Step 1, fix the broken stuff. Make sure your bearings, U-joints, plugs, all the normal stuff is working right.
Step 2, what do you need to do to make your Ex more solid, address what we know to be shortcomings. The main example of this is the oil gauge fix. Something else that is not very cosmetic, but critical, is brakes. At 18 years, all vehicles are subject to rubber and hard line rot. Sorry, I know, I dropped about $300 in brake parts last year, but you know, face it, 18 year old brake lines are going to be brittle, the rubber ones are going to be cracked. Get this done, because an Ex over a cliff for a brake failure is a sad thing.
Step 3, now that you have a reliable base, what do you NEED? I'm in cold weather and I drive mostly at night in deer country. I have spent a lot of money on headlight upgrades, and synthetic fluids. What do you need?
Step 4, what do you want. My candy was a killer remote start and sound system, plus heated seats. This makes me happy on a daily basis. Understand, having a reliable 4 wheels makes me more happy, but that plus a sound system that makes me bounce in my heated seat, that's GOOD!
Well, anyway, front bumpers are cheap. If you have any ugly on your front end, address it, it's cheap and new chrome and headlight lenses make this truck look timeless good. Grill and trim are cheap on da bay. You can flip it from black to chrome or the other way around. Oh, you know what really paid off for me? A can of black spray paint. I took off my front trim and hit it. BAM! Excellent for like $2.00 and a few hours.
Upgrades I found rewarding: Sound, remote start, heated seats, headlights, synthetic fluids. Change all applicable components to Timken bearings and premium Raybestos products. Do it once, do it right.
Upgrades I found wasteful: I guess there's a little story here, I'll take the time and maybe save you some cash. I found Rancho XL9000's at an increadible price. Know what, I can't even tell I have them. I have a Sport short wheelbase, and bouncy tires, and I should have known shocks are completely in the noise level. At least they are beefy and I will never have to replace them.
I forgot this one, dumbo, I already had manual hubs. If you do not have manual hubs, change over. This is THE MOST IMPORTANT UPGRADE. Maybe one of the cheapest too if you find the hubs junkyard cheap.
I did the alternator upgrade to 130A and an overdrive pulley. No power problems here!
Ok, I'll shut up now, caught me in a good mood, good luck!
