I had an issue last year with the block heater plug ground wire being bad about 7 inches up the pigtail. I just cut it out, spliced in some new wire, added a new plug and she was good to go

 

Yes sir!, thats what Chris and I were thinking. Glad to hear that everything is working fine now. It could be the Fram filter but Id really check the heather element itself first, for shorts.

 

The block heater - If there would have been a short would it not cause the GFI to kick out. This does not do that at all. I will start by replacing the wire and plug. Then I will move on the heater. By the way how much of a P-I-T-A is it to remove the heater?

 

A short in the block heater or its cord should indeed either pop the GFCI, or just trip the circuit breaker. If there's an open in the cord (a break), it wouldn't trip anything, it just wouldn't work.

You can also use something like a "Kill-a-Watt" in-line electrical usage meter to determine if the heater is drawing any power.

 

I had an idea for you guys. If I use my electrical tester that checks for current for an outlet to see if power gets to the block heater to see if the power cord is good. The power cord has 120V to the block heater correct? If so the beeping tester should work for this.

 

if it is a non-contact type (looks like a marker or pen that beeps when you get it close to the hot wires or outlet) it might. I would test it on the end of the cord where you plug it into an extension cord and see if it beeps. If it beeps there, it should beep where the cod attaches to the block heater. Of course what that won't tell you is if you have an issue with the neutral side of the circuit. Even if it beeps at the block heater, if the neutral is open (broken) somewhere in the cord, the heater doesn't have a complete circuit and therefore won't work. The best way to check it is with a meter across the neutral and the hot side of the cord at the same time right at the block heater.

Of course the "kill-a-watt" approach would tell you if the block heater is drawing any current (whether it is working on not) as well.

 

You can ohm the block heater to see if it's good but I don't remember what the ohms should be

 

About 15 OHMS ...

 

How do you post pictures? I don't have a clue.

 

I hear an air leak when I put on the brakes. If the vacuum pump is going bad would you hear this hissing sound? Or would this be more like a bad hose that had dried out?

 

That's either a hose leak, or a vacuum leak in the booster, or possibly the little check valve that goes on the booster that the vacuum hose goes into.

Pics - most sites have an "Attach" feature (see all those icons above the editor window? usually there's one of a paper clip, for attaching pics); FTE evidently doesn't have one. So you'll need to boost the pic to some Internet site, either your own web space, or one of the photo sharing sites (Flickr, PhotoBucket, etc.). Then hit the icon that's a yellow square with a jaggy "mountain" shape along the bottom (fourth from the right, the helper text says "Insert Image"), and point it to the address where your pic is posted.

 

I did change the little valve on the booster. I even put a little silicon around it thinking it would make a better seal but I still hear the hissing sound when I apply the brakes. I will check all of the hose connections and look for any cracked hoses.

 

If you're hearing the hissing sound only when pushing the brakes, I doubt you have a vacuum hose leaking because if you did, it would hiss all the time. There is vacuum on the hoses at all times when the engine is running. I am guessing you have a bad brake booster if what you are hearing is indeed air leaking.

 

When I was having starting problems I tried to open the HPOP oil plug but It would not turn. I was afraid if I forced it that I would ruin the head where the torx went into. Any ideas on how to remove this port without causing damage? Is the top of the HPOP aluminum or steel? If it is steel Could I apply heat from a propane torch?

 

It is all aluminum. I would give it a good soaking in the penetrating fluid of your choice for a few days and then try it again. If the truck is running (I mean able to be run), there's really no reason to need to get into the HPOP reservoir unless you're going to change your HPOP oil (Joking -- it's an inside joke around here like changing your muffler bearings or checking your flasher fluid). Another thing that occasionally works to loosen a stuck fastener like this is to apply pressure to loosen it with your allen wrench and then tap lightly on the back of the wrench with a small hammer. Again, tap lightly since everything up there is aluminum, but the percussion of tapping on it tends to help break the friction and get things moving.