sewebster

I don't fully understand your confusion... the number 1 piston is only at the top once per rotation of the crankshaft, and that point is when the arrow points at the leftmost timing mark on the lower pulley. using a piston stop would find this same point if the pulley is installed correctly. I think you are getting confused because each camshaft only does a half revolution per revolution of the crankshaft.

"Sorry, we can't fix your unsafe strut towers because your vehicle has unsafe strut towers."

more capacity, more thermal expansion. I think having it correct when hot is more important, but you don't want it _too_ low when cold.

As mentioned above, this isn't going to do what you want. I don't know what 1996 is asking...

Oops

I'm thinking that's essentially what he ended up doing already to get it running.

I thought you had to remove the crank bolt, but worth a check! Good luck.

I think the best solution now is to rotate the engine by hand to get to #1TDCcompression. Probably you know where this is by now or can find it with the dowel in the spark plug hole combined with distributor position. Then reassemble your lower pulley so the marks are in the right place. It can only fit together so many ways, so you only have to worry about lining it up roughly. Alternatively you could make your own marks on the pulley in the new correct position, but that is probably annoying and can lead to confusion in the future. You could try to make only one mark at TDC and then use an advance timing light to make it easier I guess. Not sure how accurately you can find TDC exactly with the dowel.

Tension/compression rod bushings worn? (the rod that connects the lower arm to the frame at the back)

Heh, that one is about to snap too!

It will probably start if you are a tooth off. Not sure about two. "Bad things" can happen if you try to start it for any length of time in the wrong position (like 180 deg out or something).

I think the pulley can be put on wrong unfortunately. You can pull your upper timing cover and passenger rocker cover to figure things out for sure....

The TX10 transfer case can use ATF or gear oil. It's in the FSM, I think it might only say that you can use gear oil in one place though, look around. Some people, me included, just run the same gear oil in the (manual) transmission and transfer case because it's both easier and if you get a leak between the two it won't matter as much.

You can get a new rod at the dealer for like $60... pretty easy?

Could be a transmission bearing. The forces on the bearing will likely vary whether you are on or off the gas. I think mine has an issue like this (I know my transmission is in bad shape) but I wouldn't say it is a whistling exactly...

The marks on the lower pulley are notched on mine. I believe it is possible to install the pulley on the balancer such that the marks are in the wrong position though. (but I think it's either correct or way off).

I dunno, 13 mpg in town with some 4wd might be normal. Also, I'm not sure if you'll get the best mpg by keeping it below 3000 rpm, the engine could be lugging a lot trying to move around that much weight at low rpm.

Isn't this sort of thing easy to bypass (if installed aftermarket)? Look under dash, find box, pull out wires and attach them together? Or is it somehow better than that?

The brush thing is supposed to be in there. I thought exactly the same as you when I first found mine! I doubt it makes all that much difference though.

Your metallic sound from the valve cover sounds like something wrong with a lifter or rocker arm. If it's the passenger side it's easy to pop the cover off. You can probably even run it with the cover off. I had a loose rocker arm shaft once (forgot to tighten it properly). Sounded pretty terrible after a while

I'm not an automatic transmission expert, but presumably overdrive enables another gear that has a gear ratio less than one, i.e. the drive shaft spins faster than the engine. Presumably you want to leave this switch in the on position most of the time, unless you are in a situation where you don't want to use your highest gear (maybe going up and down hills or something). There is a pinned topic called "shifting on the fly" in the garage section that discusses your stopping to shift into 4wd question

I have not experienced, it, but the LSD is always "engaged." The two side gears in the differential which drive the two rear wheels are coupled together by a group of friction discs. Normally the discs all turn together, and both rear wheels turn at the same speed. If there is two much resistance difference between the rear wheels, the friction discs can slip relative to one another, allowing the rear wheels to turn at different rates. This is good for making turns on pavement for instance. Usually it shouldn't really make noise, unless you have the wrong fluid, in which case the friction discs might not be able to slip and then you can get some binding, as if you had a locked differential. It shouldn't really matter if you are going forward or backward that I can tell. Worn rear link bushings?

I don't badmouth the R50, but I was pretty happy to have a frame when I was recently patching up my floor in my wd21... because I knew that I basically didn't have to worry about my repairs being structural. Of course, the frame can (and does for some) rust, and the body does actually have to be somewhat structural (roll over protection, doors working right etc.). For me I see the advantages being in terms of longevity and ease of maintenance... having everything separated makes it easier for me to understand how it works (what parts are supporting what, how to fix etc.). But you pay the price in weight (fuel economy). Apparently having a real frame is better for heavy towing too, but I don't tow anything. If I wasn't fixing everything myself I doubt I'd care...

No smoke, from the exhaust, or no exhaust? You can just put your hand over the exhaust pipe and see if anything is coming out. Don't burn yourself...

Some of my rocker shaft contact patches looked like that too. You can also get 5w40 heavy duty oils.