About to buy my first pickup

[Bear_Gibson]

Question on the sway bars. Rock Auto shows front bushings mostly at 30mm but my caliper shows mine about 28mm, is there a standard? Also is there a rear sway bar? I see some things listed for rear but mine doesn't appear to have one...

I know later models had a rear sway bar option. The bar mounts opposite of the front one. As in the bar bushings are on the axle and the links go to the frame.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk

 

[Peep6543]

Not a ton to report other than parts arrived for the rear main seal replacement. About $70 for the seal, pan gasket and oil pump vs $500 for a shop to do it.

I was able to get my $40 eBay headlights in and removed the front air dam. I know there are a million custom look lenses out there but with zero other modifications I think they would look out of place. Factory style replacement.

 

[Dan98]

Long story short I finally got to spend some real time in and around the truck, including driving it home about 200 miles. It ran fine but there are absolutely some leaks underneath. I'm pretty sure I see engine oil and trans fluid.

In a couple days I'll clean the entire area thoroughly and then locate the source of the leaks. Really hoping for just valve cover, pan, and drain plug gaskets but it might be more serious.

The steering is really loose. The guy already had replaced the steering box so I'm going to replace the tie rods, sway bar links and bushings, grease about a half dozen fittings and ball joints, and then beef up the steering damper.

Thoughts on adding the Aftermarket steering stabilizer unit between the frame rails? I've seen mixed opinions.

View attachment 236432

That is nice truck looks solid. I dont see many that year with out a lot of rust. Probably a good by even with a few oil leaks.
Just a heads up the converters are prone to failure in certain 2nd gen trucks might want to do a sitting stall speed test once and awhile

Sent from my SM-J260A using Tapatalk

 

[Peep6543]

Thanks for the replies. According the Haynes manual the 98 and up had a rear sway bar so nothing on mine.

I really was surprised to not find any rust at all. Only a few minor surface areas where dings have gone through the paint. I expected to see soft cab corners or rockers but it's very solid and no rippling.

Hitting a junkyard today to hopefully get a paint-matches fender, nicer steering wheel and black mirrors.

 

[Bear_Gibson]

Not a ton to report other than parts arrived for the rear main seal replacement. About $70 for the seal, pan gasket and oil pump vs $500 for a shop to do it.

I was able to get my $40 eBay headlights in and removed the front air dam. I know there are a million custom look lenses out there but with zero other modifications I think they would look out of place. Factory style replacement.

View attachment 239456

If you want a factory looking headlight upgrade you can use sport headlights from 99-01 sport rams. They have 2 bulbs in each lens. It would require wiring in some relays to handle the extra bulbs.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk

 

[Bear_Gibson]

Thanks for the replies. According the Haynes manual the 98 and up had a rear sway bar so nothing on mine.

I really was surprised to not find any rust at all. Only a few minor surface areas where dings have gone through the paint. I expected to see soft cab corners or rockers but it's very solid and no rippling.

Hitting a junkyard today to hopefully get a paint-matches fender, nicer steering wheel and black mirrors.

My 99 doesn't have one, but that leads me to suspect that it was optional.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk

 

[Peep6543]

Been a little bit but I've chipped away some more. I have 2 very young children so time is difficult to set aside.

Put on a 2" kit with shocks from Rough Country, also changed the diff fluid. There was a little sludge in the bottom of the diff, a dark gray almost black thin paste. I didn't see any damage to the teeth so I'm hopeful it will last a while longer. 30 minute scrub and spray job on the cover. I got in a little over 2 quarts plus the limited slip additive.

Currently draining the engine to drop the pan and move into the rear main seal.

 

[Peep6543]

Ok question for those more intelligent than myself: manual says torque the crankshaft main bearing caps to 20 and then 85. It also says "crankshaft rear main oil seal retainer bolts" torqued only to 16 foot lbs.

I'm confused by what those are? I was under the impression the main bearing cap is all that's securing the main seal in place. I'm currently at the point where I would unbolt the bearing cap (oil pump is out) however I've run out of time today.

 

[Peep6543]

Oil back back on. I replaced the oil pump at the same time. The old seal didn't look bad, but it wasn't clocked 3/8" in the seat as the manual says to be. I followed the instructions step by step and torqued everything properly. Here is the picture of the inspection cover, you can clearly see it was spewing at the crank.

Cover and starter going back up this evening and filled with oil tomorrow after everything cures overnight.

Next step is drop the trans pan and see if it slows my trans leak. It's wet over there.
*Btw I answered my own question above. Seems the rear main seal retainer bolts are only on the 10 cylinder engines.

 

[Peep6543]

It's dripping trans fluid pretty bad. Located this hole towards the front of the T-case. is this a weep hole showing a failed trans output seal? Or is that a chip in the housing? Doesn't look manufactured to me.

 

[Bear_Gibson]

You probably have a leaking seal. The trans fluid is separate from the t-case fluid.

 

[Peep6543]

I had the seal fixed. At one point it was almost pouring out.

It is still leaking from driver's side above the pan. I cleaned the area really well and it appears to be the shift shaft seal. $3 part and can be fixed where it sits. Trouble is the tool is hard to come by. Does anyone happen to have one I can buy or borrow? $60 on Amazon (with questionable reviews) for a 1" seal seems like robbery.

 

[Peep6543]

Been a few weeks. I pulled the linkage and tried two seal tools to get out the shift shaft seal. Frustrated it sat and dripped for a week until I tried a traditional seal puller and it popped. New one tapped in beautifully. It was previously overfilled so I added a little over a quart and it's Max. Followed up by deagreasing and spraying the trans, TC and cross member and test drove. Fingers crossed I don't see much more fluid on the ground.

 

[Peep6543]

3 wks ago I pulled a fender for $40. I got a pint of the PRC code paint and an aerosol clear coat. Sanded up to 1000 and sprayed about 4 coats of color and 3 coats of clear. Removal of the wrinkled and replacement took 81 mins.

 

[Doughboy43]

Looks great!

 

[Peep6543]

Not much to report other than some light maintenance. I have had a few parts laying around and finally got to them today.

The vacuum actuator up front had a slow drip. Replaced the cork gasket, also disassembled and cleaned the unit itself. It is all good, including the o-ring and retaining clips on the shaft. With that off I popped the front diff cover to drain and reseal.

3 of my emblems (Both V8 Magnum and one SLT Laramie) were heavily faded so I replaced them with the best I found at the junkyard a while back.

My license plate light was out. When replacing it the lampholder assembly crumbled. These are a 12" plug tail with the end being the lampholder. The lenses are good.

 

[Peep6543]

Mine has factory power mirrors. While nice for the age, they don't see that well. Today I bolted on flip-up tow mirrors. Hopefully I can see my lake boat while backing up the trailer now.

 

[Ken Camp]

Truck looks really good. You've been busy fixing it up the past months and it shows. Nice job!

 

[Peep6543]

Truck has sat a while but I gave her some love this week, specifically the front bumper. The trim sagged off the side so I found replacement clips at the junkyard (free!) And epoxy glued them to the spots with missing clips on the back of the trims. Painted both pieces, along with the factory fog light housing and license plate holder, with bumper trim paint. I'm not sure I love how black and makes the front. Hmm.

Next up I have an idea for some body touch up...

 

[Peep6543]

The OEM muffler was beginning to rust through so I replaced with knockoff Flowmaster style. It is a bit shorter so I needed about a foot of tube at the exit. Sounds throaty.

Used a couple $10 rolls of budget tint film and got the rear window and front windows. It is not perfect, although I don't have any big bubbles or creases, but it reduces the fishbowl effect in the cab. Used some trim restore on quite a few exterior pieces to bring them back to OEM black. Lastly replaced a couple 921 lamps in the third stop light.