[PaulRahoi]

We are nearing a final purchase of a new 2004 GMC Sierra
2500HD crewcab shortbox SLE with Duramax/Allison.
This is our first new vehicle, and we'd like to keep
it for a looooooooong time, so we want to do everything
in our power to keep the vehicle looking and functioning
well, right from the get go. Thus, we plan to
immediately do the following:

1) Get the vehicle rustproofed-- any
experiences/suggestions in regard to various
rustproofing companies and/or factory rustproofing?

2) Have the bed lined with spray-on liner.
The local dealer handles "Permatech"-- any thoughts?

Soon afterwards, we'd like to get an aux fuel tank,
tonneau cover and nerf bars.

Do you have any other suggestions? Synthetic tranny oil?
Synthetic motor oil? What other things can you do to
"baby" the truck? Anything you WISH you would have
done from the start?

Thanks,
Paul.

 

[bluenote]

I posted some of my suggestions for you over at the rv.net forums.


Again, congrats on the new truck!

 

[NWDmax]

If I made only one modification to my truck it would be secondary fuel filtration AFTER the stock RACOR filter.


Imho replacing the injectors is the single most costly after warranty expense you will incur.


Most folks here agree that the stock system is in need of help and opinions vary on whether or not you should filter before or after the stock filter.


Keep reading as you'll learn alot and can form your own conclusion.


Blake

 

[gwmayes]

Paul,


Don't know about the rustproofing thing. I'm old enough to remember when we used to "undercoat" and or Z-Bart (or something like that) our vehicles. Fortunately, the feds stepped in and told the car manufacturers they'd better start building bodies that don't rust through in a year or two. They now dip the frames in that wax material, use a lot of galvanized, strategically place drain holes, etc.


That old "tar" undercoating actually turned out making matters worse. Moisture would get between the tar and the metal and then you really had a mess.


I'm not sure I'd do anything except really, really hose 'em out underneath after running around in the slop.


Hmmm, never heard of "Permatech". I "Rhino'ed" mine. Rhino has a somewhat softer texture than the others and almost immediately develops a flat black finish. Matches my wheel well flares very well. Had it installed "over the rails". Every pickup I've owned, the rails became a mess from hauling things in and out over the side.


Check out the "Waiting, waiting, waiting" thread.

 

[Bill Gisse]

Don't know where yuu are from but I don't beleive there is such a thing as rustproofing. Most of these type products tend to get holes in the coating at some time and moisture gets in in there and stays, giving you a rust spot you don't see until its all the way thru. your frame on the new truck will have an excellent wax coating on it but such things as diesel fuel eats it right off so you have to be careful. If you libe in a salt water area or place where they put ice eatging stuff on the road, frequent washing of the under carriage is good. Never heard of the spray in bed liner you mentioned. LINEX is a good brand if its vailable in your area. Try dealing diect with the company that apply's the bed liner, that way you avoid a middle man cost. Extra oil and fuel filters are a personaleference and not really required. They are something like an insurance against having certain prroblems. I recommend you use good quality filters. For oil, OEM(expensive), WIX, Baldwin, Golden NAPA and a few others are high quality filters are okay. Fram isn't recommended by most truck owners. The fuel lifilter is made by RACOR no matter who's name is on it so you can shop and avoid the OEM high cost. I would avois synthetic lubs for awhile. Would have the transmission fluid changed to synthetic at about 20K miles and the engine after your warranty runs out. To change oil evry 10K with synthetic in there would be a big waste of money. There's lots of good oils available. One just now coming availbable is Valvoline BLUE. My grandson just found a couple cases of it at a Super Wall Mart . A practice is to change the oil/filter a couple times before 10K, I agree with that. Some change the fuel filter early to(maybe 3-5K} . Transmission filters are best bought at places other than GM also, use only an Allison Filter.CH group motor oil is okay but CH-CI is better and the same cost. After you read this forum for awhile you become very knowledgable about this stuff, but it changes so fast its confusing sometimes. I'm talking like you don't know anything about diesel so don't be offended if you alreadt know all this stuff. This only my second diesel and I have been amzed at what I don't know and thanks the the computer and its learned users I'm getting smarter. Enjoy youe new truck.

 

[Mackin]

We are nearing a final purchase of a new 2004 GMC Sierra
2500HD crewcab shortbox SLE with Duramax/Allison.
This is our first new vehicle, and we'd like to keep
it for a looooooooong time, so we want to do everything
in our power to keep the vehicle looking and functioning
well, right from the get go. Thus, we plan to
immediately do the following:

1) Get the vehicle rustproofed-- any
experiences/suggestions in regard to various
rustproofing companies and/or factory rustproofing?

Check with for factory rust proofing warranty .... Aftermarket rust proofing may void it ..... Good maintenance (cleaning) will help also ....

2) Have the bed lined with spray-on liner.
The local dealer handles "Permatech"-- any thoughts?

Soon afterwards, we'd like to get an aux fuel tank,
tonneau cover and nerf bars.

All great ideas....

Do you have any other suggestions? Synthetic tranny oil?
Synthetic motor oil? What other things can you do to
"baby" the truck? Anything you WISH you would have
done from the start?

I prefer synthetic oil in the crankcase do to it's superior lubricating and start characteristics .... Yes, pricey and designed for long intervals, but I change regularly do to modifications regularly ... Nothing is wrong with swapping your tranny over to Tranysnd .....I would at first recommended service flush and fill with Transynd ... Change the spin on at 5000 miles reuse the ring magnet, wipe clean .... I wouldn't baby it drive it like you would normally vary your speed ...... The only thing I would do different is add better fuel filtering,early as mentioned above also ....

Thanks,
Paul.

Above all good luck !!!!!!

Mac

 

[Campfire_Rick]

Well, I'm about 5000 miles ahead of you, and here's what I've done:


1] Changed the crankcase oil every 1500-2000 miles for the first three or four changes just to get all the factory gunk and break-in stuff out. I buy Delo-400 at Costco, and I ordered a case of Baldwin 1441's. I just did my third oil change Friday, and I have 5000+ miles. Come Thanksgiving I'll be due for another change, and I'll be heading to Montana on the annual deer hunt, and it is then that I plan on experimenting with synthetic, if only for that trip. I'm thinking Delvac. The Delo at 2500-mile intervals should take me to where I want to go, I'm convinced.


2] Bought the deep pan, sump filter, and some spin-on filters from dmaxallitech, as well as 5 gallon of Transynd. The Allison will get synthetic fluid and extra capacity before 7500 miles. Worth the peace of mind, for sure. Dealer is charging me $90 for the full flush.


3] In the peace of mind category, just ordered the Nicktane kit from our webmaster. Followed the discussions on auxiliary filtration, and I was sold by the fuel results posted for the CAT filter, plus someone I trust who has beauceau experience with diesels told me unequivocally that CAT makes THE best filters period. Combined with the warranty issue, ease of installation, no cut lines, etc., I liked the CAT setup.


4] Ordered the Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil for the front and rear diff's. Going in as soon as they arrive. Again, cheap insurance.


5] Decided George Morrison knows his stuff. Ordered a cases of Primrose 405, dealer be damned.


Bottom line: The warranty is for 100K, but I want to at least triple that. I'll do whatever I can early on to help get that done. So far, I've resisted the call for a Juice, and the more I drive my D-Max, the less I think I need it. These things are quicker than any diesel in a 7000-pound truck has a right to be. Not knocking anyone else's choice, just saying I'm satisfied (and refuse to hop in the cab of someone who's runnin' a box, cuz I KNOW what will happen.

).


Next thing on my list is a Uniflow intake setup, and then the one that is killing me ... whether to drop the Dex-Cool and go with the green stuff. THAT is one difficult one to swing by the dealer!!


Engine, tranny, gearboxes, intake, fuel system ... did I leave anything out???


That's my plan.


Rick

 

[JEBar]

2) Have the bed lined with spray-on liner.
The local dealer handles "Permatech"-- any thoughts?



Have permatech sprayed in my 3500 and it has done a good job, no complaints .... Jim

 

[Victory Red]

Spend some time here and you will be overwhelmed with information. Also be sure to ask questions you're not sure about, that's what these style forums are all about.


I also plan on keeping this truck longer than any previous vehicle(actually wife tells me I better

).


Rustproofing is a good idea. I'm lucky enough to know a small shop owner that treats me well. Do a lot of research and ask a lot of questions before you do this. All body shops are not created equal.


Find a good dealer/mechanic. In my case, I think Eric(dmaxallitech) will be mine should I ever need his services for serious work. He's a 4+hr ride, but several people here go out of their way for his services, so he's got a large following and experience. He's also a good source for GM parts and other various needs/wants.


Secondary fuel filtration almost seems a necessity. There's a slew of info out there. My only recommendation is go with a brand that you can find easily in your area. Also if possible if someone in your area is on here, try to enlist their help. Makes any job that much easier, you'll also find most people here will go out of their way to help one another.


Various fluids, I look for quality, recommendations, availability and price.


Something no one else has mentioned. A good exterior wax to keep that baby looking new. There's been a recent thread on 'success stories'. I recently started using Zaino Brothers and have been quite pleased. Although only 3 months or so ago, but to this point it's held up quite well.

 

[LARSONEM]

I sure wouldn't rustproof it. Those guys drill holes in the body and anytime you break the seal on paint or leave metal exposed, you open up the possibility of problems. I quit rustproofing after I had all kinds of problems with a 1985 GMC Jimmy. Ziebart wouldn't stand behind their work. I sued in small claims and lost, appealed and finally the judge ordered them to reimburse my court costs plus materials for repair. Todays vehicles are built so much better, they use galvanized steel and have better sealers and paints. Spend your money on add on goodies instead.

 

[cmadmaxman]

On the rustproofing. I would not do it. Since the mid to late 80's GM has used the full body dip called ELPO. It uses electricity to make the product to go into all the nooks and craneys caused when spot welding all the pannels together. Also most or all of the pannels are plated sheet metal. This is a full dip process and the body will come out black or gray. Our Saturn space frames come out solid black.


I thinks that GM has something about rusting, and if you do the rustproofing thing you will void any warranty thru GM.

 

[BlueMaxxxx]

I would definately skip the Undercoating as I agree with the reasons above. I have a 02 Max with 56k on it. I was going to buy a '04 today. The dealer had traded or it and picked it up. What really got me going about 6 am this morning was reading this forum for the first time. When I first went to talk to the sales guy I told him I was after a single axle 3500. All he said was their not available yet. Then I read all the stuff about the engine (LYY). I called the sales dept this morning and said HEY ! Whats up with this ??? I got lots of suprised responses but the long and short of it is they amitted knowing about the new engine and they can place orders for it in about 30 days. They did claim it was only going to be available in the single axle 3500 which doesn't make sense to me but thats the truck I was after any how. They had picked up a totyally loaded '04 2500HD ext cab for me. Only 1 in 200 miles. Now I wasn't wanting to take that with essntially a '03 engine in it Plus the CAT and EGR stuff. So every one was upset. I was upset they werent more forth comeing with the info and they were upset I would not take a truck they had already traded for. I figured I might take if they would do a little something on the price but they would not budge. I am perfectly happy with the '02 I just figured it might be a good time to trade as I have decent equity after 24 months on a 36 month 0% contract.

 

[Richard7]

The right rustproofing is good! I do it myself with a semi-liquid rustproofing stuff. I do the under vehicule as the main target.


Did you have a look at your under vehicule lately? If you live north of the rust belt, It is incredible how fast the rust is growing under the vehicule; driving shaft, frame, suspension parts, brackets, fittings, lines...


I am always surprised when I see people putting all kind of expensive stuff for exterior appearance, and the underbody is all rust colored... I personnally paint the driveshaft and all the parts that were not painted by the factory. Than I put some good rustproofing stuff afterward.


The side panels are not critical because they are galvanised and painted. It is not the case with a lot of underbody parts... which see most of the salt stuff.


If you replace the truck after a few years it doesn't matter, but for the long term, it will save you repairs and give value.

 

[Roegs]

I agree about not rustproofing, as its really not necessary any more...except for 1 area that my vehicles still seem to have problems with. The door bottoms (by the inside seam just below the rain holes) still seems to be problematic in areas of the country that use salt. Its an area that gets a spray of salt from front tires, but can easily be missed at car washes. I use a product called LPS3 that goes on as a thick oil, and dries to a waxy finish. Airlines use it to rustproof wheel wells of aircraft. No holes to drill...I simply spray it into the rain holes on the bottom of the door. Keep spraying until it runs out the other holes. I do this on each door after purchasing a vehicle, and have had very good results (no rust).