This Truck

Here I am again, possibly overthinking. So, its an old high-mileage truck I bought at the beginning of summer. I really like it and I want to throw money at it to make sure it keeps running. At this point, I just want to do a thorough tune-up. It seems well cared for but I have no maintenance records. Other than the oil change I did when I got it and the fuel pump I replaced a month or so ago, I have no idea when the last time this thing was serviced.

On advice from another post, I'm going to yank the throttle body, clean it and replace the gasket. I figure since I'm doing that, might as well do plugs, wires, cap and rotor. I've used seafoam in the past, never really knew if it was actually helpful or just witchcraft. My plan is to clean the throttle body, run seafoam through the tank with some 90-something octane fuel to burn off all the crap, then yank the old plugs and replace them. However, basic as these things are, in the past on other vehicles I've made mistakes, found things I didn't know or think of and just generally made it harder than it needed to be. With a dedicated forum and the collective knowledge of everyone here, there's no reason for me to fumble about blindly.

So, i guess I'm just asking for general advice. Things to look out for. Potential issues, tips that make the project easier. Order of operations. Is seafoam a waste of money? Being such an old motor, could I end up cleaning out load-bearing carbon?

I know I definitely need mopar parts for the cap and rotor.
Autolite copper plugs
Are the plug wires critical? Brand-wise or gauge-wise? Normally I just buy carquest wires.

 

There is a TSB for plug wire routing in the FAQ section, you can reduce the necessity for that by running some GOOD plug wires. (8mm or better would be my choice.)

Definitely stick with copper plugs.

Cap/rotor don't necessarily have to be Mopar, but, you want brass terminals. And don't forget the dielectric grease. (it seals the boots to prevent moisture intrusion.)

Seafoam made my motor smoke a LOT when I fed it some via the brake booster vacuum line, I really couldn't tell ya if it ran any better afterwards.....

If you don't have any maintenance records, then, assume NOTHING was done. Trans fluid/filter/band adjust would not be a bad idea.

 

Nice truck based on its specs via the decoder. What is the truck's mileage? Might want to consider upgrading the rear end gears at some point, if you plan to keep the truck any decent amount of time - a 3.21 ratio in the rear (according to the decoder) is going to feel quite sluggish when taking off from a stoplight or towing anything. 3.55 gearing is what many of the trucks came with - 3.92 gearing will make the truck very snappy from a stoplight and enhance it's get up and go. Might also want to consider replacing the timing chain and gear set with a double roller timing chain set as time permits. The original chains tend to stretch over time and cause the timing to fluctuate.

 

Yeah man, I have fallen in love with this truck since I've been driving it. And thanks to you guys I'm pretty sure that as long as nothing really major goes bad, I can keep it running and do the bulk of the work myself. I don't remember the exact mileage but its in the 230k range. Despite the lack of maintenance records, I get the idea someone took pretty damn good care of it. Engine runs real smooth and sounds great. No clunks or wobbles in the steering/suspension. And for a 20 year old truck, the interior is immaculate. Not a single tear in the seats, minimal wear. The driver's side rear door doesn't open though. Not a huge deal but kinda irritating. I do wish it had a little more "oomph" off the light though, so I'll definitely look into upping the gear ratio someday. Before the snows though, I want to do this tune up, brakes and (hopefully) throw some fancy wheels with new tires at it. in roughly that order.

Yeah, I'm assuming nothing got done. Jesus man, trying to find plug wires by size is a PITA. The first handful I could find were all $100+ wire sets. And, i mean "get what you pay for" and all that. But the stock ones are in the $30-$50 range. I came across these though. Which is also where i found the cap and rotor. That ought to do the trick I think. I know you said Mopar brand isn't critical but a lot of folk on here believe that some stuff just has to be OE or it'll crap out. And that way of thinking has infected me lol. I don't know if it has brass terminals or not though, so now I'm second guessing it It cracks me up that the spark plugs everyone recommends are literally the .

 

Be aware that if you install new wheels and tires, if you end up with a taller wheel/tire combination than what you currently have on the truck, your takeoff performance from a stoplight will be even worse than what it already is. Personally, I like a taller wheel and tire combo on a truck, as it makes it look nicer. I'm currently running 33" tall tires on 16"x8" factory aluminum wheels and realized that I needed to change my gearing from 3.55s to 4.10s to restore the truck's get up and go.

When replacing spark plugs and wires, it is advised to remove the steel shrouds around each spark plug. These shrouds cause more issues than they are worth and allow debris to collect around the base of the spark plug which promotes rust and hard to remove spark plugs over time.

 

For sensors and such, OEM is the only way to go. For the rest, not quite so critical.

 

Topside creeper!!

 

This mite seem like a small thing, but get yourself an oil catch can. I plumbed one into my beast several years back. Nothing expensive, about $20. I mounted it to the passenger wheel well with vacuum lines to make the magic happen. One thing (unintended consequence) that I noticed is that my throttle body and IAC valve NEVER get dirty anymore and the intake manifold stays bone dry from oil. IN CONCLUSION, if you're lazy like me, n that's a big if, it'll save you the annual throttle body n IAC pintle cleaning along with extremely annoying, associated idle stall. Hope it helps!

 

Autolite 3928 copper plugs. Napa cap and rotor with brass contacts.