What a Day!!!

PKRWUD · 08-24-2002, 10:06 PM

What a Day!!!

Today was quite a day. It started with a trip to Cigarettes Cheaper to get a couple cartons, only to find out that they still haven't stocked up on my brand. I then went to the auto parts store to return my smog pump core, and pick up a set of Champion Truck plugs. I just installed a new set of NGK's on Thursday, but the truck feels heavy, and I knew it was the plugs.

Once home, I let the engine cool for a bit, and read some inane replies in a thread I had replied to. I then went back out and set up the truck in the garage. The truck doesn't quite fit, so when I work on it, the back 3 or 4 feet go into the alley, and I roll down the garage door, and let it rest on the diamond plate bed rails. I then took each new plug, trimmed the ground electrode, and gapped them. I swapped in the Champions for the NGK's, and went for a test drive.

Now then, some people say that a spark plug is a spark plug, and they don't really affect performance, as long as they're new. Bullshiit. I couldn't believe how much snappier it was, and how much more responsive! It was as if I had taken 500 pounds out of the bed.

This inspired me.

I decided it was time to clean all the electrical connectors in the ECM & TFI circuits, hoping to solve whatever it was that gave me problems with my JET chip, and put the chip back in! It's been about 6 months, and I really, really miss the effect that chip had on my truck.

So I pulled out the e-brake pedal assembly to get to the access door on my ECM, cleaned the contacts, and put the chip back in. I then cleaned up the connectors under the hood, re-connected the battery, and went about performing the re-learn process for the ECM.

This is where it get's dumb.

After the relearn was finished, I wanted to go for a test drive. I was going to wait on the e-brake assembly until after I knew I was going to leave the chip in. I got out and closed the hood, and suddenly, but very slowly, the truck started to roll backwards. I had left it in neutral during the re-learn, and I hadn't hooked up the e-brake. Still, it didn't really hit me, what was happening, until I heard the sounds of metal bending and wood splintering. It was then that I realized my truck was not only headed out into the alley, where it would have careened right into my neighbors garage door, but it was taking my garage door with it. It started rolling faster, and I realized there was no way I was going to be able to get around the side in time, so I grabbed the bumper and dug in. The truck stopped rolling, but every ounce of strength in my body couldn't get that 6000 pound truck to roll back up into the garage. I thought quickly, and grabbed a toolbox that was on the floor, and slid it behind the front tire. I got in the truck, started it, and pulled it forward.

The less-than-a-year-old roll up garage door was bent pretty bad in the middle, and a couple of the rollers were pulled from their channel. An hour later, after some banging, and prying, and hammering, and screwing, I finally got the door almost as good as new.

I then took the truck out to see if the chip was okay. It seems to be doing fine.

I'll know for sure over the next week or two, but she-it howdy! It was sooo nice to have that feeling again. In one day, that truck went from feeling like a heavy supercab with a slow engine, to feeling like a light reg cab with a V8. Amazing!

So, lessons learned today:

NGK plugs suck eggs.
Champion Truck plugs ROCK!
JET makes an awesome chip for my truck.
ALWAYS block the tires when taking the e-brake assembly out!!!

Wow. What a day.

Take care,
~Chris

08-24-2002, 10:06 PM	#1
PKRWUD Junior Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Ventura, California Posts: 8,981	What a Day!!! What a Day!!! Today was quite a day. It started with a trip to Cigarettes Cheaper to get a couple cartons, only to find out that they still haven't stocked up on my brand. I then went to the auto parts store to return my smog pump core, and pick up a set of Champion Truck plugs. I just installed a new set of NGK's on Thursday, but the truck feels heavy, and I knew it was the plugs. Once home, I let the engine cool for a bit, and read some inane replies in a thread I had replied to. I then went back out and set up the truck in the garage. The truck doesn't quite fit, so when I work on it, the back 3 or 4 feet go into the alley, and I roll down the garage door, and let it rest on the diamond plate bed rails. I then took each new plug, trimmed the ground electrode, and gapped them. I swapped in the Champions for the NGK's, and went for a test drive. Now then, some people say that a spark plug is a spark plug, and they don't really affect performance, as long as they're new. Bullshiit. I couldn't believe how much snappier it was, and how much more responsive! It was as if I had taken 500 pounds out of the bed. This inspired me. I decided it was time to clean all the electrical connectors in the ECM & TFI circuits, hoping to solve whatever it was that gave me problems with my JET chip, and put the chip back in! It's been about 6 months, and I really, really miss the effect that chip had on my truck. So I pulled out the e-brake pedal assembly to get to the access door on my ECM, cleaned the contacts, and put the chip back in. I then cleaned up the connectors under the hood, re-connected the battery, and went about performing the re-learn process for the ECM. This is where it get's dumb. After the relearn was finished, I wanted to go for a test drive. I was going to wait on the e-brake assembly until after I knew I was going to leave the chip in. I got out and closed the hood, and suddenly, but very slowly, the truck started to roll backwards. I had left it in neutral during the re-learn, and I hadn't hooked up the e-brake. Still, it didn't really hit me, what was happening, until I heard the sounds of metal bending and wood splintering. It was then that I realized my truck was not only headed out into the alley, where it would have careened right into my neighbors garage door, but it was taking my garage door with it. It started rolling faster, and I realized there was no way I was going to be able to get around the side in time, so I grabbed the bumper and dug in. The truck stopped rolling, but every ounce of strength in my body couldn't get that 6000 pound truck to roll back up into the garage. I thought quickly, and grabbed a toolbox that was on the floor, and slid it behind the front tire. I got in the truck, started it, and pulled it forward. The less-than-a-year-old roll up garage door was bent pretty bad in the middle, and a couple of the rollers were pulled from their channel. An hour later, after some banging, and prying, and hammering, and screwing, I finally got the door almost as good as new. I then took the truck out to see if the chip was okay. It seems to be doing fine. I'll know for sure over the next week or two, but she-it howdy! It was sooo nice to have that feeling again. In one day, that truck went from feeling like a heavy supercab with a slow engine, to feeling like a light reg cab with a V8. Amazing! So, lessons learned today: NGK plugs suck eggs. Champion Truck plugs ROCK! JET makes an awesome chip for my truck. ALWAYS block the tires when taking the e-brake assembly out!!! Wow. What a day. Take care, ~Chris __________________ Webmaster: Rice Haters Club Jim Porter Racing Peckerwoods Pit Stop Support Your Local RED & WHITE!