Ok well I havent checked my mail since Monday night.....500+ DMLs is good
thing, right? hehe. Anyways here is what I did, what I found, what happened.
I put a 'heading' so you dont have to read the section if you dont want to!:
*FUEL FILTER: I replaced my 15,000 mile old fuel filter. Nice and easy 10
minute job. I change the fuel filter every 15-20,000 miles, so I am familiar
with the process. I cut the old one out and found some dirt, not that much
though. Previous filters have been pretty nasty once I cut them open. Total
cost: $12
*SPARK PLUGS: Checked the 10,000 mile old Autolite Coppers. Good condition.
Regapped probably 5 of the 6 plugs; just slightly more 'open' than the
original .050 gap I had them set at. Took maybe 15 minutes total.
*CAP/ROTOR: New distributor cap and rotor; Borg Warner Select of course. The
10,000 mile old cap/rotor looked used and really overall in need of
replacement. The inside of the cap showed a good sign of wear and the rotor
had seen better days as well. Another 10 minute job. I applied new
dielectric grease on the cap's terminals and put it all back together. Total
Cost: $13
*COOLANT/T-STAT: I drain my radiator every year and flush the system every
other year. It is the 'drain the radiator year.' I drained the radiator and
the antifreeze looked extremely good. I swapped in a new thermostat, cause
my Dak started to run alittle warm. I refilled the radiator and put in a
bottle of Redline's Watter Wetter; available at Pep Boys for about $6. This
job took about an hour, cause I tok my time as I didnt want any coolant
leaks nor did I want to spill any coolant as my wolf-hybrid was 'helping' me
work on my Dak. Started the truck up and it ran/runs alot cooler now. 2
gallons of Prestone, 1 bottle of Watter Wetter, t-stat, gasket. Total Cost:
$25
*TIRE PRESSURE: With the warm weather here, I thought I should check the
tire pressure. All of the tires, including the spare, were anywhere from
7psi to about 15psi lower than what I normally run them on. Quick air up and
I want done.
*BILSTEIN SHOCKS: First let my say these shocks are so much longer than the
Rancho's I had on, both the front's and the rear's. The Bilsteins in the
rear were about 5+" longer, and I had to use a jack to push them up onto the
lower shock mount on the axle once I have the top of the rears mounted. The
rear shocks are easy and I dont have to take off any tires or jack my truck
up off of the ground. Overall the rears took about 30 minutes. The fronts
were a different story. Tires come off, front end gets jacked up off of the
ground, etc. The bottom shock mounts are easy to take off but I just hate
the top mounts, on Rancho's atleast. The top of the Bilstein shocks isnt
solid like the Ranchos, these use a allen wrench to hold the pistone on
tight so it doesnt turn when trying to tighten down the top of the shock.
Very slick setup if you ask me. The front Ranchos shocks I could take and
very easily compress the shock, so they were really shot. The Bilsteins were
stiff and I had to really lean on them to move the piston in. Total cost:
$49.99 times 4, about $215 with tax.
*GRRRRR: I found I have a leaking passenger's side outer CV Joint boot,
grease is everywhere. I have to get this fixed asap, as I dont want anything
to get torn up or worn out now. I will call around today for boot prices.
Dak is running really good now. Acceleration is really nice and smooth
andback to normal. The ride is alot better. I never would never complain
about the ride quality on my Dak, because it it a TRUCK duh!!! But it had
gotten really bad over the past year. These Bilsteins are really ncie and
smooth out the ride alot. I like them and will hopefully like them for a
while now. I took pics of some of the above work, including the condition fo
the cap/rotor, a comparison between the Rancho's and the Bilsteins, even my
wolf-dog, as well as some assorted pics of the Dakota. Would anyone be so
kind as to post them on their website? They are just standard 3"x5" 35MM
pics, I dont have a dig. camera nor a scanner. Let me know, thanks fellas!
Kyle
93 Dakota 4x4 V6
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