garagerog

I like turned down tips, it's the old school sleeper look. Have them on my 71 Chevelle SS although not in chrome.

Happy 4th of July!

Not exactly on topic but maybe interesting to a few anyhow. I had an opportunity to talk with the farmer that farms my family's ground in e. Wash. state this week. He told me even there he's heard rumblings of a diesel shortage due to additive shortages, fuel jobbers already not taking on new customers, etc. So he's stockpiled 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel, sounds like overkill but he has 3 Challenger tractors that probably use 15 gph+ each, do the math. He was terrified of not having fuel when wheat harvest rolls around, not sure how many gph his JD and iH/Case combines use but probably as much or more than the Challengers. I didn't ask him how much per gallon he paid for that diesel, but probably enough for him to be a real believer in the old saying that you can make a small fortune in farming as long as you start out with a LARGE one.

Cam, when I was a youngster my Dad and uncle always had a canvas water bag handy during wheat harvest. For those young enough to be unfamiliar with them, they weeped just enough water to make use of the cooling effect of evaporation to give a nice cool drink. Their canvas water bag was retired once the advent of the plastic gallon milk container made for a frozen gallon of water that would give you ice cold water all day.

OP, newdude has made some good points. In addition I wouldn't go past 3k miles on factory fill oil anyway, you want to get rid of any possible assembly "cooties". As far as 10K mile or extended oil changes on synthetic oil, the fly in the ointment with that is fuel dilution (viscosity killer) which is exacerbated with short trips with these DI engines. Some DI engines require oil changes every 3k miles (depending on type of service). In any case I wouldn't go push it past 5k miles without an Used Oil Analysis to see where you stand with fuel dilution and viscosity indexes.

Before I dive to far down this rabbit hole, let me just clarify one point. CAFE and emissions are 2 separate EPA issues, the manufacturers have done a decent job except for some of the diesel issues with emissions, meeting FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EPA CAFE standards will be impossible without EV's. Only industry driven motive I see is survival, comply or go out of business. I'm not gonna bite on getting into any political discussion.

To say that the federal government is not driving EV's but industry is, is more than somewhat disingenuous. Is the EPA not part of the federal government? EPA mpg regulations are forcing the auto manufacturers into manufacturing EV's to meet CAFE standards. And speaking of Ford and fine tuning, they can use all they can get, check out the recall on the Mustang E-Mach.

A little off topic, Grumpy, maybe you can answer this. On vehicles with fuel dilution issues, which would affect oil viscosity degradation the most, E10 or E85 or would there be a discernible difference?

Brandon, as others have said a tune-up may be in order, but before you haul out the parts cannon on a truck that old with the vibration issues you've mentioned I would check the motor mounts for integrity.

Maybe peril was to strong of a word to use unless you like to use heat in the winter or a/c in the summer or your wipers in a rainstorm all which significantly reduce the advertised range. Then there's the charge time which can significantly add to the "experience" unless your fortunate enough to own a Tesla which seems to be the only manufacturer so far to have this figured out.

Before anyone embarks on a cross-country road trip in an EV (Energy Vulnerable) they should check out the video the WSJ produced on the experiences of 8 testers worldwide in various manufacturers EV's. In a nutshell, ok in the city, you're in peril open road.

Well said Gangly, function over form every day!

Detroit never learns, "those that don't remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes." During the first oil shock back in the 70's Detroit was caught with their pants down, less expensive and way more fuel efficient Japanese imports made HUGE inroads into the US market, and went on to retain that market share. With Detroit's emphasis in recent years on the hugely profitable truck and SUV market, they've gotten almost entirely out of the car market, let alone economy cars. GM still has the Chevrolet Malibu with the 1.5T that gets decent mileage, Ford and Chrysler may be the least well positioned, the Mustang, Challenger, and Charger are hardly mpg champs. What about the Lightening and E-Mustang you say? Simple answer, there will not be enough lithium batteries available, there is already a shortage.

Greed has always been with us, it's nothing new, just part of the human "condition". It's just easier to be greedy in times of tight supply and high demand. In times of abundant supply or low demand, competition in our capitalist system severely punishes the greedy black-hearts.

I have no real world experience using E85, so when I mentioned the roughly 30% hit in mileage I was going by the often published difference in BTU content. Of course there are many other factors that come into play, one for example could be cD, the lower aero drag vehicles probably would take less a hit, I dunno. Maybe some one a lot smarter than me can come up with a real world equation (akin to the Drake Equation in the astronomy world) that can come close to the actual mpg loss one would see, not me tho, higher math makes my head hurt.

It does if you're the Henderson's toting Harry around.

There is talk now of an impending diesel shortage, if that happens, the infant formula shortage was only the beginning, the canary in the coal mine so to speak. I'm worried about our country, whether we can survive another 2+ years of ineptitude.

It's my opinion that ethanol blends higher than 10% have little chance of being economically viable outside of the corn belt. Why? Transportation, especially now with the price of diesel. You would need a whole new network of pipelines from the corn belt fanning out through the country and that stands a snowball's chance in hell given the current political climate. I live in SC and E-85 is somewhat available here, but it's only a few pennies cheaper per gallon than E-10, so unless you're tuned and want the performance benefit, it's just not worth it. I believe the Colonial pipeline passes through our upstate, so the trucking costs are negligible here for gulf refined gas. The ethanol for higher blended gasohol would have to be trucked in (maybe rail, which still takes diesel) and therein lies the rub. My wife's Equinox is flex fuel and I would love to use E-85 in it in hopes of mitigating valve coking and other issues, but it's just not worth it for the roughly 30% hit in mpg.

You're a wise man to listen to your Mrs., Donstar! About 7 years ago I purchased a new JD lawn tractor so I could ride instead of push as I was beginning to have back problems even tho my yard isn't that large. This worked well until last year until the arthritis in my back worsened to the point that hefting my propane powered weed whacker became the real issue. I could still use the lawn tractor if I wanted but the ancillaries such as weed whacking and edging are a no go now. I was fortunate enough to find a guy who is both reliable and inexpensive. He does this as a sideline to his full time job at Lowes, which is an added bonus for me because if I need Roundup or ant killer he can pick that up for me saving me a trip to the store.

Heard a term the other day that's my favorite to replace "can't take it with you." "Ever see a hearse towing a U-Haul trailer?"

Not for sure, but I believe the HD 6.6 gasser does have VVT, but neither of the cylinder deactivation modes AFM or DFM.

Stan, I know you already know this, but just a friendly reminder, you do risk the bearings, even the camshaft bearings if you're getting coolant in the oil. And that sludge the tech noticed, it's going to get even into the lifters. Very frequent oil and filter changes may help stall the inevitable, but unless the Bar's Leak has stopped all of the coolant getting into the oil, IMO you're courting engine failure without a proper fix whether it be an intake manifold gasket or a head gasket.

U-Haul Truck and SUV Impounded, Driver Cited for Dangling Vehicle – NewsRadio 560 KPQ

There has been a lot of discussion on the various business media channels as of late on whether the inflation we're experiencing will cause the economy to slide into recession. At my age I don't get out all that much any more, but when I do I tend to be fairly observant. The local Starbucks drive-thru generally has a line out to the street but this am there was not one car in line for their drive-thru. An indicator that people are retrenching? I dunno, but seems likely to me.

Does the 2.7T have active grill shutters? If not, I wonder if the dealer or GM even thought about the intercooler freezing up, since the OP mentioned it happens below O degrees F. This has been a problem in the 1.5T found in the newer Equinox/Terrain lineup. The solution there was in some cases an intercooler replacement but in most cases GM just provided those in cold climes a radiator cover to be used during cold weather.