Fast2500Ak

In fair banks I've found that it gets so cold and dry that nothing will stick to the truck. Making it immortally clean. Until it warms up somewhat.

I'd imagine it would if you have traction control. Doesn't it read relative wheel speed and determine if a wheel is spinning the cut the throttle back? Leastwise thats how I thought it worked.

I have a dual in dual out magnaflow. Its alright, I got it because it was quiet and I my parents house is in a neighborhood which has a strict home owners covenant otherwise I might have gone strait pipes with an x. I did this video back in the day for a physics project. I was supposed to beak a wine glass with waves but try as I might I could only get the glass to flex with sound waves. Thats when I remembered the duality of light and deborglie's equation. Well long story short I gave up on sound and found the degobglie wavlength of my truck which in general form is defined by an objects mass and velocity (only works on little particles like electrons I know, anything big and the accuracy goes way off. I ran the wine glass over and filmed it for my presentation, which received an A. This is the presentation minus the running over the glass part edited for my myspace page. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3QJAffxDIk It has a few different shots I was about to do a cam swap awhile back but then a cash eating monster named college attacked me. I think when I get around to the swap I'll probably go with straits and an x. This magnaflow didn't drone at first but now that its nice and broken in it does it quite badly. 12'SROCK your truck sounds badass

Could be a power issue, I know that once when my maf was failing the code specifies low circuit voltage. I think the IAT is connected in there somehow too, I know those sometimes like to stick. When my MAF failed it would just die at idle, I'd hit a stoplight, and sometimes it be ok, the sometimes it would just stumble then die. Got really annoying.

That just happened to me at -40 to -50 degree weather, not fun.

I'll check to see if its frozen, thanks again I think this is probably the cause. Yes its spinning

Good point, bit it seems like it isn't working for a while. Heres a few examples. The first time was a few weeks ago, the first time it got good and cold. I autostarted it twice and came out to find no heat and the temp needle a few ticks past normal. I let it cool down a bit and fired it up and it went completely back to normal. A few weeks later I take the truck out and after a while of no heater I noticed that was up to temp and started to worry, I turned around and got it to my gramma's house. This time it was a bit warmer closer to the top of the temp gauge but I got it shut off before it got into the red. I let it sit a few minutes and again it was fine. I went out to the dorm parking lot. -40 and I drove it over to my gramma's house, and again it overheated, not badly (Thank god Fairbanks is such a small town). I twisted the cap and let it puke up a half gallon of coolant then refilled with strait dexcool (no water). After about 10 min it was fine. This morning it did it again only it about halfway it started working again. It was right as it pushed past norm temp it snapped back and the heater fired up. When it comes back online its sudden, the heater blows hot and the temp drops back to normal. If I have ice in the lines it could be when the ice melts it starts working again, is that a possibility? It just seems to resume too suddenly to be a pump. But I might just replace it anyways, cheap insurance even if it doesn't work. Thanks again for all the help!

I think you might be on to something, it seems like when the engine is hot (block heater) and the ambient temperature is very cold is when this happens. You think it might be the differential in temperature between the engine and radiator Not too badly, the worst time was the only time it went from check temp to overheat, but I killed the engine and pushed it the rest of the way into the driveway. Could this have to do with the antifreeze mix I like that idea, and I wish I had a garage.

I know! its cold up here! Yes I have a block heater but the university parking lot cycles the outlets on 15 min then off 15 min so they just keep things from freezing.

Thats what I've been thinking. These stats are supposed to stick open though. I'm thinkning it might be the water pump, how expensive would it be to have the replaced, its way to cold to even think about doing it myself. Temperature update -46 with ice fog

Well it's -40 and my truck decided that it wants to keep all of the heat to itself. The heater core is getting no heat and the neither is the radiator. She's overheated once or twice since the problem started but never tapped the gauge. Sometimes taking off the radiator cap will get things going again so I thought it was just air in the lines. The surge tank level is good. The thermostat is fairly new the old one went right before winter. I'm thinking it might be the water pump. Any ideas? I'm freezin' up here? Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Mine dose something like that too sometimes but has to be below -35, did it to me this morning. It was close to 50 below and when the latch gets cold it sticks but sort of feels solid just a little loose, WD-40 helps a little bit but something that would stay on better might have better results. Sometimes holding a lighter to the metal latch'll free it up. Other than that just wear your seatbelt and don't lean on it, and especially wear your seatbelt if you plan on leaning on it. My moneys on it freezing but it could be something else, will it do this consistently? At 26 above with forst you might have had some humidity. Does your truck live in a garage or on the driveway?

What I like about the Magnaflow is that its loud under throttle, but it just rumbles as soon as you get your foot out of it.

I got a red top with a few years on it in my truck, its been discharged many times. Thing doesn't stop cranking hard until colder than -40, alot of cars just can't find the amps to crank at those temperatures. Still if I leave lights on it drains pretty fast.

Well that is exactly right, the MAF had failed. That was causing the dying at idle, but the high rpm stalling was the result of a dying fuel pump. That was why it was hard to pin-point the problem as it had compounded itself. Shop just got done replacing units. Thanks again for all the input

Mine did that too, but when I had the battery tested it passed. The guy said it was only slightly low on charge but within reason, not so sure I trust that now. This problem sure seems like an electrical problem at any rate, because when the engine is running, it can seem fine for awhile, sometimes for ten minutes or so, then just starts dying out of the blue, the rpms drop, then the engine slams back to life and nearly jerks the wheels off the rotors, kind of like the engine has narcoleptcey. Then it sometimes goes away again and then comes back, catches me off guard, not fun on ice.

I did run seafoam and I clean the MAF regularly. Both of those were good suggestions though. I ended up flying back to college, I got about 40 miles out of wasilla by that time the engine was kicking on and off even at high rpm making the truck buck violently. Needless to say I decided it was a bad idea to try and make it go a few hundred more miles like that in a white out, that and a friend of mine who went ahead called and said there was a foot of snow on the road near cantwell and the highway was closed at peters creek. When I was in Wasilla I went to napa, rirped out the alternator and had it tested, it checked out fine. Its at the dealership now, I got to frustrated trying to riddle it out and its When I unhook the MAF the the idle characteristics stay about the same, how often do MAF sensors go bad?

This morning it threw a code for low MAF circuit. I pulled the plug on the sensor and the truck stopped dying, it actually seemed to be running better. I just cleaned the sensor and its connector, and have the battery disconnected. Also I had the battery tested, it seems ok. any suggestions?

My engine (LQ4) usually idles around 500rpm. It does so fairly smoothly. But just today though it started intermittently dying when I come to a stop, or when I shift from park to drive. Especially when the truck has been off for a while, or has been sitting at a long stop light. Once I get about 1500 RPM the engine runs flawlessly, but as soon as it drops it seems to cut out, then start, then cut out, and so on; and if I give it gas it does not get going until it resumes from cutting out and it surges. The surges are about a second apart. The idle just seems to bog a few times then give up and stall. No check engine lights have been thrown. I have concluded several causes: 1) last night I got some gas. I don't particularly trust this Holiday station, but my favorite chevron was just torn down. This was immediately before the incident started and it was a fill from close to empty. (Bad gas: clogged filter, injectors, poor combustion) 2) Recently my battery (few year old opt. red top) has been discharged a number of times, three involved bad judgment and me using the battery to run the radio while in the garage while aligning the lights I installed behind the grill, three were a result of cold, one was a result of console lights being left on while out in the cold. On this last time the battery refused to start on my newer trickle charger and needed to be left at full start position for about 15 min on my older one, and really didn't want to take a charge back, but did eventually. The -40 degree + weather has killed it multiple times before this and it's always bounced right back. (Not enough amps? is that a possible cause?) 3) About a week ago I noticed the alternator is making a hissing sort of sound, I guess it might be a bering or something (When the rpms go up, the engine returns to normal, so I don't think this is the problem, just seemed a bit odd.) 4) It could also be a TPS sensor, I think 00-02 has had some problems with those (A friend of mine told me this a while back, but I'm not sure if its accurate) 5) something interfering with the pcm (not sure what that could be... ground maybe) I clean my: throttle body, MAF, air filter, ect... regularly. this afternoon I put in two bottles of HEET and three cans of Seafoam, and drove around for a while. It returned to normal. Then when I was about to leave a friends house after sitting for a while it started doing it again. It seems like after a while of driving it gets better. So I'm leaning towards alternator or the battery. also the volts jump around a bit right before she dies, the other gauges are completely normal. What do you guys think? Thanks in advance for the input, and sorry for the long post. I have to drive the 399 mile trip through the middle of nowhere back up to UAF in Fairbanks on Tuesday and I'd like to have the piece of mind of at least knowing what is causing this.

Yeah, the rear o2 will get unhappy without the cats and throw a code. I belive that an o2 sensor measures resisntace, so I'd image that a resistor could be used in place of it.

No cats = less restriction Cats = more restriction + they can collapse and do damage to the engine it they fail

I usually just slam the door and they come unstuck.

Holy crap its cold out there! Well I changed the fluid, it seem to be working a lot better. It still doesn't want to lock up under acceleration but it least it is locking up. I guess I'll just replace it when I get around to it. Thanks again for all the help!

Thanks, I'll go change it now and then post up weather or not it helps.

I just got back from under my truck and ITS COLD OUT THERE! Also my rear diff appears to have a fill plug on the passengers side and an identical drain plug at the bottom. Both appear to have a large square socket in them which seems to fit a standard ratchet, the part that the socket hooks onto. At least I hope this is what I'm supposed to use to unscrew them. So I think I'll go ahead and change the fluid, what kind of diff fluid should I use?