Did I buy the wrong truck or is it OK? Limited Budget

JonBoy

Active Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Hampstead NC
OK overall I am happy with the truck and have had it a year. Its a 98 cheyenne 4x4 5-speed with yes only the 305 SFI. I have done nothing but add a Pioneer CD player, Infinity 6.5's and a Cheap sub under the rear seat. Other than that I am putting every penny i have into getting it payed off. Then would like new rims/tires/285's. Anyway Chance's are this truck with never see much off road action as I do plan on buying a 98 or so jeep around this time next year. To my real question is this truck ok if i were to venture off road or is everything on it TO light duty? its got the low end 5 speed and only the 305 Im not sure if its the same rear end or transfer case a z71 has or not. It didnt come with skid plates but I have been looking for some. Yes i could have gotten a Z71 but would have been atleat 3 years older at the same price as what I payed for the truck.
 

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theres only one way to find out now isnt there? Don't do anything you dont feel comfortable with and it wont be an out of the box rock crawler...but if has that 4L for something dont it?
 
I managed to get my Yukon through Uwharrie without breaking anything (I took the bypasses, but they're not exactly a cake-walk for a stocker). As long as you don' try anything stupid, you should be golden. Like jeep9mm said, take it easy, work your way up to tougher stuff, and learn your truck's limits.
 
it all depends on the driver. if you know what you're doing you shouldnt have a problem but if you're an idiot then stuff starts breaking REAL fast.
 
It should be able to make it across a dry grassy field. Where I live everythings muddy with tight turns. I wouldn't dare drive a truck that nice one the trails. Jack up the rear and see if it has a posi. If so that and mud tires will make a big difference.
 
You can also look at the RPO codes in the glovebox to see if it's got a gov-loc (posi). There should be a sticker with a bunch of 3-letter/number codes in the glovebox, look for G80.
 
yea G80 or G8, i think they both mean rear posi. if you have push button 4x4 then your case is a NP242 (i think), if there is a lever on the floor, its a NP241. 241's have the best crawl ratio of any GM xfer case. you can do some light wheeling in it, but dont go nuts. i used to have an 89 z71 with 285's and my biggest issue was CV's cause IFS just dosent hold up to a big heavy truck. the good thing is though if you blow one its not a big deal because you can just leave the stub shaft bolted on and drive with out a cv as long as you need to. just learn how to drive and dont spin the front tires for a long time cause you will make those CV's go boom fast. have fun with it and dont go to CK5, they will tell you to do crazy things to your truck :driver:
 
Metto said:
have fun with it and dont go to CK5, they will tell you to do crazy things to your truck :driver:
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Very true.

And just for clarification, I think the pushbutton T-case is 243 and the autotrac t-case is 246.
 
Thanks for all the info. I didnt really buy the truck to be a off road machine or anthing just the typical 4x4 everyone needs. Is the swap from 265's to 285's enought to notice driving? I am still unsure if I wanna put 285's on it or not. As for the G80 its not listed as one of the codes. Also its not push button so im the NP241 dont sound to bad. Anyway thanks again.
 
I didn't notice a difference when I put 285s on, either in power or mileage. If anything, gas mileage went up.
 
I have a 90 Z71 with the gov-lock, also know as "grunaid-lock" becouse they like to explope. Luckly my died a quite death. So not having it is a good thing, sence it would have quite anyway. I took mine up to Brown Mt. at the end of last year and had a blast. easy trail and took my time. No damage.
 
Metto said:
dont go to CK5, they will tell you to do crazy things to your truck :driver:
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Whatcha mean by crazy? :D

I like your truck dude, I wouldn't touch it....until you break something, then maybe a few mods and upgrades here and there. My #1 rule on a project/upgrading-don't steer to far from stock until its paid for and you have something else for reliable transportation.
 
^ what clark said. and by crazy i mean awsome unless you still want a DD :)
 
If he goes to CK5, he'll end up being the next willyswanter...

Anyway, I think with some good 285s and maybe a gov-loc (hey, he said light wheeling, nothing hard) you'll be set for some easy to moderate mud and easy trail riding.
 
TheZenTree said:
If he goes to CK5, he'll end up being the next willyswanter...

Anyway, I think with some good 285s and maybe a gov-loc (hey, he said light wheeling, nothing hard) you'll be set for some easy to moderate mud and easy trail riding.
Click to expand...

I was actually thinking willyswanter when I saw his truck. Man that guy can build a rig, but yeah 285s (when he needs new tires) and a GL if he can score one cheap wouldn't hurt him at all.
 
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