1996 80-series
- Thread starter Thrillson
- Start date
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Welcome!Search is your friend.
Put on your Big-Boy Pants.
We will kick you and knock you down.
We will help you back up, dust you off, then answer your questions and give you a hard time.
Advise your experience level, wallet depth, and how much you care about trees, global warming, what size tires, and type of oil to use.
Did I mention search?
No pic but I'm thinking it is white......and has a brush guard? How did I do?
It took me at least a few years of reading FAQ's and old threads then asking questions before I had a working knowledge of my first 80. Be sure to
get a psych evaluation along with a prescription med to help control the OCD which invariably accompanies the ownership of one of these trucks.
get a psych evaluation along with a prescription med to help control the OCD which invariably accompanies the ownership of one of these trucks.
Congrats, post some pictures, details of your 80.
- Thread starter
- #8
I’ll admit that I am very novice and excited to learn. Here is a pic and some of the details of the rebuild. Can anyone give some thoughts on what they think? Anything major I should be keeping my eye on? Thanks!
Why doesn't previous owner have paperwork for the engine rebuild? Seems like something you'd want to make a few copies of.
New Push Rods and Hydro Lifters? Huh? did the guy throw a big block chevy in it?
I wouldn't trust any of the fluid maintenance claims and just baseline it all yourself. Doing a drain and fill on the transmission, engine oil + filter, transfer case, and both differentials is a pretty simple process that should take you a couple hours the first time. Get a new OEM air filter. Might as well replace the PHH and inspect all of the other heater hoses.
New Push Rods and Hydro Lifters? Huh? did the guy throw a big block chevy in it?
I wouldn't trust any of the fluid maintenance claims and just baseline it all yourself. Doing a drain and fill on the transmission, engine oil + filter, transfer case, and both differentials is a pretty simple process that should take you a couple hours the first time. Get a new OEM air filter. Might as well replace the PHH and inspect all of the other heater hoses.
- Thread starter
- #10
Not sure why the previous owner didn’t have the papers. The owner I bought it from did his homework best he could, but couldn’t track down papers. The guy I bought it from is a very involved member of this site and really passionate on cruisers- he’s the one who introduced me to this site. Gives me some peace of mind. I took it to a mechanic that has worked on my friends 80 and he said it all looked good and was high quality work. I appreciate the tips and the time to help me out!
So there are bullbars, after market bumpers, push bumpers ( mostly for locations that deal with livestock etc), and there are brush guards like you have. In a light fender bender situation to a fairly hard hit, what you have is considered a damage multiplier as it will not just damage the brush guard and bumper, but the grill, headlights and probably the hood.
I would recommend removing it personally, but I understand some people really like the look and of course it is your vehicle.
I would recommend removing it personally, but I understand some people really like the look and of course it is your vehicle.
ppc
M Go Blue
I don't think a "very involved" member of this site would ever install a brush guard or taillight protectors. That's just not the culture here.
Grench
SILVER Star
Welcome!
Mine came to me with a chromebrush guard damage multiplier on the front and chrome tail light guards breakers on the back.
The PO had bumped a deer with the front damage multiplier - which bent back into the DS headlight and hood. The DS tail light breaker had, sure enough, gotten bumped or pulled at some point and broke the DS tail light housing.
One of the first things I did when I got my truck was to take that cosmetic-only garbage off the truck and fix the damage they'd done.
If you haven't yet, you should probably consider taking the truck to a reputable shop to get a post-pre-purchase inspection done on it - or find a knowledgable iH8MUD member local to you - there are local forums on here too. There are several 'big job' maintenance items that should be done on these trucks that are often deferred to the next owner - being you. Re-packing the axles, replacing the likely done fluids in the three differentials, trans oil, engine oil, checking for symptoms of head gasket, flushing and refreshing the coolant, new belts and hoses. Around here we call that 'baselining'.
There are guides and great advise on here for each of those topics that could help you get through them, or you could throw $$$$ at it, or you could run it until one of those quite expensive systems fail from lack of maintenance and throw $$$$ at it. If nobody mentioned it - these 23 year old trucks with 200,000 miles on the clocks are only reliable if you spend the $$$$ up front to make/keep them that way.
Mine came to me with a chrome
The PO had bumped a deer with the front damage multiplier - which bent back into the DS headlight and hood. The DS tail light breaker had, sure enough, gotten bumped or pulled at some point and broke the DS tail light housing.
One of the first things I did when I got my truck was to take that cosmetic-only garbage off the truck and fix the damage they'd done.
If you haven't yet, you should probably consider taking the truck to a reputable shop to get a post-pre-purchase inspection done on it - or find a knowledgable iH8MUD member local to you - there are local forums on here too. There are several 'big job' maintenance items that should be done on these trucks that are often deferred to the next owner - being you. Re-packing the axles, replacing the likely done fluids in the three differentials, trans oil, engine oil, checking for symptoms of head gasket, flushing and refreshing the coolant, new belts and hoses. Around here we call that 'baselining'.
There are guides and great advise on here for each of those topics that could help you get through them, or you could throw $$$$ at it, or you could run it until one of those quite expensive systems fail from lack of maintenance and throw $$$$ at it. If nobody mentioned it - these 23 year old trucks with 200,000 miles on the clocks are only reliable if you spend the $$$$ up front to make/keep them that way.
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
I'm not someone who really adheres to a massive "baseline" project of fixing and replacing anything and everything when I first buy a vehicle. Not to say its a bad thing to do but personally I think it makes for a lot of unnecessary expense. A few things are a good move no matter what, things like fluid changes, are smart. Addressing any major leaks and inspecting belts and hoses is smart and replace as needed but if they look good, leave them alone. I've had good luck with two different reliable 80s that I didn't bother with a huge "baseline" effort. I put over 200K miles on my first 80 (sold it with almost 330K miles) and I've put 100K miles on my current 80 (sitting at 276K miles today) since I bought it 4 years ago. I address issues when they arise and keep up on regular maintenance. I just think it's sad to buy a new vehicle and have it sit and not be able to enjoy it for weeks redoing a bunch of stuff that might not be necessary. That's just me.
Some good suggestions for things to look at. Haven't seen it mentioned yet but check the PHH (pesky heater hose) and replace if it doesn't look new. Plenty of info on fixing it so just do a search for PHH and you'll find what you need.
The nice thing is that there is tons of info here and plenty of people willing to help out especially when someone is anxious to and willing to learn. So don't hesitate to search first and then ask questions whenever you run into an issue. You'll get the help you need.
Some good suggestions for things to look at. Haven't seen it mentioned yet but check the PHH (pesky heater hose) and replace if it doesn't look new. Plenty of info on fixing it so just do a search for PHH and you'll find what you need.
The nice thing is that there is tons of info here and plenty of people willing to help out especially when someone is anxious to and willing to learn. So don't hesitate to search first and then ask questions whenever you run into an issue. You'll get the help you need.
- Thread starter
- #17
I appreciate the feedback here. I did take it to a shop before I bought and they gave it a thumbs up and said the parts used in rebuild were good and the job was quality. They checked fluids and said all was good. Again, appreciate the help. I’m sure I’ll be leaning on the forum a lot as I get going here.Welcome!
Mine came to me with a chromebrush guarddamage multiplier on the front and chrome tail lightguardsbreakers on the back.
The PO had bumped a deer with the front damage multiplier - which bent back into the DS headlight and hood. The DS tail light breaker had, sure enough, gotten bumped or pulled at some point and broke the DS tail light housing.
One of the first things I did when I got my truck was to take that cosmetic-only garbage off the truck and fix the damage they'd done.
If you haven't yet, you should probably consider taking the truck to a reputable shop to get a post-pre-purchase inspection done on it - or find a knowledgable iH8MUD member local to you - there are local forums on here too. There are several 'big job' maintenance items that should be done on these trucks that are often deferred to the next owner - being you. Re-packing the axles, replacing the likely done fluids in the three differentials, trans oil, engine oil, checking for symptoms of head gasket, flushing and refreshing the coolant, new belts and hoses. Around here we call that 'baselining'.
There are guides and great advise on here for each of those topics that could help you get through them, or you could throw $$$$ at it, or you could run it until one of those quite expensive systems fail from lack of maintenance and throw $$$$ at it. If nobody mentioned it - these 23 year old trucks with 200,000 miles on the clocks are only reliable if you spend the $$$$ up front to make/keep them that way.
- Thread starter
- #18
Thanks for the response and feedback! I had a mechanic look at it before I bought and it was given a green light from him. However, some great things to check that have come from people on this thread to check that the mechanic may have missed. So, I’ll get on those!
