Cold starts..... And Alarm questions...

[acon40]

This is kind of a two part question. I have no dug around to much yet. Once again, first winter with the truck. On cold starts I run into a few issues..

The brakes won't work right away This is half my fault for starting the truck and rushing if I am in a hurry.... but should that happen. I need to look into the fluid. But seconds later it works fine.

The steering column whines when I turn left after a cold night on start up. Not sure what to do to solve this....

And the heat, when I turn it on I get a strong smell of engine haha. Don't know how else to explain it. Once again, it goes away after a few minutes. But it gets pretty intense.


Next, I am thinking of getting a remote start alarm. Any input on brands? I know Clifford Also has a GPS option where you can track a car via GPS. That is something that I like, but at 400 for just that feature I don't know. The key to me is remote starts for those cold days.....

 

[Ali FJ80]

DEI makes most of the alarm out there includding Clifford, Hornet, Phyton, Avitol etc... From what I discovered researching this last week most of these brands even share the same wire harnesses and much of the same internals and major difference is pricing depending on who they are supplied to and additional options. Having learnt this and not wanting to spend $450 at ultimate electronics I found a place off Havana and 1st, Progressive Auto Works that did the Avitol alarm system with remote start and keyless entry all for $250 installed. It doesnt have the fancy LCD remotes or anything but it has a good alarm and remote start works great. Have had it for a week now and use it every morning to come out to a nice warm truck. Also this includded a lifetime warranty on labor and major parts. Remotes are not covered. Hope this helps.

 

[nakman]

On your brakes, is it a really "hard" pedal feel? If so I bet your fluid's pulled some moisture in, and is freezing up.. new brake fluid would fix that. My steering column when I turn left too when cold.. kind of hoo's like an owl. I've chosen to not worry about it.. not much help on the others, sorry.

 

[subzali]

Brakes not working also can happen if water got on the discs and didn't evaporate before you parked it.

 

[Romer]

Flush your brake fluid. I switched to Synthetic. Could also be the vacuum in the booster hasn't had a chance to build up. Its good to rebaseline all your fluids since it is a new (to you) truck. Unless you have the history of when it was last done.

Steering wheel squeek when cold is a common problem. Its the $250 clock spring and you need someone who knows how to disable the airbag to service it. I too elected to leave it alone.