Richard_S
Active Member
Hello All,
I hope everyone is having a great start to the New Year!
I just wanted to share some observations of driving a high mileage vehicle from a warm climate into a cold climate.
I grew up in Maine and have also lived in VT and upstate NY so I'm no stranger to the challenges of owning vehicles in the winter.
This truck has always lived in NC. Just before Christmas the original water pump started leaking on my 2012 212k truck, fortunately it did it at home right after a trip to FL. I had that replaced and we drove to Maine on the 26th. Temps were below zero with windchills about minus 20 and roads were mixed from the snow the days before.
1. I noticed that at low temps the running boards make a slight grinding noise right at the end of down travel. I keep them lubricated regularly with and have never had an issue with them. They worked fine, no issues, just the little noise at the end. Have any of you heard this noise? When temps are above freezing this noise goes away.
2. The engine makes more noise when started cold. I always let it idle 5 to 10 minutes when below freeing especially when below zero!. The truck has always had Motorcraft 5W-20 full synthetic since new and has never had any phaser etc issue. The serpentine belt has about 20k miles on it and there is more belt noise. There is a slight increase in engine noise, valve train light tapping for the first couple of minutes.
3. I left it in A4wd when there was intermittant packed snow and bare but shiney road surface, probably black ice. I would put it into 2wd when the roads were clear and cold. If anything the shift delay just took longer due to the stiffer cold grease.
4. Fuel mileage dropped by about 2-3 mpg, since the cold temps, and 10% ethanol and A4wd usage.
Other than that, pretty normal. The cold weather keeps the overdrive from engaging until the engine is a normal temp, but was a good trip and we all stayed warm.
5. 4wd usage with the Michelin Defenders worked great on snow covered roads and unplowed driveways.
My daughter questioned why are we taking your truck that has so many miles instead of mom's? I told here that if you take care of a vehicle by doing the required maintenance and fixinge issues that come up, because things will wear out, then it shouldn't be an issue to drive it.
This truck is still going strong, and we took it instead of our 2014 Explorer since I am very tall and there is way more comfort for me, and my daughter enjoyed driving it too.
I hope everyone is having a great start to the New Year!
I just wanted to share some observations of driving a high mileage vehicle from a warm climate into a cold climate.
I grew up in Maine and have also lived in VT and upstate NY so I'm no stranger to the challenges of owning vehicles in the winter.
This truck has always lived in NC. Just before Christmas the original water pump started leaking on my 2012 212k truck, fortunately it did it at home right after a trip to FL. I had that replaced and we drove to Maine on the 26th. Temps were below zero with windchills about minus 20 and roads were mixed from the snow the days before.
1. I noticed that at low temps the running boards make a slight grinding noise right at the end of down travel. I keep them lubricated regularly with and have never had an issue with them. They worked fine, no issues, just the little noise at the end. Have any of you heard this noise? When temps are above freezing this noise goes away.
2. The engine makes more noise when started cold. I always let it idle 5 to 10 minutes when below freeing especially when below zero!. The truck has always had Motorcraft 5W-20 full synthetic since new and has never had any phaser etc issue. The serpentine belt has about 20k miles on it and there is more belt noise. There is a slight increase in engine noise, valve train light tapping for the first couple of minutes.
3. I left it in A4wd when there was intermittant packed snow and bare but shiney road surface, probably black ice. I would put it into 2wd when the roads were clear and cold. If anything the shift delay just took longer due to the stiffer cold grease.
4. Fuel mileage dropped by about 2-3 mpg, since the cold temps, and 10% ethanol and A4wd usage.
Other than that, pretty normal. The cold weather keeps the overdrive from engaging until the engine is a normal temp, but was a good trip and we all stayed warm.
5. 4wd usage with the Michelin Defenders worked great on snow covered roads and unplowed driveways.
My daughter questioned why are we taking your truck that has so many miles instead of mom's? I told here that if you take care of a vehicle by doing the required maintenance and fixinge issues that come up, because things will wear out, then it shouldn't be an issue to drive it.
This truck is still going strong, and we took it instead of our 2014 Explorer since I am very tall and there is way more comfort for me, and my daughter enjoyed driving it too.
