Hey guys just bought a new toy with the taxes and wanted some input and some ideas from yall about what i should upgrade or improve to make it look and run better. Obviously the final decision is up to me but approval from peers is always a plus. Anyways it's a 96 1500 5.2, 150,000mi, bone stock except for cold air and headers, tranny has fresh rebuild with 9,000mi before warranty is up, has 7in. skyjacker lift(don't know anything about suspensions so i don't know if they used a kit or just spacers and shocks but the back is all block and no add a leaf which is the dumbest thing ever!) with 36in. cepek FC II(fronts are super smooth), not sure what rims are on it but i'm still trying to get used to them(kinda flashy for my style), exhaust is just straight pipe true duals, has cowl induction hood(no prep work done before paint so its peeling like crazy!),front bumper is not the right style for this truck since it's a sport so if anyone wants to trade for a sport one let me know and i don't care about the color, body has dents and rust at bottoms of doors but not bad for it's age. bed liner was a do it ur selfer and looks like crap, same can be said for the interior which is in shambles after a failed attempt to "customize" it so now i'm left with a saggy headliner, cracked dash w/ dried up 3M adhesive, HUD is in peices and doors are covered in some fabric from walmart that is the ugliest green ever(green on gray inside a white truck? wtf) the steering wheel is upside down for some reason and the steering itself is worn out, I think thats everything but who knows with this thing, other than all that it runs and drives great and all in all is a decent truck for what i paid for it(which is y i got it in the first place lol) let me know what ya think and throw me some ideas of what u would do or what i can do to improve on what i have. THANKS!!!!!

 

well first thing nice to see your from ohio....and your truck is a 94-97 i see

check your plenum gasket (or just fix it)

36in tires and need sum better gears and maybe sum better axles

 

Fixed that for ya .

Your going to wanna swap your axles for a 1 ton, swap your gears out for some 4.56s, redo your rear with an add-a-leaf instead of stacking blocks. <- That just sounds silly.

Definatly look at your plenum gasket, thats prolly blown by now. Take a look at your heads to see if there are any signs of cracking. The 5.2s are pretty solid but a once over never hurts. Id also get a build sheet on the tranny. Check ball joints, and all the usual crap like fluids nd such if you havent already.. Id also invest on a duel steering damper. And maybe a ladder ??

 

Why would the 5.2L heads be less prone to cracking than the 5.9L heads? They are the exact same heads and the bore on the 5.9L is only 0.090" larger.

 

i hear the sounds of POTENTIAL with that truck.

 

Was refering to the block not the heads, sorry for the confusion. The overall 5.2 is pretty much "bullet proof". yes, the heads blow on both motors.

 

i have the buildsheet on the tranny and it was completely re done and just checked the intake and oil is present(great......) have plans for axle swap in the distant future cause they are crazy expensive but the steering stabilizer is comming soon, now any good cheap ones? Oh and no ladder for me(keeps the old lady from driving it lol)

 

get a complete axle assembly from a junkyard and install yourself...some come stock with 4.10 gears, and that will do better than the 3.55's that are in it, but id look into some 4.88 gears

 

any way to tell the gearing without removing the cover and counting teeth?

 

Should be a plate on the diff or the axle (cant remember which), pretty sure its on the diff though.

Rancho has some pretty cheap dampers and theyre pretty good.