I used to change oil as a job. And just to cover the basics – you have to put a thin film of oil on the rubber gasket when you put the new filter on. Not doing that is a huge cause of difficulty when removing it later.

 

Absolutely. The first change on a new (used) vehicle is always the hardest; after that, it's easy (provided I did it myself) !

 

To Flainn - Please contact me. You posted, a few years back, about running ACDelco 60g glow plugs in you IDI. What were your findings? I am about to buy new gps and need some help. I have an '85 6.9 IDI. This is not my first diesel. I once owned an '83 IDI. I have had Duramax and Powerstrokes and I do my own wrenching.
As for your post on 6.0s, I had one. It was an '04 and it was a P-O-S. Never again. More problems than they are worth and so difficult to work on. I replace everything except the head bolts. I bought the ARPs but sold the truck instead of doing the work myself. I hope you have better luck....

 

If you have the oil cooler between the engine and the filter, instead of using the FL-1A filter, get an FL-299. This is the longer version meant for the 370 truck motors. It extends out far enough to get a band type filter wrench on it. And it holds an extra half quart oil.

 

Hello,

The ACDelco 60Gs worked out just fine for me. I found that their performance was superior to the ones most often recommended for these trucks (what are those, Berus or something?). The 60Gs seemed to get hot quicker and had no problems with burning out.

Yup, I got rid of my 6.0 after just a few months, after concluding it was going to cost me a lot more than I cared to pay to bring it back to a good state.