My work/tow rig... (constant changes)
- Thread starter Greg
- Start date
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
So when I bought the truck, we met the guy at the gas station and it was already running. I didn't shut it off on the test drive, but on the drive home I stopped for gas and to wash it. Each time, it turned over for a LONG time and then, eventually.... (5-10 seconds).... it would fire up. Then this morning, 2 different times it took even longer to fire up.
I did some quick research, I narrowed it down to either a vacuum leak at the intake or the fuel pressure regulator. I did some diagnostics, if I turned the ignition on (cycling the fuel pump) 3 times, then turned over the truck it would start right up every time. This told me the fuel pressure regulator was bad, not holding pressure in the fuel rail.
Took a quick trip to NAPA, spend $80 on the FPR and took less than 5 minutes changing it. Now the truck fires right up, every time! Wonder how long it has needed a new FPR.... and I wonder if my starter is going to die sooner rather than later with all the extended cranking it's done.
I did some quick research, I narrowed it down to either a vacuum leak at the intake or the fuel pressure regulator. I did some diagnostics, if I turned the ignition on (cycling the fuel pump) 3 times, then turned over the truck it would start right up every time. This told me the fuel pressure regulator was bad, not holding pressure in the fuel rail.
Took a quick trip to NAPA, spend $80 on the FPR and took less than 5 minutes changing it. Now the truck fires right up, every time! Wonder how long it has needed a new FPR.... and I wonder if my starter is going to die sooner rather than later with all the extended cranking it's done.
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- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
This has been awhile in the making, the shocks that were on the truck were SHOT.... like, pretty sure they were the originals. The upper stud/bolt would NOT unthread, so I had to break out the Sawzall and cut both sides off. I replaced them with Bilstien 5100's... wish I could get a set of Falcon shocks for this truck, because I would have... the 'fancy, upgraded' 5100's are pathetic looking compared to the Falcon truck shocks, no dice though. These shocks are build for trucks with a little lift, 0" - 2" IIRC. Besides cutting the front-upper studs off with the Sawzall, the rest of the swap was straight forward and took about an hour.
The overall change is pretty big though, the truck is much more planted and the front end doesn't bounce all over the place like it used to. This will be nice when towing the Willys next weekend!
Oh, and.... the truck got a set of tow mirrors!
The overall change is pretty big though, the truck is much more planted and the front end doesn't bounce all over the place like it used to. This will be nice when towing the Willys next weekend!
Oh, and.... the truck got a set of tow mirrors!
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
And some small things that make a big, overall big difference. Rubber Pad on the brake pedal was missing, new one was like $8 and went right on. Tailgate latch was gone/broke, new one was $15 or so... .the plastic bedliner was jacked and when removed, there was a TON of nasty, rotting hay.... so the bedliner got junked. And I put a new key fob cover on.... reusing the old, internals.
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
Wow that bed was nasty under there. See any mice?
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
No mice, fortunately.
What mileage is reasonable expectation for life on these 6.0'? I recently had to part ways with my shiny newer truck and have been trolling the classifieds for "cheaper" older trucks. I've never owned a chevy and this generation seems to have a good reputation for the motors. Trying to be open to other brands of trucks, but need some education. The trucks at my price point seem to have a grip load of miles, these chev's and gmc's almost have a toyota tax on them compared to dodges and fords of the same era.
I put those shocks on my 02 DMax and was surprised how much difference it made. Those little things you're doing makes it so much more enjoyable to drive. The 6.0s don't get as good of mileage as the 5.3s. I think my dad's 6.0 got about 18 mpg on the highway, not towing, while I could get 21 mpg with the 5.3s that I've had. Still a lot cheaper on maintenance and better mpg than most V8s and diesels.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I think they last pretty good with high miles. At work we've had a couple early 2000's GM trucks with 300-400k miles on the original engine and transmission, the trucks were well worn, but still reliable. I bought this one cheap, figuring if I had to rebuild the eng/trans/t-case, I'd still be ahead. There are some things about the LS engines to aware of when the miles get high, oil pump, etc.
This has been a good truck since far, but the amount of neglect is scary. Plus all the dirt and mud under it... it's been used hard and that kind of scares me.
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- Location
- The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
With the neglect I might lift a valve cover and see if the rockers are covered in sludge or not.
Let me know how you like those bisteins: my Ford is probably due for some new shocks as it just rolled over 100k miles.
Let me know how you like those bisteins: my Ford is probably due for some new shocks as it just rolled over 100k miles.
Houndoc
Registered User
- Location
- Grantsville
Nothing wrong with "dumber farmed fixes"! After my daughter had a minor accident last year in her '02 Silverado had her back on the road with bailing twine, hack saw and tow chain to straighten the fender! Served her well until she sold it a couple months ago.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Yeah, I just hope oil changes were done often. I checked the dipstick and the oil cap, everything looked good/normal.
The shocks seem pretty decent so far...
When it would have been the same effort to fix it 'right', versus fixing it 'wrong' and leaving it for someone else, then there is something dumb about it!
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
The Bilstein 5100 is an upgrade over a stock replacement shock. It's meant for lifted 4x4's that see some offroad use. I don't plan to use this truck in the dirt very often, but wanted a little more suspension control for towing. At some point I'd like to have a slide-in camper, too so I'm working on setting the truck up with that in mind. I'll probably be adding air bags in the future as well.
- Location
- West Bountiful, UT
I've run the 5100's on my last three trucks including my current Ram 1500 and have been running them on my LJ for ten years. Always been pleased with them.
- DAA
- DAA
Jesser04
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Kaysville Utah
I love the front end of those trucks and the 6.0 has plenty of power. I think you’ll be more than happy with it.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I agree! I did test drive a similar year 8.1 truck and came away less than impressed. I've already made a trip to SLC with this one and it pulled 13 mpg with plenty of power to get over the pass. I'm happy with the drivetrain, so far.
Asbjorn
Active Member
- Location
- Montrose, CO
Have any interest in a matching camper shell? I'm planning to go to a gooseneck setup for a bigger trailer, so mine isn't going to work for me much longer.