mws

Do some searching on tire sizes. In a nutshell, 31x10.5-15 on 15x8 with 4.5 or 4.75 backspacing is about the the biggest "easy" fit on WD's. After that, you will likely be lifting and/or cutting to prevent rubbing.

Recently finished "Jupiter's Travels" by Ted Simon. A unique Brit on an extended multi-continent ramble on a Triumph. Decades ago - before cell phones, credit cards, reliability, etc. 4/5 And a couple brainless popular novels, none of which warrant mention. About to start "The Universe in a Single Atom" by the Dalai Lama. It is an exploration into finding the unity between science and spirituality. If you've never read the Dalai Lama, he is an amazing person. Also read many of these others. Read dozens of Piers Anthony, Koontz, a couple Rand (she tends to get tiring to read, though), etc. Pirsig's Zen and MM has been a very influential book in my life. I've read it several times and each time came away thinking I'd read a different book! The first time I was young and just enjoyed the motorcycle story and the discussions into quality. The second time, I was focused on the discussions into the zen/romantic perception of the world as I realized I was extremely one dimensional and needed some balance. The third time I was focused on his exploration into his period of insanity. Truly a 5/5 book for me. I think it's about time to read it again! Need a new copy, though. The original fell apart.

Yup, and the way they are today is absolutely no indicator of how they'll be tomorrow....

Yup. What he said. If you're moving over about 15 or 20 mph, you don't need a fan. But if you have to stop for more than half a minute or so, shut off the engine to keep it from heating up. Watch the temp gauge! Most electric fans are on a temp switch. They're on only when the radiator needs more air moved through it, which is why they help with fuel economy.

DON'T get me started on this topic! IF you value your sanity: Get out. Get out now. HOA's, CC&R's, etc are symptoms of LIVING HE!! ON EARTH!

Oh, and generally, halfway up the temp gauge is no problem. If it gets to about 3/4 or near the hot marks, then you want to shut down the A/C and after that, slow down to about 40 and turn on the heater.

My first '87 pathy had a factory radiator with a relativel thin core and it barely kept up. It was a 5 speed, with A/C from factory. That is the only WD I've seen that was any different from all the rest. I suspect the Intrepid fan you have has the capacity to move every bit as much as the stock. Just make sure the edges are somewhat sealed (no gaps over 1/8" or so). Again, if the problem is occuring at speeds under 30 mph, the fan matters. Over 30 or so, fan does not matter. I shut mine off entirely over 30 mph. The air being pushed through by "wind pressure" exceeds what any fan could pull. You don't have any obstructions to airflow, do you? Like bull bars or driving lights in front of grill, or mesh screening covering up any openings? Or a super large skid plate under the engine? Or removed the chin spoiler/air dam from under the bumper?

Full time school schedule Work Party lifestyle Girlfriend Laziness Any 1 is easy. Pick any 2 and you'll probably make it with some sleep deprivation. Pick 3 or more and you're in for some serious hard work, or failure.... I paid my own way through so I was usually working at least 20-30 hrs per wk. So I rarely took more than 6-9 hard core engineering units. Toss in a couple gen. ed. classes and that was all I would take. 12-15 was the norm. Sometimes 18. This allowed me to take Friday nights off to party, and a few hours off during the week to mountain bike (usually 2 rides per week). That was it. The rest was work or study. It was seriously hard, but well, well worth it. A few years of sacrifice for a lifetime of jobs you actually ENJOY is such a trivial investment.... Don't get me wrong, losing the high school girlfriend/fiance was very painful (she wanted more time than I could spare), but in the long run, was a good thing. I flew "solo" for several years (hey, it was the 80's so Friday night pick ups were easy) and then met the perfect woman. Ahh, the beer. A few of us got together and made our own. One buddy had the equipment. We were all broke. By eating nothing but Ramen and vegetables for a few days and doing a lot of bartering, we could scrounge together enough raw ingredients to make a batch of beer every couple weeks. Mostly ales, porters, stouts. Those beers aren't as "sensitive" as lagers or pilseners which could go wrong with just a day's neglect, resulting in two weeks with no libations. MUCH cheaper than drinking even Lucky Lager or Schmidt or Carlings... Yes, I tutored physics in exchange for barley!

Hey! Good on you! I have absolutely NO regrets having picked Mechanical Engineering as my major! The decision making skills I learned in engineering have done me very, very well. I have actually never worked as a typical design engineer, ending up up on a fast track into management pretty quickly. You are entering the worst part of the whole engineering curriculum - the weeding year. The first two years are a lot of general ed with some vicious weed-out classes to get the non-committed out. In our program, it was the second year of physics (particularly the Electricity and Magnetism section) that caused the frat boys and partiers to flunk out. Oh, that and the electrical circuits course. Both of those were just too theoretical and imaginary for most gearheads to get a hand on.... And both had about 50% failure rates. Bear down hard and get through it. Give up partying and social life for a couple months and just do it. Trust me, it WILL be worth it. The last two (four for me as I picked up a couple minors and pursued a Masters as well) years were a lot of hard work as well, but I found it to be fun work as it was interesting stuff! Spending all night on topics that interested me just wasn't so bad... I still remember those sleep deprived but incredibly fun years... Have many good friends from those years. We pretty much studied together all the time and got each other thru. And made some mighty fine beer along the way as well! And if you're struggling, don't give up hope! During the first half of the program, I was on academic probation a couple times and repeated a couple classes. The second half and into the Masters was pretty much constant 4.0.

You wouldn't. Although if you insist, you could use a water cooled intercooler under the blower....

Yaay! Great progress! And I love the lifting rig. And the hat. Form follows function! Ever think about getting an engineering degree? You have the right instincts!

Most electric fans do move less air than mechanical. But at freeway speeds, there is no need for any fan as there is lots of air moving already! How old is the current radiator? It's pretty warm out here (109 yesterday) and I have no cooling issues with a new stock sized radiator. If your radiator is more than 3 or 4 years old and hasn't had the coolant changed on a regular basis, it will have a nice insulative layer of corrosion covering the inside. Not exactly what you want! If you start with a new radiator and take care of it, it should be able to keep up. And I'd suggest using a maximum of 50% antifreeze in your area with a shot of Water Wetter as well. Antifreeze increases boil over temp, but it also reduces heat transfer rate. It doesn't carry as much heat as water, and does not transfer it as efficiently.

/\ Quit spying! < Leaving for the dunes today. Be back in 10 days! Woo-hoo \/ Jealous

/\ Seems to leave BBQ too early.... Only 4 pints? < If it is good enough wine, I can like it warm. But I'd probably LOVE it at a proper cellar temp! \/ Also realizes life is too short to drink things at less than optimal temperature

If I were in your shoes, I would be willing to pay for a second opinion.

The expansion valve would be the most likely place where a clog could occur - it is a small orifice. And I'm not convinced about the diagnosis being a clog either. And for the $1400 they were going to charge you, you could afford to get your own vacuum pump and do it yourself - assuming you understand how and are capable of doing it yourself.

That would be a fantastic, and meaningful experiment. Blind experiments are infinitely more valid than biased. Better yet is double blind, but it would take more effort. And to improve validity, repeat the experiment. Repeatedly. One tank with, one tank without, one tank with, one tank without, etc. After 3 or 4 repetitions, you can start making some valid conclusions. I have some statistical software (and knowledge on how to use it) and would be quite willing to run the numbers for you. MS

/\ Should apply for a bunch of jobs she doesn't want so she can practice interviewing and be READY when the right one comes along < Has coffee in hand and getting better by moment \/ Had too much coffee and is in the restroom

It was also a major bonus that this truck already came equipped with 315/75-16 tires! Those will be excellent for towing the trailer across the dunes. Last time we used the F-350 and that sucker sank like, well, like an anchor.

Yup. '99 V10 Gasser. It was bad enough trying to find everything else I wanted to try to hold out for diesel as well. We really wanted Super cab (not crew), real bed (not shorty), 4x4, 4.30 gears with LSD, and well maintained. Finding that is tough enough without holding out for a diesel with a stick. Our trailer is quite modest by modern standards so we didn't need the torque of the diesel. Besides, the gassers don't do too much worse on fuel economy when towing, and cost a whole lot less right now! We can buy a couple thousand gallons of gas for what we saved.

I haven't actually installed this one yet, but I have removed and installed many while working on the various pathies in the family. Very straightforward once you find all the bolts. To be legal and environmentally responsible, you should bring the truck to the shop and have them remove and capture the existing freon. Then you can do the compressor and drier swap. Normally, you will want to evacuate and fill with freon immediately after installing the new parts, but if the humidity is very low it is not so critical.

I hear banjos...

My words of wisdom: 1) Get the system sealed up really well and stick to R-12. I believe the '87 came with barrier hoses, so if you get it sealed it will stay charged for many years. In AZ, you need all the cooling capacity you can get. With a new compressor and a thoroughly cleaned system you can swap to R134a, but you will be stuck with the reduced cooling efficiency. 2) Don't even consider a rebuilt compressor unless you personally know and trust the rebuilder. Like alternators, most "rebuilds" are now done by untrained children in Mexico. Complete waste of money. 3) I just ordered a brand new compressor and receiver/dryer from these guys: http://www.discountacparts.com/ and paid $426.78 delivered.

/\ Sounds fishy < Likes fish, but can leave fish sticks. LOVED the mahi tacos we whipped up Sunday night \/ Missed out on the world's best mahi tacos

Here's our new to us F250 with the sand toys loaded and ready to go! Now to hitch up the travel trailer with the KTM hanging off the back.