New Member from RI

[JSlezak83]

Well, I made it home finally. Had a few electrical gremlins along the way. Had P0102, P0336, and P0339 DTCs.

We left Tampa at 0600 on Friday morning. Uneventful ride until we are into SC. An accident with two fatalities near Florence, shuts down I-95. Police are turning people around in the median, so we end up on 301 for about 10mi.

We make it some way into NC and the truck was stumbling, bucking, and backfiring pretty badly, and finally stalling in Friday rush hour traffic on I-95. That wasn’t much fun, which earned the truck it’s name, Waylon. It’s lonesome, ornery, and mean.

An unexpected hotel room in Lumberton, pizza, 12 pack of Budweiser, and a new MAF had us back on the road the next morning.

We made it about 60mi up the road, into NC and the engine just dies. I coast to the shoulder, run the codes and that’s when the P0336 comes up. We limp to the next exit in Dunn, NC and I replace the Crank Position Sensor. Clear the codes, fire it up and all seems well.

With almost zero confidence, I’m back on I-95N. We make it to Richmond without incident. Pick up a buddy, grab a bite to eat, and we’re off again. Feeling a little better about things, we keep trucking on.

Maryland, Delaware, Philly, Jersey all go by without issue. We hit the Tappen Zee, Connecticut, and we’re into RI at 0100 Sunday morning.

A few things I learned along the way...
#1 the heater core is stopped up with Dexcool sludge. That sucked and blew. I haven’t driven a car with a blanket since about 2001.

#2 20 year old GM headlights leave a whole lot to be desired.

I found a few suspect grounds and a couple other things that need attention under the hood. All in all, I’ve got a solid 20 year old truck. It’s mechanically sound. There isn’t a spec of rust on it. The interior needs a little love.

 

[JSlezak83]

Hopefully I can get the heater core and cooling system flushed this week.

There is a ground wire that’s broken near the passenger side upper control arm. I suspect it goes to the back of the head. Can anyone confirm if there is a ground point back there?

Truck was equipped with TP2 aux battery, but the cables were cut. I need to source a new set or cables for the secondary battery. Should there be a relay in there? It’s a bit hacked up.

The dash bezel and drivers door panel are a bit busted up. I’m thinking either the Metra double DIN or Escalade and the Metra faceplate.

Once it warms up a bit, or if I can find some shop space I need to pull the throttle body and clean it up a bit. I’m going to throw some new O2 sensors and new ignition parts.

 

[Eveready]

Hopefully I can get the heater core and cooling system flushed this week.

A new heater core is a very inexpensive part. If you are going in there anyway it might be a better move to replace it. Also good idea to check the blower for any wobble. You will never have an easier chance to replace the blower motor. Same goes for blower motor resistor. If you are in there anyway, one and done might be worth doing.

 

[JSlezak83]

I flushed the cooling system last weekend. I’ve seen the Dex-cool mess before, but never this bad. I l’d be willing to say that it was probably never flushed before. The return hose from the heater core and tube to the expansion tank were nearly plugged solid with Dex-Cool mud. The drain ***** on the block and radiator needed a good bit of love with a pick to start draining. A good high pressure backflush on the heater core got it flowing again, and heat works good.

 

[JSlezak83]

The “coolant” that was in there.

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Insides of the heater hoses

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This is what came out of the heater core during the back flush.

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After a ride this morning. Clearly it’s going to need another flush soon. There are chunks of rust and crud still floating around.

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[Horns]

Welcome from Iowa.

 

[BOTTLEDZ28]

I really need to do a back flush on my 98. I have good heat but it always bothers me with the Dexcool. Just have to wait until it warms up a bit. Let me know where and when you go to a junkyard. I am looking for a few odds and ends. I usually hit up Pick N Pull in Johnston. There is also one in Cumberland

Get ready to shovel tomorrow.

 

[Kyle89]

Welcome