xjhauler87

Hello all!

I just got my 1996 K2500 7.4 w/ 165k home today. It was a 6hr drive and drove great the whole way. Very smooth and comfortable for such a heavy duty rig. This vehicle will not be my daily driver, but will be mainly used to haul my Jeep to and from the trails (reliably!) I am posting here for some pointers on what kind of preventative maintenance I can do to keep this a reliable tow rig.

I did notice that just today it seemed to start hard (~3 seconds cranking before firing up) when it hadn't been run in a while. Strange since it sat for a week before I picked it up and had no problem starting then. I was filling up today (down just below 1/4 tank) and the pump shut off at $125 but never clicked off. It was about 33 gallons. I then noticed a light gas odor around the rear of it. Maybe related? I've heard the injectors can clog up so I put some injector cleaner in the tank, but I'm not holding my breath for that to solve the problem.

I noticed the steering has a little play and I've read that the front end parts are notorious for wearing out at higher mileage so I will check over everything and replace whatever is necessary. It also has a small exhaust leak at a flange in the middle of the truck which I'm hoping is just the gasket. Needs a front pinion seal. Other than those items I plan to do a simple tune up and change all the fluids. Despite any of these minor issues, it runs great and I think it's a great truck for my purpose! Can't wait to get towing.

Thanks in advance!