Hey all i just recently started to get into doing my own work on my vehicle number one reason was just how much money i relized i could save by doing my own work and alos peace of mind knowing it has been done correctly and with the proper spec's. before this month i had only changed the oil in a few vehicles and once changed the spark plugs in my wifes old car but since it was income tax time i figured it was time to throw a little money into my truck and make sure it keeps rnning properly and also there was a few things i was wanting to get looked at so since i was getting to 56,000 i thought it was close enough to get the 60,000 mile service that my sevice manual recomends. when i went to the mechanic on base and found out it would be about 450 to get the service done and possibly more if they saw more they thought needed done i figured it was as good time as any to start doing some work on my own and with the awesome help from most yalls post i have been able to change the spark plugs, oil, pcv valve, clean the throttle body, replace air filter and when it gets here i am replacing the rear diff. fluid with royal purple and cleaning and painting my diff cover. so thanks to everyone for your great knowledge and helping me save a good bit and have money left over to buy some needed tools. now while i was under the truck i noticed a few things i didst think looked right but i have no clue if whether there is something wrong or not. i do know for a while now there has been this real nasty sounding rattling noise that happens between 1000-1300 rpm in a low gear and also some times i have trouble with the truck not wanting to crank at various times and conditions like i will turn the key and it will try to crank but seems like it isn't getting enough air or gas so then i press on the accelerator and turn the key and it fires right up(this is what lead me to clean the throttle body). i haven't cranked it since cleaning the throttle body and changing the oil and air filter yet i am really hoping not to have the problem with idling like i have read some people have after cleaning there is but i did use the brake cleaner as recommended because i read in the manual not to use carb or throttle body cleaner. so to get to the point i am going to post some pictures of things i saw and didn't think looked right and would love some input on whether this is normal or not. i know the ujoints look really rusted so that is the next thing i plan on taking care of have searched an goggled for a good diy of how to do this but i haven't been able to find anything. also there is a lot of build up around the differential could this be because of a leak? i haven't seen and oil on the ground when it has been parked but i am about to change the oil and gasket as soon as amazon delivers my royal purple(hopefully Monday). also where the drive shaft goes into the transmission there is some build up there is that another possible leak or just normal? i tried uploading a video of what i believe possibly could be the annoying rattling sound if it is not bad u joints where the catalytic converter connects to the two pipes coming off the engine it is very lose the pipe that goes to the catalytic converter and slips over the pipes coming from the engine is able slide back and forth is this supposed to be like this if not how do i tighten it down just by the clip which is rusted to hell? again thanks in advance and for reading this long post.

 

Sorry, I gave up after the third run-on sentence.

 

It's very common for stuff under your truck to be rusty. I wouldn't mess with your ujoints unless you are having a problem. That usually is not a catastrophic failure, so will be able to tell when they are wearing out, then you can replace them. It's hard to say on the buildup without being able to look at it. But if it is not leaving any puddles underneath, I wouldn't bother with it. As for your exhaust issue (loose pipes), that could definitely be making your rattling sound. You can weld a new bracket on there if you have those skills, or get a muffler shop to secure it (shouldnt cost more than 30-40 bucks to do that I wouldn't think).

Congrats on starting to do your own work, its very satisfying to do a good job yourself.

 

Too much to read so i looked at pics and go from there.
Underside of truck looks great.
The one side of d-shaft that goes into trans looks normal. The other end for the differential looks like it's seeping slightly. Not near enough to change it yet IMO. NAPA makes a double lip seal for that btw and I have a write up if you wanted to tackel it yourself, but honestly i would leave it be for now.

 

thanks for all of the hlep and the ease of mind and agian sorrry for such a long post. there was just so much i wanted to talk about queess i should have been more straight forward will do next time.