Lube Order- Gettin' ready for a trip

[HardCorps79]

So, the weather's warming up, and it's time to get my hands dirty. This summer I'll be driving the M1009 halfway across the country. I've got a good 10 weeks to get her ready. So here's the plan. Let me know if I'm missing anything critical, or any part numbers stand out as glaringly wrong.

I wasn't too sure which of these would be priority, so feel free to comment on the order.

Week 1
Oil Change (7 qts 15w40)
Oil Filter (Fram PH5)
Air Filter (Fram 3492)
Power Steering Fluid

Week 2
Fuel Filter (Fram P3940A)
Transmission Filter (FRAM FT1020)
Trasnmission Flush/Fill (Dexron II/III equiv, qty?- TM -12 looks like 4 qts. Is this correct?)

Week 3
Engine Coolant Flush/Fill (Ethylene Glycol/Water 50/50, 3 gal ea)
Coolant Filter (WIX 24073)

Week 4
Drain/Fill Front Differential (3 qts GO + 4 oz. GM additive)
Drain/Fill Rear Differential (2 3/4 qts GO + 4 oz. GM additive)
Rear Main Seal (FelPro BS40529 from AutoZone)

Week 5
Glow Plugs (8x Wellman 070)
-Anyone in the KC area have a glow plug extractor on-call in case I get in a bind?
Glow Plug Relay

Week 6
Alternator Belt- Driver Side (Gates 7575)
Alternator Belt- Passg Side (Gates 7483)
Power Steering Belt- (Gates 7448 )

Week 7
Replace Vacuum Lines (3/16")

Week 8
Replace Batteries (2x 6TLs, Group 30, or any 570cca or higher)

Week 9
Chassis Lube
-Front Wheel Bearings (clean, lube & re-pack: I've never done this- am I getting in over my head?)
-Front Propeller Shaft (I don't even know what this is, but I'll find out...)
-CV Joint
-Parking brake hook & spring
-Mount new spare tire

Week 10
-Re-check fluids, tires, lights, brakes, general safety inspection
-Buy a jack & 4-way (recommendations for jack-type and weight?)

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Fram brings the suck. Their quality blows anymore. NAPA's Gold filters are actually WIX filters. Good stuff. Avoid any of FRAM's oil filters. I prefer NAPA's house brand stuff myself. Similar prices and good quality.

Transmission - time to add a drain plug while you're dropping the pan. Not smelling like ATF for a week is a good thing.
You'll probably need more quarts than that. Figure on some draining out of the converter unless you have the pan back on just as soon as you take it off and clean it out.

Coolant filter? Never heard of it.

Diffs...you don't need any of the GM additive for the front and it's debatable for the rear. I like synthetic lube. Unless you're wheeling in the water and getting it in their often then you probably won't need to change it for a number of years so the extra expense of synth isn't that big of a deal.

Batteries-570cca is a bit on the small side. The military batteries were around 1000cca I think.

Wheel bearings...it's messy and tedious but not hard. Make sure you have a manual that specifies all the proceedures and torque values AND A TORQUE WRENCH capable of the called for torques. Consider synthetic grease for the same reasons as I mentioned above in the diffs.

Prop shaft = driveshaft. The English automotive world called them propshafts so a large chunk of the world still calls them that. For some reason the military uses that term and not what the rest of the USA calls them.

 

[kennyw]

Avoid the Fram products as much as possible. They are cheap for a reason.

Expect 6-8 quarts of transmission fluid for a drain and refill, more if you plan to flush it out.

The GM additive is not required for the front axle (open diff) and you will want to make sure to do a close inspection of the rear diff while the cover is off. The gov-loc is a well known weak link.

Batteries should be 1000 cca + if you want the truck to start easily in anything below 40 deg f.

Jack: a 60" high lift is a good investment for a 4x4 truck.

 

[m38inmaine]

Battery should be a group 31 not 30, don't skimp here. A K&N air filter will help as well.

 

[thedeliverator]

I'd plan on buying the jack and some jack stands before doing the wheel bearings, you'll need them. And if you're a tight fit underneath a truck like I am, they make the oil and trans fluid changes easier. I use a Harbor Freight jack, think it's a 3 ton, and their 6 ton jack stands.

Wheel bearings are tedious but not hard; you'll need the tool to do it but it's not expensive.

On the rear main seal, I've seen something either here or over at K5 recommending the use of the 1985 seal, apparently it's a different design that works better and fits the same.

Whether or not to flush the trans as opposed to simply draining and refilling is a subject only slightly less likely to start a holy war as which oil is 'best'; and I'm not trying to do that now. Read around, weigh the pros and cons for yourself.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Yes, I missed that part, definitely get jack stands up to the job. At least a 3 ton jack and 3 ton stands. Check harbor freight as they have some tall stands for relatively cheap. My 3 ton jack and 3.5 stands were a deal through Sears and I loved them until I got Big Ugly. Suddenly a 1 ton truck on 38's stretches them to their limits. Whoops.

 

[HardCorps79]

Thanks for the info, guys. This is why I love this site! I'll probably pick up the jack/stands middle of next month, and will avoid the FRAM crap.

And yeah, I'd never heard of a coolant filter, either, but it's listed on several parts manuals for the civvie versions. Will have to double check the TMs.

Question- is it worth the price difference ($10 vs $40 or so) for the K&N air filter? I don't have a problem spending the money, but what is the advantage.

And BTW- the GVW is something like 8,800 lbs. What weight jack/stands should I get. I know a guy with a 2-ton and stands selling for $40. But that seems a bit weak for this big a truck. Am I correct?

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Ideally you want a jack and stands that could theoretically lift/hold up the whole truck by themselves. So 3 tons at least since the curb weight is about 6000lbs.