How well will the two isolated batteries preform with the recent cold weather and no starts in a week.
On Monday at 9:30 PM, I took my truck to the car wash just down the street. The temperature Monday evening was 12 degrees. I parked said truck on Monday, and haven’t started it up since. I didn’t unplug the batteries or do anything but turn off the engine.
What is the odds it will start with ease this morning, which is 8 degrees out, assuming I can get the doors open? This past week the maximum temperature has 21 degrees on Saturday. Working to my advantage is I have two isolated batteries under the hood, that should in theory put out 1,200 cold cranking amps out to an engine that requires roughly 500 amps to start.
Annoying that Big Red's windshield washer reservoir is leaking and needs to be fixed.
It’s leaking. I think there is something wrong with the sensor, as the windshield washer fluid light doesn’t go off, and I noticed after filling up the fluid again, that it’s visually leaking. I thought I had a problem in the past, unfortunately I think I am past the bumper-to-bumper warranty, so I’ll either have to replace the windshield reservoir myself or take it a garage.
Shouldn’t be too big of a deal, although I got to pull the accessory battery and tray to get to it. At any rate, whatever solution I choose shouldn’t break the bank. Still rather annoying to have to fix it on a 2 ½ year old pickup truck. I guess things break.
My truck was so salt covered, and I didn't want to let it sit for a week with the salt rusting things, so I got it washed.
Next door where I live there is a gas station and car wash where I sometimes get gas. The car wash was closed for several years when the gas station was closed, and then it was closed for a while as it was rehabilitated. It’s one of those fully automatic car washes that you drive into, the doors shut, you park and big wands go flying over the car.
I was a bit worried my truck would fit. The washer has a maximum height of 7 inches, and I think my truck is 6-8” right now, so I knew it would be tight. Probably won’t be able to use it after I jack up my truck though. But it seemed to work quite well, and now my truck is shiny clean and free of salt. I had noticed on Saturday when I went to check the oil and add windshield fluid fluid, that were some signs of minor corrosion appearing under the hood, so I wanted to get the salt off, particularly as the truck sat parked until Saturday or Sunday next week.
The truck was a little wet from the car wash when I got home. With the latest arctic blast, I doubt I will be able to get the doors open until it warms up a bit. Oh well, I wasn’t planning on driving it until the weekend or maybe even Sunday.
Just out on the internet, spotting sweet lifted trucks again.
from blowupyourcar on cardomain. I like the 35×12.5×17 BFGs on this truck, although it’s more then a pure-six inch lift with Ready Lift 1.5 Inch Leveling Kit and Upgraded Bilstein Shocks. Nice truck.
An afternoon spent visiting a 4x4 shop, then buying cheap pastries and shopping at a thrift store. It's called priorities.
Friday I took off from work as a Personal Day. I have never taken an actual personal day for personal reasons from work in the 6-years I’ve worked for my company, despite them offering the time. I have taken personal time in the past, but usually it’s just another day for a long-weekend road trip to somewheres exotic – and not a bona-fide personal reason.
I had a list of things of things I wanted to get done that day, like a hair cut, getting my camera repaired, and grocery shopping. But it mostly ended up being a day when I slept in and didn’t do much besides go and talk to a couple of shops about getting my truck jacked up.
What I’m Leaning Towards
After thinking about it for a quite a bit, I am leaning towards going with 35s, a BDS-six inch lift, and 4.88 gearing. The shop said it would probably come out to between $5-6k, but I am not sure if that includes the re-gearing. A lot of money, but so be it – I’ve been saving my money, and my truck is my toy.
My top priorities for the lift kit is getting a truck that looks quite nice, has better ground-clearance especially in the snow, doesn’t break-down way out in the woods, doesn’t drink dramatically more fuel, and is economical to maintain. Those might be a tough combination with a lift-kit, but if I stay at 6-inches with the lift kit, get a good brand kit with necessary accessories, re-gear to avoid straining the transmission, and only put 35s on it, I should be okay. I’d rather spend the money now, rather get broke down somewheres in the boondocks and spending a lot of money for front-end repairs.
In my ideal world, I would love to do 37s and 6 inch lift plus a 3” body lift. But alas, money is no object, and indeed, I am afraid of the damage I would do the front end and the drive-shafts, putting so much weight and load on them. I’ve researched doing that on the interwebs, but and it might be a fun project if the truck was retired to be a mud-toy around the farm, but not when it’s something I’m taking on long-trips in the back country. Instead, I’d rather spend money a quality lift-kit that doesn’t put CV boots at a bad angle by replacing proper components, which I would have take somewhere to get fixed.
4.88 gearing with the 35s is a bit lower then a stock gears, but it will give me more power on the hills, and make crawling easier. I’ve always though the factory gearing was a bit high. From what I’ve read, it also won’t hurt gas mileage much compared to a higher gearing, e.g. 4.56s. It also leaves open the possibility of going to 37s when the 35s wear out and need to be replaced eventually, without regearing, if I am willing to sacrifice some power (e.g. 4.88s on 37s are about the factory gear ratio).
At any rate, the local shop seemed to think I could do that. I think it would make my truck look a lot more muscular, and give me a lot more ground-clearance in the snow and getting in and out of campsites, and on rough roads. It will be fun in April, once my truck jacked up, and I’m on my first road trip again with the higher vantage points and better views. If I want to go higher, I will think about the body lift later on.
Now the White Trash Part
So after I was looking at jacking up my truck, I had to swing by the Salvation Army to look for a new sports-coat. I was disappointed that I couldn’t find one, because the one I currently wear that after 7 years is wearing out. I only wear a sportscoat to work about 100 days a year, and a such, they tend to last. I really didn’t want to spend a fortunate, but I wanted to look good. I guess I will be stuck going to JC Penny or another large chain store to get a new sportscoat.
It really felt kind of guilty shopping at the thrift shop, looking for clothes for work, after looking at those expensive lift kits. But heck, it’s helping charity, and whatever – if it looks nice – who cares if I spent $30 or $70 on the jacket. But it sure seemed trashy going there, after drooling over off-road equipment at the off-road stores.
Then I had stop by the Freihofer’s Outlet store in Schenetady to stock up on bake goods and cookies. They tasted pretty awesome too. But it just seemed so trashy and tacky to be going to a discount bake goods place, after spending so much time looking at lift kits.
Note: Sample pictures used in this article are from OK 4WD’s Online Garage, which shows the quality work they do in Northwestern New Jersey. I didn’t ask permission to use the photos, and if they really object, please email me. They look like they do nice work, and I lived near them, would definately talk to their shop.
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