Truck sitting for a few years

a mechanic buddy once told me when a vehicle sits a extended time, trailers as well . the best thing you can do is move it a couple feet a day for a few days to let oil soak bearings and seals . he finds that you blow too many bearings and seals if you just start it and drive

 

Check the anti-freeze, get the test strips, the system may have to be flushed and refilled with new coolant.

 

Good thought, I'd never heard that or thought about it, but makes good sense.

 

i bought a truck that was setting long and survived a NY floods , i got it cheap cuz when u drive it , it just sequel and act strange ,

i sprayed w40 everywhere(twice)wherever i can reach , including pedals's springs , changed breaklines and little drum brush and all good

 

coming from someone that bought a truck that had a lot of sitting time and then put it into regular service. plan on replacing everything rubber. tires, every hose belt ect. i replaced a lot of them before i put the truck into service. but some still looked fine. well everyone that looked fine was not fine. and blew out within the first 6 month's. within the first year i had to replace 2 wheel seals all breaks, 10 tires, all belts and hoses. new radiator air to air and fan clutch and water pump. the clutch and rear main seal carrier bearing and most of the u joints. 4 air bags, muffler and probably some other stuff im forgetting.

with that being said. its all manageable and if you do most the work yourself. it wont be too bad. if your doing local work id probably replace anything off the bat that looked questionable and run it, keep a close eye on things and expect most all rubber parts to deteriorate quickly once you start using the truck regularly.

 

Darnnit, Thats a Lotta Money right there

 

I think rusted piston rings/liner walls would be the biggest possible problem. Trans and diff gears are pretty beefy and will heal over. Bearings and seals will be something to keep an eye on. Buy yourself a few cans of a good penetrating spray for hinges, clevis pins, and all those little pivot points. Hopefully everything will be ok.

 

My t600 previous owner had that truck stored on his driveway for 3 years. The only part that truck had broken is the water pump.

 

Id check the Universal Joints and the rear end dope and see what it looks like? If it has shaves of metal in the dope, might have a rearend going bad? Could be the U Joints just dried up since it sit awhile? I think Id also check all the hoses (Unrelated to the vibration and noise). Those hoses might have dry rotted with it sitting there? Sure don't need a blown water hose on a Peterbuilt, usually results in a blown head gasket or worse.