Of course all of us would love to buy top of the line everything for our rigs if would could. I've come to realize that if I wanted to get everything I wanted I would never get my truck on the road.

So what "should" I upgrade on the truck before I get it on the trails/road?

It's a 84 Pickup.

Should I upgrade the-

Rear axles?
Front axles?
Transfer case?
Someone told me to get ride of the warn hubs for Aisin hubs?
There so many small things that the sellers say you need but I don't really hear people talking about it too much.

The plan is to replace all the wheel bearings, add a aussie front and rear, and install my downey leaf springs.

Just trying to figure out what all I "really" need before I go blowing all of my money.

 

Think about how many stock vehicles go offroading every day.

I personally would inspect everything and then make the call. I wouldn't replace axles unless there was a ripped boot and it has been run out of grease. Just changing the fluid in your transfer case would probably help it out a lot. But even the wheel bearings... if your wheel doesn't move when you pull the wheel in and out, or if you aren't hearing squealing when hwy driving... I would say they are still good, but someone else might have a different opinion on that...

I guess it all depends on how extreme your plans of offroading are. And even then... I wouldn't replace what isn't broken or breaking, but thats just me, cause I also don't have extra money running out my ears. But when something does break or visually looks like it isn't going to hold up, I would replace it with a better stronger part.

 

i would at least change all the fluids, coolant, maybe t-stat, trans and x-fer case (you could search what to put in these), axles, p.steering fluid (mine uses a.t.f. though), brake fluid, clutch resevoir. you could also check the timing chain. pcv. jack up the truck and wiggle the top and bottom of each tire to see if bearings need replaced. check all brakes, drums, shoes, discs and rotors. check drive shaft to see if there is any slop and change ujoints as needed.

wires, plugs, cap and rotor, check timing with a timing light.

a days work to be happy about things. like said though, drive, wheel, break, repair.

good luck.

 

be sure to check frame for rust right around the rear spring hangers also but i agree with just checking fluids and tightness of all components

 

Hmm..... You shouldn't have to really upgrade anything. If it isn't broken don't fix it.

However if you have the time then wheel bearings are a good idea if yours are the originals. I don't know how well your rig has been maintained so that's just advice. They might still be ok. A good fluid flush and switch to synthetic or a synthetic blend in the engine/tranny/tcase is a great idea if you don't have any leaks at all and I mean ZERO leaks. Since you are planning on Aussies front and rear do NOT use synthetic in the diffs. The Aussies hate that stuff and will refuse to unlock, I know this from experience.

U joints front and rear are a cheap little investment and a darn good idea.

Shocks are also inexpensive and easy to do.

Any worn steering components are a good idea to replace also.

If the Warn hubs are working fine then keep them on there but start looking for a good set of Aisins to replace them. Just a better set of hubs in my opinion.

I've read that on solid axle rigs there are seals at the ends of the front axle that will leak, something about a "JB weld fix" but you'll have to look that one up.

Replace the little bushings in the tranny and tcase where the shifters sit and the ones on the ends of the shifters. You can get those from Marlin Crawler and yes they make a huge difference in shifting. At least they did on mine.

Clutch? Pressure plate? TO bearing? If you have time you can replace these as well with factory replacements from NAPA. I've done so on two vehicles and never had an issue just be sure and replace the rear main seal while you are in there. Trust me on that one.

Oil pump? Probably a good idea to pull it and check the tolerances, replace the crank seal while you have it off. Probably need to sleeve the crank but the sleeve comes in the seal kit so it's easy.

Other than that a good set of plugs (properly gaped), wires, new dizzy cap and rotor and possibly some new battery cables would be a good idea.

Might be wise to rebuild the carb while you're in there also.


Now this is by no means a complete list but it'll get you back on the road with a dependable vehicle with a minimum of out of pocket expense. That and you'll have ample knowledge of the rig when you get done so if something does break then you already know what is new and what you know is still working.

Edit: if you are doing the Aussie installs yourself then look into refreshing the carrier bearing preload as per Gearinstalls.com.

 

All these things are good, but I generally do a wet & dry compression test when I have a new(used) vehicle. Without a good heart the rest of it is pointless... Just my .02...