M in KC

I've got the same symptoms on my '91. After she warms up she's quite. It will be interesting to see what other have done. For now I just live with it. Phil sez Spring will be here soon.

I just did front and rear diffs yesterday. I ended up going with Redline Oils Syn 75W90 LSD for the rear and 75W90 NS for the front. Never had a whine before or after. And we didn't make it much higher than single digits yesterday. In my garage it was a balmy 40ish. Biggest PITA was Redline's botles didn't have the the the little nozzle thingie to just squeeze the oil into the diffs. Not such a big deal on the rear but the front would have been a real mutha had I not bought a bottle of Pennzoil gear oil for just the bottle. A measily $4 was worth the potential added aggrivation level. Other than that a 1/2" air impact and a two foot cheater on my 1/2" ratchet (I need a breaker bar in the worst way)were the ticket.

I put Westin's on my '91 when my OEM stuff got too hard on the eyes. They do have a different mounting setup than the stockers but I've had no trouble with them. I only wish the rear end of the rear step was flat like the stockers, instead of the round tube on the Westin's at that point. I like to use my rails to wash and dry the top of truck and with the round tube there it can be a little slippery. At the time I couldn't beat the price. I think they were around $200. .02

If you have any miles at all on those stock adjustable shocks your arse will be amazed at how well a new set of shockers on all four corner will feel. Absolutely night and day difference. I have/had the adjustable shocks, ditched them for some standard Monroes. There are plenty of shock options out there to suit your driving/wheeling habits.

If you're blowing hot air after the engine as warmed to operating temp I woud think you're good to go. One hot arse summer day a couple of years back we were on our way home, 70 mph, max AC, outside temp at or near 100 F and my temp gauge rose to the high mark what ever temp that is. Cooler her off at the rest station and didn't run her quite as hard the rest of the trip. That time I had a lot of cack on my rad. so I had poor heat trasfer. Replaced the rad. and the temp gauge was back to normal for my 'finder, which is roughly 1/8-1/4" off the stone cold mark. But if you're going to do the t-belt job change the t-stat while you're there. And if you're in a climate that is cold this time of year your temp gauge will never read very high. You could do a quick and dirty test to check your gauge by blocking off your rad with a piece of cardboard and see what happens. In theory the temp should rise and your gauge needle should rise as well. Stay warm it was all of -1 F in the great State of Missery this morning.

Now that's what I'm talking about. Thanks folks!

Who's got approximate fluid capacities for the front and read diffs and t-case on a '91? While I'm here it looks like the flavors of choice are GL-5 for the front and rear and Dextron ATF for the T-case. I have the factory LSD. Thanks in advance M

88, this is on a '91 it doesn't have the third brake light but I'm sure it's in the same relative area. I never thought the fluid would freeze since it doesn't freeze on the front but something to consider. It looks like on the inside of the hatch that a grommet is securing the hose in place and on the outside a grommet maybe securing the nozzle in place. If this is correct then the supply hose is more than likely just a push fit or barbed fitting on the nozzle. I guess I'll find out. I just thought that there might be a spring clip holding the nozzle in place inside the rear hatch but after further examination there doesn't seem to be adequate access for this.

Has anybody ever removed their rear window washer fluid nozzle (I guess is what you call it). Mine is plugged up and with the 6" of snow last weekend and substantial snow melt this week the rear glass has needed attention often. My rear window pump runs and a drop or two of fuild will come out when the switch is depressed but that is about it. I don't really wan to poke a needle or similar instrument into the holes for what ever is plugging them will like plug them again. M

I'm in.

Strongly consider waterpump, t-stat, t-belt tensioner, by-pass hose (the short-run one by the t-stat housing which is a PITA to replace when it decides to let go), camshaft seals, the balance of your v-belts and upper and lower rad hoses. I know the cash register keeps ringing but I have yet to have one of these parts fail while my pathgrider has been sitting in my driveway. You can price parts yourself to figure what they have in it for labor. Or most shops post their labor rates and use service books that have quoted standard times. From their its a matter of your preception of their value for their service. Prices will vary by area as well. $500 to some may seem like a good deal where other will feel like they are getting fleeced. To me it seems a bit high. .02

Any auto parts store ought to have your rear lift arms $20-$30 an arm as I recall. During the day they work fine at night when it is colder the seals on the pistons shrink (like other things exposed to cooler ambient temperatures) and can't seal thus allowing the gate to not raise by itself.

Winter-blended fuels can produce the sypmtoms that everyone is experiencing. Petro-blenders blend differently at different times of the year to limit green house gas emissions. I see the same performance increases and decreases on my '91 4WD MT V6 but mine seem to track with time of the year. Just a thought.

If your '95 is like my '91 you will have to install the zerks yourself by taking out the plugs/bolts. Usual locations upper and lower ball joints, steering linkage, tail shaft, U joint, etc. The others have you covered on all your current whoas. Good luck.

Ohh and I forgot ditch those cheeseball muffler clamps for the slip joints and get the Wagner "stepped" band clamps. Available at Summit I don't remember the P/N though.

Mr. P I hope your Hi-Temp Paint is better than mine was. Mine lasted all of one heat cycle. I used VHT's product with disastrious results. Other than that the Pacesetters will be fine just watch the EGR tube fitting.

I didn't have air until a couple of years ago. Holy cow what a difference. What the heck had I'd been waiting for. I'd start squireling away funds to start down that road. The compressor is the biggest big ticket item. Catch them on sale near the upcoming holiday. Air tools seem relaitively cheap in comparison.

Sooner or later I'll get this pic posting thing sorted. But anyway here is the business end of the compression rods. My 'finder had about 165K on it when this one snapped by simply rolling out of my driveway. It will be tough to determine the condition of your rods without removal to examine the area under the bushings. The design inheriently traps water grit and whatever else and slowly decays. Good luck on your trouble shooting.

I'd bet compression rods. Any two bit mechanic wouldn't take the time to examine those especially at the frame connection. Do yourself a favor and check there. If nothing else you can rule the rods out. However, yours might already be broken and that popping sound is the compression rod "popping" in and out of place. I'll throw pic of my trashed ones up tonight for inspiration. If you have 100K miles or so I'd check there. Mr. Pickles put up a warning to us all some time back. The guy is dead nuts on. Check your rods. Recently converted compression rod inspction preacher. M

While you're there you might as well replace them all.

I've ran both NGK and Bosch never had an issue with either. I'm sampling the Bosch P2's at the moment. In the past I've just ran Bosch's standard platinium plug. I'll see if there are any appreciable advantages to the P2's. Throttle response has diffenately improved but that could simply be the difference between old and new plugs.

Ticker tell your siding contractor you want full salvage on your alum. siding. Scrape metal prices are stupid right now.

I must be more of a mechanical dumbarse than I think. Never used the two factory plug removal tools until last night. Always extensions and a wobble joint. Tried the two factory tools out last night and they found themselves planted safely in my trash can a short time later. Junk POS. Try this one on. Last time I changed plugs, wire, cap and rotor. Lifetime Warranty on all except the plugs. This time I ended up pulling three wires out at the connectors and I had to use a freakin' slide hammer to get one of the wire connectors off the spark plug just so that I could get my socket on it. Geez. Oh well I get to start over with all new components. Al Coholic sez: always consume some amount of alcohol prior to attempting any repairs on your vehicle. That way you always have some inanimate object to blame for your inabilities. -alcohol-

White Litho grease can be bought at any auto parts store. It will be in an aersol type can probably 12-14 oz. Most have a straw like the WD-40 product or you can just use the spray head for a wider pattern. It also works will on sliding glass door tracks. Not real offesnive as far as odor goes either.

Yeah we'll roll hard again but probaly not till the end of next week. Stealer only parts, holiday weekend you know the drill. I'll log a couple of miles on the Seqoia in the mean time. It's just not quite as nimble as the 'finder and I haven't put headers and a can on it yet either. Rember B's and G's pimpin' ain't easy. M