Got a truck, got questions. Total newbie questions....

[mudpie]

Hi.

So first of all, I should probably say that I know nothing about Chevy's. I have an extensive automotive background, but my family always owned foreign cars when I was a kid, and I've been into V-dubs and Volvo's as an adult.

I got a deal I couldn't pass up on a '96 C2500.

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The tag on the door indicates that it was originally sold as a cab and chassis, but I can't read any of the hand written "fill in the blanks" spots on the tag. I looked up all the RPO codes on the glove box tag to try and figure out what I've got. Based on that, I believe it's an HD. It's got 443k miles on it, but the previous owner maintained it extremely well. I haven't done a compression test yet, but it fires up instantly, runs strong, and shifts well through all the gears. It backfires some at about half throttle, but I've got a code for the MAF sensor. I'm going to spray some cleaner at it and see if that fixes it. If not, I'll replace it. I also have a code P1345. I'm still looking into what that one means.

I don't intend to drive the truck more than a few thousand miles a year, but 99% of those miles will be with a load. I need the truck to haul a tractor around town for landscape work. The tractor and trailer combined are about 6500 pounds, plus maybe 1000 pounds of stuff in the bed.

So, my questions...

Regardless of how it's been maintained, it's obviously got a whole lot of miles on it. Aside from the normal tune-up and fluid checking/replacing, is there anything specific to this engine and trans that I should be checking? Any common trouble spots?

With the miles, should I be thinking about the timing chain as the cause of the P1345 code? Any other suggestions on that one?

I've got some RPO codes I can't figure out. I spent at least an hour on Google looking them all up, but I've gotten conflicting information on some of them. For example, the R9A code shows up as either a weight rating, or some kind of sales control code. Any input on what these codes mean would be appreciated.

R7H, R9A, R9B, R9L, R9R, 6XA, 7XA.

I also have U8857, but I assume that's the original paint code, yes?

Any input appreciated.
Thanks

 

[someotherguy]

With those miles, the P1345 is almost surely a worn distributor. Check it out before replacing though; shaft may have lateral movement at the top, or badly worn drive gear. If you replace it make 2 marks - distributor body position, and rotor position. Stab new one as close as humanly possible. Then use scanner capable of reading cam retard angle, hold RPM's to at least 1,000, and set to within +/- 2 degrees from zero.

Many RPO's don't have anything to do with actual equipment, but are promotional codes, sales codes, etc. that are basically meaningless to the end user. Some RPO's get recycled too, making it tricky to decode with the lists that are out there. The U-#### is indeed your paint code. (U=upper; if it were a two-tone you'd have an L-#### too for lower)

The 8 lug setup does mean it's an "HD" 2500, but literally, that just means it's not the "light duty" version. HD is the regular everyday 3/4 ton truck; has an 8600 lb. GVWR vs the 7200 lb GVWR of the light duty version.

Not sure why you have what sounds like an incomplete vehicle label (chassis cab) in your door jamb since it's a regular pickup body, unless the cab is a transplant? If it's a true chassis cab the 3rd digit of the VIN will show it; B or D. Anyway some, but not many, chassis cabs used a normal wheelbase like a pickup. Most are a few inches longer to allow for easy upfit of industry standard flatbeds, utility beds, etc.

Richard

 

[mudpie]

The truck had a utility body on it, and the previous owner replaced it with a standard bed before he sold it. The tag on the door was presumably put on by the company that installed the utility body on the chassis. It's got blank spots where they write in the axle rating, GVWR, etc, and then stick the sticker on the pillar. All the hand written info has faded.

I was looking up the RPO codes mainly for anything that had to do with identifying weight ratings and capacities. I presumed the ones I couldn't find were insignificant, but figured I'd ask just in case.

Thanks for the distributor info. I appreciate the help.

 

[someotherguy]

Yeah upfitters (people in the truck body business) have to apply those labels because what they do affects the GVWR and other aspects of the vehicle, as well as often the recommended tire inflation numbers. The label will show the name of the company that did the modifications, the VIN, tire pressures, front and rear axle weight ratings, stuff like that. In some fields the label must be legible for the truck to be licensed for certain work; for example around here you won't get a wrecker inspected by the city if the label is gone/illegible. In your case the label pretty much is useless anyway since the utility body is no longer on it. Your truck is a typical 8600 lb. GVWR 3/4 ton (RPO C6P by the way) and you can go by the factory sales info for the load ratings, tow rating, etc.

Richard