When I use the word restore, I mean it in the most general way possible. I'm not looking to drop 15 grand to polish ever single nut and bolt. I do however, want to get my truck back into tip top shape mechanically.

Below is a list of the known things that are wrong with the truck. Bare in mind it is in full working order and I use it come hunting season to go roughly 400 miles round trip without any issue.

I'm hoping to address a lot of the below issues and was hoping for some advice on whether this is futile. The truck has 151k on it, is RWD and has no ABS either. They have been on for awhile but the truck is straight piped with the Gotts Intake mod and a tuner (XCal 2, customer tunes by Troyer). So the shift points feel much better and the truck was really woken up when I had those things done years ago. It's since been replaced by a daily driver (13' Subaru Impreza). But I absolutely love this truck and still in it's current condition love to drive it, it's so comfortable, something about it just feels right!

Anyhow, here is the list of things I'd like to address and would love some tips on other things to check on before dropping a bunch of $$$ fixing things. All of the work would be performed by me, I can't justify spending the cash at a mechanic and this is a project for me since it is not a daily driver.

Bigger Stuff
Steering has to much play, was told Idler and Pitman arms, can't do alignment without replacing.
Squealing while turning low speeds, most likely ball joints.
A bit of slip in the trans going from 2nd to 3rd, been this way for a long time.
Rear drums suck, don't help at all and were aligned a long time ago (convert to disc?)
A bit of squeal and slight loss of power if I jam on the pedal from a dead stop, like the engine is slipping... maybe a pulley or belt? Also like when you are on a snowmobile that has a wet belt that slips until it catches up to itself.

Small Stuff
Front brakes have the famous warped pulsing when braking thanks to no help from the rear drums and heating up the rotors.
Headlights are terrible, dangerously so. Think it's time to just replace.
Heater Mixer valve stuck, have to knock it to turn to heat.
Intermittent wiper is... well, intermittently working.
Started having clear coat peeling on the rear and back side of the truck.
Worn quarter size circles to metal on the hood from wind guard that shattered a few winters back.
Turn signal left sometimes blinks fast, can turn off and back on and it works.
Driver side window switch stopped going down and would only go up, this "Fixed" itself.

 

Disc brake conversions are tough. Been there done that. They are not any kind of performance upgrade either. Sounds like easy stuff really. Way cheaper then buying a new truck.

 

I have solved numerous transmission issues on older vehicles with Lucas Oil Transmission Fix. It is very thick fluid that coats and sticks to older seals. I have used it to stop slippage and hard shifting.

Your truck is well worth fixing.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. First thing on my list is to replace the Pitman and Idler arm. I was under there today and the Idler arm has a bit under 1 inch of play total, obviously not good. The Pitman has a small amount to it as well. The cost for the parts (Amazon with Prime shipping) is $103.66 which is great considering these are Moog parts. AutoZone locally wants $99 for Duralast Idler arm alone, and Oreily's want's $128 for the same Moog part I can get for $67 online.... ouch.

Is it a bad idea to replace those if for instance ball joints are in need or replacement? For instance, is it likely that I'd damaged these new parts if others are on their way out? I couldn't verify whether the ball joints were bad or not, but they have a sort of cover over the grease boot so I couldn't see if there was any tearing. I do get a very obvious squeak sound when turning the wheel when it isn't lifted, thinking it may be the lower ball joints.

I also checked for hub bearings, and get the smallest amount of play when my hands are at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions on both front tires. Is it normal to have a very small amount of play, or should there be NO play what-so-ever?

I figured while I'm doing work on the front end, I should address anything else wrong down there. Anything else that typically goes wrong... any "Don't skip these!!" that may cause me more issues or damage the new parts from ignoring?

Thanks for advice.

 

Change trans. fluid and filter,make sure old filter o ring comes out, torque convertor should have a drain plug since it's a 97 so you can change all of the fluid, not just what's in the pan. Should take app. 13 qts. or so to refill. Use MerconV fluid. Try this before any using any trans. additives. Pan gasket should be reusable.

 

Check the tie rod ends. Jack up the front wheel under the A arm and then pry up on the tire to see if there is any play in the ball joint. Lots of videos on the web about how to change ball joints. You will need a ball joint press that can be borrowed from Autozone. I bought an OTC press made in the USA when I did it.

At around 130k I had to replace both bearing hubs, lower ball joints, the 4 tie rod ends, idler arm, and the sway bar end link bushings.

 

Seems like your steering has issues. Idler, pitman arms should have no play. Most likely the tie rods are also due. Check the ball joints while you are at it. Don't forget to have it aligned when you finish fixing the steering.
Change the trans fluid as was recommended above. Check your serpentine belt. Hand soap on the belt will actually stop it from slipping. Might be time for servicing the brakes.

 

Update - Got the Idler and Pitman swapped out and wow.. what a difference in steering. No more squeaking either. Of course now when the tires are straight the steering wheel is ****ed a few more inches to one direction instead of straight. I expected the steering to be a little off, just not that much. The vehicle does drive straight and I did make sure to put the pitman on as straight as possible. Unless I managed to turn the wheels a bit and go an entire spline over... is that even possible since they are keyed?

Yes, the brakes need servicing bad.
Headlights need replacing, any recommendation for entire lamp replacements?
Transmission fluid change, this needs to be done somewhere not sandy/dusty right? It is very dry here and on gravel/dirt driveway.

I can swap out the serpentine belt as well, are you suggesting to simply clean off the idler wheels for the belt with soap (for instance Dawn?) or just the belt itself? Is there a safe way to clean off these wheels to make sure they are getting good grip and not slipping. I'm sure this is happening as if it gets revved REALLY high before shifting I will hear a quick short squeal before it drops back down in RPM and the transmission shifts, like the engine got ahead of the transmission or something.

Some of this major tune up is going to properly go to the back burner for a little bit. Just purchased some land and will be building a nice size garage to for me and the family to live in while we build our house. That and I got an 04' FX4 F150 up and running after it sat for over a year. As a result my dad felt I should just have the truck since they weren't using it . Adding it to the collection and it needs lots of love.

 

97 models have a torque converter drain. So, it's fairly easy to change all the fluid yourself.
Check the tie rod ends for play. The steering wheel can be centered by adjusting the sleeve on the tie rod ends. Get an alignment done after replacing all of the worn out parts, tie rod ends, ball joints, etc. There are lots of youtube videos showing how to replace all of the components. You should especially watch the ball joint replacement video and bearing hub replacement video if you replace those parts.

 

I would stick with a stock style headlight, LMC sells some nice upgrades which you may be able to find on amazon as well. I know some guys would be all about LED or HID conversions but those can cause you headaches. I plan to change mine out with either the Harley or Lighting version as I like their appearance better.
For the pulleys I'd use a wire brush and some elbow grease, you could use some brake clean to loosen the really tough stuff. This of course could be done easier if you pull them off. Consider getting a new tensioner too they aren't terribly expensive and will restore tension to the belt as well.

 

Great info, thanks! I was avoiding HID as I've been told up here that it can actually catch fire due to extreme weather/temp changes, so I wanted to avoid that. LEDs on the other hand I'd imagine if they are the GOOD kind of LED and not just the ones that show a little bit of light for show, that they wouldn't cause too much issue, on account that they draw less power. Then again I've never setup LEDs on a vehicle so maybe I'm missing something?

The stock lights just don't seem even remotely bright enough even with the Sylvania Whitestars that I put in them. Albeit the light fixtures themselves are the originals and probably not passing nearly as much light as they should.

 

I was referring to changing the fixtures themselves, not the bulbs. Mine are cloudy and won't polish back to life (I've tried), at 13 years old they could stand to be changed. As for LED's the tech is hit and miss, most of the ones available on amazon are sketchy quality. A friend of mine had a shop install a set in his truck, they were bright but wouldn't stay aimed. And cost a couple hundred installed.
Here's a link to the page from LMC that shows the fixtures I like, they're clear instead of opaque so I imagine the beam will be much more crisp
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fe/full.aspx?Page=38

 

Bit late on the response, but i'll give my opinion on the headlights anyway. I'd suggest going with a clear lens version such as The Harley Davidson, Lightning, or even 2003 Heritage versions. Aftermarket will be a lot cheaper, but you may get lucky and find a good used set of OEM Visteons for a decent price.

As far as what form of lighting... GE Nighthawks or Philips Xtreme Vision bulbs are your top choice in Halogens. Otherwise, You're talking retrofits which run a good tidy sum. They do, however, offer the best you'll get. Make sure to use quality parts (Morimoto, OEM), and you'll be fine. I think they look awesome also. These are mine; black Harley Davidson housings were used, and zero issues have occured.

 

Before ordering aftermarket headlights check your build . Early 97 models have header panels from heprevious year model. I found that out the hard way many years ago. M line was built in April or 96 so I had to make my own by combining oem and aftermarket. But they old and worn out now.

 

If you do have an early build, you can snag a header panel from a later model. They come a dime a dozen and any boneyard, and pretty easy to swap.