Mr. Pickles

If Fresno is the armpit of California, then the Tri Cities are the armpit of Washington. :secret:

I dunno, but you could test this by removing the fuse for the stereo next time you park it and see if changes anything. You also should check and clean your battery connections and terminals just to rule that out.

There are lots of front drive V8 Caddy's, even the newer Eldorado's and Sevilles/STS's were front drive Northstar V8's until this year, when they switched back to rear drive. There were 70's ones too, and I believe you could get something like a 501 cubic inch V8. I read a while back in Hot Rod mag about a guy that shoe-horned one of those into a Fiero.

Yes, use a relay here. I hooked mine back-up lights and tapped into the stock back-up light for the switched source for the relay. Quick, easy, no switches to screw with.

You could use some of that instant epoxy stuff. Can't remember the name, but it comes in 2 attached tubes that are like syringes. You just squeeze out what you need, mix and apply. That stuff is STRONG. Shouldn't ever come back apart. With that and the bumper, did you hit something? If not, maybe somebody backed into it or something in a parking lot to break the light and tweak the bumper?

What I was also getting at is the lack of power to turn 35's, as well as the wear. It just doesn't seem worth it to me.

I don't think a stabilizer is going to "fix" anything that is wrong, but rather is going to help with issues of bump steer and such. If the steering is sloppy and loose, its going to be an issue of warn components.

At the local Les Schwabs, I have experienced incapable techs, inferior and downright dangerous service which very nearly caused me to wreck, and the regional manager out-right and directly lying to me over it all, for which their corporate office had no concern and basically told me "tough." From the beginning with them, all I asked was that they stand behind their work and products like they claim to, but they refused. So, since they cost me in time, safety, and money, my vow was to spread the word and hopefully cost them more. Sorry to get off the subject... Anyways, the computer system they have allows you generally to experiment with many different brands, sizes and styles of wheels, as well as with different sizes of lift and lowering. Its pretty slick.

Post-whore away! Not like it could get anything off topic! +1

1000 posts and still rolling. Hopefully some of my mindless babbling has helped someone at some point. I sure have picked up a lot of help and ideas from all of you all. Keep it going everybody!

Huh? Did you do a SAS? As for the tires, do yourself a favor and stay at 33's max.

Not sure of the threads, but the local dealer wanted $17. I went to a local boneyard and got the pin, all associated bolts for both ends, and the stabilizer for $15 off of a similar year Hardbody truck. It only takes a couple min's to remove and to install. :secret:

Les Schwab lets you customize on their machines too. I just wouldn't buy anything there unless you want it to break or fall apart. It would be worth a stop if there's one nearby, though.

Search is your friend. This was covered a while back.

But you don't have to go completely crazy to have fun.

I built a tweaked version of Mookie's home-made, non-welded design, and its strong. I believe he said he carried around a 33 or 35" tire up there for quite some time.

If its an exhaust heat sheild and only does it in drive, you could try a little risky approach and have a friend inside with it in drive and the e brake on, and holding the brakes, etc. so you can poke you head under and listen for where it comes from. And/or climb under with the truck off and try tapping and banging on the exhaust from the engine back to try and locate the offending shield. There should probably be several along the length of the exhaust. Just bend it or remove it to kill the rattle.

Yeah, the generic sheets of gasket material are a real savior. Cheap and they can solve all kinds of problems of hard-to-find gaskets.

If it just spins freely and is stripped, you may be able to get it with some vise grips, using a turning and pulling down motion. If not, maybe chisel the head off and drill the rest out.

I like the idea of staying with the cloth convertible section cut into the roof and leaving the side windows. Just looks more clean to me. Plus you'd have the best of both worlds, especially in the winter, and it would be a lot quieter on the road.

Get it welded. The $20 for a quick and solid fix is worth the time drilling, cussing, and ending up with a leak anyways.

How about some seats from a wrecked Corvette or Mustang? -thnkboutit-

Stock size (diameter) tires and gearing of course help here, along with any extra power you can squeeze. But for anyone familiar with the NW, I did the last climb up Snoqualmie at about 55 with no issues. Sure wasn't going to pass anyone, but all was good.

Um, I do believe a knife would be a good enough key for a thief trying to get in. But if you have an alarm, go for some additional LED's up on your dash, etc. I did it quick and easy, and its a great deterrent.

Brave. Very brave.