100k maintenance on a 2004 Chevy 1500 4.3L V6 auto

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The lady just acquired an '04 Chevy 1500 with the 4.3L V6. It has about 108k miles so it's a bit overdue for the 100k maintenance. I haven't yet seen the vehicle so some of this stuff is just general. I'll admit that I haven't yet worked on a Chevy 4.3L V6, but this is what I've come up with so far, of course upon inspection of the parts if they are in need of replacement

- Oil and Oil Filter (Likely going with AFE 0W-30 and a Wix/Napa filter, but I think I still have some xW-30 synthetic in my stash somewhere)

- Transmission drain and fill with Maxlife ATF

- Rear differential drain and fill with Valvoline Syn 75W-90 since it's available locally or Redline/Amsoil if I can source locally

- Coolant drain and fill with appropriate coolant [GM Dex-cool or something else?]

- Air filter, fuel filter, PCV valve (I've read that some of the 1500 Silverado V6 don't come with a serviceable fuel filter?)

- Serpentine belt with Dayco, hopefully the tensioner is still in good shape

- Ignition; Plugs [AC Delco Iridium], wires, cap and rotor and a new coil (I know that the rivets have to be drilled out), all AC Delco

- Brake fluid and check condition of current brake pads/rotors

- Battery, probably just replace for peace of mind

Is there anything else I should check out? I know I'm probably forgetting something. I'm also trying to figure out if I should do this all myself or take it into the dealer or an independent shop, there is a 'do I have tools/time' factor that can justify the price at a shop [does anyone have a ballpark figure for this work?], but I figure it can't be that much different than anything I've ever done in the past. If anyone also has any tips for the above the would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Sound about right, but I would also replace distributor cap, plugs and wires if not done already. I think they used 100K plugs on that truck.
 
I would put a bottle of SI-1 or Techron in the tank as well.
If you're feeling up to it.. a Seafoam treatment and a throttle body cleaning.
 
Does anyone happen to have a link to a website that shows fluid capacities on this truck? Diff/Trans/Coolant etc

And yes, if it has a cabin filter I'll order one I don't think all models came with it depending on trim package. The fuel system cleaner/seafoam isn't a bad idea either. I should also replace the thermostat while I have the coolant drained. For the rear diff I found Chevron Delo Full Syn 75W-90 for $6/qt at my local Autozone; I wonder how good this is compared to Valvoline/Mobil1 at $10/qt.
 
Well since i have the same truck, maybe i can help. First off, it dosnt have a cabin air filter, did away with those after 2001 models.
Diff holds like 2.5 qts
Transmission is 1 gallon for a pan drop, 14 qts for the entire
Coolant holds like 3 gallons. I got two of the straight, unmixed jugs of prestone DEXCOOL at walmart. mixed with gallon water

I used valvoline SYNpower 75-90 in my diff
I would seafoam it once or twice before the new plugs, mine ran smoother after seafoam, at idle anyways

Nice Truck! Have fun with it
 
Two tankfuls of Techron or Gumout Regane fuel system cleaner. I would run it hard (get it hot) these first two tankfuls to get rid of or loosen up as much carbon and other junk as you can before changing the oil/plugs. Then start on your list.

You should be able to accomplish your list by yourself if you have the time. It is just basic vehicle maintenance and you will come out a lot cheaper. You can space it out and do it all over a couple weeks. With the money you save, you can use better parts or fluids. That is my main motivation for doing repairs or maintenance myself.

If I was going to keep the vehicle, I would replace the belt tensioner regardless of what it looks like. Belt changes seem to cause a lot of tensioner failures. Transmission pans are messy, I hate that job. Get someone else to do the initial fluid exchange and put a new filter in it. While they are there, have them install a drain plug for you on the pan. That way you can do quick and easy drain/fills at whatever schedule you want with very little mess involved.

With your list, it sounds like you are headed in the right direction.
 
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When my lady said all she knows about cars is how to put gas in them and drive them, I should have believed her. I took a look at the truck in person today, and what would you know, it's a 4.8L V8 not the V6 she told me over the phone the other day.
smirk.gif


With that being said, most if not all the fluid exchange in my list will remain the same. Since each cylinder had it's own coil, I won't be needing the cap or rotor. Parts catalog notes two different wire lengths, 9.2" and 10.5" for the round or square coils, of which I did not take a picture of since I did not know of the length difference until just now when I looked up new part numbers. I will be using either the Denso long-life iridiums or the ACDelco iridiums for spark plugs [though rock auto doesn't list a ACDelco iridium for an '04 4.8L V8 for some reason].

I took a look at the pan for the transmission, it has a drain plug and the fluid did not look or smell burnt on the dipstick, but it was not as bright cherry red as new fluid. Should I even bother with a drain/fill or should I just drop pan and replace filter/gasket and fill?

The coolant tank looked a bit cruddy. While there was no gel/sludge, it is evident that there was some coolant neglect as the dexcool was not the factory orange any longer. It was somewhat brownish. I know that dexcool does not like low levels so I'm hoping that the color indication was mostly due to low levels in the expansion tank and not a gasket leak or mixing with other coolant types. So probably this will be my biggest task to drain and fill until it runs clear/clean. I wonder if it'd be worth it to run a cleaner or just take this portion to the shop for them to exchange with a machine for fresh dexcool?

The brake fluid looked somewhat dark but that could have been due to the opaque resovoir making it look darker than it really is, front and read pads and rotors still looked good, though I did not get a chance to drive it to get a feel for it. I will still change it out since it's probably not been exchanged since it was bought.

Power steering fluid could use a drain/fill as it was dark too, I assume these Chevy used ATF for the PS fluid? Or is there something else I should use?

Oil looked good actually, it was at the proper level and did not smell of gas nor was it over dark or varnish on dipstick; she said it was changed within the last 5,000 miles and it was always maintained on the ranch for it's previous 100k miles. It had a proselect filter on it. Looks like there is room to run a bigger/longer filter of an inch to inch and a half but I'm not sure what over-sized filters you guys are running on the GM 4.8L V8.

Serpentine belt looked original but I did not happen have my EPDM gauge on me to tell if it needed replacement. I'm leaning towards a Dayco 'W profile' belt and a new tensioner even though the one on there still looked good and wasn't making noise or 'bouncing' too much when running.

One thing I did note when looking underneath for leaks is that it appears that the output shaft seal on the transmission is seeping. It was not dripping just looked like seepage [pardon me but I don't know the correct term for this piece] Would the maxlife take care of this or would I have to have the seal replaced? She said it shifted fine. Also, the rear diff showed some seepage/dirt buildup but no dripping. Perhaps it would be prudent to take the cover off and replace the gasket or lay a new bead of sealant when servicing the rear diff?

Thanks for all the tips so far! I really appreciate the feedback. And since I will be doing the work or most if not all of it myself, I will use better parts/fluid.
 
I have several of this engine family in my fleet of service trucks, many with very high miles.

Odds are the plugs are fine. The factory AC/Delcos are now made by NGK, don't buy anything else. They easily go 150-200k miles. Wires are always suspect after 5 years or so.

Trans should get alternate pandrops/filter change with fluid drain only. So if you don't know always start with a pan drop first. Then just drain out the 4 quarts every other oil change or so.

Fresh dex is easy and quick, so do it now. suck out the master cylinder and put in new fluid or do a gravity bleed if you want to. GM has a proprietary ingredient in their brake fluid to retard degradation which makes it last nearly forever. PSF is dex vi same as trans. When you do the belt/tensioner don't forget the AC as it is separate.

We run whatever synthetic is on sale and follow the OLM. We routinely run these engines far beyond 200k miles and have one with half a million.
 
Thanks Steve.

For plugs, Im going with the AC Delcos. I found the correct application for the 4.8L V8 engine, its part number 41-110. $6.04 each on Amazon plus a $2 rebate each. As for the wires, I'm going either the AC Delco or BWD Select based of this in-depth review of wires: Spark Plug Wire reviews and testing depends on whether the lady can verify the factory coils for me before I order online or I'll get the BWD locally. Would it be ok to just use the longer wires even if the stock ones are the 9.2"? Unless the extra 1.3" is bad since it's so close to the manifold?

Is there an easy way to tell what filter kit I need for this truck? It seems there are shallow pan, deep pan, stepped pan etc. The stock photos do show a difference on Rockauto. The pan has the drain plug, which I've gathered to be standard on the V8 engines with the 4-spd auto. There really isn't much a price difference between online and local so if it comes to it I'll just do a drain and fill with Maxlife ATF would be better than nothing [unless there is another fluid recommended over Maxlife].

As for the Dex coolant, I figure I'll clean out the remote tank as best I can and run maybe one or two fills of just distilled water to clean out and then fill with fresh dexcool. I do not want to run a cleaner if I can help it. I take it that even a drain and fill without the distilled runs would even be better than nothing.

I didn't see the water pump weeping when I took a quick look the other night, but I hope that when I take a closer look when I replace the serpentine belts and tensioners/idler, that it isn't leaking.
 
Originally Posted By: Realtech214
Well since i have the same truck, maybe i can help. First off, it dosnt have a cabin air filter, did away with those after 2001 models.
Diff holds like 2.5 qts
Transmission is 1 gallon for a pan drop, 14 qts for the entire
Coolant holds like 3 gallons. I got two of the straight, unmixed jugs of prestone DEXCOOL at walmart. mixed with gallon water

I used valvoline SYNpower 75-90 in my diff
I would seafoam it once or twice before the new plugs, mine ran smoother after seafoam, at idle anyways

Nice Truck! Have fun with it


+1 I agree. Run a cleaner for two weeks prior to putting on fresh new plugs. I would stick with the Delcos. GMs for some reason never run quite the same as they do with the OEM plugs. Coolant, plugs/wires, transmission fluid/filter, drain and fill the diffs and check filters. Replace if needed.
 
Don't be surprised if you have problems with the drain plug on the transmission. Lots of reports from people stripping the bolt head trying to get it off. Yes, it happened to me as well. Get a replacement, the drain bolt is very soft. The Maxlife ATF works well in this transmission.

Get the longer plug wires for the 4.8. Ac/Delco factory plugs lasted 100k easily. Bosch Platinums were changed at 50K and they were in very bad shape. I replaced them with AC/Delco Iridiums.

I had same problem with output shaft seal on trans. Very easy and cheap fix if it needs repair.

Oil filter - Wix offers one that is a little longer than most. Don't get too greedy and expose too much oil filter

You got the right idea about the coolant. Drain and fill with distilled water (.80 a gal at Walmart) until it comes out clear. Then add the appropriate amount of straight anti-frz to get your desired %50 or %60 mix level.
 
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