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got the factory one re-installed yesterday. that sucked majorly. enough that I don't know if I'll mess with it again. technically I should do a drop bracket...but at the moment I'm okay with limited articulation. back and shoulders are killing me
CT roads are bad...but I've got to say Hawaii is the worst I've ever seen. It is sad though that I have every pothole and manhole memorized in my immediate vicinity. I'm sure people think it's weird when I randomly swerve, but then you see them do the same thing rather than hit a 4" hole lol
but I did score a '12-16 lower air dam off a neighbors F-350. He put a winch mount on his bumper. freebies are awesome. Will install if that 70F weather forecasted actually happens
Finally did a tune-up after 11 months of ownership...lol
8 plugs (SP-479) and new no name boots
damn new plugs were all gapped >0.060". I re-gapped each to 0.054". spec on the passenger head says 0.052" to 0.056" gap. I always check gaps, but this is the first time I've ever actually had to adjust the gap...well in probably 20yrs anyways.
lubed the seating surface and threads with neolube. installed and torqued to 22 ft-lbs
got to break out this awesomeness here. lots of gunk in and around the plug holes. it's 5/8" fuel line from Autozone. it fit the plug hole almost perfectly.
Found a few issues though. Not happy with it, but damn glad I caught them before it could escalate.
1. plugs for cylinder #5, #8, and #9 were all loose. #5 was 1 full revolution. Other 2 were less than 1/2 a turn. You can see the crud on boots for #5/9. Threads were gunky as well
2. basically found that the plugs aren't 18yrs old. But they aren't spring chickens either. .060" gap on 7 of them.
3. #2 COP is a no-name. seems to work though
4. #7 COP has a crack in housing. no misfires. thinking I'll seal with silicone and leave well enough alone
5. cylinder 5 and 10 have evidence of water intrusion below the boot. So I very liberally applied silicone to the boot where it seals to the head. hopefully this will prevent water from getting down there. Probably going to apply Brents cowl mod at some point this weekend.
I think that cracked #7 COP will be OK with a bit of sealant on top, does the one below it in the picture also look to have a smaller crack too? Maybe move the cracked and sealed COP(s) to the front dryer positions as an added measure of protection.
You were very lucky with that loose plug!
Have you noticed any improvement in performance with the new plugs?
If I tried that shop vac and fuel line deal I'd be picking that micro fiber towel out of my shop vac instead of cleaning out the plug wells, my luck........
#6 cop doesn't look cracked. I'll check again when I'm under the hood today
Performance wise, the lie-o-meter is already back to near 10 mpg. Has been sitting 6.4 mpg for past 6 months. Same gas still in the tank, so I'm thinking she likes the smaller gap
More importantly though, I had 3 rumble/vibrations. 38-42, 62, and 69 mph. The 38 and 69 mph seems gone. I've been chasing my tail to eliminate these for months. Had read recently that an engine miss can cause vibration. I'm really hoping that's the case lol. I'll give it a week to see if they're still present
Sounds like a healthy tune up to me. I was thinking of doing the same on my truck but its already sporting a new looking set of coils so I figure I'll leave it alone.
Previous owner rear- ended a car. Replaced the bumper and ac condenser. But never evacuated the system. So ac hasn't worked while I owned her.
Got a vacuum pump for $12, freon manifold for $1, and 4 freon bottles of r-134a for $2
Got it down to 20" of HG. Seemed to hold. So I charged the system to 25psi at 60F. It's a tad higher than the evaporation chart calls for. But the compressor wouldn't quit cycling until 25psi. Vent output is right around 60F.
I'll check on a hotter day and trim charge. Hopefully system is tight and stays working
got my freon pressure good finally.
80F
45psi suction (spec 40-50psi)
175psi discharge (spec 175-210psi)
but for some reason the ac isn't blowing cold. just cool. It's good enough that you won't sweat your behind off. but not enough to truly be comfy. AC troubleshooting indicates possibly clogged orifice and/or bad thermal expansion valve. Guess I'll pick up a new valve(s) at some point. then pull the charge and clean orifice and replace TXV.
Looking at a cross country move from CT to Seattle. Hard decision, but traded out 2015 Tahoe and the Excursion in. For a 2017 Suburban. Sad to see her go, but it was best for us IMO.
My fleet. I'll finagle into a Superduty or Excursion again...lol
Oh dang! I did not see that coming! All this build-up (literally, LOL) and then the main character gets offed in the season finale, and the network decides to cancel the series too, surprising everyone!
Wow.
Well, I do believe you when you say you'll have a another rig eventually, or maybe a SuperDuty truck. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later.
