Opted to take the truck into work this morning. 10 degrees out, it started on the third try. My batteries aren't strong, so I have to make sure of my starting procedure. I choose not to use the manifold heater as it seems to just dump fuel on the turbo and kill the batteries quicker. With the dual 650 cca rebuilt batteries that are in my truck, I maybe get about 45 seconds of cranking on a cold morning till they are dead or to weak to turn the motor fast enough.
1. Turn the power on, let fuel pump run for about 15 seconds.
2. Pull out the engine stop lever, and crank for about 5 seconds. Obviously nothing will happen.
3. Wait 30 seconds. Reset the engine stop lever so it will run.
4. Crank for 5 -10 seconds with foot to the floor until white smoke comes out of the exhaust, indicating I have fuel.
5. Wait 30 seconds.
6. Crank again floored. It will usually start at this point, or at least hiccup indicating it will start soon.
I also received my new pinion flange yesterday, so while it was warming up, I installed that. I also dropped the rear tires down to about 32 psi.
Proceeded to drive the 25 miles into work. Half of it is down the highway. The dropped tire pressure is like night and day. The truck now runs smoothly down the highway. I would venture to say that it is ALMOST comfortable to drive it in at 55 mph. Almost. Haha. But it is much much better to drive now. I am quite happy with it.
I put a set of blindspot mirrors on, and can actually see vehicles that are around the truck.
The pinion isn't leaking now, so that is one less leak to worry about. At this point, I think that the truck is pretty well sorted. I still have a pile of parts to install, as well as my relay box to convert 24v to 12v for a trailer. Fun fun fun. I really enjoy this truck.