Beater Truck

Well woth bkack ice I`m not sure anybody is really prepared for it. Studded tires maybe, but those are unheard of around here. Just glad I was able to send ot to the right instead of the left.
 
Stuff happens at least you are alright. I hit 2 deer with my od S-10 that steel bumper is pretty strong. All I had to do was pull it out and replace the plastic grill.
 
Nizmo said:
Well woth bkack ice I`m not sure anybody is really prepared for it. Studded tires maybe, but those are unheard of around here. Just glad I was able to send ot to the right instead of the left.
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Nizmo, I am glad that you are ok; sorry for the damage to the truck..
Hate black ice.. Its the worse thing, next to ice on steep downgrades... :)

Starting right after Thanksgiving, the sound of studded tires in Bellevue, WA., comes back until Spring of the next year...
Too bad they tend to damage roadways, but about everyone gets them..
I just kept correctly fitted chains and a small shovel in the Grand Cherokee 4x4 and I was fine..
Dan F
 
Nizmo said:
Well woth bkack ice I`m not sure anybody is really prepared for it. Studded tires maybe, but those are unheard of around here. Just glad I was able to send ot to the right instead of the left.
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Completely different experience here; many Ice Compound Tires (e.g., Blizzaks, X-Icr) tires grip surprisingly well on glare ice and with such tires, controlling the vehicle under such conditions is a matter of training and practice (as is all driving IMO).

People race on frozen lakes, and test Ice Compound tires on skating rinks.

Studded tires generally increase stopping distances and negatively impact cornering ability under most winter conditions. IMO, if they`re really right for somebody, that person *KNOWS* it from experience. They`re absolutely terrible in those regards when the road is *not* really winter-nasty. I`d sure spend a few hours under controlled conditions learning how they behave (yeah, I know..not likely), just as everybody should anyhow (again, yeah, I know...).

Sorry if I`m coming across harsh, but I`m still all about 100% control at all times under all conditions. Another case of "nothing worse than a reformed [anything]; I did lots of (what I now consider) stupid stuff behind the wheel and I`m lucky nobody got hurt.
 
Accumulator - I can respect your strong opinion of 100% control, and I applaud you. Wish more drivers (myself included) should heed and take that approach. I`m not quite as prepared I recon. While good tread, my tires are getting a little old and stiff. The locker worked against me in this case, as I was gently accelerating in the beginning of the corner and that was my second mistake. First mistake was misjudging the road and temps. I`ve traveled that road many, many times, and just assumed that MDDot prepared it correctly. Will probably be a $750 mistake after all is said and done.

That said I`m pretty sure I`m going to go with a Sonoma front end conversion like I`ve been wanting to do. The headlights are better looking and function better. While I wasn`t planning on painting the truck, looks like that just got thrown out the window. I`m going to wait till Spring to do everything though. I got the headlights aimed correctly and the truck seems to drive fine. I can`t really judge the suspension as it might seem weird to me, but it might have always been like that and I`m just super sensitive. I`ll get an alignment after the fixes, but in the meantime I`ll keep an eye on tire tread. The truck seems to track strait at the moment.
 
Nizmo- Glad I apparently didn`t give offense. Heh heh, I gather I come across pretty brutal when discussing such stuff in person :o but I do have the right intentions. [INSERT Road to Perdition comment HERE]

Yikes, that bill would`ve more than covered some Winter Tires :( Just glad you`re OK.

The LSDs do make things, uhm...different. And some of the "best" behave in ways that just don`t work for me IRL.

So you`re *keeping* it now? I thought the rust had you thinking of dumping it...
 
Accumulator said:
So you`re *keeping* it now? I thought the rust had you thinking of dumping it...
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I`m up in the air about it, honestly. But, I do want to repair it right. If I do it I would feel guilty selling off a half arsed repaired truck, albeit worth $2K privately max. There is something said about hitting a guard rail HARD and walking away (me and the truck). I can kill the little thing, lol.

As much as it pains me to the do it, I`m considering replacing the GTI for a 4wd. Gotta go into town to renew my drivers license tomorrow so I might sneak by the Nissan dealership and look at the Frontiers. That would make me fix and sell the S10 as we do not need 2 trucks. With me working 3rd shift we no longer would need 3 vehicles incase. I love the GTI, but it is function over form...
 
Nizmo- You`re sounding far more sensible than Yours Truly when it comes to just having practical vehicles. I seriously oughta replace some of the Nice Weather Toys with something we can just use/abuse regardless of weather conditions. Seems like we share my wife`s A8 all the time because it`s already Winter-used, and it always needs cleaned up anyhow so why get something else messy. Doing my Maintenance Washes on the Beater Tahoe is such a chore...silly way to be about what was supposed to be the "I don`t care" dog-hauler, huh?
 
Current status: Truck will no longer start! :lol:

Last week a couple electrical oddities have started appearing so I stopped driving the truck to work. Replaced and fixed a couple grounds, but didn`t completely fix the issues. Got it down to the ignition switch is going bad. But I went to move the truck and nothing, I got dash lights but no cranky! Finally got it to start and move, but that was all it wrote, sorta. I can slam the clutch pedal down and it`ll start. There`s a couple wires under the dash that have been played with as well, so tracing and fixing those along with a new clutch switch and ignition switch hopefully it`ll be back ok. There`s an area of wire loom that disintegrated that runs underneath that needs replaced. Also while I was under there I found my source of water getting into the cab; a hole in the firewall/floorpan. Easy fix though.

I`ve been told I need to dump it, but I need a summer project. Repairing and painting it will be something to keep me busy! I can`t decide if I want to change colors or just keep with the white. I`ll have the rest of the winter to figure that out.
 
Heh heh...somebody who "needs to keep busy"...can`t imagine what that`s like!

Nizmo- Hope you get to the bottom of the electrical issues, wonder why they`re only cropping up now? Sounds challenging!

Good that you found that hole though.
 
Ok, truck is repaired, but not before almost setting it on fire!

Yesterday I fixed the clutch switch and was able to crank the truck. It also seemed to cure the electrical oddities, or so I thought. Today I decided to take an extended trip to make sure everything was hunky-dory. Got to the shopping center just fine, but pulling out it started doing it again. Decided to beline it home, but the further I got, the worse it got. Got it home and pulled it in the garage to take a look. At this point it would act up everytime I would rev the engine. It was at this time I saw a spark fly go flying out front. I thought for sure the alternator was going out. Sure enough I took the belt off and spun it and it felt like the bearing were toast. Removed the alternator, hopped in the GTI, and was off to Autozone for a replacement. After much cussing I got the new one on and it was time to fire up the truck. Started it and all seemed well till I revved the engine, it was at this point the lights started dimming. At this point I was disgusted and started backing out of the garage. A audible pop and dash going nuts got me thinking. Got out and revved the engine and sparks went everywhere! The Hell!? Quickly put the trucks on ramps and inspected the rear harness going under the trans as the wire loom had disintegrated. Nothing there so I kept poking around (and found an old spark plug boot? LOL) and here a piece of metal cover had rusted off the motor mount and (I assume jarred loose during my accident) and was resting on the terminal on the starter! After more swearing I got the cover off. Started the truck, revved it, moved it off the ramps, and all is good.

Here`s the offending piece, notice the nice hole from the arcing:

TofedNd.jpg


So all is back to normal again. I may have not needed and alternator, but the bearing felt like garbage, so it was only a matter of time... I did replaced the bad section of wire loom as well. As slow and rough riding it is, I truly missed driving the little bugger. Can`t complain, even acting crazy it got me home!
 
Mi Hermano !
Hope you guys had a great Christmas and holidays ! Happy New Year !

Glad you found the metal piece - what a nightmare !
And how lucky it didnt cause way more damage - and - catch things on fire !!!
You have Angels around you, my Friend...
Dan F
 
I melted the tip off our 2500`s dip stick when it went out the side of the rotted dip stick tube and hit the starter positive terminal.
 
Nizmo- Yikes, glad you caught that before something serious happened.

IMO, with older vehicles it really does pay to keep a close eye on everything, including those areas nobody usually sees. I catch *so much* stuff that`s on it`s way to becoming a genuine issue...
 
Accumulator said:
IMO, with older vehicles it really does pay to keep a close eye on everything, including those areas nobody usually sees. I catch *so much* stuff that`s on it`s way to becoming a genuine issue...
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Oh definitely! I`ve replaced parts that could have lasted longer, but a couple hundred now might equal to several hundred later. Still kicking myself for not seeing the metal piece earlier, but it is what it is. I hate that the alternator technically was still good, but the bearing were feeling gritty. Only thing I could get locally was a reman, but it does have a lifetime warranty. I`m sure I`ll be able to do it faster next time...

I was able to "fix" the drivers side top hinge pin yet again yesterday. Only product I can find locally is Dorman and this time they didn`t have the exact part so I had to buy a bushing kit that is "universal" (Ford, Dodge, GM). Some bench grinder action on the pin and I made it work. It should last me till Spring where I can actually locate an AC Delco kit and take off the door for a proper fix. No pictures of this repair as it`s kinda ugly... I know it should be done right the first time, but it`s cold, windy, and I generally don`t feel like it right now. Heck just a couple weeks ago I let the dealer change the oil in the GTI, never thought I`d stoop to they level, but here we are, lol.
 
Nizmo- Ah yeah...Dorman Vehicle Door parts...got one of their doorlatches in the Tahoe, we`ll see how long until it needs a new one. Might have to use their stuff for the hinges in that when the time comes too.

A little leak under the A8, something you`d never see had I not kept it spotless under there, was indicative of a serious issue, once again I heard the "wow, good thing you caught that when you did!" from my Tech.

I don`t mind letting my Techs do the oil changes, even on vehicles I`ve equipped with Quick-Valves (sp?), usually just coincides with something else that does require a Pro`s attention so I have `em do it while that`s being done. They don`t mess it up and I spend the time on stuff I value more.
 
Accumulator said:
I don`t mind letting my Techs do the oil changes, even on vehicles I`ve equipped with Quick-Valves (sp?), usually just coincides with something else that does require a Pro`s attention so I have `em do it while that`s being done. They don`t mess it up and I spend the time on stuff I value more.
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I`ve gotten to the point in my life where I`m financially able to do stuff like that. They did a great job, a tire rotation and oil change was only $85. I also had them look at what I thought was a valve cover leak, but was only my idiocracy spilling a little bit of oil during my last change. They cleaned it for free. The tech also lined up the wheels symmetrically all around, which I thought was nice. This might make some people irritated, but the tech must have liked what was playing on the radio as it was turned up more than I had it. I thought it was funny. Probably going to request the same tech next time. Coming up on 2 years of ownership so it`ll be due for a brake fluid flush and fuel filter.
 
Its got to get uglier before it gets better...

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Too cold to paint the fender so I`ll be rocking it monochrome for a while. Still not driving it too much (once a week to work, about 60 miles round trip) as a wheel bearing is starting to make noise. Got plans to work on the brakes shortly.
 
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