Purchased 2005 DMAX truck; Any recommendations for long life?

[ccole]

Hello all-
I've been without a Duramax for a number of years, so I have kind of been out of the loop with the evolution of the Duramax tips & tricks. I have finally found what I have been looking for: 2005 Crewcab 4x4 2005HD Dmax/Allison with relatively low miles (77500). I was curious if there is any input from you guys, regarding things I should be looking at or items I need to consider to upgrade the truck and overall extend the life of the vehicle. I intend on keeping it around as long as possible and want to extend the life of the powertrain. I am not necessarily needing more power, just more life and reliability. Thank you in advance.

[ToddMeister]

1. Add a 2 micron auxillary fuel filter and lift pump. Several types are available, look at the supporting vendor sites for their offerings. I did my own design.

2. I flushed the power steering fluid and added a power steering cooler in front of the cooling stack this past summer on my 05.

3. Replace the xfer case/differential lubes with synthetics

4. Replace the coolant unless that has been recently done. I have added a coolant filter to my truck to keep the dexcool clean. Tee'd into the heater hoses.

5. Service the transmission, change the spin-on filter, drain pan and refill with a synthetic ATF certified for use with the Allison. Drive a few miles, then drain and refill again, this will get to 90% new fluid in the trans.

6. Replace the brake fluid in reservoir and bleed each brake caliper until clear fluid flows. Also make sure the pads are not binding in the calipers.

[More Power]

Congrats on the truck purchase. How will you be using the truck?

Todd posted some excellent advice, being that it's always a good idea to "baseline" the service so you know what you have going forward, and it'll give you an opportunity to get to know the truck a little better from the dirty side.

Does it still have the original shock absorbers? I recommend Bilsteins...

Jim