1988 GMC Sierra SLE 2500 - First project ever.

[droberson]

Hello! I'm new to the forums, and just picked up a 1988 GMC Sierra SLE 2500 from my girlfriend's father. I basically wanted a truck to haul around stuff that will not fit in my Jeep and to have a second vehicle in the event that my daily driver is out of commission.

Additionally, I need a hobby. I've always wanted to learn more about working on cars and now that I have a second vehicle I won't be as apprehensive about working on it. To me, pretty much anything beats coming home and watching TV every night. I'll try to document my progress on this truck the best I can. Hopefully someone finds this thread interesting or it helps somebody some day.

I'd like to start off saying that I don't have a whole lot of experience with mechanical work beyond basic maintenance like fluid changes, tune ups, changing brakes, and the occasional part replacement (radiators, belts, alternators, etc). This truck runs solid enough for what I need at the moment, but needs quite a bit of cosmetic work.

My girlfriend's father was the second owner of this and drove it daily to and from work for 20+ years, used it to haul firewood, make trips to the dump, and pull his boat to and from the lake. It recently had the engine and transmission rebuilt and the radiator replaced. I don't know which engine or transmission is in it currently. Other than oil changes, he did pretty much nothing to maintain it. The interior is thrashed and it is pretty much filthy all around.

Doing a quick once over on it, here are the things I saw wrong with it:

- There is a small oil leak. I don't know where from.
- The oil pressure pegs out on the gauge when its running. I don't know if this is normal or if there is actually a problem. It has been driven this way for years, however. Hopefully this is just a sensor or a broken gauge or something simple.
- The parking brake does not work.
- The brake light in the lower right corner of the instrument flickers while driving.
- The seat belts do not work.
- The steering wheel has a bit of up and down play in it, but the steering feels tight. Hopefully this is just something needing tightened.
- The horn cap is missing
- The drivers side power window doesn't work and is stuck down about 2"
- The door panels are thrashed. The handles to close them are missing, several clips are missing to hold them in place, and someone held them down with hex head sheet metal screws.
- The drivers side door lock does not work. I suspect that the linkage is broken/disconnected.
- The glove compartment has broken hinges and just falls out when its opened.
- The bench seat needs new cushions and upholstery or replaced.
- It can be started without a key. The ignition switch needs replaced
- The sun visors are missing fabric and are just pieces of plywood
- It has four mismatched tires in various stages of wear.
- Missing tailgate handle bezel.
- The trim strip across the back of the tailgate is loose and held on with hex head sheet metal screws.
- The engine bay is extremely dirty. If there are any other leaks, I wouldn't be able to tell where they're coming from.
- It still has the original shocks. They are worn out and need to be replaced.
- The headlight switch is very lose.
- 4x4 works, but I don't know if the diffs have ever been serviced.
- The tail lights work, but the lenses are very old and brittle. They feel like they will disintegrate if I ever have to take them off to change a bulb.
- Missing pads on the gas and brake pedals.
- The bezel around the instrument panel is sun rotted and cracked. Its held in by mismatched screws.


I haven't got around to checking much under the truck or in the engine bay, but it runs strong, starts easily every time, transmission doesn't slip, it passes smog, aren't huge puddles of fluid under it, and I don't notice any strange noises while driving it. From what I see currently, it is mostly cosmetic damage and expected wear and tear on a truck driven for over 20 years.


My initial goal with this truck is to make it comfortable to drive and have everything work as intended. After that, I might add a few basic performance mods. This is mostly going to be a learning experience for me and something to occupy my spare time. I'll post some "before" pics as soon as I get around to taking them.