1995 Chevy K1500 Silverado

shovenose

Original poster
Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
Latest acquisition... much happier now that I am a GM owner again. Nothing against my Escape, it's a great little car, but it's no Chevy truck :smile:

276K miles, 350 TBI, and it has my favorite features... cruise control and power windows. I did find myself reaching for the steering wheel controls I got used to in the Escape. Oops! lol.

Only things I absolutely need to do are replace the speakers because the stock ones sound like someone shaking a box of empty tin cans, and finding the source of sloppy steering and fix it.

A few other minor things to fix are the lights for the gauge cluster are almost all burned out (I have purple LEDs on the way from Amazon), the drivers door key lock doesn't work, a minor power steering leak, and that's all for now!

And despite my bad luck with the 4L60E I'm dedicated to treating this one well. I haven't ever even floored it yet LOL. I do plan to change the tranny fluid and all other fluids in the near future since while I have a stack of maintenance history it doesn't show any of that. Recently tuned up with mostly all ACDelco parts, new AC compressor, new catalytic converters, woohoo!

And the big question... tonneau cover, camper shell, or toolbox?

Y8w1FCz.jpg
 
Last edited:

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Roll-up aluminum tonneau
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
I know a guy who could hook you up with a 383 that kind of does cool things sometimes. :rolleyes:
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
Put one of those transgo code buster kits in it from the ebay guy ctpowertrain and that should help longevity, at least in my experience.
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
All this could be yours. :rotfl:

 

shovenose

Original poster
Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
Put one of those transgo code buster kits in it from the ebay guy ctpowertrain and that should help longevity, at least in my experience.

I appreciate the suggestion but every time I try to fix something that isn't broken it turns out terribly for me!

I did do an oil change yesterday, even though it was only done 7 months ago, and I have the receipt from them, I just felt better about having fresh oil.

G7hIbLG.png
 

DocBrown

Member
Dec 8, 2011
501
That thing looks pretty clean.

I had a '95 'Burb. Pretty much a bullet proof truck. I had to have my trans rebuilt at 123k. I bought it with 97k and had no idea how it had been cared for.

When you do change the trans fluid use DEX VI. It's backward compatible and far better for your trans than the original DEX III.

I have an Extang Solid Fold tonneau cover on my Sierra that I love. So long as your tailgate has a lock the cover is locking and secure. Keeps everything dry inside when closed and folds up for larger loads. And I can stand on it. I sold the cap that came on the truck and bought this cover.

i-WM4qSTR-M.jpg
 

shovenose

Original poster
Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
That thing looks pretty clean.

I had a '95 'Burb. Pretty much a bullet proof truck. I had to have my trans rebuilt at 123k. I bought it with 97k and had no idea how it had been cared for.

When you do change the trans fluid use DEX VI. It's backward compatible and far better for your trans than the original DEX III.

I have an Extang Solid Fold tonneau cover on my Sierra that I love. So long as your tailgate has a lock the cover is locking and secure. Keeps everything dry inside when closed and folds up for larger loads. And I can stand on it. I sold the cap that came on the truck and bought this cover.

i-WM4qSTR-M.jpg

That bed cover looks really nice, and I'd really love to have one like that but it's about $1000... definitely a little outside my budget. I will look for less costly alternatives but keep it in the back of my mind.

As for the tranny fluid, I do understand that Dex VI is superior in pretty much every way to Dex III. However, it is a lower viscosity fluid, and thinner isn't better when you have a 276K truck that may or may not be on the original transmission. While in theory the much inferior Dex III shears down fairly quickly to about the same viscosity as Dex VI is from day one, I think I'm gonna stick with the "thick stuff" on my old tranny. I'd love to use Royal Purple Max ATF which is an excellent quality fluid that I've used in the past and had great results with, however it's pretty spendy, so perhaps Valvoline Dex/Merc will do me just fine for like $14/gallon since I plan to do a complete flush using the tranny cooler lines.
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
I'd use the 6. 3 is getting harder to find and it generally seems to be more expensive now too. The 6 is way more shear stable too.
 

shovenose

Original poster
Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
I'd use the 6. 3 is getting harder to find and it generally seems to be more expensive now too. The 6 is way more shear stable too.

Do you think shear stability is a concern if I plan to do a complete flush of the fluid and then change it every 30K miles? How quickly does the regular Dex III shear down?
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
Do you think shear stability is a concern if I plan to do a complete flush of the fluid and then change it every 30K miles? How quickly does the regular Dex III shear down?
I'd expect you'd be at or below dex 6 by 30k. It's a mineral vs semi synthetic.
 

shovenose

Original poster
Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
I'd expect you'd be at or below dex 6 by 30k. It's a mineral vs semi synthetic.
Hmmm well I can use the Royal Purple which is a synthetic fluid plus it's thick af... It's just 4x the price lol.
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
It is what it is. I'd run the 6, have run the 6 and will continue to run the 6 in everything but the boat transmissions only because I was actually told not to by volvo. Supposedly synthetic causes slipping in the marine transmissions... I don't know. At 10k a pop they're a little more expensive than a 4l60... What ever you choose it is probably more than overkill at that interval...
 

shovenose

Original poster
Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
It is what it is. I'd run the 6, have run the 6 and will continue to run the 6 in everything but the boat transmissions only because I was actually told not to by volvo. Supposedly synthetic causes slipping in the marine transmissions... I don't know. At 10k a pop they're a little more expensive than a 4l60... What ever you choose it is probably more than overkill at that interval...
True, maybe it's a waste to put like $150 worth of tranny fluid. Guess I'll stick with the old fashioned Valvoline Dex/Merc.
 
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