Need Advice-$300 for truck upkeep

[JohnHenryDoe]

87 Gmc 1/2 ton
Unsure motor miles
Unsure tranny miles
700r4
350 TBI
Stock front/rear
31's on 15-6lug
Spicer hubs

Had this truck about 2 weeks now. Begun general swapping of trans/oil fluid. Everything seems to run fine. Here's some things I know though... oil pressure gauge is wacky(pegs and drops and in between); hubs have rusty water caome out when I too them off to inspect; coolant temp sensor is broke; no a/c; otherwise things look normal for age truck.
I have about $300 i want to spend on the truck. Tires may be a good option; but maintaining the 4wd, engine, and trans are first on the list.
So, if you had $300 to spend, what would be the first things it would/should go for. Btw previous owner seemed to not spend much time keeping the vehicle up. Maybe he did; but not sure.

 

[OffRoad]

just some ideas:
sparkplugs
grease it
clean interior really well, like take out the seat
rebuild the brakes
change fuel filter
rust?
touch up paint
repaint rims and bumpers
i'd leave the tires alone if they have good tread (but i like leaving stuff stock for a while)

 

[JohnHenryDoe]

rust is really bare min
interior just needs carpet cleaning and armour-all
brakes I have to change passenger front caliper anyway and have all the parts already
i have a haynes manual, any better instructions on repacking wheel bearings? seems short and limited in the book's description.

 

[6.2puller]

Coolant sensor or sensors. If the ECUs sensor is bad also then you will have issues with proper motor warm up and running. This will kill MPG.

Oil pressure sensor so you can see whats going on in their.

cap, rotor, coil, plugs and wires.

Grease everything, steering joints, drive shaft joint and wheel bearings.

Change diff fluids and tranny and tcase fluid.

Go over the brake system front to rear. Check for rusted areas in brake lines and replace as needed. Cheap insurance. I just did all of the lines in the crew cab for under 60$ after one broke.

Coolant flush. Never know what the old owner had in their or how long its been in their. Atleast test it so you don't get a suprise some cold morning.

That should blow 3bills easily and get you running up to par.

 

[6.2puller]

rust is really bare min
interior just needs carpet cleaning and armour-all
brakes I have to change passenger front caliper anyway and have all the parts already
i have a haynes manual, any better instructions on repacking wheel bearings? seems short and limited in the book's description.

haynes sums it up pretty much. Make sure you push the grease into the bearings from the ends not only on the rollers. DIY4x4 had a good idea in using a vacume food sealer if you have one. Throw some greas all over the bearings then put them in the bag and let the vacume sealer suck the grease into the bearings. I haven't tried it yet but it makes awesome sense if you have one.

 

[stallion85]

One thing not mentioned above would be to check the condition of your belts and replace as needed. Keep the old ones for emergency fix on the road.

But, as stated above, if you do all these yourself you can do a great deal of "tune-up" jobs for really cheap.

Another way to save some dough is use RTV for your diff covers when you change the gear oil. This is opposed to using gaskets and has worked great for me