Slartibartfast

Just watched the vid... is that a duffel bag tied to the back (starting one minute in)? Hope there was nothing fragile in there LOL

Very nice! Now for the challenge... keeping it that way.

I hate working with gloves on, they just fill up with little sharp things and do more damage than the big sharp things... but yeah, welcome to auto work. The car gods require blood sacrifice. We did my starter twice... first one (Carquest) worked fine but made a horrible noise when it disengaged (there was a big chunk of something behind the gear). Second one (also Carquest) is still in it. James... any chance that trans was running GL-5? Looks like there's a lot of shiny in that oil. I checked my tire pressure and rear diff fluid, cursed at the undercoat for flaking off the frame already, and found a dead skink (little lizard) in the oil change tray.

I looked under the plate the last time I cleaned the rear carpet, and while it was pretty filthy, everything appeared intact. It's a little tough to be sure, though, as it doesn't happen often. The pressure idea's interesting... it's definitely a buzz. I'll take a look at the gas filler/canister/etc, and next time I hear it, I'll see if I can get to the gas cap in time. Thanks for the ideas. I'll let you guys know if I ever manage to nail this down.

Occasionally, when I slam the tire carrier or otherwise bump the rear end (happened once from hammering on the rear frame), something back there buzzes loudly for a few seconds. It does this when the car is off, parked, keys nowhere near it. I found a post on Nico suggesting that the fuel pump relay was bad. I tested mine, and it's fine. It'll close the points for a moment if you thump the top of it against something... but with the key out, I can't make the pump kick on by jumpering the relay plug. This leads me to wonder if it's something on the pump itself, but I don't know why it would be getting any power at all with the key out... maybe the relay that cuts power to the pump relay is sticking? The problem is intermittent, which makes it a bugger to test. It still drives fine, and I assume it's nothing to worry about, but... anyone know what causes this?

I checked mine, they look to be about 5mm inside diameter. So long as what you get is a little smaller than the fitting it goes onto, you should be okay.

Good luck getting the paint to stick. Probably wouldn't look too bad, though.

Cracks in the vac lines or intake pipe could be making it sound that way. Danger might have something with the vac line theory.

Watched the vid... whatever is causing the noise is slowing the engine, then the computer reads a low idle and gooses it to keep from stalling. Where are you spraying the water when it does this? And how deep were you fording when it triggered the CEL? I haven't any real idea of what's causing this, but that info should narrow it down for someone who does. My only thought is that it's something electrical (doesn't explain the noise).

You push the button on the panel, the relay clicks, the window doesn't move, you apply power after the relay and the window moves... bad relay/timer?

Pulled the fluttering EGR valve, lubed it up, replaced a section of dryrotted vac line and taped up a hole in the exhaust pressure tube. I'll see if that quieted it down, or if I need to remove/clean the other valve as well.

Something like this: http://forums.nicoclub.com/factory-tweeter-mod-t443885.html

D'oh, didn't even think of the cap/rotor. Good call, James. The low idle could be any number of things... I'd probably check the connectors for the TPS and MAF to start with, and maybe check the coolant temp sensor plug as well. If it's a little crusty, try the cleaning spray. I didn't know you could get a dielectric spray, but it sounds like it would work. If you want to get grease as well, an auto parts place should have the stuff. I think I got mine at Carquest. I'd stick with 10w-30. That's what I run in mine, and it seems to work fine. It does tick a little in the winter, but then, it actually gets cold here. Sorry about the late reply.

Two E-brakes would probably be the simplest to build, but I imagine it'd be a PITA to use. Specifically, I'd expect the ratchet mechanism to leave you dragging a wheel when something else (steering, shifting, operating something else) distracts you. You could disable the ratchet mechanism, but then they're no good as parking brakes. Add some kind of on/off for the ratchet... but then you're still banging your knuckles against one handle or the other, and you have to release one and grab the other to change sides. Seems a little cumbersome. My stupid idea is to take the stock e-brake, bolt it to a separate plate, and hook that plate to the floor with a pivot. Leave the stock cable alone. Then, you'd hook new cables to the sides of it, route them underneath the car, and hook one into each leg of the factory system. So, you're driving, and say your right rear wheel looses grip. You grab the e-brake, and shove it to the right. It pulls the cable, the wheel slows, ta da. Need to do something else? Let go, it'll pop back to the center. (If it doesn't, add a spring or two.) And, since the stock cables and ratchet mechanism are still there, you can still use it like a regular brake. Here's a crude line drawing. (New cable is in blue.) The arrangement on the left makes more sense (no stupid pulleys), though it may prove more difficult given the width of the console. (It says 'spliced to stock,' but the pen was dying.) This seems more user-friendly to me. Of course, you'd have to butcher your console a bit, but it's not like you wouldn't have to with two handles.

For the tweeters, can't you just hook them to the door speakers through a 'bass blocker' capacitor? I've been meaning to bypass my amps... the little beepy noises the head unit makes are deafening as-is.

That was a fun build to read though. Wasn't somebody on another forum trying to shoehorn a VQ into a WD21?

Actually, you can put hubs on it. My understanding is that, though the R50s have drive flanges, they'll accept a manual locking hub. Remove the flange, install the hub, cut a little hole in the hubcap if you're picky, call it good. Just make sure they're locked when you put it in 'auto.' Also, the auto hubs don't unlock until you drive them backwards a few feet. It's a bit of a pain at times, but makes it easier to pop in and out of 4x when the roads only have ice in patches.

Turns out, though we had him do quite a few things to it, the T-belt didn't make the list because the PO said he'd done it already. Guess what? It's flogged out, and the tensioner is shot (good call, Tungsten). At least we caught it now, before it developed a taste for valves.

My first thought is that you overheated it (it blew the coolant out through the hole, overheated, and warped something important). Since it's still running, though, it sounds more like it got coolant into a sensor plug. I'd open the plugs, clean them out, put some dielectric grease on the pins if you have it, stick 'em back together, and see if that helps. I suspect that the water/coolant is conducting a bit, giving the computer faulty data; so long as it's not out of the expected range, it won't throw a code. You might also check your coolant temp sensor, seems like a lot of stalling issues are down to that. Then again, I'm not an expert either.

IIRC somebody on here got their truck with dual exhaust, went back to single, and gained a little horsepower back. The problem is scavenging; each burst of exhaust helps a little to suck the last of the burst before it out of the cylinder. When you split the exhaust, the effect is diminished.

Sounds like the old one was off by a tooth.

2H is usually good enough. If you get stuck in 2H, go 4H until you're clear. 4H should be fine on a beach. Basically, if there's enough traction for 2H, there's probably too much for 4H.

Nice work! Looks way cleaner than my hard drive magnet hackjob.

My speedo didn't work when I got the truck. IIRC, the speed sensor on the trans was somehow busted.