Friday I am supposed to drive about 3 hours south and look at 1991 V2500 Suburban that I plan to use as my new daily driver. I mean a no BS, 50 miles a day, 300 days a year daily driver that I will pull a trailer with as needed for the farm. I have my checklist written and I read the sticky for the buyers guide but I wanted to see what else you all would do, so here goes.
- Mechanical first, before starting it.
Fluke the battery
Hoses
Belts
Oil leaks
Check oil, smell, feel
Pull air cleaner and see the condition of the TBI
Check trans fluid, smell, feel
Test coolant
Climb underneath and look for signs of cracked pans, leaks, missing parts.
Wiggle driveshaft for loose U joints
Check for loose exhaust
Broken shock studs
-Start it
Watch for smoke
Check oil psi
listen to the valvetrain
Transmission in all gears with brake holding
Parking brake
-Inside
A/C, Heater, floor, dash, and defrost
Lights
All gauges
Tilt
All windows
Seats, move and are bolted down
Radio
Turn signals
4 ways
Horn, probably the most important part!
Visors
Rear seats and third row
Tailgate.
-Test drive
Run through all gears manually shifting
Try to drive it for 20-30 minutes at highway speeds
Hard brake
Hard accelerate
Down shift
Body roll
Find some dirt/gravel and check 4hi and 4lo
-Leave running after the test drive
Check for leaks
Check battery voltage
Shut it down, wait 5 min and start it again
Check the oil again
What did I miss, other than lowball him and try to get it for nothing!
- Mechanical first, before starting it.
Fluke the battery
Hoses
Belts
Oil leaks
Check oil, smell, feel
Pull air cleaner and see the condition of the TBI
Check trans fluid, smell, feel
Test coolant
Climb underneath and look for signs of cracked pans, leaks, missing parts.
Wiggle driveshaft for loose U joints
Check for loose exhaust
Broken shock studs
-Start it
Watch for smoke
Check oil psi
listen to the valvetrain
Transmission in all gears with brake holding
Parking brake
-Inside
A/C, Heater, floor, dash, and defrost
Lights
All gauges
Tilt
All windows
Seats, move and are bolted down
Radio
Turn signals
4 ways
Horn, probably the most important part!
Visors
Rear seats and third row
Tailgate.
-Test drive
Run through all gears manually shifting
Try to drive it for 20-30 minutes at highway speeds
Hard brake
Hard accelerate
Down shift
Body roll
Find some dirt/gravel and check 4hi and 4lo
-Leave running after the test drive
Check for leaks
Check battery voltage
Shut it down, wait 5 min and start it again
Check the oil again
What did I miss, other than lowball him and try to get it for nothing!
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