I have multiple questions;

[ul][*]My RPM's have been going up and down wildly sometimes while I have my brake pedal pressed, and at time the engine will jump when the RPM's rev back up. What could be causing this?[*]There's a little bit of water in my cabin, but no idea where it is coming from. My friend estimates it's the heater core, and that it is very difficult to get too. Anyone have this kind of problem? if so, what was the solution?[*]Water is not staying in my radiator resevoir, and was low yesterday in the radiator. Appears to be a leak, but am wondering if it may have something to do with the leak inside the cabin. Any suggestions there?[*]How difficult is it to replace the windshield wiper fluid motor? Mine stays on constantly, but my wiper switch is iffy at best, so I'll try replacing that first.[*]Where has someone gone to repair ball joints? I want to install new shocks as well, so I figure it may be worth it to just get everything done at once.[/ul]Thanks for any and all responses.

 

RPM's-Only a problem with the brake at idle? Or maybe in Park at idle too? If it's both, then look at the TPS. May be dirty or in need of replacement.
Water in cabin- Is it water or coolant. Is it slick and smells like antifreeze? If actually water, then look for a clogged drain tube in the HVAC housing or a clogged cowl drain.
Overflow reservoir- see above or check radiator cap. Pressure test cooling system.
Ball joints/shocks- Not familiar with your neck of the woods to comment on shops. However, if you do any amount of traveling, you may want to go with a national company for warranty purposes. Midas, Sears etc.
WC

 

whats the TPS?

it's water, so where is the HVAC housing?

IDK how to pressure test, all of this is new to me so far.

I'll call around to see who offers warranties on suspension parts. you suggested Midas and Sears ... Sears does suspension work?

 

My bad...
I wrote TPS and should have guided you to the Idle Air Control (IAC). It lives on the back of the throttle body; has a harness plugged into it. It controls the amount of idle air flowing through the engine. Unplug the harness, remove the IAC and clean it and the port it came out of with some carb. cleaner. Better yet, take off the whole throttle body and clean it too. Easy to do; 30min. job.
The HVAC housing is behind the dash. No need to get to it though unless you have to replace the heater core. To unclog the drain, go outside under the hood. On the passenger side, below the CPU (engine control computer;shiney silver box with lots of wires) there is a little 1/2" nipple sticking though the firewall. Shove a pencil or wire or some such tool up in that hole and see if anything comes out. That is where the water drains from your a/c.
Next, remove your wiper arms and then the cowl screen and check for leaves, and any other maner of crap that may be blocking the drain holes there. Also try running some water in the cowl to see if it runs back out or into your cabin. You may have a deteriorated gasket somewhere in there too.
Pressure testing a cooling system is not something many of us can do as the pressure testing equipment is too expensive for occasional users. You'll have to take it to a shop for that.
I only mentioned those companies as examples of national companies. Personally, I would not take anything to Midas. Sears is OK and yes they do all sorts of repairs.
WC

 

Sounds like you may have a failing diaphragm in the booster. A leaking booster is no different than a gross vacuum leak, wich obviously causes manifold vacuum to drop. The PCM sees this through MAP reading and tries to correct the promblem by decreasing airflow through the IAC port. Eventually, RPM's drop low enough that the PCM shifts priority from generating manifold vacuum to keeping the engine running, so it runs the IAC back in and increases RPM. Once RPMs are up, it shifts back to trying to correct the vacuum. Problem is, with a big vacuum leak, MAP readings will never correlate to IAC steps, throttle position, O2 readingsand engine load. This is, however, one type of vacuum leak that will not cause lean codes, since the leak is only present during braking.

If you can hear hissing when you depress the brake pedal, replace the booster.

Is it water or is it coolant? Do your windows fog when the defrost is one? Does it smell sweet? Its the fluid sticky when it starts to dry?

The switch closes the circuit, not the motor. Motor will only run when power is supplied. It's the switch.

Are they loose? There's no good reason to replace a tight ball joint, unless you're restoring a vehicle and just want all new suspension parts. Any decent FS shop should not have a problm replacing BJ's.

 

[quote]ORIGINAL: Sixtysixdeuce

Sounds like you may have a failing diaphragm in the booster. A leaking booster is no different than a gross vacuum leak, wich obviously causes manifold vacuum to drop. The PCM sees this through MAP reading and tries to correct the promblem by decreasing airflow through the IAC port. Eventually, RPM's drop low enough that the PCM shifts priority from generating manifold vacuum to keeping the engine running, so it runs the IAC back in and increases RPM. Once RPMs are up, it shifts back to trying to correct the vacuum. Problem is, with a big vacuum leak, MAP readings will never correlate to IAC steps, throttle position, O2 readingsand engine load. This is, however, one type of vacuum leak that will not cause lean codes, since the leak is only present during braking.

If you can hear hissing when you depress the brake pedal, replace the booster.

I don't hear any constant hissing, but sometimes when I start the truck up there is a little hissing noise, but it fades away. I think I need to replace a hose or two.

Is it water or is it coolant? Do your windows fog when the defrost is one? Does it smell sweet? Its the fluid sticky when it starts to dry?

It's water, and none of that happens. It could just be condensation, but im not sure. It's not a lot of water.