sewebster

If the axle with the torn boot is OEM, I'd at least keep it around, because I think they are a lot better built than some of the cheap aftermarket ones. They are certainly more expensive anyway...

I guess my thinking was that if it spends "more time" at the neutral position, then if this position is at a weird angle, the wear might increase. You're right that the angle it sits at isn't "out of the expected range." Anyway, not exactly a big deal anyway, if you keep on top of changing the bushings and sleeve then it's easy maintenance.

Ah, yeah, that could be a good point. I think the regulator always steps to 8, regardless of the input voltage (not entirely sure) but maybe the voltage gauge can get screwed up by getting the wrong voltage from the cluster reg (used as power) even when it's reading somewhere else.

I believe there are at least two voltage regulators on the truck. The one in the cluster which is specifically to drop the voltage for the gauges, and the main one to regulate the output of the alternator? The output of the one in the cluster is NOT what the voltage gauge reads, or else it would always read the same thing... 8V or whatever it is supposed to be. The cluster one is the one that usually dies though...

Am I right in thinking that it changes the angle (and therefore likely the wear) on the compression rod bushings as well?

Well, I think you want an FS5R30A. I THINK the only difference is the fill hole position. I just looked in the 98 FSM and it seems that basically everything is the same between the 2wd and 4wd, but it lists a vastly different oil capacity (2.4L vs 5.1L). Weird. Anyway, I think all the V6 VG30 and VG33 engines used the same manual transmission (4 cyl could be/is different). Maybe someone can confirm that it doesn't matter is the truck was 2 or 4 wheel drive... Sorry I'm not very authoritative. I actually have the same question as you

Mine pops out of 4th. For me, I believe it is an internal problem with the dog gear, because it pops out even when there is basically no bump or turn, or anything happening where a mount would matter. If yours only pops out when there is a certain engine or transmission motion then it could be a mount, which should be much easier to fix. Mine only pops out when I'm off the throttle, but I figure the load on the gear is enough to keep it engaged... As for the TSB, there is a problem with the transmissions where they fill hole is too low, so the standard procedure results in insufficient lubrication. You need to "overfill" the transmission. Usually people don't complain about popping out of gear as a result though, they complain about noise in 3rd (as far as I know).

I put waaay more than $2k into a 91...

Well, I need it to at least mostly work for emissions testing. It might make me feel good about the world if I had it function during normal driving too though I'm not sure how much it really lowers NOx. I do know that my NOx is reasonably high (but still passing) even with the EGR.

My egr valve gets stuck open sometimes and that makes my idle suck. Is there some way to lube it or should I just try to get one from the pick a part? I suppose it could be a solenoid problem so I could get one of those too...

Kinda random, but I am having idle problems right now caused by a stuck EGR valve. You could try pushing up on the bottom of yours to make sure it moves.

The shackles hanging off the truck are so cute!

I'm not exactly trying to give driving advice, I'm just saying that since you don't have front ABS, and front is where most of the braking is going on, you still need to be careful not to lock your front brakes and therefore don't necessarily just jam the brakes on full bore and hold. You do want to not be confused by abs pulsing or whatever. But probably it's hard to lock up the front brakes in the first place, which is presumably why there is no front ABS.

With the fan disconnected, the belt does not seem to require much tension to not squeal. With the fan connected I had it almost maxed out and it still squealed. I can rotate the fan easily by hand. When it is hot it is still easy to move by hand but it is stiffer (as expected).

It would be rear only abs, so it probably wouldn't change the way you drive too much. Another way of checking is that if you have ABS, there will be an electrical connection to a speed sensor right where the driveshaft connects to the rear diff.

probably just some flaw in the material...

Rock auto sells the sensor for $140? You should be able to check if it is the sensor... for instance there is a test in the FSM described for checking the injectors... you take the distributor out and rotate it by hand with the key in the on position. The injectors should click in sequence as you rotate it. If they don't then your sensor is bad I guess...

I rebuilt mine myself and spent way too much money Doing a full rebuild is going to be significantly more work than just doing the heads. But you need to check for piston/cylinder damage to know if your block is still good. When I rebuilt mine with 185k miles I replaced all the valves, rockers, rocker shafts, and lifters. I also had the valve seats recut and had the heads faced. You should also check if the valve guides are good, and replace the valve stem seals. Theoretically you should check the springs and the lifter guide plates too... plus cam clearances etc etc Anyway, rock auto is pretty cheap for this stuff, but I can't really imagine paying the prices a shop would want for all those parts. And that's just the top end...

Not bad for $36! So, do you have turn signals?

I think he means after you pull the heads. Probably I would put new valves in if I was going to do that. But anyway, yeah, if you are absolutely sure your timing belt is on properly (because if it isn't then that could be why you have no compression) then likely you damaged something bad inside and need to pull the heads etc (at least). I hope my stud doesn't break! I'm guessing it could be caused by excessive timing belt tension?

Mine isn't locked up and doesn't have play, but maybe it's the problem. I'm headed to the pick a part next weekend anyway, so I guess I'll see if I can get another one and see if that fixes it... otherwise it has to be a belt (or pulley). Thanks for the help guys.

No, partly because that is somewhat inconvenient (would have to remove fan again to put the belt back on) but mostly because it seems extremely unlikely that the fan would affect the PS belt since it isn't connected to it at all. I guess it's remotely possible that the load from the fan on the one belt changes how the bottom pulley stack rotates and causes the other belt to squeal, but sounds pretty far out I guess if someone's life depended on it I would do a more rigorous experiment but... I kinda just want to pony up the dough for a good e-fan, but the flex-a-lite one is like $350. I could get something out of the pick a part. I guess I should do some more reading on here to figure out how compatible some of them are.

There are only two belts. One for the power steering and one for the alternator and water pump. I removed the fan itself and the PS belt. No squeal. Put the PS belt back on. No squeal. Put the fan back on. Squeal. Both belts are reasonably tensioned and neither is pooched. I tried tightening and loosening the alternator/water pump belt (the fan attaches to the water pump pulley) and it didn't help.

Squeal when engine revved above 3500 rpm or so. If I take the fan off it does not happen, so it's either the fan clutch or the extra load on the belt causing it to slip? Belt tension doesn't change anything... belt is new... I guess I either try a different belt or sand my pulleys? Or could the clutch make this sound? As an aside, wow are things ever quieter with the fan out Also figured out a sticking EGR valve is the cause of my sometimes poor idle (hence the vice grips on the vacuum line in the vid).

Probably doesn't even matter all that much... just get all the air out!