A little background on the truck. My grandfather passed 4 years ago and this is his truck. My grandmother drove it around town (think Mayberry type of town) up until a year and a half ago. She was put in a home for the elderly people with dementia last month.

So, long story short, the truck has to go. It's been sitting in their garage for the past year and a half. This truck only has 30K miles on it....yes, garage kept, 07 Dakota 4.7 quad cab 4x4, tow package, etc. with only 30,000 miles on it.

My issue is that I have to pick it up in Ohio and I will be driving down to Florida. I plan on changing the oil/filter and putting 4 new tires on (concerned about flat spots from sitting so long) Already have a battery to throw in it (my brother is a regional maintenance tech for Auto Zone)

What else should I look for with these trucks? I know my way around a vehicle. I've changed crank position sensors, cam position sensors, timing belts, water pumps, etc. Just need to know what would the items you guys would look at before making such a long drive.

Thanks in advance!

 

With only 30k you should not have do do anything more that oil and filter change. Maybe drain the gas tank. Run a can of fuel injector cleaner through it. Check the coolant level and all the other fluids. Check the brakes. Drive it around the block a few times listening for anything out of the ordinary. Tires should be fine. Still belted radials don't really develop flat spots like the old bias ply tires.

 

Thanks for the advice!

Instead of draining the fuel, I was thinking about maybe throwing in some octane boost along with some fuel injector cleaner. Then running it down to almost empty , filling it up with 93 octane gas and then running more octane boost with more fuel injector cleaner.

What about the fuel filter? Hope it won't get gummed up after running that old gas through it but I'll see.

Thanks again for the advice! Anyone else got any feedback?

 

The fuel filter is inside of the gas tank, so no need to worry about that, unless you have to. Maybe you'll get lucky and there's only like a quarter of a tank of fuel. Then you could just add fresh gas right away. Hopefully you'll get it home without any headaches.

 

Thanks Dakotaff! That makes me feel A LOT better. I was worried about the fuel filter getting gummed up on my way back down to Florida.

That's what I'm hoping is that there is not a lot of gas in the tank so I can put some good gas and some octane boost in it.

BTW, Dakotoff, your truck looks great. Can you give me some specifics? The fender flares look great! Looks lifted? If so, is it a body lift or something else?

Sorry for all the questions...I'm new to the truck scene but not afraid to turn a wrench :-)

 

Only lifting you can do on these trucks is front spacers and rear blocks or springs unless you have tons of money to sink into a custom front suspension. As stated, do some searching. Look in the DIY section for info on performance mods, suspension mods, tire sizes, lifts, etc. it's all been covered before.

 

My biggest concern would be the old gas which I'm sure is going to have ethanol in it. This means it's absorbed water from the air and is going to be very destabilized.

If its more than half full I'd consider draining it. If not I'd mix good gas in right away and use a good double dose of an enzyme treatment such as Star Tron which is not only a stabilizer but to some degree is an old gas rejuvinator.

Good luck, with only 30k miles it should serve you well for a number of years...

 

I only have a 1.5" leveling kit up front, rear is stock. I think the flares give the impression of more lift.

 

Suspension yes but also can do a body lift

 

I got my '06 ST with 27K last year in a similar circumstance. I haven't had to anything to it other than an exhaust manifold bolt randomly broke off one day. I got 36K on it now and looking forward to many many more mile with her. I do plan on upgrading the front suspension in the not-so-distant future though.