mws

That is a good one! I use cigars the same way. When it starts getting grrrrrr.... I sit back, light up a stick, and just relax and enjoy it for about 5 minutes. 9 time out of 10, a solution pops into my head and I go back to work with a plan.

Another person who wants to do it right, avoid disasters, and cares enough to tighten to proper torque figures. The engineer sheds yet another tear of happiness...

Interesting data point... Was your experience with the new Cooper STT we're referring to, or a different model? And what kinds of flats? Bead failures? Sidewall puntures? Tread punctures? What was causing the punctures? I ask because I've run many sets on several vehicles (240SX, van, F-350, pathy) over the last 15 years and have not had any issues with them. If the STT's are not as tough/reliable as I am hoping, I want to know now, not 40 miles north east of Gerlach, Nevada. (A mapquest or Google Earth search will reveal why I care!)

Clarification: 3.5 hours to figure it out (first timer), 0.5 hours to actually do it. We've all been there. Learning takes time, but it stays with you forever.

Starting with the cheap solutions... - Any chance the transfer case slipped into neutral? - Any chance a u-joint broke?

Based on these words, you absolutely want to repair this. With a little effort, you can do it for a whole lot less than $100. Get a replacement link from junkyard (or from an NPORA member!) and order replacement rubbers from dealer. Should be under $30. And as others will be quick to point out, you would be fine without it 99.99%+ of the time. The only time you "really" need a sway bar is during quick direction changes. Like when making rapid evasive manuevers to avoid an accident. If you rarely drive on-road or are somehow magical and able to avoid the need to evade bad drivers, then you don't need them.

That was my '97 Triumph Daytona. I loved her, but finally had to let her go. She was still cosmetically and functionally perfect, but my pace was getting to the point I was starting to push the physical limits rather than my personal limits. On my last track day with her, I had 3 very tense moments when I lost the front end -once in the corner right over my shoulder in this shot. In realizing that I would feel awful to deface this magnificent machine, I sold it to a guy that absolutetly adored her and promised to keep her pristine and unblemished! The plan is to get some Japanese cookie cutter sport bike and use it for track days. Dropping and scraping one of those wouldn't bother me. I did keep my '95 Triumph Speed Triple for street riding!

Oh, on the wiring, check out the schematics in the Chilton's manuals to figure out what to do with them. A couple of the automatic harnesses will not be needed, and others may need to be modified/bypassed to work.

Sounds about right for a relatively new DIY'er. It NEVER goes as smoothly as you wish, NEVER takes as little time as you estimate, and ALWAYS requires more donations to the blood gods than you would like. But the cost savings and satisfaction will linger on forever.... When he first started working with me on DIY projects, my nephew used to get annoyed when I resisted making estimates on how long a project would take. And then get frustrated when he insisted and I would estimate 1 to 6 days... give or take 3 days.... I think he understands now! And the voice of experience says: 1) Rushing a project guarantees it will take longer. 2) When you become tired, frustrated, and de-motivated, STOP NOW. This is fate's one and only way of notifying you that you are about to do something really stupid, painful, destructive, and expensive. Others have any other additions?

Are they the original gaskets? If so, replacing may help. But most important of all, torque to proper values! A little bolt tutorial: The helical turns in the threads will result in a natural tendency for them to want to loosen. To prevent this, you can either bond them in place (Loctite type products) or increase the friction forces to hold them in place. Having the threads dry helps. And most importantly, having the bolt under longitudinal tension is key. This applies more force to the sides of the threads and more friction. Properly tensioned, the bolt acts like a spring to keep the force constant and adequate to prevent backing off. How to get the proper tension to stretch the bolt just a litte to apply adequate force? Torque to the values prescribed by the design engineer. Remove the screws, clean (bolts and hole) with brake or electrical cleaner. Let dry. Re-install and torque to proper value. I'll bet it never happens again!

I'll have to do that... Stay tuned!

Umm, move the plate?

Personally, I would love to see a head to head performance comparison... I already know the cost comparison

They may also pull more current than the wires like... You should pull the access panel and feel the wiring when they're on. If the wire gets too warm to hold, you have a problem. I have been known to tuck el cheapo fog lights on the backs and sides of trailers. I also have a set attached to the receiver of the tow van. All run off a new circuit of 14 AWG wire and a relay, of course. Makes backing up on dark nights much more easy.... Net results are something like this.... http://www.whitenight.com/

Hey, someone remembers Frankenvan! Sadly, she had to be placed on the back burner. I took several months off to take care of some family issues, and once I had that wrapped up, it was time to sell my '87 pathy (little grey) to my nephew and build another pathy for me (little red, the '88). February was supposed to be the official Frankenvan project resurrection month, but then little grey needed attention. And little black (another '87 5 speed) joined the flock. So Frankenvan continues to patiently wait. I hope to spend next weekend on her while waiting for parts for little grey. She is fully painted with all windows in and sealed up. Engine, trans, and suspension are all mostly done. Still have to install lines for the airbags and plumb the brakes. Then to attack the electrical, interior, and HVAC. I estimate another 200-400 hours and she'll be ready to stomp.

Wouldn't that be sweet! The Taurus fan is the popular default as they are powerful, reliable, plentiful, cheap and relatively easy to adapt to many vehicles. And if it dies, replacements are plentiful and cheap. I'm trying to squeeze two of them into my tow van.

You speak with the wisdom of a learned man....

I believe stock uses all metric - maybe M8x1.25? The aftermarket kits use a mix. Since some of the front mounts use a bolt and loose nut, an SAE will work as well as metric. But for those bolts that thread into welded nuts, the correct metric must be used. As for length, I don't know.... I will when I complete my body lowering project, but no idea when that will happen. Ball joint spacers are widely criticized. No personal experience. I would recommend either: - keep to a moderate SL (1-2") with stock UCA's, or - get the RC UCA's for larger lifts (over 2").

Ahh, the red badge of honor...

Yup. You will need to add a couple washers (the last being a lock washer) to the fan mount studs and re-install the nuts to hold the pulley to the water pump. The only (moderately) difficult parts are: - figuring out how to mount the fan - wiring it up Mounting: Everybody figures out their own creative technique. Just make sure it is very secure and quite close but not rubbing directly on the fins. I went nuts and welded up a nice frame with tabs mounting to the ford mounts so it is really easy to mount and remove. Wiring: Lots of options here with the 2 speed fan.... Just keep in mind that HI speed draws about 40 amps, so the average relay or fan control module will not handle it for long - you WILL need a high current model or you will be replacing relays regularly. For hi I like the Flex-A-Lite 33054 for a variable speed, or a Bosch 75A relay (0 332 002 156) for simple on-off. Again, I went nuts and got a little creative and used a Flex-a-lite 31165 automatic variable speed controlling the low speed fan, and then a manual switch and 75A bosch relay to override the low speed and activate high speed. Took some creativity to figure out the wiring, but this works out sweet. In normal traffic, the low speed only comes on intermittently, and at very low speed so the noise and current draw are almost unnoticeable. I have yet to need hurricane speed, but it is nice to know it is there! Keep in mind that hurricane mode is sucking well over 1/2 your alternator output, so running lights at the same time is unwise. Here's a pretty informative write up on a similar project: http://www.geocities.com/smithmonte/Auto/MarkVIII_Fan.htm And here's the ultra-redneck crude way: http://s-seriesforum.com/how-to-efan.html

Rotational mass is evil... Keep your eyes open and try to pick up some alloy wheels. Even with the VG30, I can feel a significant difference in acceleration (and braking) performance between my 31x10.5" M/T on 15" steel wheels versus the 30.5" (P255/70-16) A/T's on 16" aluminum wheels.

3.8L Continentals and Sables used the same fan. Key things to look for: Three wires, at least two of which will be bigger than what these fans had. Usually a "D" shaped connector with 3 terminals. I'm pretty sure the shroud is a full rectangle in shape - without the clipped corner.

It is likely on there pretty tight, and may have a touch of corrosion. Use the normal techniques - get some PB Blaster in there and let it soak a day or two. Then heat up the gear with a propane torch to expand it. Then pry while someone else taps on the face with a steel hammer to break corrosion up.

Your questions and arrows confuse me... Picture 1) The five holes are where they removed metal to balance the balancer. The inner ring of six threaded holes in the web are to mount the pulley. The slot in the center hole is for the woodruff key to slide into. Picture 2) The upper arrow is pointing at the woodruff key that indexes the harmonic balancer and keeps it from rotating on the crank. The lower arrow is pointing at a hole where on of the belt cover bolts should be. No springs involved in this area... Any of that help to answer the question?