6.5L Turbo Diesel Blazer- First Drive in 2023
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Last Sunday was the Blazer's first drive in 2023! It had been 5 months since the last start. I had plugged in the block heater for a couple of hours prior to starting... It started as quickly as if it had been driven that morning... I was amazed... Daughter's coming over this weekend, so I'm hoping we can do a couple of things while she's here.
The batteries had been on an auto trickle charger for some weeks prior. In fact, I rotate the charger around all of the batteries in the garage... motorcycle, Lil Red, and lawn mower. Each one gets the charger a couple times during the winter. Seems to help. Jim
6-3-2023 - First Camping Trip of 2023
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First camping trip for 2023! Was a bit rainy, as it normally is for Memorial Day here in Montana. As long as you're prepared for the rain, you can still have fun, and see how well you remember your camp cooking skills... ;) One of the reasons why we go to this campground on Memorial Day is because of the Ruff grouse. They are drumming this time of year, and with the exception of this year, we've always heard them from camp.
Since last trip out, we learned that the windshield washer sprayers weren't... Seems the windshield replacement guys forgot to reconnect the rubber tubing beneath the cowl at the bottom edge of the windshield (it has to be removed to R&R the glass). Once back from camping, we removed the cowl grate and reconnected the hoses, recharged the A/C system (apparently there's a small refrigerant leak that caused it to lose charge over a period of about 12 months). We also noticed that one of the new Wal-Mart Everstart batteries had begun to make a mess in one of the battery trays. At home, I neutralized the acid in the tray and on the battery. If the mess returns we'll likely replace the battery. I've measured the battery voltage a few times since the fall of 2021, so I'm pretty sure the alternator is not overcharging (measures just over 14.0 vdc at idle).
The side steps are now ready to go on. I needed to make a few brackets to adapt them to the Blazer. That's now behind us, but can't do the final install till the bed-liner coating has been applied to the rockers and other places. The steps look great, are solid, and will do the job. We also moved the spare tire to the outside... using a receiver hitch mount. We like it, and it frees up extra space in the interior for cargo and sleeping bags. I'll have pics of this soon.
Blazer did great on this 140 mile camping trip. :)