mws

Left hand cam is on driver's side in US, correct? I recall left and right is defined by the left and right of a person sitting in front seat and facing forward.

Yup! That's one of the things we said. Some of the other things were a little more colorful. Fortunately, we're experienced enough to know these things happen, and to just fall back, regroup, and attack again.

I can't believe we did this.... Reconditioned the heads, put them back on. Forgot to torque the cam pulleys..... 320 fasteners, all but 2 carefully torqued. Forget 2. NOT a trivial boo boo. The engine fired right up, purred like a kitten. Nephew took for test drive. Grunch. The pulley bolt backed off, pulley slipped forward. Sheared the pulley locator boss off the cam, ripped out the locating pin, and hogged out the pulley. Now to find out if it bent valves. See parts wanted - we need a cam and pulley. I have the spare truck, but I was hoping to fire it up before gutting it. Plus it is not trivial to pull the head to get the cam out of it. We have plenty of work ahead already.

Still ain't smelled a whiff of tar...

http://npora.ipbhost.com//index.php?showto...0447&hl=roofing

That is the hose. My program is to change: The belt every 60K, The water pump and tensioner every other time (120K or so) The bypass hose at least every 10 years. T The cam seals only when weeping or every 20 years.... Haven't considered the crank seal yet.

Yup, modern engines are far more intolerant of shaving than old, inefficient heads. The key concept behing this is "squish band". This is one of the most key contributors to the high outputs and efficiencies of modern engines. Worth reading up if you are interested in internal combustion engines!

OK, OK, not every single word is real, but whole lot more than you might think. Just used in disconnected and irrelevant combinations! Real words: magneto, reluctance, delta, type, side, fumbling, reciprocating, flux, muster, dingle, arm, etc etc etc...

Every word I heard was a real word.... And I feel like such a geek for being able to define almost all of them... :X

The only time the hockey puck would come into play is if the spring was "loose" while the axle was at full droop - just there to keep the spring from falling out.

An inverted top hat! That was my original plan to assure there was absolutely no way the coil could come out. It evolved into an easier to machine idea of a ring on the spring perch, and then a hockey puck extension on top of the existing center post. Of course, that requires drilling and tapping the top of said post. Easy for me, but maybe not for average normal joe. Then again, it may be absolutely unnecessary with some (most? all?) spring and shock combos.... Just me being super thorough.

I use a brass brush, Electrical Motor and Contact Cleaner, and then coat everything with dielectric grease when done to prevent future corrosion.

What he said. Inner shoulder wear is usually indicator of toe out or improper camber.

Duhhhh.... I never thought about that! Even after staring at them for hours while racing! I bet we have a couple laying around somewhere....

Hmm... - The coil spacers are a good one. - A long arm rear suspension kit could be intriguing - A TC lever extension service for guys not able to find HB lever. - Modify Quest alternators and brackets so they are a bolt in. - Brackets/frame to make Taurus fan a bolt in - Wiring harness for same (maybe we ought to partner on these) - Robust brackets to relocate bumpers for body lifts - Adapter brackets to make custom bumpers from some other ultra common vehicle with heavy aftermarket support a bolt on - Convenient kit/instructions to install roof racks - Kit/instructions to install factory rear tire rack on vehicles not OE equiped. - Sway bar disconnects (with remote actuation as option) - Front mount high clearance receiver - The UHMWPE front skid plates, dammit! - Adapters to make more comfortable seats a bolt in project - Center console armrest - Adjustable panhard rod - Custom tool to make '90+ PITA spark plug removal simple - Custom airbox/snorkel (sealed) for 86.5-89 TBI'd WD's - Kit/instructions to bolt in swap the MPFI system into TBI'd WD's - Adapter plate & kit to make some other TC with crawler gears a bolt in That's all for now... And yes, I have ideas on many of these that I would be willing to share or even assist with!

At this point, I don't think we know enough to predict if it will live or not. If it was something relatively minor, like a stripped out cooling pipe blowing out and dumping fluid, then there is a darned good chance the internals are OK. I'd place the odds of that being the root cause at less than 50/50, but you never know.

Little grey ('87): 220K and counting. Yes, really. No idea on the other two, previous owners did not keep detailed enough records.

If you figured out a way to make new overlays for this puppy: http://www.autobarn.net/xxx79100series.html I for one would be willing to buy one...

My experiences with him were very good. I think he is a normal guy just like us, and is a stand up honest type and will not willingly leave you stranded. If anything, I am worried about him. I am hoping all is OK in his world.

Those two statements point right at linkage misalignment issue. Check it out before doing anything radical. BTW, I have the heads off our '87 right now, and I am flat blown away. It has over 220K miles on it, and the engine shows NO significant wear! No ridges in cylinder, heck, can even see the original crosshatch pattern in cylinder walls. And I know the history of this truck from day one - it had NOT been rebuilt. So an un-abused Pathy with 250K is nothing! Based on my experiences, it has as much life left in it as, say, an XJ with 20K miles. Maybe more. Stay away from Jeeps at this point in your life. It will suck your bank account dry and leave you stranded. I see them as the Harleys of the 4x4 world. A fanatical cult following (aka, pathetic sheep following the herd) preaches their virtues, but in reality, they seem to be more like gilded pigs ears, with dated technology, questionable reliability, and not really all that capable for a given amount of money invested. Invest a ton and replace just about everything, and they can do incredible things. But, then again, so could a Geo Metro... From what I've seen, a $2K WD pathy can do anything a $6K jeep can do.

Honestly? Well, you did ask. It does nothing for me, and I could not see any use for it in my household. Guess that makes it official - yet again, I am not the target market!

I'm guessing the dipstick shows very little fluid? If you get it home, you could dump a couple/few quarts of ATF in and start it up. If the problem still exists (I suspect it will), it should start spewing ATF out the new (and undesirable) exit hole. THIS WILL BE MESSY! And ATF stains fabric. And even a single quart dumped on the ground makes an unbelievable mess. Having a a huge bag of clay kitty litter on hand is highly recommended. Quickly try to see where it is coming from (without drowning, please) and then take photos. We may be able to figure it out that way.....

I agree with above. I think you lost so much fluid the torque converter (aka, hydraulic coupler) does not have enough fluid in it to do its job. And unfortunately, we can't answer the why that happened. Maybe you'll get lucky and it just blew a seal, or the tube going to the trans cooler blew out. Or maybe something bad. It will require physically looking to find out why fluid went bye-bye.

Do magnets fall off? Did they cost less than $200 apiece? If you answered yes to both, they are aluminum with 99.9% certainty.

Cat: Dynomax Super Converter. 15033 if going 2.5" http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.as...9+115&x=36&y=12 15032 if going 2.25" http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.a...15&autoview=sku Muffler: Dynomax Super Turbo 17733 if going 2.5" http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.a...15&autoview=sku 17731 if going 2.25" http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.a...15&autoview=sku Take pieces to a GOOD shop, NOT some national chain crap operation, but a mom and pop that does quality work and have enough smarts and experience to build custom. Should be under $200 for pipe and labor. That better?