enginerd

I need to figure out how to get email alerts on the new forum. It's too late for me to free up enough time this weekend. Next time. Looking forward to muddy photos...

Trying this for the 3rd time... I've never been off pavement in the snow, that sounds like fun to me! Hopefully I can attend, schedule is free for now...

Hmm no takers? I'm in Seattle, but with enough notice, would be interested in making the trip if the place was worthwhile. Because of the drive from here already, the closer to I-5, the easier... and I'd want a place to camp. Keep the group posted!

Wanted to respond earlier, but needed the stars to align. And... nope. Next time! Looking forward to pictures.

I second the Craigslist comment, worked really well for me when I sold the crappy ATs I had and picked up some used MTs. I've been looking for a road-trip set, but don't think I'm going to pull the trigger. Here's an example I found with a quick search: http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/pts/2884294079.html

I'm still sorting through the inhibitor relay/battery thing, but would love this and would attend if at all possible. At the very least, if someone helps give me a push start, I can get home!

My wire colors match the sketch above. They don't match my wiring diagram (Haynes) either, for either of the relays at this location. I've tried it every which way, with no luck. New relays is next on the list.

Good point, I should stop and make sure I'm working with the right part... and also brushed up on relay operation and realized that I had it backwards anyway. Here's a picture of the two relays (with three connectors) found right behind the battery, held in position similar to how they're mounted. Here's a sketch with wire colors. Last night and this morning, messing with the forward relay connector did the trick, but not from lunch on today. The heavier gauge wires are the #1 and #3 on the rear relay. It doesn't make sense to me that these could be heavier gauge while the circuits that they are part of through the relay are connected to smaller gauge wires on the other side... so I'm a little confused why this would be the #1/#3 combination instead of the #3/#5 combination to close the circuit. Thoughts? Is it just providing voltage/current from one circuit directly to another and that's OK? Sorry, circuits have never been my strong suit, though I'll keep trying! I'll try it both ways and see what happens! I may also just buy a new battery, I learned recently on my Subaru that the battery was responsible for all kinds of illogical bugs.

Here's a quick picture. The front of the car is down in the photo. The two wires are one of the two black ones and the brown one. You can just barely see where I stripped the wires to bridge them. That's when it no longer worked...

Scratch that, now I made it worse. I stripped the wires below the relay plug, and bridged those with a test wire. It started, but it was a struggle for the starter. I drove around for 15 minutes, then parked. Tried to start again, and just get one click. Voltmeter shows normal voltage at the battery and on the switch side of the relay socket. But no starter action. Did I just fry the starter?

Jumping the relays contacts worked. Now I just have to decide what the permanent fix is, but think I'll just pull back the wire insulation and solder the jumper wire on the wires at the back of the relay. I'm wondering if this is related to the fact that the fender liner on that side was recently removed and there's a daylight hole in the sheetmetal right next to these relays and the battery. Would lots of water in there (I'm in Seattle) be a likely cause of this and other problems? Thanks for the help all, much appreciated.

So the truck randomly wouldn't start on about the third errand today. The battery is holding steady at 12.5V. All accessories, headlights, etc. work fine. When the clutch is pushed in and the ignition turned to start, nothing happens. There's one click, not repeated clicking. There is no effort by the starter to turn. The AAA guy came to the same conclusion. We pushed it in the parking lot until we popped the clutch to start it, and that got me home. I parked at the top of the hill, and tried again, no action by the starter. I did a quick search, but didn't find much, and I don't know if this is the same fix as the "switching from AT to MT" thread. Has anyone come across this before?

I actually posted this after they sent me a survey and I tore them one. I gave them a month (extra time for holidays) to respond, and would have essentially let it go with an apology. But, no response, so I'm posting my experience where I can to let others know. Silverton, I totally would have called you, but my motivation was actually free parking at the Monday night Seahawks game in December. I dropped it off at 3pm Monday, went tailgating and to the game, rode the bus home, and hoped to ride my bike back to pick it up the next day... but they didn't finish until end-of-day Friday. Anyway, as soon as I get a free weekend on the books, I'll see what you're up to and if you want to help. 5523, I love the idea of a wrench day. I'd gladly buy pizza and refreshments in exchange for the help!

I know that most of you don't go to the dealer often (except Derek), as you do a lot of your own work. Well, not me, apparently I enjoy being ripped off. The short story is all you really need: When my truck was stolen and then recovered, there was damage to the driver door lock cylinder that I just got around to repairing. I bought a pair of lock cylinders from Stadium Nissan, but once I had the door apart, I didn't see how to replace the lock cylinder and could see additional damage, so I took it back to the dealer to let them take a crack at it. After SEVERAL DAYS of calling them to get a status update (they didn't call me ONCE), they informed me that the parts "I gave them" were for the wrong model. Funny... When they were "done", they told me that I needed a new master window switch, as mine wasn't working properly and the passenger side doors would go down but not up. When I took the doors apart when I got home, I found that they just didn't plug the harness connector in all the way. They refused to give even a rough estimate of the costs of their work up to that point, when I called in on day 3, starting to worry about the bill. In general, they showed a complete lack of interest in what I was asking for (either for services requested, quotes requested, or the basic courtesy of calling me if the work wouldn't be done that day.) They also demonstrated a surprising lack of knowledge of the vehicle. They refused to adjust my steering stops to stock specs due to my "oversize tires" and liability issues, though the tires are 31x10.5, same as stock. That's the short version. You can imagine all the other crap in between. The sad part is that I can't even trust them for OEM parts. At least it's over. Consider yourself warned.

The springs are used AC 1.5" lift springs from edicer2 as well. When Amazon shipped me 3 shocks and told me I was on my own for the 4th (rear), I had to improvise. He happened to have rear shocks and springs ready to ship, so I took them. Maybe sometime soon then, I'm in no real rush.

If anyone is bored (silverton, looking at you...) on Friday, I'm going to try to install front and rear shocks and rear springs on Friday. I might look at reindexing the torsion bars and adjusting my steering stops too. I also have a vacation day to burn, and could use it any day next week if that's when help is available. Thanks to edicer2 for the parts!

I think I've been by far the biggest NOOB on the two trips I've been on, both a fairly easy day trip from Seattle. Do you mean eastside like Eastern Washington or like east-of-Snoqaulmie? I don't know about capabilities of a stock '97, with what I think are the equivalent of 29" tires, but you might rephrase that as either "where can I go with a stock '97 with 29s" or "what do I need to do to my stock '97 to be able to go to <blank>." Just a thought. Otherwise, someone who knows better than I do should respond...

I got mine when I got my fishing license - I think it was a pretty good deal when getting them together if you're going to get a fishing license anyway.

OK, I sold all of the extra tires, except for one fairly crappy BFG MT. I bought it on CL for $20, when I thought it might have close enough tread depth to a set of 3 that I'd found, but it doesn't. And it has a plug. Here's the listing, with photos: http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/pts/2675582280.html If anyone on NPORA wants it, you can have it free. But you pick up in Seattle, or at the next run I make it to. In my opinion, it's not worth shipping, but I'd be willing to ship it for actual shipping costs and maybe some good karma. In the end, my set of 5 31" BFG MTs (KM) cost me $300!

you guys are animals! no can do this week though.

Hope this works. There aren't too many pictures, as we were on the trail after dark. A handful of pictures are here:

I'm still in if you guys are. But I'm the newbie, it's your call. Dennis, i'll stick with your issaquah meetup unless I hear otherwise.

Thanks for the help Dennis. I'm in for sure, camping overnight Saturday, and will head home Sunday AM. After last time I got some decals from fleurys and I promised photos which are way overdue but I couldn't sent a shot with it parked on the street... I posted your meetup info with the current list below for the next person to copy and add to. Meet at 9:30am at the Safeway in Cle Elum on Saturday. Going: Silverton-Camping (I plan to be out there Thur-Sun) Mr.510-Camping Thurs-Sun MrJim-Camping Fri,Sat enginerd - Camping, leaving Sunday AM Maybe: Kyle94(plus one other?)-camping Skulptr - plus 1, plus jeep and 1 Unfortunatly not going to make it: 5523Pathfinder SilverPath

I can only go if I leave Saturday at the end of the day or camp and then bail early Sunday morning. Is anyone else on that schedule that we can head out together? Or, if I camp, is it a bad idea to head out on my own? Me = 2nd timer, stock truck with 31" MTs. I suppose I only plan on making it on the easy trails anyway, so it's probably OK. Let me know if this sounds like a bad idea and I'll catch everyone next time.

Yes and no. I have a storage unit, but the wife is already unhappy with the growing stack of tires and motorcycle project which block her access to "seasonal clothes". And a happy wife means I get to play with the project truck and bike. That's how Silverton ended up with my extra lego wheels last time. In a way, craiglist has become my storage space.