I bought my truck with 52K miles and didn't change antifreeze till about 75K miles. I wasn't having any problems but figured it was time. I'm sure it was the 1st change it had.

 

First things first. Your '95 Chevy has 3yr/30kmi basic green coolant in it. Just because you have lacked general maintenance repairs and it's still ticking doesn't make it a better vehicle...Just lucky. As long as your green stuff is alkaline, you'll fight off corrosion, but the alikaline does break down over time and eventually you will experience issue's with the coolant. The Ram comes with 5yr/100kmi Pink coolant which is safe for use with Aluminum engine's. Any others will corrode the engine. Anyways, the formulation is safe for -37*F so any slight degrade in coolant will obviously bring that up a bit. You should never wait until there is a problem to change fluids out. That means you lacked general mainenance Most of the time, although stuff does just happen.

As for never changing differential fluid in your Chevy and changing it a few times on your dodge... Your chevy likely has wear inside there. it's made of the same components and metals as the dodge. You are doing what's called preventative maintenance. Just because the chevy hasn't dropped it's nut yet doesn't mean it's not on it's way there.

BATTERY, Optima? What kind? Red? Take it back and replace it. The Red's are NOT meant for everyday vehicles and especially not for a primary starting battery. They are deep cycle batteries that provide current for extended periods of time. They do NOT provide good cranking power for your starter and are NOT meant for cold. Not only do they provide barely enough cranking amps to start your truck, when they get cold, the cranking amps diminish rapidly.
Yelowtop? These are designated and labeled as being both regular and deepcyle in one. There is really no such thing although the Yellow's do much better than the reds for a primary battery. They still suck in the cold compared to a normal battery and they will not last as long if it's your primary battery.

T/B issue, Your lightning bolt caused by "freeze over"...... If you start your truck up and let it warm up for 15minutes and the light doesn't go out, then that is not your problem. There is a TSB regarding problematic throttlebodies in the cold just as you described. The only remedy is replacing the unit with a new one. I see them for sale on Ebay for fairly cheap. You need 2003-2004 as the 2005+ have a different pigtail connector.

 

There have been a couple of us from North Dakota that have had issues with the TB not working correctly. (he posted on the fourm also). I myself have had 1 problem with the malfuntion. I just strayed seafoam Deep clean in the air tube and I haven't had any problems since. I was also told that you can try and clean the TB because they get dirty. in the dakota's we get wind constantly (extremely dusty condtions).
since i sprayed the Seam up there I haven't had any problems, but we have only hit -20 once this year so far.

 

Honestly, I'm shocked your Chevy coolant has not caused major issues. There are more lawsuits filed regarding failed GM cooling systems than Ford, Dodge & Toyota combined.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/autom...m_dexcool.html

http://www.girardgibbs.com/dexcool.html

http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums.../t-128547.html

http://www.dexcoolsettlement.com/

http://www.vnnforum.com/showthread.php?p=995363


And regarding paying $25 for a jug of coolant. Just because the dealership sells it AND charges 3x for it than a good quality, name-brand sells for in WallyWorld, don't mean it's any better. But even at $25 a jug, is that a lot to pay for cooling system maintenance even if you have to do it once every 3 years? I flush and fill my radiator every 3 years regardless of mileage and have in all my Ford, Dodge and Chevy trucks I've owned for the past 26 years I've been driving...

 

Yeah but Hammer, that's for the newer GM's with Dexcool. I'm more than certain he's got the older Green stuff that doesn't cause all those issue's.

 

Yeah I wasn't thinking about that. He did state he's never changed the anti-freeze in that '95 either. Good thing he doesn't own a '04 Chevy truck or he'd be on his third radiator, evap and heater core and probably second engine by now, LOL...

 

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...1373081032___#


this is the battery i got..start fast and strong. i have had boats and the blue top deep cycle. this is a starting battery . seems to work good to me.

after i drive the truck it seems to run fine after a while. acts up after driving and letting it sit in the cold.

the radiator and water pump are being replaced. i will start changing the radiator fluid every 5 years. as i keep up with all maintance on the dodge.

the chevy i got for $1000 and got it before my ram. only thing i have done is oil changes and tires. starts runs and pulls just fine with out all the upkeep .if it dies it dies . but seems unstoppable even in the cold.

seems you have to stay on top of the recommended upkeep from the dealer on the dodge or you will have problems . or maybe it has a hard time handling the cold?

 

Have you checked around the intake manifold for air leaks? That would be a cause of it running like sh*t when it's really cold outside until the engine bay temp comes up...

 

It's been -25 for two weeks here in calgary and at that temp the engine bay never thaws out.I have water(condensation?)coming up the breather tube and filing up the iac.freezes at night and then won't idle.No amount of driving will thaw it out.you have to take it apart and dry it out.Anyone know why I would get so much water up the breather tube?just had the head gasket replaced two months ago.

 

I was negligent and have had no problems with battery, throttle controll radiator, waterpump or cold weather . But yes, it's always a good idea to upkeep and do the recommended maintenance.