zonianbrat

No kidding. That is one sweet looking bumper.

I would assume same reason people install lifts. Alot of people do not know much of anything about suspensions but still lift their trucks. I have only used a winch once but I still plan on getting one eventually. Good insurance for the trails. Gotta learn sometime. While I know it is not smart I have gone wheelin quite a few times by-myself and having a winch would just make me feel a little safer.

I think you have to make the decision of how long you want to keep the truck. If you like the truck and plan on keeping it for years and years then you might as well just swap the motor and keep your current motor and fix it when you have time and that way you could have the truck forever. But if you have any doubts about keeping the truck for a long time. Then I would just fix your head gasket and drive her until she goes.

KYB-GR2 I think is the correct name of them I know they are KYB but not sure about the GR2. That is what people have told me to get.

I have been told that you are supposed to have the airbag "serviced" by the dealer after 10 yrs. No way I will take my truck in just for that. Yours isnt quite 10 yrs old yet but close. You might just ask somebody what has to be done to have it serviced. Insurance probably will not pay for it but it never hurts to ask.

Public Restroom on the trail? In the middle of the rocky's? Not likely I have a collapsable shovel I got at a army surplus store. If the situation arises like when we go camping, I dig a hole.

If it is not either one of the things talked about above I would say water pump. I had one make a grinding noise on my old pontiac but it lasted a day then it went out.

Sounds like a good plan to me SS. One thing I wold recommend is that you get compression tests done on all your cylinders too. It would be a shame to port and polish the heads only to have that little bit of extra power lost due to a scored cylinder wall or bad rings. I say this because I had a buddy with a really built older style camaro. He bought new bad-ass heads for it had them installed by A guy in florida who builds race engines and race cars (he pretty much built his camaro up for him too. It wasnt a week later he discovered he had less power than before. It was an automatic with a sweet shift kit on it and it used to be able to break the tires going into 3rd no problem. He couldnt do it at all anymore. So he had to pay the same guy to tear it apart and upon compression testing 2 cylinders failed. I cannot remember exactly why but it had something to do with the rings. Just my .02 SS. Saddest part of all is he got it all fixed and the SOB would run but I think it was like 4 months later either the wing nut or the long bolt itself that holds on the air cleaner rattled off and fell into the motor which in turn destroyed it. He put another engine in, I believe it was a 400 cui long block or something but it was never the same. Sorry for the long post I started to ramble. Let us know how it works out!!

Geez, that's outrageous. Welcome to the R50 way of life I suppose. Little aftermarket support that is quite spendy.

I agree with MZ. Sounds like you need to start with the basics of a tune up since your not getting any codes. Welcome to the board!! There are alot of knowledgable people here and alot of just good folks. Keep us updated on what goes on. Got any pics of your rig?

I voted XM. I dont have it in my truck but when we are on skid trailers (Isaac should know what I am talking about soon) we have XM in them. Seems to work great and it always has the underground stuff I like.

I doubt your misfire issue is with NGK plugs. Although stranger things have happened. Sounds to me like an electric problem. Could your timing be off at all? Wouldnt take much to notice an occasional misfire.

I think it depends on the vehicle. The bad thing I hear about Synthetic is that if your seals are old and worn that the thinner Synthetic could possibly make them start leaking simply becuase it is thinner. I was running that half synthetic castrol stuff for a while and I had no leaks but I also read a thread somewhere that now a days synthetic oils are not even true grade synthetic anymore. I dont really see it being worth the money. I like to change my oil frequently anyway so I dont really see a point to synthetic. My father uses a full synthetic in his car. He tells me he only changes it every 7500-10000 miles depending on the driving and how long it sits. Different strokes for different folks I guess. He believes since he started using Synthetic when he bought it that it is ok to only change that often. I started using that mobil clean 5000 mile oil. I still usually change it at 3000-3500 but I also know if I miss it then I dont feel so bad going a little over. Might not be a bad idea to get underneath your truck and look around and see if you have any small leaks that just run down on the engine, tranny belhousing etc. Some oil leaks can just be real small ones that never make it to the ground.

PB Blaster

Make sure your air filter is still good also. Might want to clean the MAF sensor. as that can cause bad mileage. O2's are a cause too. Winter fuel plus e20 is a huge factor. I lost about 2-3mpg from that crappy winter gas. But the biggest thing most people overlook with bad mileage I think is actually tire pressure. I read about it on another forum where I guy was getting around 11 mpg on a 2001 X. He replaced his o2's and it helped him get like 12-13 mpg but then he said he checked his tire pressure and all 4 of his tires were about 5-6lbs low. He said he aired them up and on the first full tank after he got 15. He isnt going to get much better because he is running 32' tires and has big KC lights on top causing drag.

How old are the wires and distributor?

www.courtesyparts.com for a good online store to buy parts. I have used them a few times and they have some good prices. If you call the people have been real imformative and nice too. They got my vote

Jumper cables and a tow strap in the under carpet cubby, In the back side cubby I carry duct tape, electrical tape gloves, one of each screwdriver, plyers, flashlight with extra batteries a roll of twine and ofcourse the most important item, I fresh roll of toilet paper. it is tight and when I open it that crap spills out but oh well.

Coldest it got in the last two weeks out here in BFE Wyoming where the wind always blows hard was -35 F with wind chill. (I hear). Next morning I had to run to the store. Constance started right up after sitting for a week and a half in those cold temps. I use 5W30 Mobil clean 5000 oil. I was a bit worried as i know the battery is atleast going on 4 yrs old and it looked older when I bought the truck.

I see a new bumper in Isaac's future!

What kinda of noise was it making. That is pretty important. Did you change the oil? If so was it low? did you notice any metal shavings? Please keep us updated

I signed on 2 months ago then with my job I really did not have time to play anymore. Last night I logged back on got some rig stuff and ran the chicken and passed it. I think I will play a bit now. I did not get any will bottles for X-mas though. Is it because I had not logged on in so long? Oh well. I will build up my stats and try to join you guys. I am confused about getting a shop can someone give me advice? Ok after some help from some folks I got a shop but I dont really understand attacking people yet. I read through these posts and want to attack but not sure how or what to do. Maybe I just need some sleep I have been playing this stupid game for hours. It's like CRACK!!

Sure relays can go bad. I am not sure if there is one that controls the dome light, horn and cruise control. but just find a decent manual and look it up. I did check and in my 97 the black harness is for the OBD II scanner. The bracket on the harness attaches it under the steering colunm just to the left of it. I did not look for a white on maybe I will later or tomorrow since it is snowing.

The black one looks like my plug that the OBD scanner goes onto. Not sure about the white one. but then again I am an electro-tard so I dont know much.

A $1000 bucks apiece?