I would not be telling people to change their oil EVERY 3,000 miles!!! Even if your using some conventional oil, this is some old school myth/Jiffy Lube false advertising shit, 6K-10K mile oil change intervals baby.
Ask me anything about vehicle repair
- Thread starter SaltyCrew
- Start date
I would not be telling people to change their oil EVERY 3,000 miles!!! Even if your using some conventional oil, this is some old school myth/Jiffy Lube false advertising shit, 6K-10K mile oil change intervals baby.
No dude, alot of cars with over 150K use some oil in 3K. Not all, but alot. They leak, they burn, they consume. Not to mention, if you observe, feel and taste oil after 3K miles in a used engine, it is pretty gnarly compared to brand new oil. I highly recommend checking it regularly to see for yourself. A bad PCV can cause this and it's easy fix. Please don't tell people to run oil for 10k miles on my thread. Start your own. Some newer engines are claiming 10k mile intervals on costly synthetics, but I think majority of us are still driving pre 2010 cars, running conventional oil? It's really just a good preventative maintenance practice, why prematurely wear your engine out?
This should be deleted for being pointless and false.
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I agree that a lot of cars (or anything with an internal combustion engine for that matter) consume oil. I was not saying you shouldn't top off your oil, or check it. I'm just saying in my opinion changing your oil every 3,000 miles seems like a waste of time and $$, and the advice makes me question your experience as any sort of automotive repair professional who's qualified to give vehicle repair advice on an online forum.
And I cant believe my blinker fluid joke just got deleted, it was not pointless- I was referencing the blinker fluid jokes that were posted at the VERY beginning of this thread. It's a classic automotive repair joke, which is why I also added "checking muffler bearing runout" this is tasteful humor.
What the heck people, come on now!
What the heck people, come on now!
And the joke was already said. It's just a waste of space dude. I hate sifting through clutter on forums for info. Trying to keep this one info friendly, not an argument.
Tech Tip of the day!
-Jump Starting
*Red=positive - Black=negative
*Red to red Black to black
***When jump starting a car, always remember to connect your positives first, and negatives last, and once started remove the negative first and positive last. The idea is the "sparks" created by this go to ground/negative/black terminal of battery and avoid damage to computers and fuses.
***Have jump vehicle running, key off dead car, connect cables, accelerate jump vehicle to 2,000rpm, start dead car.
-Jump Starting
*Red=positive - Black=negative
*Red to red Black to black
***When jump starting a car, always remember to connect your positives first, and negatives last, and once started remove the negative first and positive last. The idea is the "sparks" created by this go to ground/negative/black terminal of battery and avoid damage to computers and fuses.
***Have jump vehicle running, key off dead car, connect cables, accelerate jump vehicle to 2,000rpm, start dead car.
ByronMc
Well-known member
I’ve been getting my rv stuff together, so I can get the title changed at DMV. Doing it as cheap as possible for the moment. Fridge,$35, Generator,$65, found an inverter, deep cell battery & nice Coleman three burner cook stove, have two Mr Buddy propane heaters, and the toilet seat for my five gal bucket! Need the sink, and have two five gal water containers! Bed & frame are what I used in the Chevy van. Throw it all together, take photos & send to DMV & insurance!
That will work till I can go through it mechanically & then I’ll go with solar, and a nice rebuild of the inside!
Jackthereaper
Well-known member
When you do go solar have a look into used tesla batteries. My uncles off grid cabin even runs an a/c at night (6000 btu, 410 watt) off if his 3 battery pack 13kwh storage setup. I believe he runs 4kw of panels though, its his whole roof plus a clearing next to the house with 12 panels (250w i believe).
marmar
Well-known member
@SaltyCrew hey thanks for the offer, of it's still valid I got a question. What to look at if heat won't stop blowing even when at off? I took the fuse out already, still blowing. The summer is coming, so I gotta fix tht fucker till it kills me. I'm thinking of changing coolant but besides that have no idea what else to look at. It's Mitsubishi 1994 truck
Hello, so a few questions; it's the blower motor itself that will not shut off? Did it shut off before, or was it broken when you got the truck? If you pulled the "blower fan/blower motor/heater fan" fuse, and you're sure it's the right one, and it still turns on on it's own, there is a short to power, meaning a wiring issue. Could be the blower fan resistor also melted down causing short, usually the fan will only work on high if resistor went bad. The blower fan and resistor should be located under the passenger side behind glove box.
Also, the switch to turn it off could be bad, but if you pulled the correct fuse it should have cut all power to blower fan.
Coolant level will not affect the blower motor functioning, but low coolant will cause a bubble in the system, possibly preventing coolant from entering heater core, thus having no hot air coming out, only cold air.
marmar
Well-known member
Thanks so much for this man. I'm not sure if blower was broken when I bought the truck, it sometimes does this, some other time it did shut off. It's not blowing full speed, but it does blow hot air when the switch is off and as I mentioned even after I took the fuse out, pretty sure it was the right one. Not cold air unfortunatly. I didn't mind the heat in winter at all, now I wish I could turn it off lol. It could be wiring issue I think that's right, cuz there are other issues that could be connected to wiring like the sigarete outlet that recently burnt my speaker through USB when I was charging it, so I can't charge stuff safely anymore. IDK, it's 800 dollar truck with 191 k miles and still drives like a champ with 25mpg so I'm happy with it even tho there are these issues and it's slow on uphill. I don't know how to work with/ fix wiring, I know sometimes a little wiggling can fix the issue, but any other advice ?
Sounds like you have some electrical "Gremlin's". I would start by checking all of the fuses, hopefully the fuse diagram is still there to tell you which size fuse should be where.
Inspect near the battery for looses/corroded/broken cables coming off battery. Also, while you're under the hood, there will be multiple ground wires screwed to firewall, fenderwells, also bolted to engine. Usually going to be single black wires for grounds. Visually inspect to see if any are broken in plain sight. Mice will also chew through wires and sometimes cause them to make a connection where you don't want one. This should also be abvious if a mouse has been there, they make a mess.
Does the blower shut off when you turn the truck off? Does the battery hold a charge for 2 days without starting?
marmar
Well-known member
Yeah it definitely shuts off when the car is off. And battery is new also. I have a red wire that goes to negative battery post for some stupid reason. So I connected it once the wrong way, drove it, burnt the battery and I'm sure it messed up something else there wire-wise too.
Ahh i see. Did the blower fan work normally before you had replaced the battery, and wired it incorrectly?
Try getting to the electrical plug in back of switch and unplug it. See if that shuts off blower.
fimbulvetr
Active member
I have a 1999 GMC Savana van, what general purpose tools should I have on the road with me when I travel? What are common points of failure? What kind of stuff should I not attempt to fix myself aside from the transmission? I really appreciate you offering to share your knowledge, it is really helpful to hear stuff from an expert that isn't trying to sell me something.
Oh, one more thing, I have about 100,000 miles. I don't have previous service records, should I change out the timing belt soon?
Oh, one more thing, I have about 100,000 miles. I don't have previous service records, should I change out the timing belt soon?
fimbulvetr
Active member
Howdy! Good question!
First, you'll want to have a way to change out a tire, and have a spare tire for when you need it. You can get a T-handle wrench with 4 different sizes in 1 tool, or since you only need 1 Size for your lug nuts, save weight and get a breaker bar and socket. You'll need a jack to raise vehicle too, but your van should have one of those. If not, get a small scissor jack or bottle jack. I usually carry a piece of 2x4 also, to give myself a "foot print" for if I need to jack up vehicle in sand or gravel or dirt. Being prepared to change your own flat tire is going to save you at least $150 tow bill. A tire plug kit is good item to have in a pinch also.
Next would be jumper cables. A jump pack is ideal, but they are big and costly, not needed. Small jump packs are becoming available, but they are pricey. Nice to have though. Even if you have a jump pack, you'll want cables for when the pack is dead and you didn't know it was dead. I personally also carry around an 80w solar panel to recharge a dead battery.
As far as tools go, I carry full set of wrenches, standard and metric. Not needed for 1 vehicle, but I find myself working on other cars besides my own on the road. A set of 3/8" drive sockets and ratchet will be handy. Get the 6 point kind vs. 12 point. I find the 12 point sockets strip slightly rusty bolt head too easily.
Some brake calipers require Torx or hex drive bits to removed and install new pads.
Other basic hand tools I don't travel without are pliers (2 or 3 styles) a hammer, pry bar, big pair of channel lock pliers also, for pushing caliper pistons back in when installing new brake pads. A few different size screw drivers are good to have.
Solid Metal wire is a good temp fix item to have on board, as well as electrical tape and some wire nuts. Have a couple extra fuses of assorted sizes, make sure you know what fuses your van takes before buying some. There are 3-4 main styles.
*This is all pretty general stuff to have, I encourage everyone to become familiar with their vehicle to know exactly what tools to have to preform basic fixes on the road.
Everyone is different in their ability to repair shit on the road, and the more you feel confident in doing, the more tools you'll want to have.
*Your specific van (99 gmc) does not run a timing belt, so no worries there. I would however do a transmission fluid drain and fill. Do not flush. Can remove the pan and change filter too if you want, good idea. Other areas of common failure are chassis parts; tie rod ends, ball joints, etc. These things can be difficult to change on side of road, but possible. Starters, alternators, batteries, drive belts, brakes, even water pumps can all be fixed on side of road. These are things you'll want tools for. Also, like most of us, we tend to put alot of stuff/weight inside vans, well because they hold alot! New shocks on all 4 Conners are a night and day difference when driving. If you've loaded the van up good, I recommend new shocks.
Hope this helped! Good luck and safe travels!
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