High RPM on cold start!

The wife isn't so happy when I get a paint job in this time of year. Both
cars have to stay outside while I'm painting.

 

Yes, I have a high-rise (well moderate rise anyway) cap as well with an
extended cab truck. I'd much rather clean the Sonate 10 times than the
truck once so the truck stays in the garage. Also, the truck at 14
years of age is still worth as much as the Sonata! And I don't
like the plow cylinders out in the weather as they rust pretty fast if
they aren't kept greased up. I'm not impressed with the chrome that
Western used on their angle cylinders. The owner's manual says to coat
them with grease for storage and I found out the first year why they
recommend that!


Matt

 

I worried about that at one time with my Fisher, because I've had other
cylinders rust up when left out in the elements. My plow is a '94 and it
sits outside all year long. I have no rust on any of my cylinders at all.
I don't take any precautions with them to prevent rust either. I just drop
the plow on some concrete blocks for the summer and let it sit there all
summer long.

The issue I can deal with from time to time that you don't have to contend
with, is that depending on how cold it is at night, my plow can freeze to
the ground and sometimes the pump won't lift it free. I have to rock the
truck to break it free. I try to keep a scrap of 2x8 under it when I think
the temps will be in the ranges to cause this problem, but every now and
then...

 

How do you like the Fisher overall? I like the Western other than the
rust prone cylinders. The controls are great (I have the hand-held
controller which is nice with the standard tranny) and the poly blade is
nice also. If they had only used better chrome on the cylinders...

Yes, another reason to keep the plow inside. I also like having the cab
somewhat warm when I climb inside otherwise the truck is just getting
warm when I get done plowing!


Matt

 

I really like my Fisher all in all. Mine is a fully hydraulic and I really
wanted an electric over hydraulic, but I took the first good used deal I
came across. The electric over hydraulics are much faster than the full
hydraulic models and they have refined them so that they don't just suck the
alternator right down when you use them like they used to.

Mine is a minute mount and I really like the way that my truck mounts tuck
up againts my truck frame a lot cleaner than some of the other plow
manufacturers do. I really don't have anything that hangs beneath the front
of my truck at all to speak of. My blade is steel which I really like. My
plow does not have down pressure like some of the newer plows do, and you
count on the weight of the blade when you are back blading away from a
building. We get a lot more snow up here than you do (except for this year)
and back blading is a part of plowing - inescapable.

I fire my truck up before I start to wipe the snow off, and then I usually
go back inside and let the truck get nice and warm before I go plow. My
driveway takes me about a half of an hour to plow (if I get meticulous about
it), and I have a couple of friends that I plow also, so I'm in my truck for
an hour or two when I go out to plow. That cast iron 350 takes a lot longer
to warm up to the point of delivering heat than my six cylinders do.

 

My Western is electro-hydraulic and it moves pretty fast and doesn't
really affect the alternator when in operation, but it does dim the
lights a little!

Same with mine. It hangs from a chain on the lift arm so its weight is
all that provides down force, but this hasn't been a problem. Mine also
has the mount where everything detaches, including the power unit. All
I have on the truck is a small frame under the bumper and two electrical
cords in the grill.

My driveway is only 1800' long and I can plow it and my parking areas
around the house in 20 minutes if the snowfall is less than a foot or
35-40 minutes for deeper snows. I have a cast iron V-6 (4.3L) and it
takes a long time to warm up at idle (probably 15 minutes). Even
plowing, I don't get a lot of heat for nearly 10 minutes, but once it
starts heating it will roast you right out of the cab. When I drive it
to work, it takes about 8 highway miles to get it fully warmed up on the
temperature gauge, but then it will heat a small house. I have to turn
the fan completely off if I'm at highway speeds and move the temp
indicator about halfway towards cold. I wish the Sonata had even half
of the heating capability of my K1500!


Matt

 

Keep in mind, that all cars are designed first with pollution control in
mind (Oxygen sensors), not with longevity.
I would not ride any engine before oil reached all the places and engine
runs smoothly. Keep in mind, that most damage to your engine happens in
your driveway.