Tune-up questions & comments!
 

*Quick confession* Well I thought I was doing the right thing by replacing my old cracked cab mounts with nice new poly ones but from the posts I have read recently-I couldn't be further from the truth. So I have decided rather than take anything for granted Ill just ask the board members what I should do.

*Questions* Ok, I bought the truck a few months back and I would like to give it a tune-up with quality parts and supplies. Where should I start? It seems to run fine but I have absolutely nothing to compare it to.

Stock 350 engine, 71k original miles, things I should do and things I should not do? Tranny just check fluid level? Should I use some engine gunk run/clean the engine out or no? Check timing? Should I try and adjust the carb-never done one before!

1. Change the air filter, what brand?

2. Oil, synthetic or no, what brand? Oil filter, what brand?

3. Plugs, what brand?

4. Wires, what brand?

5. New distrib cap and points?

6. Is there anything I should look out for, is there anything I have missed that I should do during the tune-up?

Things I have done. I have drained and flushed the radiator, I have replaced the water pump, I have rebuilt all wheel cylinders, I have replaced all drums and pads. I have cleaned the master cylinder resivior(however you spell it, spell check aint helpin) and flushed the brake lines. I have also replaced cab mounts.

Any and all advise is greatly appreciated.

First let me say I'm no expert but here is my opinion.
1. Change it, no opinion on brand
2. change it, I use castrol. Anything but Fram. Personally I like ACDelco, wix or Napa
3. I use AC delco
4. No opinion
5. Throw a HEI distributor on it, you'll love it!
6. Not a tune up item, but it's so easy to do...put a brake booster on it if it doesn't already have one.

Its all personal preferance as far as brands, but this is what I use...

1. Change the air filter, what brand? K & N

2. Oil, synthetic or no, what brand? Oil filter, what brand? plain old castrol GTX straight 30wt w/a fram suregrip oil filter...helps to tighten & remove the dern thing when your hands are covered in used oil... theres only 3 (correct me if im wrong) real manufacturers of oil filters , they sell the filters to other companies who put their names on them... fram makes their own

3. Plugs, what brand? Ive tried split fires & all the fancy 5.00 plugs ... didnt see much of a difference... I use plain ol champions

4. Wires, what brand? accel

5. New distrib cap and points? yes

manual or auto tranny? no engine flush unless the oil looked like black tar. checking the timing is always good...

1. Change the air filter, what brand? k&n, yes spend the moneu

2. Oil, synthetic or no, what brand? Oil filter, what brand? no on synthetic, its not the oil that brakes down, its the partical IN the oil that cause wear. i just napa brand stuff, its really valvaline.

3. Plugs, what brand? i have always used autolites.. but im sure they are all good.

4. Wires, what brand? no idea

5. New distrib cap and points? hei is the way to go. id you are buyin new wires the is a great time to change over!

6. Is there anything I should look out for, is there anything I have missed that I should do during the tune-up? ya, check all your belts and other fulids. greese all your zerts, and everynow and then adjuest the carb if needed. check timing and idle speed.

Up front I am not a Fram fan, but if you REALLY want to be informed do some reading here. http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/...?ubb=forum;f=6

If you want fairly inexpensive spiral-core plug wires, Pep Boys has Borg-Warner's gray ones for ~$30-$35.

As far as oil, The primary benefit of synthetics, are resistance to oxidation, and higher TBN allows extended drains. The increased solvency of synthetics help keep your engine clean, and synthetics have much better performance in extreme hot or cold. Most synthetics have higher than normal levels of friction modifiers that promote fuel economy and HP. Mobil 1 is the only true major synthetic available over the counter. There are other true synthetics, such as royal purple, amsoil, redline, etc........but they are much harder to find. Advance auto has recently started stocking redline. Valvoline durablend, castrol syntec, pennzoil synthetic, etc, etc....are not true synthetics. You do not have to use a synthetic to acheive long engine life. As far as conventional Passenger car oils.........pennzoil, havoline and chevron are all top notch oils. Motorcraft (conoco) and castrol gtx usually perform well also. Heavy duty oils such as chevron delo 400 and mobil delvac 1300 are viable alternatives if the viscosity is suited to your climate.

Fram filters have subpar construction. They are the only filter manufacturer to use cardboard endcaps on the filter cartridge. The fram ADBV does not seem to work well (not a concern with SBC's), and the bypass valve is a subpar design (not a concern on sbc's). Pennzoil and quaker state filters are also made by fram. Wix is a quality filter manufacturer and produces the carquest premium, and napa gold filters. Champion is also a quality filter manufacturer, and they produce ac delco, stp, supertech, mobil 1, K&N, bosch, and some fleetguard filters. Purolator is good as well.