33s and the Coolant Scare of 2013

These waning days of 2013 have been stressful. I have a project that will take an act of congress to close out, my tires were wearing down on the eve of predicted snow storm and just prior to an offroad event in Ohio, and my truck was loosing significant amounts of coolant...daily. Oh, and my light still aren't wired up.

It goes on and on. But I was not the happiest of campers.

I took the truck to the dealership on a Wednesday, I think, and they were less than thorough in evaluating my issue. To them, it appeared the coolant was leaking from near the rear of the engine, and in addition to the diagnostic fee of between $120-150 already assessed, they estimated another 4-5 hours would be needed to permit them to drop my exhaust manifold so they could get a closer look...to the tune of about another $530. I stated I couldn't be out of work that long and would have to reschedule to return. Meanwhile, I ordered some new tires...in 285/75/16 and they arrived Friday after work. I resolved that with the supposed snow storm coming (the third that ultimately didn't do much in my area but pretty reasonably pummeled locations further north and west) and the potential damage to the engine, it was sufficient cause to forego the Southington Offroad event. I was bummed, but it was the right decision.

Instead, I took my truck to Midas. They actually performed the pressure test that the service adviser at the dealership suggested might be needed. Not sure if it was performed at the dealership as the tech left for lunch without transcribing any notes or telling the service adviser or the shop manager anything about my truck. They simply handed me my keys, invited me to wait on this dude or just call back if I had questions. We cannot go back there again. Anyway, Midas did the thing, found the hose that was loose and resolved it. Thing is, it only really leaked when under pressure, and apparently it sprayed as opposed to trickling which is why I could never find a trail when looking from up above. Anyway, with the leak troubleshot they went and mounted the new tires.

I opted for Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs for both the aggressive, self-cleaning tread blocks and the fact the tires are rated for Severe Winter Service (as evidenced by the snowflake on the mountain symbol). This is in addition to the M+S rating, where the former actually involves physical testing of performance in winter conditions (so I've read).

Still no significant snow, but I'll have them when/if it comes.

I may opt to get some cheaper ATs for tooling around town and have these for the winter and offroading. For now they are my everyday tire and I hope they wear well.

I will need to revisit my efforts at trimming and performing the melt-mod to clear the wheel well liner from rubbing the tires on turns. The passenger side is good and clear. I do, on occasion still rub the driver's side. I've not yet been offroad to see whether or not the rubbing becomes more severe when one really gets rolling. I'm excited to see how the larger diameter tire aids in ground clearance and hooking up better with the terrain.

As always, a few pics to show the current state of the truck.

Looking through the shop window while Veronica gets her alignment.

Out on the blacktop.

A screen grab of the "WENTWindrock" enthusiast page. Veronica made the front page!

I almost forgot. While perusing facebook, I saw a link to the WentWindrock page that arose out of some conversations the organizers of NXM3 (National Xterra Meet) were having while I was down there in Tennessee. Well, lo and behold, my humble little Frontier made it onto the front of the homepage.

You can follow the URL here: WentWindrock

That's about all I've got for this update.