Noob w/ a couple question's...

[Lep_Reezy]

Hey all,

New to the site, and new to diesels all together! I've been a Chevy guy my whole life, but just purchased a 2003 D-Max CC/SB w/ 97k on it. I love this truck! I just had a couple questions before I log too many miles...

1) Previous owner said there was about 1,000 miles before its next oil change, but it reads the oil life is still @ 79%. He has service records showing he changed the oil about every 3,000 miles. Should I go ahead and just change the oil? Or do it every 5,000 miles? Or go off of the Oil Life?

2) What do you guys recommend for changing fuel filters? Every 10K?

3) Is there any 100k services that should be performed here shortly?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Burn Down]

If you live in a really dirty environment change it every 3,000. If it's highway I would run till it said change me...

10K is a good time to do a fuel filter depending on environment

The owners manual should list any other service intervals.

Welcome to the site.

 

[02greysixer]

Service intervals depend on your driving style and amount. I drive 110 miles a day with cruise set on 70 90% of the way. I change my oil every 10k miles and it's still cleaner and less slimy than what comes out of Cummins and Powerstrokes at 5k miles. I do fuel filters every 15k. It wouldn't be a bad idea to do everything at 100k miles. Differentials, tranny and t-case

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

 

[DURAJETLLY]

For fuel filters check into the cat filter adapter. The Cat filters filter down to 2 micron and cost alot less than an Ac Delco oem replacement.

 

[Lep_Reezy]

Thanks for the info. I just go to and from work in the truck, mainly semi-city(straight shot 40-50 mph and a couple stop lights) maybe 20 miles roundtrip. Getting ready for a 1,000 mile road trip. The truck has pretty easy miles on it, and driven normally. The previous owner has been using the mobil 1 oil filters and rotella 15-40w oil, which seems to be a a pretty good combo from what I've read on here.

 

[MMLMM]

CHECK the transfer case fluid NOW. lol
So many people skip this maintenance.

Engine oil and filter I do right about 5k.

Fuel filter I do every other oil change

Trans Spin on filter, every other oil change

Make sure it has DexCool in it for coolant. It will be orange. Id replace it at 100k just to be sure. If its not orange or looks bad, do a flush as well.

Hit the F/R Diff as well at 100k

Might be time for a trans service too at 100k

A good hydroboost flush will bring some life back to the brake system if its never been done or has been awhile.

Check P/S fluid for color/smell

 

[Lep_Reezy]

Thanks for that info! I'll mos def make sure those item are addressed. Looks like he had a factory recall taken care of at about 60k on the transfer case. He said the linkage was hitting on the transfer case and part of the housing and linkage was replaced from wear, so I'd assume fluid was changed at that point, but I will check it out. What do you mean by a trans spin?

 

[WolfLMM]

Spin on filter, right by the pan. Lay under the truck, can't miss it.

 

[1ATony]

:welcome2:

 

[AKMAX]

Welcome

 

[Hot COCOAL]

CHECK the transfer case fluid NOW. lol
So many people skip this maintenance.

Engine oil and filter I do right about 5k.

Fuel filter I do every other oil change

Trans Spin on filter, every other oil change

Make sure it has DexCool in it for coolant. It will be orange. Id replace it at 100k just to be sure. If its not orange or looks bad, do a flush as well.

Hit the F/R Diff as well at 100k

Might be time for a trans service too at 100k

A good hydroboost flush will bring some life back to the brake system if its never been done or has been awhile.

Check P/S fluid for color/smell

This is all great info. However if your engine coolant isn't dex-cool and is the standard green glycol coolant changing it out to dex cool won't gain you anything. Dex-cool is a long life coolant, there were allot of issues with it when it first came out and there are a number of ppl that don't like it and will run the green stuff. I've been told once anything other than dex-cool has been used the system is considered to be contaminated (even if flushed) and the long life properties of dex-cool won't be realized. So if by chance you dont have orange coolant it's possible that it's fine but it just won't last 5 years like dex-cool does. There's nothing wrong with the green glycol coolant, it just needs to be changed more frequently

 

[Lep_Reezy]

Looked into it... and I'd say it's the color of weak coffee, so I'm guessing at one time it was possibly the orange dex-cool. Will look into getting that flushed asap

 

[bigjohn]

Welcome to DD!

 

[Hot COCOAL]

Looked into it... and I'd say it's the color of weak coffee, so I'm guessing at one time it was possibly the orange dex-cool. Will look into getting that flushed asap

Wow, it's definitely time for a fluid flush/change probably is/was dex-cool, I like to use the dealership for fluid flushes cuz they typically will have the best equipment for the job, like for the trans they'll have a machine that uses the trans pump instead of an externally pressurized system that could possibly cause damage or stir up debris and send them into the valve body, it's worth the extra money to me. Although there are simple enough ways to accomplish the task at home, it's worth the money to me to have proper pro's doing the job.

As for the diffs and t-case, they're simple to do at home and from here on out a trans fluid change is a simple task as well. Iirc the dealer uses a friction modifier for the G-80 limited slip so make sure to ask about that.

Also read up on the pump rub issues that occur within the t-case. You can develop pin hole in the t-case behind the pump, and a leak that will leak only while in motion and loose the fluid in the case and burn it up. If there is a hole you can get a new back half for the case and install a rub eliminator kit from the likes of Sonnax (my preferred) to address the issue, I'd still get the kit if you don't have an issue, as it's just a matter of time/abuse before it happens.

Other issues to look for are the high pressure steering lines off the brake booster and the trans cooler lines, they tend to leak with age and there are vendors here on the forum (like tony @ AllSeasons/DHD) that offer up quality replacement parts that are superior to stock replacements

Other than that, you should be good to go:thumb:

 

[Lep_Reezy]

Thanks for the info guys! Well I just got back from my road trip and all went well with the exception of the gauges going all outta whack. I've read that the steppers go out on theses clusters. It started with the speedo. I was cruising along about 80mph. Slowed down to 55mph for a construction zone. When I slowed down the speedo stayed at 80. After the zone, I sped back up and it's like the speedo started from 80 and went up from the reading well past the 120 mark and beyond. I just went off the tach to gauge my speed from there. On my return trip, the speedo did the same thing, but then the tach started the same thing so used my gps and flow of traffic for gauging my speed. As I started to get closer to home, my oil pressure gauge was pinned... *smh. So by the time I pulled in the driveway I was doing about 140mph @ 5500rpm and 140psi

 

[WolfLMM]

GM gauge guy, will fix your cluster right up. Google him.