mws

Slick - does your pathy have TBI or MPFI? My TBI baaaarely passes tailpipe emissions now, so I am hesitant to try cams. But if you have the later port fuel injection, I would bet serious money that you can use quite a bit hotter cams and still pass smog tests with no problem (unless you were a complete idiot and told the smog station you swapped cams...). Remember, the 300ZX used the same basic engine with hotter cams and they still pass just fine. And if you swapped the entire 300ZX system in (engine, computer, and all sensors), you could take it to referee station and even get it legally blessed and smogged as a 300ZX. That's my plan for my pathy when (if?) the stock engine ever wears out. Basically, if the proper amount of fuel is being injected, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the engine, the cam timing is not too wild (a lot of overlap will cause HC emissions to skyrocket), and the cat is functioning, you will have no problem passing the tailpipe sniffer test. Just keep it looking stock and walk on through. My van is going from a pathetically anemic POS 305 to a rip snortin' 383 with much more than double the torque and HP. I haven't had it tested yet, but I am quite confident it will pass. The O2 sensor output shows the engine is burning extremely clean, even at idle. I'm now in the process now of getting the induction system to look stock.

Hmmm... I'm one of those rare types that don't mind vans - I find them perfect for hauling my dirtbikes and trailer. But this one? I just don't know what to say! What was the question? I'm not sure I would I would accept it if it was given to me.

You won't have as many worries as you would with a unibody. There may be a bit more flex than stock, but I can't imagine it being enough to be a problem. The P/U's use the same basic chassis, and the seperate cab and bed provide no reinforcement. So a topless (early) pathy should be no worse than a stock P/U. Definitely use a minimum of a 4 point to protect yourself. And going with more points will only make it stronger than stock!

yup, as they said, going too big starts leading to problems as well. One of the worst is rust problems. The relatively low volume of exhaust gasses our trucks put out just won't fully heat up and dry out a huge volume 3" exhaust system. Cold pipes mean rust breeding grounds! However, you could still use that muffler if you really want it - but use a maximum of 2.5" pipe (2.25" is probably ideal) before the muffler and if going with dual tail pipes, use 1.5 or 1.75" on the outlet side. And lots of adapters.

Thank you!

Since you have the 86 model with a full frame, you won't have too many worries about the truck flexing when you cut the top off. Have fun!

Not that model, but have used several sets of Coopers. Never any problems with them, and they are a great value. The Discoverer H/T is a very quiet street tire. Put a set of Cobra's on my old 240SX. Good grip, much less expensive than other options. Didn't last long, but nothing did... Must have been my wife's driving.

Trust me, I fully recognize just how lucky I was. The last great irony is that for years everybody called ME the anal retentive safety minded freak.... Shows to go you how we're all vulnerable to spasmodic attacks of mental retardation... And I take great delight in laughing about it frequently! It reminds me to be more careful ALL the time!

Yet again, proof that people can and DO get pregnant from anul sex! (These are the kinds of things I tell myself to get over the anger when they happen to me )

That behavior is what causes hemorrhoids. So take solace in the fact they will be facing a lifetime of embarrassing pain!

Wow! There's some real beauties here... Laughing harder than I have in weeks! OK, here's my latest personal attempt at winning the Darwin awards... Last year I was installing a proportioning valve and new brake lines in my Chevy Van (tow vehicle) after having installed a 14 bolt FF axle with disk brake conversion. I should mention it was a typically hot day in NoCal (about 95 to 100 degrees) and I'd been outside working pretty much all day. Yeah, that's it... It's not that I'm stupid, it was the heat! Yeah.... In order to run the new lines, I had disconnected the shift linkage from the steering column earlier in the day. At about 7:00 pm, my wife came out to see if I wanted to take a break for dinner. Sure, thinks I. I'm dehydrated as all heck and mentally as well as physically exhausted from working in the sun and heat all day. I really need a break. But before I do, let me take a quick look to see what I need to do to fab up the last fitting up underneath here so I can plan it out while I rest. It'll only take a second... I should put a chock under the tire, but I'm only going under for a second... So I drop down to the ground and slide under the van right behind the left front tire to look at the brake line right by the transmission. OK, that looks simple. Let's go eat! I reach up to pull myself out. And I start to do so. As is typical in most of the stories, the next few paragraphs actually take about 5.2 seconds to occur... Here's the running commentary in my head: "Huh, what was that click? And my handhold moved. Interesting. Whoah, the van is moving. What the..?? Oh, crikey, I must have grabbed the shift linkage going into the transmission and knocked it out of park. Why did it move so easily? Oh yeah, I disconnected the linkage to the steering column. Hmm... That's something I had never consciously thought about - the positive stop to keep the vehicle in park must be in the steering column, so while working underneath the vehicle with steering column disconnected I should...." The mental processing of my latest valuable learning experience was interrupted by the pressure of the left front tire rolling up on my right thigh. Did I mention my driveway is about a 4% grade? Needless to say, that's a significant part to the story. Fast forward to about 1.6 seconds into the experience: "Let's see, will my leg stop the progress of the rolling van? The front wheel on a van with a 383 engine weighs about, ohhh, 1500 pounds and my driveway is a 4% grade, doing a little trigonometry and force analysis....... Nope. It's going right over. That will hurt. I wonder how many pieces the femurs would be broken into? Probably don't want to find out. Guess I'd better get the legs out of the way..." So I do a 90 degree spin to free the leg. It's quite remarkable how fast you can move - and how strong you are - when the adrenaline kicks in. I literally pulled my leg out from under the rolling tire - if was already under enough pressure that it ripped some skin off and bruised nicely. So now I'm lying flat on my back completely underneath the van with my feet pointing straight down hill and the van still rolling backwards down the hill. Back to the mental self discussion occuring about 2.1 seconds into Marty's wild ride... "OK, not going to crush the leg, how do I stop this? Where's the linkage to put it back into park... reaching.... groping... aaack! Can't find it! Can I just lie flat here and let it roll over me? Where am I? Oh, man. I'm only about 4" in from the tire. I think the center part of the crossmember would clear, but where I'm at, the lower control arm is going to be going over me... and I'm quite sure my skull is thicker than the available clearance. And the sway bar link bolt hangs down even lower. That would hurt for a few milliseconds right up until when my skull exploded. Not good. What else can I do? Guess I gotta keep up or die..." I vividly remember thinking all that. But it had to have happened within about .2 seconds. So I grab on to anything I can and hold on. My left arm is around the tranny. No idea where my right hand is. "What about my legs??? I'm going feet first... Nothing to grab onto to pull myself up on. Oh crud. Gotta paddle! But my shins are about 24" long and there's only about 20" of clearance... If my feet double back too far, it's gonna be ugly. Way ugly. I have GOT to keep up but CANNOT let the shin go vertical." That's hard, by the way. So now the wild ride is into full gear. The van is rolling backwards down the drive way. I'm holding on for dear life. I'm doing a mad scramble of baby steps to keep my feet out in front of me. I am praying at warp speed. The thought process for the next 3 seconds is: "ohshiohshiohshiohshiohshiOHSHIOHSHIOHSHI....." Then woomph. We go off the end of the driveway and into the street. I do not have one of those dipped sidewalk "flat relieved" driveway entrances. The sidewalk remains perfectly flat and the gutter is the rounded convex curve. So the tires drop about 5" as they drop down to street level. After the rear tires drop through it, the ground clearance at the edge of the driveway starts decreasing, reaching the minimum right before the front tire drops in. Which, of course, is where I am. Thinks go a little hazy after that. When I return to the land of the conscious, I hear my wife "areyouOKareyouOKohmygod ARE YOU OK...." Hey, I better let her know I'll be OK before she freaks out. So I try to say so. Open the mouth to speak and calm her. What comes out. "arrahgruuuhuuggle" Perfect. Sounded just like a death rattle. Hard to speak coherantly when you've you've had the wind knocked out of you. Fortunately, my right arm works so I stick it out and give her a thumbs up while I gather my wits. I hurt. Boy, do I hurt. Everywhere. Particularly, my back is on fire. The fact that I'm now lying on 130 degree asphalt gives me incentive to get out sooner rather than later. I do a quick limb check. Unbelievably, they all work so I slowly roll/crawl out. I crawl over to the comparitively cool 110 degree concrete sidewalk and collapse. My wife is doing amazingly well. She calmly asks if she should call 911 yet... I tell her I don't think so. After another 10 minutes of self appraisal, I make it to the bathtub to soak a while. I pass out twice while she scrubs all the dirt and gravel out of my butt and back. Didn't really lose all that much blood, but combined with the pain... Final injury count summary: - 0 broken bones. Unbelievable. - Road rash from bottom of right butt cheek to neck. NONE of it clear through all the epidural layers. Maybe 1/16" to 1/8" deep at the most. Amazing. - Heels bruised and torn - Right thigh ugly from being half run over - Right tricep ugly. Guess it got half run over, too. - Good gash on the top of my head. I think the control arm hit and pushed me over the high spot of the concrete. - So much torso, back, and internal organ bruising that I could hardly breathe or move for about 2 weeks. No sleep for a couple days. THANK GOD my wife was standing there. She chased the van down the hill and managed to jump in right as we went over the edge. She also had the presence of mind to hit the emergency brake. Guess what? I NEVER get under cars without multiple wheel chocks now!

I've done a lot of business with Rock Auto. No major problems to report. Some minor glitches - but their service has been fine. A solid B, and generally an excellent value. Random comments: Best selection I've found. Usually very low prices, but every now and then, a bit high. I usually double check. Most parts I've ordered have been OEM, but they stock very few OE parts. They almost always list the source so I can figure out what I'll be getting. Most of the OEM parts have been perfectly fine. Watch the shipping costs. They charge only what it costs (not like the crooks who've been running amok on E-Bay), but they only have a few of the parts in their personal inventory and have parts dropshipped from other warehouses all over the place. Having parts like brake rotors shipped clear across the country via UPS can end up costing more than buying local. One order can result in 4 (or more) separate shipments. Some arrive in 2 days, some in a week. I will continue using them as one of my first places to check. I also use their database regularly to check cross compatibility of parts from other years and models of vehicles before hitting wrecking yards. Just look up the part I'm looking for on various other years and models to find mulitiple options for junkyard searches. Many engine parts were used on dozens of years and models. Same with some suspension parts, etc.

Uhh.... yeah.... What was the question?

Thanks! Guess I'll get to fab up my own adapter! sly I want to tee it so I keep the idiot light as well.

OK, I'll start the public brainstorming... Right off the top, the no problems for 10 minutes, then escalating, then dead for a while makes me think thermally related. Something is OK when it is cool, but as it heats up, it starts malfunctioning and when hot, shuts down completely. Once it cools off, it works again. My experience is that electronic components are most likely to exhibit this stuff. And since the tachometer is affected, I immediately leap to thinking it is a electronic component in the ignition system. My first suspect: The ignition coil. To test this theory: Let her run 'til she shuts down, then position a fan so it blows on the coil for 15 minutes to accelerate cool down and try to start again. If it starts up much quicker, you're on to it. After coil, I think of ECU... Or some sensor, but can't imagine which would affect the tach...

I noticed I have a nice Autometer electric oil pressure gauge sitting on the shelf. Hmmm.... Why not throw it in the Pathy? Lots of benefits to having a gauge over an idiot light! Where is the sensor located? Do you know if it uses standard NPT threads?

If anything that affects rear axle positioning is bent or moves (frame, suspension arms, shifting bolts, etc). Ever been following a vehicle and notice how some go down the road noticeably crooked? Where the rear wheels seem to be tracking an inch or two (or 5!) offset from the front wheels? The rear wheels are locked parallel to each other, but if the axle is not absolutely perpindicular to the chassis, the rear will track slightly offset. All vehicles do this to SOME extent due to manufacturing tolerances and hitting stuff. Sometimes noticeable, usually not. Well, I guess it is possible for a vehicle to come off the assembly line where the rear axle comes out absolutely perfectly aligned... but not likely! So it is worth it to get the fronts aligned to the rears every now and then - especially if you are getting funny tire wear.

Some places do 3 levels of alignment: 1: adjusting fronts only, aligned with respect to chassis 2: adjusting fronts only, but aligned with respect to rear axle 3: adjusting all 4. And version 2 is commonly called a 4 wheel alignment.

My guess is that is a typo... It is probably a snorkel for the '90 and later TPI engines only.

DUMMMMY is on the verboten list?

Uhhhh... that means it was assembled by the resident drug head, AKA, the Lazy Stupid silly. You don't want it. Tell you what... you seem like a nice guy.... I'll trade you for my normal differential!

Oh, and that's assuming it is using a std DC motor with limit switches. Stepper motors are another story...

I THINK it will work, but at the aforementioned drastically reduced power. But I don't know for sure - depending on the components involved, 12V may not be enough to get the motor to overcome friction and inertia. Once it started, it would probably be fine. And remember, when the engine is running, you should have around 14 volts available. So it's possible it will work with engine on, but not off. My senior research project involved using electric motors designed for 7.2 volts, which we powered with variable power supplies. They would start running somewhere between 3 and 4 volts, depending on the motor and the load. But once running, we could turn them down to about 2.5 and they would keep running (slowly). They would SCREAM at 15 volts. For a little while. The risk of doing any damage is minimal, unless it doesn't start right up. If it doesn't start moving within a few seconds, disconnect the power.

$2.31....$2.36....$2.41.....$2.45 (that's for regular! Premium was $2.65) I'll update in an hour....

For those of us PUS (poor unfortunate slobs) without an outside carrier - Will the stock interior mount hold a 31x10.5? Yeah, I know I will lose a lot of space... But until I can fabricate a serious rear rack...