Jump to content

Tips


jro909

Recommended Posts

Posted

Because its 3 in the morning and i have nothing better to do i thought i would compile some tips for the winter months, feel free to jump in...for those that live where 65 is considered cold, go back to the beach :thumbs:

 

 

 

1) Don't wait for the truck to be 100% heated up before turning the defrost on, its how you crack the glass

2) Allow the motor to heat up a little bit before driving, when its freezing or below...think of it like stretching before working out

3) Be prepared, buy tow straps, bring a shovel..make a cell phone and charger, all it takes is one dead battery for you to be living like an eskimo on the side of the road

4) Make sure your truck is up to date on maintance, don't get lazy when it comes to a good battery and tires(this goes with tip 3)

5) give yourself extra time to get to your destination, the road may look clear from your driveway but half way down the block is could be up to your hood

6) Don't drive like a 16 year old kid's first time behind the wheel, you know accelerating hard and braking hard at the last second...thats how you fish tail into a ditch or end up in somebody's trunk

7) 4x4 does not make you invincible, so don't drive like a jackass and blow by people tip toeing through the snow, for one its unsafe and two i'll laugh at you and mock you when i drive by when your stuck in the ditch

8) Invest in mud flaps, nobody likes chipped paint from salt getting blown from that guy thats too cool for mud flaps

9) This is a big one, if the roads look like shit, don't risk driving it..plain and simple, ask yourself do you want to be that guy stranded in the middle of the road?

10) Show kindness, if somebody is stranded and or stuck out in the boondocks, and your the only one out there, atleast stop and see if they are ok.

11) Ice and snow do not mean go faster, they mean slow down..if you don't like the pace of traffic then get a dog sled team for your trip

 

thats all for now, i'm out of beer

Posted

very well said. i agree

 

 

i cannot stand the housewifes in their suburbans and denalis thinking they can go through anything... last winter when we got a bout a foot of snow i saw a woman driving in denali full of kids turning into the gas station which is a slope and she was going way to fast and turned the wheel all the way and the suv kept going straight... right into the side of a parked dump truck with a plow...

Posted

Not sure about the "make a cell phone and charger part"

 

But I agree with the slow part, I see 4x4's (all-types SUVs Trucks) wiped out more than anything in a the ditches because the retards driving them don't realise the 4x4 doesn't stop faster on ice.

Posted

Darren said this, but 4x4 doesn't make you stop faster on ice. :cry:

 

My dad always says you can make it through anything if you take it slow and carefully enough. It may take you 45 minutes to get home rather than 10, but you'll make it home. :thumbs:

Posted
Not sure about the "make a cell phone and charger part"

 

But I agree with the slow part, I see 4x4's (all-types SUVs Trucks) wiped out more than anything in a the ditches because the retards driving them don't realise the 4x4 doesn't stop faster on ice.

 

 

i know. its hilarious watching people try and make it up really steep hills in little AWD lexus suvs and little toyota 4wd things....

 

i dont like driving in 4wd on snow i only use it when im stuck...

 

 

instead of a cell you could get a CB like me!

Posted

Winter is the most playful time of the year for me, and when all my 4 wheeling gets done. It got old real fast cleaning all the parts you should after mudding, so I quit.

 

Pack a truck with snow... let it melt in the heated garage... let the water go down the drain.

 

It was so friggin nice not having a BL last year with this truck. My 2000 had one and would pack the fan, slip the belt, kill my alternator, until it would finally grab again. Trust me I always had an extra belt in the cab. My buddy had gap gaurds for the front and it did the same. :cry:

 

I would consider myself a pretty darn good winter driver but... it is do to the fact that on the roads you drive like above mentioned. Give yourself that extra stopping room and lay off the hard stops/accelerations. Now offroad well... hold my beer and hold on!! :thumbs:

Posted

yeah i agree.. winter is the most fun to drive around in... sooo much fun to actually be able to drive like ken block in a 2 ton truck. i burnt through multiple tanks of gas last year screaming through snowy fields and drifting through empty lots...

Posted

And for us Georgia folks, if there's a chance of flurries make sure to hurry to the store and buy up all the milk and bread!! :thumbs:

Posted
FYI,,, check tire pressures as it gets colder. You lose about 1 PSI for every 10 degrees(F) the temperature drops.

 

 

unless you have nitrogen in your tires :)

Posted

well i live in the high desert in So Cal, and yes we get snow here not alot but enough. under my back seat i carry at least 2 small wool blankets, wool cap, gloves, ice scraper/brush and at least 2 bottles of water. it may be over kill for most, but here the freeways go over 4000+ ft. passes that Cal Trans will close them down at the first couple of inches if snow. i myself have been stuck for 6 hrs in the middle of no where when the freeway gets closed during a storm. like the Boy Scouts, BE PREPARED for the worst.

when i was living back in NY, we always had about 200 lbs of height over the rear even with 4X4 and 2 5 gal buckets with sand in it just in case. just because your 4X4 or AWD don't mean you can't get stuck.. ice storms are a B**CH.. :)

 

good luck

 

BTW- all you smokers.. pack extra it may be a while.. :D

Posted
Pro-Tip: When sliding sideways, steer into the slide.

 

Pro-Tip #2: When in doubt, throttle out.

 

Pro-Tip #3: Repeat step 2 until no longer in doubt.

 

 

Haha never lift! You get stuck when you get scared. Well, there are those other times when the boys hang a bit too low and you need a tow strap and a buddy. Been there. :)

 

Roads were crap, had two trucks hooked together pulling on me and just couldnt get traction in the snow/ice. Gramps came out with the front wheel assist Deere to rip me out. He wasn't happy at 2 am.

 

The was just one night. You're not having fun until you roll the window down and snow falls in.

Posted

has only one had their wipers get stuck because of too much snow on the truck? happened to me on the highway during a blizzard.. that sucked...

Posted
Pro-Tip: When sliding sideways, steer into the slide.

 

Pro-Tip #2: When in doubt, throttle out.

 

Pro-Tip #3: Repeat step 2 until no longer in doubt.

 

 

Haha never lift! You get stuck when you get scared. Well, there are those other times when the boys hang a bit too low and you need a tow strap and a buddy. Been there. :driving:

 

Roads were crap, had two trucks hooked together pulling on me and just couldnt get traction in the snow/ice. Gramps came out with the front wheel assist Deere to rip me out. He wasn't happy at 2 am.

 

The was just one night. You're not having fun until you roll the window down and snow falls in.

 

 

Most people panic when they get sideways in the snow and start slamming on the brakes. Especially in a truck, it's usually better to spin the tires and get the vehicle straight again.

 

But if you're already headed toward the ditch (hopefully not a deep one..) and it's past the point of keeping it on the road, this is where you just let the ponies gallop. Try to go into the ditch with some momentum and steer toward to road.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • I will be doing that for sure, but I need to solve who has/ where I can find a bidirectional scan tool that will support OBD 1.5. I'm kicking myself because I ebay'ed a Snap On MT2500 that I didn't think I'd ever need anymore. D'oh!! I'd rather not buy another, so I'll contact a few local shops to see if they have one and how much they'd want to do the procedure. I'd rather have the ability to do it myself... I wish there was a modern tool that could do it all, but I'd have no idea what to buy.   The theory with the pulled timing is that it mimics a rich condition. The delayed spark causes incomplete burn and the O2 sensor picks up low oxygen levels. That's interpreted as a rich condition so the PCM pulls fuel and that shows up in the deeply negative fuel trims.
    • An ultra wealthy man had the most beautiful daughter. But, there was a problem. Everything she touched would melt in her hands. No matter what, Metal, Wood, Stone. Anything she touched would melt. She could not feed herself. Because of this, men were afraid of her. Nobody would dare marry her. Her father was despaired. What could he do to help his daughter? He consulted doctors, scientists and anybody who could solve this problem. Finally one of them said, "If your daughter touches one thing that does not melt in her hands, she will be cured." He was overjoyed and came up with a plan. The next day, he held a competition. Any man who could bring his daughter an object that would not melt in her hands would be given billions of dollars to marry her. Three extremely intelligent and handsome young men took up the challenge. The first brought a very heavy steel rod, But alas, when the she touched it, it completely melted in a matter of seconds. He sadly went away. The second brought a beautiful diamond, knowing diamonds were one of the hardest substance in the world and would not melt. But alas, once she held it in her hand, it melted. He too was sent away disappointed. So now, there was one left He was very nervous & sweating. He approached the daughter & said, “put your hand in my pants pocket and feel what is in there." She did exactly what he asked. She felt something very hard. She held it in her hand, squeezing it as hard as she could. It did not melt & remained extremely hard. Her father was overjoyed. Everybody was overjoyed. She was finally cured. Nothing never, ever melted in her hand again. They married and they both lived happily ever after, raising a wonderful family. Question: What was in the the groom’s pants pocket??? Answer below ↓ M&Ms of course! They melt in your mouth, not in your hand. What on earth were you thinking?
    • There's a bunch of tea leaves that you've read, but in any case the delayed timing is unusual. Not sure how that relates to the rich at idle vs. 'normal' while driving.   If you're in this deep, might be worth investigating, and re-learning the sensor. What have you got to lose? Plus, it properly fixes the timing cover leak.
    • The only problem I have seen this cause is longer crank times. 
    • Injector is being sent off today for rebuild and I estimate I'll have it back in 10 days or so.   It may not be the injector...of course...now that I've torn down the intake again. But, let's rule out the injector and replace those spider legs that have been almost rubbed through.   The truck has always had negative timing and I'm reading "normal" timing at warm idle should be +16 or so. I'm negative 16 to 25 or more, and it's always been like that since I bought it.   A light turned on upstairs last night in the old noggin. Rare, I know...   This will be wild, if it turns out to be the cause!   In 2001, according to the old service documentation, the muffler was replaced. Why? I have no idea, it wouldn't have been rusted through by then. But they did a crappy job.   In 2019, another shop replaced it and noted the prior install was poorly done on the work order. "Exhaust system vibrates on crossmember". Except...I guess they just left it be? I believe the husband, the couple who were original owners, had passed by then. Maybe she said it's just not worth it to have the exhaust system fixed and declined repairs. Very few miles were driven between 2019 and 2025.   The exhaust system vibrates heavily on the crossmember and you can feel it and REALLY hear it, even today. Not always, but at idle, it gets going pretty good sometimes.   What if....   ....What if that's enough to trigger one or both of the knock sensors? Could it be tricking the sensors into sensing knock, so it's pulling timing aggressively? Pulling timing heavily means it's firing after the piston reaches full height which means incomplete burn which means the O2 sensor is sensing a rich condition, which means I've been chasing my tail, and what I thought was an inconsequential problem (janky exhaust) has been THE issue for this truck for 25 solid years?   That would be wild. Maybe it IS wild.   The service documentation thereafter, for years, shows visits for rough idle, replacing O2's, replacing the cat, replacing plugs and wires, a misfire condition, like they could never solve the issue. The injector has been replaced 4 times in 80k miles, that's just crazy.   The secondary theory....   The engine has clearly had a leak at the front seal for a very long time (the greasy trench...). I think the truck changed hands quickly ~2025 because there's Napa receipts from someone I don't recognize in the ownership history. They apparently replaced the timing cover seal, and they did a terrible job. There's RTV smeared all over and the leak I had reduced to a weep by snugging the front oil pan bolts is now a leak again.   HOWEVER....I read about replacing the crankshaft position sensor. Any time the ckp sensor is disturbed or timing cover is removed, the truck requires relearning, and that can only be done through a bi-directional scan tool. Skippy with the RTV probably didn't do the relearn procedure is my guess. His scan tool is lost in a pile of RTV goo somewhere.   So, it's very possible the sensor has been disturbed and the truck is just running on the old learn data but not setting a code for anything. The distributor has since been replaced and so has the camshaft position sensor, so all bets are off for that thing.   In the theme of one step forward, two steps back, I returned the accumulator for the AC. The gal I've been working with at O'Really's has been great. She refunded it under manufacturer's defect and we compared it to the replacement I ordered, and sure enough, the replacement is machined very differently (and a gauge actually fits on it!).   Got it home, installed it, started vacuuming it down.... and I couldn't get good vacuum.   The high side service port, where I replaced the old GM ball valve suspecting that was a source of the previous leak....well, I've clearly exposed whatever pre-existing crack in the line where the service port is welded, and made it much worse. Blessing in disguise? Except there goes another $25, now I'm waiting for a replacement AC line.   In 10-ish days ALL the parts will be here. Rebuilt injector, new exhaust system, new cat, new high pressure AC line.   Oh, did I mention the squeaking ISN'T coming from the AC pump? The truck still squeaks when started, and there were words after I started it with the new AC pump installed. But, there was more to replacing the AC pump for just a squeak. A truck with good working AC is something of value, for the comfort alone.   I've ordered a new harmonic balancer because, 30 years is a good run for one of those. Rule it out. The squeak may be something more sinister, though. I'm worried about that ckp sensor and if it was shimmed correctly, or if the timing set was installed correctly. The squeak may be coming from UNDER the timing cover.   At this point, once I get it put back together, I'm thinking I'll take a 50 mile victory lap and then promptly put it up for sale. This truck is cursed. Betty, from beyond the grave, doesn't want anyone messing with her Blazer. Or maybe she's getting revenge for 30 years of shop visits with that thing.
  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...