[breadfather]

Ok so here is the list of what i need to fix on my truck.

Oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, timing cover gasket and seal, tensioner, and possibly power steering pump

upper and lower ball joints, tie rod ends

Inner and outer rear axel bearings, pinion bearing, u joints

I found a shop that could do it all for 4 grand but i can get the parts for $950 and my labor is free so I'm gonna do it all myself.

Anyone know what size ring gear i have or where i can find that out? i need to order the parts and am not sure what size i need to order for. I have never done a rear end before what is a list of parts that i may need that i might not be thinking about?


what else do i need to know about the above repairs? how many weekends are these nightmares gonna take? I am mechanically inclined just never gone this deep on any of my vehicles before.

Thanks,

2004.5 quad cab 2500 2x4 220000 miles

 

[breadfather]

anyone??????

 

[txarrowhunter]

Start with your gaskets. From lowwer to high. Then do the ball joints and tie rod ends

 

[breadfather]

i just ordered all of the parts to replace the suspension stuff and the oil leak. i am thinking of buying a decent used rear end and just swapping it out. it looks like i can find a decent low milage one for like $550.

the question that i have is what is my gear ratio? I can find a lot of 3.73 axels but only one with 4.10s. i am fine with what ever came in my truck and i do not know where to find that info.

thanks,

 

[nickg]

highly doubt oil is leaking from all them spots at the same time, I'd get some engine degreaser and a trip to the carwash, clean it first then look to see where its leaking from

valve cover bolts could be loose as its a rubber type (re-usable) gasket
oil pan is similar, (check bolt torque first)

timing cover gasket known to piss oil near the water pump, best to remove water pump and run a bead of good quality RTV(the Right stuff by permatex) along that seam, (otherwise you will spend a day or two disassembling the front of the engine.either pulling the cam gear off or pulling the rocker arms and using dowels to lift the lifters up so you can pull the cam out far enough to slide the timing cover forward to replace gasket.... 2 days work or try the the RTV method, remember on gasket leaks, oil does not run up hill, so start fixing leaks from the highest point first, clean then recheck, cant tell you the number of guys I've seen ripped off, because they changed an oil pan gasket when it was a valve cover leaking and running down hill, making it look like an oil pan leak.

as for your diff a dealer should be able to give you your ratio with the vin number, or if its a 2wd , id get the 373 ratio if its a daily driver, if your towing heavy all the time I'd go 410, and even then I'd have to think real hard before I would choose 410

power steering pump will look like its leaking when in fact there are 2 small o-ring seals, where the resvior attaches to the pump, its a 2$ fix, if your resivor moves around when you try to wiggle it, you can almost bet its the o-rings that are leaking, 2 bolts , one hose, and the tank pops right off. easiest to access if you remove the inner fender. its plastic and you can have it off it about 3mins, or struggle for an hour or two trying to repair it from the top side

 

[Cummin&Chow]

Pinion bearing first. That is the highest risk if you let it be, but I doubt you can do it yourself. I second what nickg says about leaks. fix what you KNOW is bed first, because it's hard to tell what else is bad when there is oil all over. Has this truck been through the Apocalypse and back or something?

 

[stilltrippin]

My oil leak was from the timming cover as well. Had to remove fan shroud, fan, power steering pump so i also got the FluidDamper and put that in too seeings how i was into it. Totally worth it.

 

[breadfather]

Apocalypse? No. Unless you count 220k miles, of which 80% are towing a 8k lb plus trailer the apocalypse. I bought it new and have used the hell out of it. I have not fixed problems when I noticed them and pushed them off as long as I could. Now they are all in need of repair.

I am positive that the timing cover gasket is leaking as it started leaking 30k miles ago. I assume the oil pan is something that if it is not already bad will be soon enough so I might as well change it while I am tearing everything apart. I think the valve cover is leaking because there is oil coming from somewhere between the "cummims" shroud and the head. I did not know that it was a reusable one so i will re torque it and see what happens.

I have to fix the front end stuff first cause I am eating tires and they are not cheap! Plus whenever I turn all the way to the left my brake warning lights come on. Must be something loose and both hubs are brand new. That is not to mention all of the strange pops and creaks that I keep hearing.

You all think that a low milage axle is the best way to go? I figured out that I have 3.73s and can find one with 30k miles for like $600. I know I can swap an axle in like 3 hrs and it is easy plus i will get gears that have not been through the apocalypse yet.

I love my truck and am starting to realize I may have taken her for granted so I want to make sure I fix all of this so it can see 500k miles. What are some other things that I can expect to need to fix soon? I am still on the original tranny so I am sure that will go soon????

Thanks

 

[Cummin&Chow]

If you have that many leaks, I would just pull the engine out and freshen everything up. That way you can do rear main, and make sure everything is up to snuff and do a reall good job. These engines are easy to pull out and it will make all your work simpler. I guess it just depends on how well you are wanting to fix everything, but if you are wanting to take it to 500k, thats what I would do. You have made it to the Apocalypse, now it's time to make it back.