Gator Is Almost Ready For Winter

"Gator," the 02 TRD 4X4 we picked up in Florida in June, is almost ready for winter in the Rockies now. I did the second (since I've had him) oil change today. BTW, I had read somewhere, before I got this truck, that it was necessary to remove the rock shield from under the engine to change the oil in these trucks. I did that the first time, because I was checking belts and looking at a lot of things for the first time. But this time I just drained the oil through the big hole in the shield, and pulled the filter off through the left fender well - no problem.

I had noted when I got the truck home that the anti-freeze was only good to 20 below - probably OK in Georgia and Florida, but not in central Colorado. We regularly hit 35 below. The anti-freeze looked really good, so I just drained about a gallon and added a gallon of 100% anti-freeze. Now it will take -40.

The only thing I have left to do is to add an oil pan heater. We have already been having sub-freezing mornings, but the really cold stuff won't hit until December. This truck sure runs great.

I do have one question. I have noticed that on a cold morning it will run at 1500 rpm until the temp gauge starts to move. Then 1200 until it is almost completely warmed up. I'm thinking when it is really cold out, it is going to be reving for quite a while. On an icy road that might be a pain. Are those rpms normal for these trucks?

 

yea, the trucks just warming up...I know when its really cold out, ill start my truck about 5-10 mins ahead of time, just for that reason..But usually, once you put a load on it(in gear) the rpm's come down a bit.

 

good job on getting gator ready for winter. the rpms are normal on these trucks.....helps heat the engine up quicker, then rpms drop to "normal" afterwards.

 

That's what I figured. It's just a little higher rpm than any vehicle I have had before. It has been running very well though, so I figured the temp sensor must be working right. On our last road trip we got 20 to 21 mpg most of the time, depending on how much climbing we were doing, and on one 65 mph, flat section, we got over 22.