Did I miss anything?

[Rob LaMoy]

Hey Rich, as a side note, this is about towing. Should we have that as a category? I looked, and could have sworn it was there at one time, but I guess not. Anyhow,

Truck is in the shop today getting a leaf added to each side and 2" lift to balance out the truck and help the tow ride. I am also getting it wired for the 896 with brakes, but the bracket won't hold a 5 pole so I have to dremmel a little. I put in Bosch platinum plugs that I actually noticed a difference with. Next is a K&N air filter and I don't know about a performance exhaust. I really doubt they do anything other than make your vehicle louder. So am I missing anything? I need to be set for a season of lots of towing all over. I was also thinking of the air shocks on the rear that are adjustable in the truck, but are they worth the money? Old girl got 4 new BF Goodrich tires, u-joints and ball joints. New brakes last season and I think it's ready to tow the country! So what have I missed? I keep feeling like I left the toaster on at home! LOL

 

[Greg Meyer]

Rob,



Transmission fluid and filter...Check the flow through the cooler... you do have a tranny cooler? I have heard a lot of good things about using synthetics (Amsoil?)



Service the AC unit... if it isn't at peak it works then engine harder.



Radiator and coolant... flush and fill



Check ALL the belts and hoses...



And, I added some nice inexpensive Halogen fog lamps to the back so I had some real backup lights.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Do have a tranny cooler but I'm reluctant to mess with it. Every time I've ever changed or heard of anyone changing the filter, the tranny blows shortly thereafter. The tranny SHOP said leave it alone. You stir up all the sediments etc and cause failure. I do have to get my AC serviced, it's weak, but I may just not run it if possible. Radiator and antifreeze have been flushed. I put a new water pump and 'stat in so it was inevitable. I'm thinking of trying that stuff at the auto store that replaces antifreeze for summer only. You drain the system, add 1 gallon of this stuff and then fill it with water. Supposed to run 30-40 degrees cooler than antifreeze. My engine runs hot by nature, so I'm thinking about it. Anyone ever try it? I can't remember the name.

 

[Jim B]

Rob

When you changed your plugs did you change the cap and rotor? If not do it and the wires too of they are old. How about the front and rear diffs? They should be services and sythetic is a good idea. Im surprised a shop told you not to change the tranny fluid and filter. I know gm suggests changing the tranny fluid and filter every 15k if you tow. On my last two gm's i followed that to the letter and every other change i would take it in for a full system flush. I never had a simgle tranny problem. I dont know if I would try that antifreeze replacement stuff. I dont think making a motor run cooler is a bad thing 30-40 degrees is a lot. The way the computers are setup they are calibrated to have the motor running in a specific temp range. If you lower the operating temp too much you may cause it to run rich and get bad gas mileage. It can also mess with emmission controls and sensor readings i would just be carefull there that your not doing more harm then good. My last two gm's ran pretty hot in my opinion as well. While the guage ever jumped over the normal 210 it ran at the underhood temps seemed real hot. But i never had any issues with the motor on my 97 blazer or my 2000 sonoma( the sonoma had issues everywhere else but thats a whole different story). My current dodge dosent seem to suffer from that, its really setup right for towing it runs real cool has a massive radaitor, tranny cooler and engine oil cooler and two fans.

 

[mike chip]

Change the filter and the tranny fluid. Find a shop that has a BG flush machine. You will not have any problems. I is money well spent.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Jim, I have the digital dash display. On my temp it reads in bars. There is a point when it's overheat, and my motor runs consistently only 1 bar below over heat. Some times it fills that last bar and is on the verge, but has never overheated...yet. The GM dealer said, "It's normal, those run hot!" Whatever, I don't care if it's -30 or 95, that turck runs at that bar almost all the time, but when I have a boat on in hot summer weather and climbing a hill, I always have to turn my AC off so it won't overheat. Shouldn't need to do that. That's why I had the 'stat replaced and the water pump, also because of a leak. But when the shop did a calibration test, they said that my gauge was reading high by about 20+ degrees. And that's a whole bar on that scale. Don't know if I should get a new sending unit? All I know is that when it's reading that hot, the block IS hot, but I can grab any hose in there and not burn my hand. It's hot sure, but I can hang onto it, so It's NOT 220 hot. I wonder if I'm getting circulation all the way thru the jacket to where the sensor is? Anyone else ever had these problems?

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

And don't overlook the exaust. You put that K&N (great product) on there to get more air and then you give it nowhere to go. When your exaust system goes replace it with a stainless cat back system. If you have a cat converter, replace it and your muffler with high flow units. It does make a difference. One last thing, think about putting on a larger throttle body. Massive gains in power. Maybe a chip to increase perf. (I myself stay away from dinking with the computer but others post good results).



TOXIC

 

[Jim B]

Keep in mind id you put a free flow exhaust on the truck it will make the truck run lean and hotter. if you have a heat concern dont dont mess with it.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

See, I wanted a Flowmaster. They do make them for big 6's but I've heard the gain is not noticeable. So it's just money spent to rumble. I will think about it. I would like to take a new vehicle, broke in, and put it on a dyno. Then do all these "bolt on" upgrades, and then put it back on the dyno to see if there truly is any significant increase in performance. I bet we would be sadly dissappointed.

 

[Jim B]

Yep rob you would. the bolt on stuff helps but ou never get what they claim. Before i really started fishing seriously and buyiong boats and such i built fast cars and trucks as a hobby. The last one i built i did the normal bolt on ftuff and after i spent almost a grand on a cold air intake, exhaust, pullies, chip, throttle body, the whole deal i netted a whopping 12hp at the wheels that would be close to 20 at the crankshaft. it wasnt untill i went inside the motor and changed the cam, bumped the compression and had head work done thay it really got good benefit from the other mods. on a stock motor stuff like that helps a little but i dont think its worth the money spent.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Jim you are right, most of the stuff is just candy for the home tinkerer to get some "feel good" about working on their own vehicle. There are other reasons like the K&N with their million mile guarantee and the fact that you can clean them without replacement. Over time it will save you money. Stainless exaust lasts longer than tin (imagine that!!) so it's practicle to replace stock when it wears out. If you run your vehicles like I do (200k+) then some of these mods are worthwhile. And as another note, remember some mods don't add hp but add longer life or take some of the stress off of a vehicle.



TOXIC

 

[Corey Carrico2]

Most of the free flowing exhausts simply move the torque and HP from the low end to the high end of the rpm range. You could actually lose low RPM power which is most important in a tow vehicle.....no argument that they can improve gas milage and generally last longer, sometimes.



The reason you see it on "race cars" and those darn Civics is that it makes them stronger in the upper end of the RPM's, most are actually slower on the start after these modifications....there are always exceptions but in general I believe the above to be true.



--Corey

 

[Jim B]

Toxic I like the k&n filters for the same reason. I have had one in every vehicle I have ever owned. I actually had one filter I moved from 93 gmc sonoma to a 97 blazer to 2000 sonoma. It

 

[Anotherdink Scott Chambers]

The exhaust is a good thing, it will free up the system just dont go from a 2 in to a 4 inch look at whats recomended for your truck. A free flowing exuast can give you more torque + hp, and your engine will actually run a little cooler.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Well, I just got her back from the spring shop and I had a broken leaf as well. They replaced that and then added the new ones on each side. What a difference. It's a good 2" higher in the rear now and handles much better. A little stiffer right now, but that's too be expected. I want to see how it does with a boat on the back, as I expect to have one hooked up more often than not this season. Next is a new intake gasket to stop that nasty little anti freeze leak, and then a paint job. Then she's ready to roll!