refurb thread: new to me 2004 6.0 2500hd destined for camp duty

VikingTrad3r · April 16, 2020

Hi Guys, family has a camp in Ontario Canada and we killed our 1991 ford f-150 last year which was on its last legs anyway.

Ive owned 2 6.0 based vehicles already (denali xl and esky esv) and i sort of know my way around enough to carry out routine maintainence and minor-ish repairs.

So far this truck with 200k miles on it seems to run just fine. Definitely signs of it being used as a farm truck, rode hard put away wet, however its foundation is very good.

please chime in with guidance on repairs and preventative service so i may set this truck up for as trouble free service to the family as possible. we are remote!

interior and body (ib)

ib1. ticking/clicking/tapping noise from behind center of dash. It is correlated with temperature slider positions. seems that only the driver side slider will affect clicking noise. when it is in center position (blend of hot and cold) it clicks. if i move it to either full hot or full cold click disappears. passenger side temp slider has no influence on noise.

ib2. driver window sounds like it is grinding glass when up and down movement applied.

ib3. driver door hinge pins are shot —— on order

ib4. gear select lever is a bit loose. —— checking to see if the screw is loose.

ib5. driver seat cushion and cloth cover replacement. colour is grey with a dotted pattern inset. need new cushion and cover.

ib6. new windshield -install complete

ib7. diy the bed liner. need to find which is best.

in8. something is funky with tailgate handle. it works just feels to stiff.

mechanical (m)

m1. all fluids changed

m2. leaks. i deteste leaks. transfer case output seal for sure. and there is something forward of that leaking but have not had the truck up on the lift yet.

m3. needs shocks!! dont need ultra high performance. Monroe reflex was the plan, any major gripes or any major successes out there with much cheaper shocks? I run bilstiens on the vettes but doubt the need for them on a camp truck.

m4. the tires are rock hard and very old. new tires to be installed shortly.

m5. we are on a dusty road off the main highway and id like to see if i can install the injector shrouds/covers like on my denali and escalade.

m6. anybody want to trade for airaid intake? id like to go back to stock.

here are pics. she isnt clean but shes got a great foundation.

you will see prior owner had a 5th wheel installed on this 3/8 plate. we will be removing that.

actually i guess i cant upload more than one pic. booooo. is there a setting i can change for that?

Colossus · April 17, 2020

Very cool looking truck. My part in chiming in here is do all the fluids. Fresh fluids all around. New plugs and new wires. Run full synthetic oil too. Being up in Ontario, you should be fine with 5w30 full synthetic and a a good premium oil filter. At 200,000 miles I'd also have an engine flush done using a good machine. I suggest the BG Products and shops that use them. Good new air filter, clean the MAF sensor, the throttle body, put in a new battery.

They are great trucks to work on for sure!

VikingTrad3r · April 17, 2020

thanks colossus for the suggestions. i’ll do fluids yes. adding it to list!

Colossus · April 18, 2020

Excellent. I'm starting to get sold on some of the Amsoil products such as their gear lube/differential and transfer case/ATF stuff. I'll be buying some soon to run in my HD But if you go full synthetic Mobil-1 or Valvoline and such I think it'll work well. Go ahead and replace ALL of your light bulbs as well, headlights, taillights, license plate lights, corner/marker lights, DRLs, they are all due. Make sure the brakes are in good shape. Before you do a coolant flush, change the thermostat as well. Check the hoses, and replace the serpentine belt. Check to make sure the A/C works well and is cool enough as it also works the defroster in the wintertime. Lube all the door hinges, the tailgate latches, and hood latches. a good air filter once a year is all you need unless you do a ton of off road dirty driving. I like getting parts from NAPA Auto Parts, they sell better quality parts vs the other auto parts stores. I'll also get AC/Delco genuine parts from online if I can find them, just beware that there is a lot of stuff out there on EBAY and Amazon now that are cheap knockoffs using the brand names.

Colossus · April 18, 2020

Would like to see some more photos of the truck once you get her tuned up and cleaned up.

Regarding the spray in bed liner- I really like Line-X, they have treated we very well for the past 4 trucks I have. But I have no grudges against Rhino. My current truck has a Gatorhyde spray on that the previous owner had done. It's held up pretty well, I had Line-X supplement it by going over the rails and touching up one or two spots.

Spark Plugs and Wires- AC/Delco plugs, use what the manual calls for, don't go with anything else.

Make sure the wiper blades and arms are good and the wiper fluid is spraying well. Check the shark fin On-Star antenna, make sure it looks in good shape and the gasket looks good, same with the gasket around the center top brake light. (Don't forget to change those brake light bulbs up top)

Regarding the tailgate handle- I recall the handles being pretty stiff on my former GMT-800s (99-2006 models) I did have to replace one because the plastic tabs that secure the 2 rods that go to each side latch snapped. I also recall the bezal around the handle cracking and having to replace that as well. But a good synthetic grease/lube spray on those latches will help things engage and release smoother. I've been having good luck with the WD-40 Silicon waterproof spray. It is low odor vs regular WD-40. Tri-Flow is also good stuff but smells a bit stronger.

Check the operation of all the power windows and door locks. Check the status of the weather stripping around the doors

Last of all get yourself a good set of HD floor mats. Husky Liner seems to be the favorite choice around here as of late. WeatherTech quality has gone down the drain over the past 5 years, sadly. I'll not be purchasing those again.

Check for any open recalls on your truck as well.

VikingTrad3r · April 28, 2020

sprayed in an ez liner. amazing results for $75. used an undercoating gun i had.

its been cool about 8-15 celsius here and its taken almost a week to fully harden up.

VikingTrad3r · April 28, 2020

we fixed the tailgate. it was just had a hard time articulating the release mechanism around the pins because at some time in its ownership the tailgate has been smacked and it bend the slotted hinge. we bent it to function properly which involved adding a spacer.

guys im sorry but i cant seem to upload more than 1 photo per day from my iphone. its got something to do with a size limit of 4.8mb.

on all my other forums ive never had this issue. perhaps other forums use an auto shrink feature. I understand completely the photos on modern iphones and android phones are large. hopefully there is a method that could be automated on the forum where the files are shrunk.

until then im not going to be able to provide fellow members with many pics at all.