Kingman

Put a new headlight switch in the '88 and re-timed it. Was gonna grab a switch from the junkyard but apparently someone felt the need to take every single one out of every single compatible vehicle...

Definitely the rear trailing arm bushings. Worn out ones will make the rear end walk all over the place.

Hard on it... 200k... broke the belt... Honestly, I'd be searching for a good low mile engine at that point.

Detailed and tuned up the '04, runs a bit smoother... factory plugs at 115k miles. Took about a half hour to change them out, very easy to do.

No

That's a hell of a deal for a clean truck. The 3 speeds are pretty much bullet proof... I would find a good set of heads to put on it myself. There are some changes to the heads from AB to W series. Your best bet is to find a set of heads from an '84-'3/87 300zx. '4/87+ are W series and some claim to have had issues by running them on an older block. However I haven't.

Put new upper trailing arms on the '04 and changed the oil while I was on lunch at work.

You can't do it with jackstands. The front tires need to be on the ground at the proper ride height. Something to put under the front tires so they can turn easily as you adjust the tie rods is a must. And yes there is caster and camber adjustments made with shims behind the UCAs. Caster is critical and camber will just wear a tire but you mess with one you mess with the other.

So yes the IACV on these motors can short out the ECU. Hopefully that's not your issue.

Yeah if there's a tear in the boot that'll definitely open it up and the motor will suck in a ton of unmetered air.

That much torque on the motor may be opening up a crack in the intake tube or pulling on the MAF wires enough to cause an open. The ground is a known issue there are a few threads on it.

Did you double wrench? Twice the length and leverage.

I'd start by making sure there are no vacuum leaks

Yeah, that's a guy in a canoe behind my truck...

Crank keyway at about 11 o'clock? Backfiring through the intake sounds like it's set 180 out. Not sure how you got the timing set to 15* because the engine needs to be idling and running smooth for that...

Mine is stuck as well. The motors take 3.5-4qts. If it's a 3.0L, fill it up with 4qts and call it good for now.

Pull the pan back off and really install without the dip stuck. Or you can break it off and fish it out of the pan with a magnet. No other way around it.

It's best to do it hot after driving a while, idling in park. Doesn't sound like you have that luxury though so cold or warm. There's marks on the dip stick for each. Fluid should be pink, not brown or smell burned.

Sounds transmission related. Did you top it off?

I thanked it for having a solid bumper... I'd call that a win. Thankfully no one was hurt of course.

I installed the Rugged Ridge hubs on my Platinum. All highway it seems to be getting better fuel mileage and generally feels nicer and lighter to drive. However after 2 hours at 70+ the 4WD light did come on the dash. Auto mode transfer case in 2HI. When we got stopped I crawled underneath and felt the case, it didn't feel abnormally hot.

There's adapters out there for them

Please disregard the previous post. It's been covered that he improperly installed Steve's parts. There are pictures to prove this. Take it with a grain of salt... actually don't even give it that. Many members on here have purchased his products and properly installed them with zero issue.

Try a new cap as well. If it's not maintaining the proper pressure in the system the boiling point will be much lower. Good coolant and a cap go hand in hand.