New From New York

[Skyhawktrainer]

Well, How do I begin: My travels to this site is a long story:
To Start - I have been waiting more then 35 years to be able to but a boat, I have put it off so many times over the last 10 for a varied number of reasons, We had to buy a House, my wife HAD to have a new car, etc - each time the $$ in my boat fund went somewhere else more important. Well, that being said, a couple of years ago I had to have a triple bypass, after that I decided I wasn't going to wait any longer. When my wife had to have a new car I told her that we would get a vehicle that could tow a boat: She agreed, much to my surprise. We went to the local dealer and she fell in love with a 2002 tracker, I asked the salesman if it could pull about 3000lb, we would have gone to the next model up if we had to but, he must have thought that he would lose the sale so he just said let me check on that then came back and said SURE it will.
Move fwd a few years as my fund grew back and I go searching for my long awaited boat. I find a couple and they look good. I am on my way to put the $$ down on the one I wanted and decide (thank god) to stop at the local trans place to arrange for the hitch, I am informed that this vehicle couldn't pull itself let alone a 3000 lb boat and trailer. I go to the dealer to vent and guess what - the salesman had been fired over 2 years ago for the same type of honest dealing, nothing in writing - out of luck!
All this history brings to the reason I am here: Since I know so much about trucks, yea right, I begin to ask various local experts what I should get to Pull my new boat, also (big surprise) my wife decides to trade in the tracker on another new car, at least this one gets good milage. I get all kinds of advice , you have to get at least a 1/2 ton truck, a 3/4 ton truck, whatever you do don't buy a Ford Exploder, yep that what they called them at the local tranni
shop. Chev Blazer - too small. So long story short, yea I know - too late for that, I bought a 1988 Chev K3500 Silverado with 73k for milege, it had been sitting for almost 5 years in a garage. It seemed to run fine and according to the spec's should pull my boat x2. I took the truck to the dealer and they went over it, new tuneup, oil change, the whole 9 yards. 2 days later the check engine light came on and has been on since, I asked the dealer and they said it would take awhile to reset and since I only use the truck to tow the boat that could be some time.The day after I bought it the pass side window wouldn't open so I had the local glass shop replace it and as it turned out the drivers side also, it was ready to fall it was so rusted. I knew the A/C did not work and replaced the compressor, works great. Every thing is as it should be with the universe.
I go and pick up my boat and away we go, for appox 5 weeks we just went local, no highway yet, and the truck pulled the boat like it didn't know it was there steep hills, bad boat launches - I'm a happy camper.
Appox a month ago I decide to take the boat on a trip that requires the highway. I'm in cruise control going appox 65 mph, I get about 20 miles to the 1st long hill and the speed begins to drop as it goes up the hill, when it drops in gear the whole motor sound like someone put a grenade under the hood. The motor is backfiring, the truck is bucking and I actually thought it was going to blow the motor. I get off the highway and drive on a local road to a station - the truck is running great even up a steep hill. They look it over and found nothing wrong. I got back on the highway and soon the same thing happened. I got back off and as soon as I was off the hwy going appox 45 -55 no problems. At this point I was at the site I was heading. The Trip back was just as bad, at one point there was a loud bang and then I was running on open pipes. I took the truck to the local exhaust shop and it had blown the whole ass end of the cat right off. I was going to need a whole new exhaust system. So ok, maybe that's why it was running so bad, but only on the hwy? New exhaust and a week later I make another trip, Same Thing!!
I can't imagine why it runs so well on local roads even at 55 mph up steep hills but can't get out of it's own way on the hwy. I went to a trans place and described the problem, they said that if the tranny was causing this problem it would happen at any speed on any hill. I have the truck at a shop
that has been around for years and has all the computer equip. In the mean time I rented a Ford Explorer that had a tow pkg and even with a 6 cyl it pulled the boat, motor and trailer with a full tank of gas, 40 gal and the explorer had a full tank - and it did it with no problem.
I ask again - why would a truck work so well local and die on the hwy. And thanks to whomever is still reading this at this point of the story.

[BOSS]

Welcome to the board,i am sorry i cant help you on this but i do know there are members here that can

[krue]

Welcome to the board from South Mississippi. I'm gonna move this to the "Engine & Drivetrain" board for you, so you'll get more exposure.

[jsbgump]

wELCOME TO THE BOARD

[5Mike7]

Welcome Aboard!

Could be the tranny is not downshifting? If not, then have the TV Cable adjusted, fairly simple to do.

Next, I've have the PU coil in the dizzy checked out and maybe have the ICM tested...was the SE Light flashing while the engine was sputtering and backfiring? Like the like and engine issues were in sync with each other?

[bigjimzlll]

Hi..
when on the local roads were you using the cruise control also?

[b454rat]

Check the timing?? Sometimes if it's out of whack it can backfire under load. Where in NY are you??

[CAL 58 GMC]

Welcome to the board!

[Skyhawktrainer]

I'm sorry that I have not followed up on this - but I had a Triple -bypass with some complications. Much better now, and now "the rest of the story" :

I took the truck in to this small town garage not far from where I live, all the locals say he is the best around. He tells me to leave it with him and he will
get to it when he gets a chance. Appox 30 days later he calls me to pick up the truck- it's all set. What had happened was the following-
1. The catalytic converter - the "beads" at the back of it had collapsed and was
now blocking all the exhaust.
2. This caused the temps in the exhaust to skyrocket to the point that it had actually melted the O2 sensor.
3. The O2 sensor, when going up a long hill, would cause the computer to drop the trans into second gear and add fuel.
4. The fuel was being ignited by the excessive heat and not the spark plug.
5. this caused the knock sensor to retard the timing.
6. 3 thru 5 would just keep repeating over and over.

Using the truck on the local roads did not put enough strain on the system.

So for the last month or so it has performed well. I would like to than all those who responded to may "intro"

[Longhorn Man]

welcome to the board...
I have to question that diagnosis...
you got a new exhaust sytem... I'll assume the converter was replaced too, yet, it did the same thing.
So this cat said the new converter failed right outta the box?
If the converter was never replaced, then disregard... and I agree 100%. Converter and/or fuel filter/system was what I was going to say untill i saw your second post.

[Skyhawktrainer]

The original large converter was the one that self destructed, when I brought the truck to the local exhaust shop they were dumbfounded that there was two converters on the exhaust system, a small one near the point where the pipes came together fron the exhaust manifolds, then a length of pipe to a much larger converter to a small pipe then the muffler and a tail pipe from there. They said that they had never seen 2 converters on a single exhaust system. The large one was the one that someone had drilled out "drained" then welded on a patch. all the pipe was 2 inch dia.
Since the tail pipe looked like new I opted for the single the org single exhaust look, They removed all entire exhaust system and replaced it with 3 inch dia pipe, put in one new converter and a new muffler.
I pulled the boat and trailer all over the local roads and hills with no problems and thought the problem was fixed. I then left for Lake George, NY this required another trip on the thruway, I got on and after several miles approached a long slow rising hill like the one heading south that the problem showed up on. Appox 1/2 mile up this hill the engine began to lose power and downshifted to 2nd gear, it then began to have the same problem again with the backfire problem, again it sounded as though the engine was going to come apart. I got off the next exit and behaved perfectly all the way home on the local roads/hills.
At that point was when I brought it to the local engine Guru, he found the problems that the dealer missed. Now the truck pulls the boat and trailer up the same thruway hill as though there was nothing hooked to it at all, it doesn't even drop into second and maintains the set speed of the cruise control. I have also put a K&N filter in the original aircleaner and it seems to have made a diff in the performance, any other suggestions are welcomed as this is the first pickup I have ever owned.