there are only 2 grease zerks to lube during maintenance; 1 on each tie rod end. There are no other suspension or u-joint zerks to lube, as they are all factory-sealed. A standard grease gun hose end fitting will work. Mine takes 2-3 pumps at each oil change and seems to steer a little easier afterwards. Be careful not to overfill it and pop the rubber reservoirs, or the grease will leak out and you'll be replacing the tie rod ends. Dunno about lubing the driveshaft end; I've read too many pros and cons, so I'll just live with mine 'bumping' at stops.

jdubub · March 2, 2012

Any of you guys feel it is probably best to change diff fluids??? If so I am going with amsoil...... and man that will be some $$$$. I'm debating doing it or not

txab · March 2, 2012

Any of you guys feel it is probably best to change diff fluids??? If so I am going with amsoil...... and man that will be some $$$$. I'm debating doing it or not

I'd change now, since from what I see you haven't changed it prior. You'd be surprised what you'll find in some diffs after they get broken in. It's money well spent. You won't need to change it again for a good while since your going Amsoil

AzDragonLord · March 4, 2012

On the GMT 900s, there are only 2 grease zerks to lube during maintenance; 1 on each tie rod end. There are no other suspension or u-joint zerks to lube, as they are all factory-sealed.

My truck has a third fitting where the drive-shaft slip-joint is...right at the half-way point. Don't miss that one!

MTPoleKat · March 4, 2012

On the GMT 900s, there are only 2 grease zerks to lube during maintenance; 1 on each tie rod end. There are no other suspension or u-joint zerks to lube, as they are all factory-sealed. A standard grease gun hose end fitting will work. Mine takes 2-3 pumps at each oil change and seems to steer a little easier afterwards. Be careful not to overfill it and pop the rubber reservoirs, or the grease will leak out and you'll be replacing the tie rod ends. Dunno about lubing the driveshaft end; I've read too many pros and cons, so I'll just live with mine 'bumping' at stops.

Don't know if your just talking 1500s (never owned one) but the 2500s have zerks on the ball joints (upper and lower), tie rod ends, idler arm, and pitman arm. 8 zerks total and should get a couple shots of greese every oil change. Can't imagine not greesing the front end components.