Maintenance For Used Trucks--my 2 Cents

rjirvine · July 30, 2007

For those of you that are asking what maintenance to do on a used truck without a MX history here's my 2 cents based on my 2000 Silverado 4x4 that I bought with 91k miles on it and now have 106k.

Oil and Filter

- I personally sent my oil analysis off to Blackstone labs for analysis just to make sure everything was okay. Use a good filter.

Front and rear differential fluids

- the rear diff has spendy fluid from the dealer, don't forget a new gasket. I would also get a new fill plug before you start from an autoparts store, the are less than $2 and have a hex rather than a square insert design.

Transfer case fluid

-I got mine from the dealer. It takes a little over 2 quarts I think. If you clean the threads of the drain and fill plugs, don't forget to put permatex or something back on the threads or it will leak...trust me.

Transmission fluid, This one is a real bitch. My drain plug wouldn't come out and there's a bracket that may give you grief too. If you have a drain plug, try heating it up first to soften the lock-tite, then use a 6-sided 15mm socket. I had to pull my front driveshaft out, and bend the bracket out of the way to drop the pan. I changed the fluid/filter, put it all back on, drove it for 100 miles, then drained and filled the fluid again. No problems.

Fuel filter

- easy enough to change, and a good excuse to get a set of flare nut wrenches.

Throttle body-spray it down good with intake cleaner..brake cleaner is too harsh. Depending on how much gunk you have it may throw a code and be hard to start for a couple of tries.

MAF sensor-I use electrical contact cleaner, but intake cleaner should work, DON'T damage the little sensors on the back side. No rubbing etc. is necessary.

PCV valve. Mine has the check valve in it, the newer ones have a fixed orifice. I'd check to see which one you have before buying one (I always guess...and get it wrong)

Air Filter

Spark Plugs - I had the 41-952's (Platinum) stock and replaced them with the 41-985's (Iridium). The gap went from .060 to .040 and I though they sucked. I put NGK TR-55's (copper $2 each) in with a .044 gap and love 'em! Don't forget to use anti-seize on the threads.

Spark plug wires, got an AC Delco stock set from ebay

Serpentine belt-the one on mine was an aftermarket one that was wearing bad. I got a stock one from the dealer for a pricey $55 but its supposed to lask 150k miles and it doesn't squeal/squeak at all.

Cabin air filter-not sure what years they had them, but I think 99-02? Mine were filthy!

While you're in that area, make sure your blower motor works on all 5 speeds, if it doesn't it's probably the blower motor resistor, which is right next to the cabin air filter.

Interior lights-if you're handy with a soldering iron you can replace your burned out dash panel lights from bulbs from radio shack (i'd have to look up the p/n)

Front end lube- try turning the wheel all the way to the right to get the idler arm/steering arm fitting. It works on some models but not on others. Drop the splash shield under the bumper for easy access to the idler arm.

Shocks- mine were shot, replaced them with monroe reflex and like them. Many forum opinions on brands!

Tires- I put Michelin LTX M/S LT265 75R-16's on. Outstanding tire! Again, many opinions on forum!

Upgrades: I put Hellwig front/rear sway bars on. Makes cornering much tighter!

Wait4me tune. I love mine. If I fill up with 93 octane, I'm getting 3MPG gain.

Things that may come up:

* Mt passenger side window motor cables broke, got one from ebay-won't do that again.

* Rear Driveshaft u-joints. You'll need a torch to melt the factory plastic injection that holds the bearing caps in, after that the replacements go in like normal. Mine went bad at 100k.

* If your rear brake splash shield are toast like mine were, go ahead and replace them when changing rear diff fluid.

The brakes were done before I bought it, so don't have much experience on the newer trucks in this area.

rjirvine · July 30, 2007

The Radio Shack p/n for the backlighting bulbs is 272-1154

I also forgot to add-for those of you that dont have a drain plug in the tranny pan, you can get one for about $5 at the parts store. You drill a hole in your existing pan and put the new plug in. It's not very big, but gets the job done. There is plenty of room near the forward side of the pan.