Aight, so...my tranny blew the day before Thanksgiving. Got it back and am now paranoid. I bought the truck brand new in July of '05...since then I've put 131,000 miles on and she's been great to me. I've had to do a front hub and bearing repair, as well as pinion seal on the rear diff, but other than that (and the tranny LOL) it's just oil changes routinely and tires/brakes. I haven't been following the recommended services...I know, I know...there is no excuse...just been driving it daily and she hasn't let me down. Original battery even...

If I'm gonna keep her for the long-term, what should I do as far as maintenance at this point? Can I tune it myself? I think she's got a timing chain, does it need to be replaced?

This morning after 1/2 hour highway commute she almost stalled on me while I was stopped at a red light. RPMs dropped to 300 then up to 800 then back down, I gave it gas and she kept fluttering...then all was well, went back to normal idle and pulled away...I went to AutoZone at lunch and had them check for codes...None. Had them check my battery which read OK but had a low charge.

What should I be focused on at this point? What can I do myself (I am fairly mechanically inclined)? Any tips would be helpful...With 3 kids under 3 in daycare I'm broke so I won't be taking this to the stealer for any work...small garage if I can't do it myself and have to.

 

I would do the plugs (theres 16). Change the oil in both diffs or one if its 2wd. Air filter and a coolant flush. Thats really about all you can do unless something is broke or worn. If you really wanted you could do the 4 ball joints, tie rod ends and shocks since you have that many miles they are probably getting old. Check them first. I had hate to see someone throw a bunch of un-needed stuff when they got a family.

 

Theres a good possibility its your EGR valve that went bad. Mine started having the same symptoms and it actually stalled at highway speed once and also in a curve, Not fun. EGR is a easy replacement and Im not that mechanically inclined. Probably due to not replacing your spark plugs. Thats alot of miles on the stock plugs. Factory says we should replace them every 30,000 which is a PITA!

 

I would also look into the EGR valve, sounds just like it. I just got done having mine replaced at 92k in my 04 last week.......although it hadn't started acting up YET, but it did throw the code.

 

all as stated above i would use a reg ngk vpower plug, i would also take the throttle body off and clean it good, as im sure its nasty, and like the above posts say, all fluids and filters are a must....

 

I had an 03 4.7 and the rpm's would go up and down at a light and sometimes it would stall, but not throw a code. after checking all vac. lines pulled the TPS and it was full of crap, I had a K&N filter and always cleaned it so I was real suprised how dirty it was, anyway, I replaced it and that fix the problem, but you may try to clean it first with carb cleaner but becareful with the gasket.
Hope this helps