Slartibartfast

Hi guys, this time it's my dad's rig that's acting up. 2003 SE 4x4, about 82k on the clock. A few weeks ago, after driving it 40 miles or so over a mountain pass, parking it for maybe a half hour, and restarting it, he noticed it was blowing blue smoke everywhere. This combined with the oil consumption (about a quart and a half per 3000 miles) made him think the PCV was bad, so he had it replaced. The issue went away and the truck seemed to run better with more power. The exhaust sounds different (my dad says it sounds 'wet'). The oil consumption did not change. Today, again after crossing the mountain pass, sitting for a bit, and restarting, it blew smoke again. Dad says it feels down on power like it was before. Exhaust sound hasn't changed. No CEL or codes. It doesn't smoke on cold starts or during normal driving, and he restarted it multiple times throughout the day with no smoke cloud. I've heard the PCVs on these are garbage but I can't imagine it would've lunched that quickly. We haven't checked the power valve screws yet, but a recent compression test showed even compression on all cylinders. Mileage is normal. Any ideas on what could be causing this?

Maaaaad. Nice bumper on that second link too.

After struggling to stay above 45 going up a mountain pass the other day, I picked up some seafoam spray. The hose system it comes with is pretty weak and I didn't put a whole lot in there... anyone else use the spray? Where'd you put it in? I shot some into the accordion pipe where a vac line hooked up but I was worried I'd muck up the MAF.

Given that it's UNCC I'm betting he drove over a rock and the bracket hit. Maybe the truck dropped onto the bracket even. Wear and tear just hogs out the hole.

The camera is underneath right-hand side of the truck, looking up and forward. The long blue thing is the torsion bar. The blue thing on the right is the UCA. And the bent-to-hell bracket in the middle is the bit that the strut rod bushings clamp onto. See the metal plate on the bottom of the bracket? Scroll up to my last pic, you can just barely see that plate sticking out around the bottom edges of the bracket.

Is it a constant noise or just when you put it in gear? If it does it once you might just have a U-joint going out.

When you care enough to paint the retaining pin but you don't care enough to take it out first I replaced the struts for my rear window. The old ones wouldn't hold the window even slightly open. The new ones, to my surprise, actually lift the hatch all the way up, entirely on their own, when I hit the button, which was not something I was aware they could do. This makes me glad I relocated the fogs away from the hatch popper! Speaking of which, guess who has a remotely activated spoiler now.

Looking good! I didn't know carpets could be painted.

LOL yeah, my carrier never made a sound until I cleaned/lubed/adjusted it so the panel didn't flex like mad when it shut. Sooner or later it'll annoy me enough to warrant new bushings.

I didn't think the aerodynamics on a WD21 could get much worse but a front-mounted spare might just do the trick. Personally I like having the carrier so I can fit more junk in the back. The rattling gets old but I imagine working around a tire would get old, too.

A while back (year or so IIRC), I ran mine out of gas. I don't think it was totally empty but it was damn close. It seemed to be losing power on the way home, sort of shaking oddly, and then it crapped out in my driveway. It wouldn't restart. When my dad unhooked the gas line to check pressure, it sprayed him in the face, so we assumed the pump was okay. He managed to make it start but it had this weird loping idle and just sounded awful. We gave up and had it towed to a shop. They put some gas in it and it started up... and made it about a block before sputtering out. Then they cleaned out the fuel pump and put it back in. I suspect it had sucked up some crap from the tank (especially since I'd sloshed the fuel around a bit driving over a bump in my yard). Anyway, cleaning the pump fixed the problem, and it's run without hesitation since. I did replace the fuel filter a couple months later, and when I cracked the old one open, it looked just fine. I don't know if you're fighting the same issue, but if the wiring is okay, you might try cleaning the pump before buying a new one. This won't help if you've burned it out but if the issue is tank gunk, it could save you the cost of a new fuel pump.

Not sure if it's the same on r50s, but my WD makes creaky sounds when the steering stops hit. A little grease quieted them down a bit.

+1, mine had a gas smell due to a loose hose right in front of the passenger's side valve cover. PITA to get to but once we cinched down the hose clamp, it quit leaking. I didn't notice much increase in gas mileage but then it wasn't a very fast leak.

The nice thing with making your own is that you could make it swing open the right way. The stock carrier gets in your way if you parallel park to load/unload, because it's hinged on the wrong side.

Only negative effect I can imagine is if that stop was supposed to prevent the TPS from overextending. Since there's kind of a stop under the pedal I doubt this would be an issue. The throttle response is likely more due to cleaning it than anything (I should do that on mine one of these days) but do keep us posted if anything comes up.

A few friends and I were trying to do a Christmas themed zombie movie, so we mixed corn syrup with red and black (a little too much black) food coloring to make 'blood.' We also brought along a jug of pine-scented kerosene so we could make a bonfire. We never got around to using either of them. I think the kerosene leaked out a few weeks later, unleashing a smell that stuck around for months despite shampooing the carpets. ( is all we ever got around to filming... don't expect Oscar bait.) All in all it turned out better than a previous attempt where walked a guy down the street in full zombie makeup... one guy offered us a ride to the hospital and a crazy lady called the cops on us. Good thing the two didn't happen together, I guess, or the cop would've figured we had a dead one in the back.Anyway, back to mystery fluid leaks.

Yeah, that's my plan, I just figured it'd be nice to find one locally.

I think his camo is working against him! Went to the JY for a door handle for mine and a bit for my dad's truck, left with a voltmeter from a 720 and a fairly new trans cooler from a WD21. I was surprised to see that the WD had two big holes smashed through the oil pan... only 180k on the clock, someone must've revved the holy piss out of it. I'm getting used to opening the door from the back

It's a pretty standard-sized hole. For what it's worth a Sony Xplod fit mine without modification (except for wiring), same brackets and all. However the R50 dash (don't know about the pre-facelift ones but certainly the 01+) have a double size radio that would be a bugger to fit.

I finally got tired of the door not shutting right (crappy Taiwanese hinge plate was the wrong thickness, so the door was all sucked in at the top) and tore into it tonight. Two rubber shims later, the door shuts properly. Opening it is another matter, since I snapped off the plastic door handle trying to get the bolt holes lined up. Moral of the story, spend the extra couple bucks on OEM hinge plates.

Depends what the codes mean. The knock sensor code could mean serious engine problems (rare) or it could just have a busted heat shield banging against the exhaust manifolds or a loose wire to the sensor. The evap code could be something as simple as a gas cap not being screwed on all the way. If your friend did the brakes him/herself (and isn't a mechanic), it may just need a proper bleed job. Ask when the timing belt was done last. If I remember right (someone please correct me if I'm not) the change interval for the belts on 94-01 engines is 105k. So unless the belt has been done, factor that cost in as well (perhaps ask your friend to drop the asking price by that much). A timing belt job in mine required about $200 in parts, but was $800 with labor. If the belt dies it'll take the valves with it.

What do you mean about the lock cylinder being loose? I can shift mine up/down a bit but the key doesn't jiggle inside the cylinder, I assume this is normal. And yeah, from what I've heard, these are pretty easy to hotwire. Speaking of which, the push button starter should just connect to the ignition, and not require any kind of special battery hookup, but then people do weird things with wire sometimes.

My understanding is that it's only the one fuse. Does the relay 'click' when it turns on/off? Have someone try it from inside (lowbeams on) while you listen. If it's quiet you can use a screwdriver as a redneck stethoscope. If you don't hear anything, try jumpering the relay wires (the top of the relay should tell you what connections do what) and see if the lights come on then. Also check the ground for the relay, it may be loose or corroded.

I have to say I notice little if any difference between how my truck handled with flogged-out rubber strut rod bushings and how it handles with poly. Other parts may have more impact on handling, but I'd be surprised if there was a noticeable difference in handling between the two.