This week has been eventful! Monday and Tuesday, Rawhide runs good (except for after he's been running a while and you have to stop at a light or in traffic ( he really doesn't like that!). The rough idle starts as a random misfire, then the longer you sit before moving,it gets gradually worse. It'll be doing the "ants in its pants" jumpy stuff if it's a long enough light or line at the drive thru.
But putting the transmission in Park , kicks the idle speed up a couple hundred revs, and it smooths out. I'm thinking maybe it's the distributor cap, since they're noted for misfire in that spot where the 2 cylinder contacts cross. I've looked at the plug wires and they don't look like they're touching each other.
Then Wednesday, picking up the last work visit for the front half of the week, across Houston from home, runs good all the way there, then, pulled into the parking lot... sort of steep driveway and a hard right to get into the lot. Truck goes into the turn, then gets slow, wheel gets hard to turn, and we hear a big hissing sound (like when the booster goes bad). Wtf!?
So we get it carefully into a parking spot, and start calling people. Road service can't haul it, it's too long for their flatbeds. A Burb barely fits em. So I called my friend, he can come get it in a couple hours. So we go in the store and start our work. Wrecker driver friend calls, he can move me up the line, he'll be there in an hour. He started the truck, no funny noise, steering wheel moves fine, but we've contracted for the tow so off he goes, to the shop. Shop guys all test drove it, Wednesday and Thursday, no problems. "What'd you have it towed for?"
So we picked it up, drove it some more Thursday, even steep driveways. No problems!
Then... yesterday morning (Friday), going across to the other side of Houston,to meet with a supervisor,and we're already running late.... stopped at a quicky mart/truck stop about halfway there. Pulled in the lot... same thing as Wednesday. Very slow,stiff steering, hissing sound. Get it across the lot, to the truck parking. No leaks in the hydro boost system. Checked the transmission fluid....which no one including me, thought of before....and the stick is dry! So I got the opened quart of fluid that came with the truck, and put about half of it in. Let it sit, idling, then after a while,ran it through the gears. Then drove it around the big lot, forward and back, for a few minutes. Checked the stick and it shows good.
So we went carefully on our way. Bought a quart of fluid at the first store. Coming home that evening, it's beginning to shift a little slower,so we pulled off and I put the rest of the quart (probably a half pint/8oz. at most) in it; the stick was showing at the cold mark and it was plenty warmed up. Got home okay,but this truck is beginning to scare me.....
Are 4L 80Es this finicky, that being a pint or so down on fluid level makes them act funny? My first one, so this is new to me. Never had the 60s act up like this. The one we had rebuilt in our first 99 Burb, just lost its **** pretty much all at once, barely got it to the trans shop if it didn't go on a wrecker.
