Mr. Pickles

No other takers/guessers?

Yeah, I could imagine that, but that's why I went with black. Fading or issues? Sand and paint!

I've got smoe PIAA 40's, very bright and you can find them from time to time pretty cheap on eBay (I paid like $50 for a pair). Also got 4 100 watt Pro Comp "blind everybody in the freaking area" lights. These things are pretty stout, and are very bright, plus they're only like $25 each new (bought all 4 on eBay for $60 higher priced PIAA's are cool, but they seem to me to be a nice target for theft.

Definately worth $500, probably a couple times that around here (Tacoma/Seattle area). Check if it has an aftermarket tranny cooler, or just the stock one. Not necessarily a deal killer, but something you'd want to invest in.

Yeah, that's plan B if I can't figure it out. But I'd prefer to have it working somewhat properly and just come on when in reverse. My driveway gets pretty dark in winter, especially with tinted windows. I used a switch on my old Nissan truck, but I wouldn't want to risk forgetting they're on and drive down the road (I'm 2 blocks from the cop shop). We'll see...

Got a head scratcher on my 94 with manual tranny. I replaced the old fog lights I had in back that were relayed off the back-up lights after they got smashed on a trail a few weeks ago. Everything still worked, and since the new lights are fog/driving combo lights (2 bulbs per light), I ran new 12 gauge wire from the battery back. I didn't really touch anything at the back-up light's wiring, but now there is no juice coming back, even to the stock bulbs in the tail lights. I'm reading 0.03 volts or so. I ran a jumper from the hot wire to test the new lights and confirm that all is fine there, and pulled all the fuses, most of them twice, to check them. Fine. Traced the wiring to the reverse light switch (I think...) using the %$@#* Haynes manual, but there's a problem there. None of the wiring is the right color, and their notes say it goes up to 93, then 94 on is complicated, take it to a service dept. for any tranny issues. Anyways, if I'm in the right spot, I'm getting the same 0.03 volts there too. So, any thoughts? Does anybody know/remember which fuse covers the reverse lights? Tail, I'd imagine, but I don't know. Any other suggestions?

Same here all the way out in WA. All the spots we used to hit in high school years (mid-90's) are either completely gone and developed, or gated. One of them was actually undesirable land right along the north end of Lake Tapps (popular local lake) right off the highway on a steep bank under high voltage power lines. We used to wheel, ride dirt bikes and have bonfires there, and now they're selling vacant standard size lots there on the water starting at $975K each, only you're basically required to blow $1.5-2mil on your house as well. So much for that. We used to have tons of options within 5 miles, but now the nearest "safe" place is 25 miles away.

I've ordered well over $75 a few times from AC, and no sticker nor much help for that matter. Crappy customer service, so I'd probably just burn the sticker anyways, as it surely wouldn't go on my truck. My advice would be to shop and buy elsewhere unless that's the only place you can find what you need (such as with the body lift). And definately black for the Crawlers.

LOL, spider gears= those things that have been sitting on my bench for several months. Locker is a beatiful thing, whether Lincoln, LockRight (mine), or other. And much fun in the rain or snow if nobody is around. sly BTW, why did you let your alignment go for so long as to toast the tires? Beside rotating and slightly toasting them all, were you holding out for SAS or just too stubborn to buy beefier parts?

Good man!

Yeah, like a 5sp.

I've got Gabriel HiJacker air shocks in back, installed by the previous owner long ago. Pump them up and they actually provided an inch or so of lift when I was at stock height. Mainly they support and control a much heavier load than what the stock suspension could handle. I've lifted some heavy loads, with the biggest test being roughtly 800 lbs of people, a 16' boat, and several hundred lbs of camping gear for a several hundred mile trip. There was only maybe an inch or 2 sag in the rear vs. stock. Mine give a good ride too, although I usually drive around with them low in pressure. If you plan on leaving them pumped up for long periods, you may have to check and add air every month or so, at least with mine and many people I've talked to that also have them on various vehicles. But all in all, I've had them for 4 years so far and they provide a quite a bit of flexibility and extra hauling ability when you need them, and they're pretty cheap really- not much more than a decent set of off road shocks.

Definately crawl under if you're serious, preferably with something to poke with (sharp) and something to scrape with, even a flathead screwdriver if you have to. Poke every suspect area plus some. Some rust now generally means much more down the road- its not like its just going to magically stop rusting one night. So even things that are marginally ok now will get worse, and things that are issues now will be PROBLEMS down the road. That considered, you're probably not looking for a show truck, and these things generally will go a long ways even with reasonable crusty stuff. I'd also 2nd the suggestion of getting a mechanical inspection, just in case.

I see it going 2 directions: 1) TOTM, only don't necessarily follow the exact month order of the winners. Obviously put snowy winter pics in winter, but who's gonna know the difference for the rest, especially if its a truck from Cali, or even WA for that matter. International winners would just further skew that, especially anybody from OZ, New Zealand, etc. etc. 2) A plain-jane popularity contest of voting trucks, but I personally think that undermines the whole idea of a TOTM contest in the first place. Let TOTM, or at least those that qualify for a monthly TOTM voting, be a qualifying tool. From there, let editorial skill put the available trucks in the most time-efficient and reasonable order to get them to press. On a side note, people are so busy at the end of the year with holidays and stuff, maybe there could be a dual vote in Nov or so for the next 2 months TOTM winners. Let Dec. be decided early so that all efforts could turn to getting a calendar produced, printed, and out to eager recipients by early Jan. or so. In that case, I'd personally go for selecting a team to spearhead it, get some general spec's decided on NOW, then let them go for it using their judgement without having to have every detail voted on. Even in a democracy, you have delegates!

True that, I forgot about that part. My key for the old 720 wore down so bad that I went to get in one day and it just broke off in the door. I was so thankful for tweezers and a plastic credit card spare I had, along with an old-skool locksmith who could make a replacement using the plastic spare since it was the only key left for the truck. :o Long live the trades!

What he said. Susp & body lift, roof rack with lights, stock 31" tires but 12.5" wide instead of 10.5= 15-16hwy, more like 13 around town. All told, about 250 miles on a tank, but I don't let it run down toward empty even though the reserve on E has carried me probably 30 miles or so no sweat in a pinch. But hey, the Pathy is becoming more and more of a purpose-built truck, and I adjust my life accordingly to enjoy it. We've got a little Acura for the long hauls, and I just transferred offices from a 40+ mile daily trip to about 8 or so total. Works for me! If it puts a smile on yer face, so be it. I want engine mods too. And the funny part is, you STILL get better mileage than the asshats rolling around in H2's and Expeditions.

I wanna say the stock one is only like 65amps, very low whatever it is. I'm sure I'm pushing it to the limit and beyond with my stereo and lots of lights. The swap to a Quest minivan alternator yields more like 130 or so if I remember right. Are you going to some sort of aftermarket one instead?

I'd read some stuff a while back in kind of the opposite trend. This was of 300ZX guys swapping in Pathfinder (and Hardbody?) intakes because of slightly better low end torque vs. the higher end on the cars. On a side note, has anybody out there ever actually used the Jim Wolf chip swap? I've heard of it from articles and stuff, but never from a regular guy with real world results. And finally, are you talking a much more modern swap that an earlier Maxi? Near as I can see, the 222hp engine didn't come until 2000. Before that, we're looking at 190hp for a few years, and by the mid 90's and before only 160 in most models with 190 going to the SE's. I'd bet the earlier models would be a much more direct swap, but obviously at much less benefit.

Yeah man, get on it! J/K More of a stock tire diameter vs. over sized issue. I've got 31x12.5 (stock diameter, just wider, an intentional choice to keep mileage). So the same low stock gear ratio hits the ground due to same diameter tires, and there's decent grunt. Throw some taller tires at it and you effectively change the gear ratio and lose your crawling abilities somewhat. Now if only somebody could put out some affordable gear swaps for a Pathy, we'd all be rolling around on 33's regardless...

Yep, I helped a neighborhood guy out years ago at the lake when he jumped in and lost his keys that were in his pocket. We had similar year Mitsubishi's, no problemo. Same with my old 83 Cutlass, a few other GM keys could start it. Just a combination of similar stuff being used across a manufacturer's line along with old tired parts.

Like everybody else has pretty much said. Many of us deal with enough pricks on a daily basis, so I don't want to run into a bunch in my free time while talking trucks and wheeling. Keep the rubber side down and the attitudes up. Simple as that.

Did anybody else see sparking as a red flag? Insulating your connections is straight forward enough for anybody, even if you're just using electrical tape. I've been working on car stereos in my rigs and my friends for over 10 years, and not once, no matter how crappy the wiring and no matter what was touching what, would the wiring to a speaker spark and continue to play. I'm assuming you mean the actual speaker wiring, not the power or ground to/from an amp, etc. I've seen some seriously messy situations. Maybe it would trip the circuits in an amp or deck, maybe blow a fuse, but that's it. And I've dealt with some BS high class P.O.S. engineering. But actively sparking speaker leads and it keeps going and playing? I'm thinking there is something else going on there.

There is no think. Only do. Do or do not. If you're thinking of a wrap, maybe a header wrap would do. Of course I must ask, being in Washington as well and all, why not just roll the beast out of the garage for a sec. ????? Is it gonna melt?

I break stuff. People help me fix it. People break stuff. I help them fix it. Simple concept. Good people. Grand site.

Bye the way, I'm a previous owner of a 255k mile '85 720, currently have a 152K WD21, grandma just sold her roughly 200K Maxima, father-in-law has an '03 Pathy with roughly 60K, etc. Honda is usually great at cars (the Ms. had an 83 Accord when we met with 250K miles) and we currently have a 97 Acura CL 2.2 with 102K miles that is awesome. But I had a 91 Prelude SI that was an absolute bomb, to the tune of being on its 3rd engine with tons of massive work by 140K miles, and bills so thick they required their own file. So far, I'm counting that one as a fluke, but its definately in the back of my mind as extremely expensive tarnish on the Honda mystique.