What to check for before buying
 

I'm going to look at a 1st generation in several days. What should I look for regarding the engine?

See how easy it starts when cold?

Check for blue smoke out of tail pipe?

Open oil filler and check for blow by?

Listen for strange noises?

All those things are good. I would also check the compressor wheel (check for turbo dusting)

check fro turbo shaft play, check drip rail for rust, check rear spring perch for rust, oil leaks, transmission leak and i bought a truck with stock intake and was stupid and didnt loom at the filter and after 90 miles of driving home found that there was no filter in there so check for that too!! :tu:

lock it in 4 wheel drive if it is 4x4 and make sure it will all lock in.. do a quick 1st to reverse to check for excessive wear in rear end... shift thru all the gears and give it full throttle in 5th (on standard) to see if it pops out...turn the lights on... u know the normal shit..

x2 on drip rail check. Easy to forget about that area with all the things you are checking in the time you are looking at a truck. After I bought mine when I was giving it a wash I noticed a couple inches of paint bubbling in that area. I scraped off that paint and found it was just starting to get a very small amount of surface rust in a couple of spots. I fixed it with a couple coats of POR 15 but would not have been fun if sheet metal was rusted through.

jdbigblue12V - what condition were the compressor wheel fins in when you found there was no air filter in there?

dont' forget rocker panels, front and rear fenders, and floors. especially around door sills. Find out if he has repair and maintanance records

I bought the truck. Here are the pictures. The engine runs very good and the drive train seems very solid other than shifting into 3rd gear. I have to double clutch it in order to shift into 3rd without grinding it. I also don't like how high it is and I'm going to see what I can do to lower it. It's so high that you feel that you're disconnected from the road. The vehicle goes down the road with lots of body lean and body roll.



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Lots of clearance between engine and radiator. One problem I see is if I remove the body lift, the fan will contact the hood. Looks like I'll need to use an electric fan to get around this issue.
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GM A/C Pump
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Engine to transmission bracket
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NV4500 Transmission
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Transfer case out of a 1 ton Chevy truck
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Plenty of clearance between engine and transmission. Looks like I might be able to remove the suspension lift

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maybe do the suspension drop and keep the body lift for fan clearance

Those IFS suspension lifts usually involve dropping the front diff with some new brackets - after cutting off the old ones! Be sure of the full scope of deleting the lift.

I see only 6-lugs on the rear axle. If it still has the stock 8.5" 10-bolt, I'd strongly suggest going to at least the 9.5" 14-bolt.