vigman
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Day 1 under the hood for the first time.. ( 2 days ago )
So with all new toys one has to become 1 with the vehicle by fussing with it.
And let's be real here.. it came from a ****** used car lot… But that's ok based on all the other BEATERS I saw on craig's list ( not to mention the ODD people on the phone ) this was the " pick of the litter of mutts ".
I put about 40 miles on it,, and aside from a REALY LOW rear tire ( with the dry wall screw option ) bad handling issues. Into the gas station to tank it up I went.
I noticed that the gas cap felt LOOSE and I didn't get a **** when I undid the cap.. like it does on my other cars… But I needed to get home and didn't ponder about it... 96 bucks.. (thank you very much, what no free soda ? ) and that imported gas station air of EAU de stink.. 38 psi and back on the road home.
Stopped at Auto zoned out and got wiper blades ( since it's raining in California… OH MY GOD….. WEATHER…... RUN FOR YOUR LIFE ) and a new gas cap which felt MUCH better as far as the seal goes.. When I popped the old one off…... odd still no ****..
On my maiden voyage, the whole time I drove it truck ran " cold ish" on the gauge.. never got over 1/4 but I was to busy testing the cruise control,, that works..playing with the " MAX SOUND " system.. that SUCKS…and finding the " perfect placement " for the Captain's chair. You know important stuff..
The truck started normally, ran fine, had GREAT power, no codes. and I was quite pleased with my new toy… BUT.. under the hood was FILTHY.. so we start with the simple stuff.. clean the battery terminals ( but couldn't disconnect due to I need to finish the " learning cycle " for EVAP.. so I could smog the truck.
Use brass brush, spray, clean, apply grease.. DOH no battery hold down.. fine moving on.. ( order part on E bay 5 bucks ).
Evap line from throttle body to valve disintegrating .. replace with 3/8 fuel injection line for temp fix… and closely inspect the " new heads ".. well I can see new gaskets.. Clean, wipe, look, spray, wipe… 30 minutes and the truck is now " cool" to the touch.
So now it's on to fluids… Hmmm new radiator, new UPPER hose, new water pump.. OK… open up the coolant tank BROWN… Hmmm a light tea like brown.. not 4 year old brake fluid brown… and it's a bit low.. so added coolant to the low mark & fired her up…
So here come the questions:
1) Should water be flowing constantly in the overflow if the truck is COLD ?
2) What is "NORMAL" on the temp gauge.. 1/2 way when up to temp ( like it is on my 91 Exploder ) ?
Friday morning I took the truck to my FAV Tire store, which is about 5 miles away.. the truck NEVER got into the " normal " temp zone.. and that was about the air temp out of the heater… MAX TEPID
I got " the deal" on 4 new tires , alignment and had em inspect the brakes..
Front pads were at 1mm away from the warning shims (****** used car salesman, typical ) the rears were at 85%.. So new front brakes added to the bar bill.
I'm having the Stat changed to a 195 ( and I'll bet it's either stuck OPEN or NO stat in there ) and a coolant flush…
Because the car needs to be up to temp to have a HOPE to pass smog !
So the NEXT exciting episode of Mike's new ride will be Can U pass CA SMOG?
So with all new toys one has to become 1 with the vehicle by fussing with it.
And let's be real here.. it came from a ****** used car lot… But that's ok based on all the other BEATERS I saw on craig's list ( not to mention the ODD people on the phone ) this was the " pick of the litter of mutts ".
I put about 40 miles on it,, and aside from a REALY LOW rear tire ( with the dry wall screw option ) bad handling issues. Into the gas station to tank it up I went.
I noticed that the gas cap felt LOOSE and I didn't get a **** when I undid the cap.. like it does on my other cars… But I needed to get home and didn't ponder about it... 96 bucks.. (thank you very much, what no free soda ? ) and that imported gas station air of EAU de stink.. 38 psi and back on the road home.
Stopped at Auto zoned out and got wiper blades ( since it's raining in California… OH MY GOD….. WEATHER…... RUN FOR YOUR LIFE ) and a new gas cap which felt MUCH better as far as the seal goes.. When I popped the old one off…... odd still no ****..
On my maiden voyage, the whole time I drove it truck ran " cold ish" on the gauge.. never got over 1/4 but I was to busy testing the cruise control,, that works..playing with the " MAX SOUND " system.. that SUCKS…and finding the " perfect placement " for the Captain's chair. You know important stuff..
The truck started normally, ran fine, had GREAT power, no codes. and I was quite pleased with my new toy… BUT.. under the hood was FILTHY.. so we start with the simple stuff.. clean the battery terminals ( but couldn't disconnect due to I need to finish the " learning cycle " for EVAP.. so I could smog the truck.
Use brass brush, spray, clean, apply grease.. DOH no battery hold down.. fine moving on.. ( order part on E bay 5 bucks ).
Evap line from throttle body to valve disintegrating .. replace with 3/8 fuel injection line for temp fix… and closely inspect the " new heads ".. well I can see new gaskets.. Clean, wipe, look, spray, wipe… 30 minutes and the truck is now " cool" to the touch.
So now it's on to fluids… Hmmm new radiator, new UPPER hose, new water pump.. OK… open up the coolant tank BROWN… Hmmm a light tea like brown.. not 4 year old brake fluid brown… and it's a bit low.. so added coolant to the low mark & fired her up…
So here come the questions:
1) Should water be flowing constantly in the overflow if the truck is COLD ?
2) What is "NORMAL" on the temp gauge.. 1/2 way when up to temp ( like it is on my 91 Exploder ) ?
Friday morning I took the truck to my FAV Tire store, which is about 5 miles away.. the truck NEVER got into the " normal " temp zone.. and that was about the air temp out of the heater… MAX TEPID
I got " the deal" on 4 new tires , alignment and had em inspect the brakes..
Front pads were at 1mm away from the warning shims (****** used car salesman, typical ) the rears were at 85%.. So new front brakes added to the bar bill.
I'm having the Stat changed to a 195 ( and I'll bet it's either stuck OPEN or NO stat in there ) and a coolant flush…
Because the car needs to be up to temp to have a HOPE to pass smog !
So the NEXT exciting episode of Mike's new ride will be Can U pass CA SMOG?
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