My new daily driver.
 

Just bought a 1996 Silverado a couple weeks ago from a 92yo woman who bought it new. 124k on the clock. Had to change it a little bit because the running boards almost made me walk away. 5.7 vortec, 4l60, air, tilt, cruise and still smells new. Wanders around like nothing I’ve ever driven so it will get a borgeson steering shaft and a rebuilt front end.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

Pictures.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

That's a sharp truck you've got there. Looks brand new. Looks so much better without the running boards. My parents had a Ford Econoline van in the 80s that had running boards like that. I didn't like them then either.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

Very nice looking truck. Way better without running boards.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

Like a time capsule. Very nice.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

Day 1, pull running boards ASAP! :lol:

I would bet your idler arm is worn out. I know on K2500/3500s they go every 80k or so. On the few I've had I replaced that 2 or 3x before any other front end work was needed.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

My 2wds were the same about 80 to 100 k they wouldn need replaced. Never did anything else on front end except shocks. Check ur carrier bearing and rear u joints. I didn't think about mine and they were dried out and failed.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

Nice truck. I probably would take the cow catcher off the front too. :D

Re: My new daily driver.
 

I had to have the idler arm and pitman arm replaced on my 89 K1500 a couple years ago. It needed it for a while but I put it off until I couldn't hardly keep it on the road in a crosswind. Over 200k and I don't know if it had been done before? The ball joint that I replaced had been done before because it was bolted and not riveted. I could have done the idler myself but you have to take the steering box loose and cant it to get the pitman off/on, so I paid the son of a neighbor who has a mobile repair business to do it right in my yard.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

I've done my pitman and idler arms twice. I didn't remove the steering box.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

Wow! A very nice truck, I'm glad you didn't walk away. The running boards were terrible.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

I have pulled more running boards from trucks than I can count. Now it's so-called "nerf bars" and other tube type steps. My buddy had an '06 K2500 long bed ext. cab with the aluminum boxed oval things that hang down enough to leave about 6" of daylight. I guess they make trucks for sissies now. The truck sat kind of low as it was. He told me he bought aggressive tires for winter because he kept getting hung up plowing snow. I told him he needed to pull those "pontoons" off :lol: He still laughs about that and tells everyone that's what I call them. He has them on his newer Chevy now.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

2wd or 4wd?

A very experienced and trustworthy GM mechanic (former small dealer for decades, until the purge in 2009) told me that's how it needed to be done. I would have had him do it but he is so busy that it would have taken six months and I would have to have stripped everything out of my pickup while it was sitting outside in town.

The mobile mechanic agreed that's how he needed to do it. It took him maybe a couple hours to do everything, with all his power tools run right off his service truck.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

I missed that yours is 4wd. :D Yeah mine is 2wd.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

Lowered a couple inches and an all new front end. Next will be 6.5 and 8” rally wheels with staggered tires.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

What A Beauty

Re: My new daily driver.
 

Nice looking truck. My middle son has a '96 Z71. Been a good truck for him. Are you referring to the older square body wheels when you mention the rally wheels? Recently bought a '99 2wd Tahoe for my daily driver and don't care for the choice of wheels from the previous owner. Been contemplating finding a set of the 15'' x 6.5'' or 7'' square body rallies for it. It also is a 5 on 5 wheel set up as is your truck.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

Swweet truck. I'm a product of the 90's so I would be forced to find an old school set of 17" billet wheels myself.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

Keeping it simple. I like the plan. Just a clean Chevy pickup with a personal touch.

Re: My new daily driver.
 

Yes, those wheels exactly. I was going to put them on my old C10, but I’m glad they are sitting in the shed.