like the title says i got a few days before i head up north. my brakes went out today(lost a pad and killed the rotor completely,as in no metal on the back side anymore).

was going to fix that tomorrow, then i had some dick of a driver mad at me cuz i passed him illegally to keep from hitting him because the brakes went out this morning and the truck over heated spraying coolant everywhere and no signs of broken hoses(i had recently replaced the upper hose as well as the t-stat and gasket for the same reason.

i'll be replacing ll the old hoses and the front brakes tomorrow night be testing the truck on saturday because i'll be leaving Sunday at like 1am.

my question is. should i even trust the truck to make it the 210miles upnorth? the only reason i'ld be taking it is because it has 4wd which is needed where i'm going.

just need opinions.

btw the radiator is the nice all steel one.

also i sold my lumina and spun 4 crank bearings and 1 cyl rod bearing in my hyundai...(not really relevant but thought you might need a laugh.)

 

Well you can fix the brakes but I don't know what the heck you can do about the truck boiling up now and then. Hope your luck turns around. Maybe throw 2 or 3 gallons of anti freeze in the box and go for it ? ? ?

 

If you fix the 2 problems and you trust it, sure it should do the job. Like said above take extra fluids/parts/tools and defiantly extra time just in case something does happen.

 

i'll planned that all out since we'll be leaving at like 1am i took the battery fro my hyundai as a spare i have at least 2 gallons of every fluid that the truck would need about 5ft of radiator hose(which came with the truck), spare tire and fix a flat.

i haven't even gotten to the hose yet, i've been messing around with the brakes on the truck for the past 24hrs(yes i worked all night through the snow/wind). i put new calipers/rotors/pads on both sides and now i'm trying to bleed the left front(the last one) and there is so much air in the line it worries me. i have slight pressure but the pedal still goes to the floor.

i've taken it past 210miles before but this time it will be almost non-stop on the way up, except for gas and some food.

 

Hey Shadow hope you got them bled enough that you have some brake pedal, otherwise you will have to pump like crazy. Have a safe trip, will be thinking about you.

 

thanks and i finally figured it out. the left caliper had a small leak at the bolt holding the line to it, fixed that and all of the sudden i had brake pressure. still a little bit of air in the lines but still have a very good stopping power. the hose that blew up was a heater hose, so i cut it a bit shorter and put it back on.

nex thing on the list is to pack, then burp the cooling lines when i get more antifreeze.

 

so i made the trip to and from. on the way up i made 178miles and the heater hose blew off the connection(hose clamp must have loosened up) so 15mins later i was back on the road and the truck ran fine the whole time i was at the cottage(we even made some snowmen and ran them over with the truck for a good time...lol) on the way back i made it $50miles stopped for food and the hose clamp for the upper rad hose came loose. i fixed it only to find my truck wouldn't idle. i guess pulling 80mph for 50miles killed the idle control valve(which mysteriously came back to life another 50miles down the road). other than my wallet getting mysteriously lighter and my knee giving out the trip was good.

 

Get some new quality clamps. Napa or even Home Depot, you need USA made ones, most auto parts stores sell China junk.

 

Shadow, glad to hear the Dak made the trip there and back and sounds like you had fun too. I bet clamps made in the USA will be hard to find.

 

thanks and its a mix of the hoses and clamps. i took the truck to work and right across the street from the office the lower rad hose came off from the radiator. this one was for sure the hose because both clamps were still tight. well being smart for once i had place the older lower rad hose(the one that hadn't blown) in the toolbox and just put that one back on with brand new clamps. it held for the 39mile trip home from work.

i also found with some of these trucks (My 93 and the 91 both did this) when there is an air bubble stuck at the thermostat, a hard left turn(at a safe speed) will move it and allow it to pass through(but it depends on the size of the air bubble). its good for short distance though