unccpathfinder

I donno a whole lot about autos but I know my buddy just did a converter in his F250 and he was having the same thing...going from 2nd to 3rd it would RPM up and not shift...They diagnosed it as a bad TC and changed it and its been working fine ever since...not saying that is your problem but when I 1st read your post I was thinking torque converter...Try reading the FSM and go through the diagnosing steps...i'd def try to get a 100% diagnosis prior to pulling it all apart...

rear main seal, front main seal

i do nothing to keep the engine from turning over..the impacts are quick and don't apply constant pressure to make the engine turn over the alignment marks on the timing cover look about normal to me and that is why I never rely on them and always just count teeth....if you know #1 is at TDC and the tooth count is right then you're golden

only way I know of would have been to run a compression check on each cylinder and know the head gasket was good...other than that the only way I know is to pull them out and give them a visual and take the measurements listed in the FSM I've used an impact on my crank or a breaker bar and hit it over and over (like a manual impact) to get it loose...in fact this is the only way I have ever removed my crank bolts...

to check to see if its the master cylinder look at the base of the MC right at the brake booster and if there is fluid coming out right there (location of the weep hole) then yes the MC is bad. check the rear pads for wear but Idont think low fluid would make them squeak as for the initial leak mentioned try and follow the trail of fluid to the original location...it may be beneficial to clean it all off and look for fresh oil. Some of the common leaks are the valve cover gaskets. If not then it could be the pan itself, oil pres sending unit, RMS or the FMS

so no bent valves or anything? You my friend just won the lottery... I would highly suggest running another compression test to make sure there are no dead cylinders if you didnt have to replace any valves

I vent by popping open the gas cap..it'll leak a little fuel but not much at all...unless you let the line drop and then it will siphon gas out of the tank...i usually stick a bolt in the line and clamp it down if they're going to be disconnected for any amount of time...

1. never heard of that and popping the vent will let it leak back and get the pressure out of the lines 2 have no idea what plastic tabs exist on these trucks to release the hoses... please elaborate...

i just use a pair of channel locks and give them a couple of twists...if they dont break free then i start making a little slit and cut it until i can break the lines free...if there isnt enough line to do this go pick up some fuel line and just replace them... you can also try to work a small flat tip up the hose and around to break it loose...hope that helps its getting warm out make sure you open the gas cap to release the pressure...

what's the deal with not wanting a BL? its better than a SL IMO b/c it keeps the CG lower than the 3" from a SL b/c you only lift the body and keep the high mass items closer to the ground You can get 6" of suspension lift but it requires a trail master kit and cranking the Tbars IIRC

When I have about $5K laying around which is going to be a LONG time...it only took me 9 years to get a BL and SL on it...probably another year or so before I upgrade to 33's damn all this paying for college and a new car

why go 33s when you can run 35's? Just SAS it...I know just the man that can hook you up with parts...

yea that's good advice...although there are dimples in the timing belt cover which may not line up perfectly but you can count the teeth and it will be right...The crank can be marked to the block as well b/c it's probably not but like I said when i broke my TB there were no marks for the crank so we found TDC on #1 with the heads off and used the "dimples" on the TB cover and counted teeth. if the truck is an auto you may not need to put it in N but if its a MT it will try to roll fwd or backwards as you turn the engine over Get the FSM for a 94 or 95 and read up on it...it'll take you step by step.

oh yea...but its no big deal...you just need to loosen up the rockers and they'll spin freely so when it goes time to assemble everything back together it makes it cake to line back up and yes wehn the heads are off put the truck in N and the engine will spin super easy b/c you don't have to overcome the compression and thats how I found TDC on my engine since the crank was not marked wehn i broke my TB The timing belt and counting teeth will keep everything in time...the lobes on the cam are what opens and closes the valves so once you get the head gaskets changed put the heads back on and do the timing belt then tighten the rockers and this will open/close the right valves...just make sure to torque and loosen everything in the order listed in the FSM to be sure not to warp anything...the tightening procedure for the head bolts is pretty important to seat the head gasket and get the bolts to the strain condition

no need to cut it...just put the (i think its a 16mm) socket on the pulley and slowly turn the PS pump over until it lines up...it may turn the crank a little bit but it shouldnt hurt anything...it hasnt hurt any of my trucks

you can google up ratio's and how they change with tire size...but pretty much it changes the "gear ratio" and it can be adjusted with new rear gears (i think 4.9's for 33s) but that's pretty expensive so most people just deal with it, esp if it's not a DD.

Yea easy enough...buy the kit and install it...I bought my 3" kit from Steeevo (www.doitontherocks.com) and have a write up i believe in the garage section...tehre is also a pinned topic in one section discussing the BL installation

oh one note when you go to pull the heads...after you pull the head bolts...each head has a 10mm screw on the outside of the casting holding it to the block...if the head won't come off that is what is holding it on...I seem to always forget about it

the seal is pretty good for these...mine has been sitting in the CA sun for 2 years and is still very nice. Sun will do a number on it but I don't think it will be that fast and the sun where I live is BRUTAL. I used to spend a whole day in the sun at the beaches in NC and maybe get a little burned...here after about 30-60 mins without sunblock i'm roasted

nah but look to see that the pistons aren't burned up. Valve seals are just one of those things that it's better to go ahead and do it while you're there esp if the heads are off

valve seals you need a magnet and a spring compressor (valve spring compressor) compress the springs and pull the retainers out then pull the spring out and pull the valve out...if the heads are on the truck still fill the cylinder with air from compressed air so the valves don't fall into the cylinder...they're really easy to change with the heads out and the spring compressor

shouldnt be too bad...i'm going to put one on my 87 here very soon...pull the headliner out and mark your cross supports (I marked them on the inside glass then transposed them to the outside glass...the way the OEM roof rack installs is with rivnuts so you drill the outsides and pull the rivnuts in place but i'm thinking about using either a dome nutplate or a screw/bolt setup but with the screw/bolt you have to drill a hole in that cross support to access the nut to tighten the screw...you want to place the mounts of the rack on these supports to give a decent load path...I'm actually planning to incorporate some additional supports

that sucks...I have been in area's that were known to area's where you may get shot at just for being there. I opted to stay away from those area's and I know people who had their vehicles struck with bird shot. an over reaction maybe but a lot of my family, not direct family live in the mountains of NC who are doing things that folks shouldnt be snooping around so being on or around their property is enough cause for them to shoot... I don't agree with it and this really sucks but always know where you're going wheeling and try to be familiar with the area...I've enen had run in's where I was cruising on Ft bragg down fire breaks in the middle of BFE and come across signs NO POV's beyond this point...that was a slap it in R and get the hell out of there

may as well do valve seals, cam seals and remove any broken exhaust studs if you have any.

ususally dont rings start billowing smoke slowly...a blown head gasket to me sounds more reasonable but I could be wrong...eveyr car i've seen with bad rings was slow to start smoking and then started clouds but head gaskets were just clouds in an instant...