k9sar

Over the past several years, my dome light has been flakey. It used to flicker on when my rear hatch would think it was open but I fixed that problem. Now, the issue has been that it does not come on at all. I have replaced the bulb in the past and that seems to fix the ability to turn it on manually but the bulbs never seem to last long. Even with a good bulb, the dome light sometimes turns on when I unlock it remotely and sometimes not. When I open the door (passenger or drivers), it may or may not come on so. It seems that there might be a coombination of issues. Why does it work sometimes? Why does it eat bulbs? Anyone else have a similar situation or know where to look? note: The under-dash lights seem to work fine when the doors open or truck is unlocked so I do not suspect the door switches themselves. I also think my tailgate overhead light is going wonky as well. 3-position switch: always on - works, on when door open - no worky, always off - seems to work.

Just started today. AS I pulled away from a stop sign, making slow accelleration, my speedometer was rapidly jumping between 0 and 40mph or so when I was doing much less. I thought I read about this before but damned if I can find it in the new format. Anyone?

grinding is never good. If its an auto tranny, I'd say your planetary is shot. Continued driving may damage the housings and force a complete replacement. I would suggest that you get it to a good tranny place and expect to need a rebuild. You could drop the tranny pan yourself and you would probably see metal chunks on the magnet (another bad sign) but I think the pan is obstructed and not easy to remove (anyone want to chime in on how easy/hard this is?) Good luck.

or catches on fire

sounds like the high band has failed or is slipping. You might need a clutch pack. Follow the diagnostics but expect that a rebuild may be in order.

mine an auto but don't the manual trannys have an inhibitor switch to keep you from starting it while the clutch is not depressed? Perhaps this is a source of the problem.

I think the older ones carried a ground wire to the starter solenoid as well. You can check this by doing a continuity test from the plug to body ground. Test each wire and you should find one that does not read as 'open'. Double check the other to see if it has 12V on it when the ignition is turned to start. You want to hook your jumper wire to the spade that corresponds to the ignition wire in the conenctor. You will then need to put a lead on the other spade and clip that one to the frame if, in fact, it is a ground wire. Then proceed to hit the first clip lead with hot from the battery. Don't those old D21's have an ignition starter switch? Perhaps that is shot.

are we talking a manual or auto tranny (auto I think). You can read the AT control unit with a series of key and button things.

yea, when the starter is out, it's simple to test. Ground the case, jumper to the bug lug and clip-lead to the solenoid. It should jump to life shohold it down with your foot or something. Check the replacement before installing it or have the parts place show you that it works.

Carri welds?

face those to the rear and you would get better mpg

bypassing? From where to where?

jump testing the starter is pretty easy. If you have the starter installed: DISCONNECT YOUR COIL WIRE (you do NOT want it to start unexpectedly) Hook a jumper cable to your + terminal and drag the other end under the truck (don't let it ground). Reach up and pull the trigger/ignition wire off the starter solenoid Put a clip lead on the terminal post on the starter solenoid (make sure it is isolated from ground) Test by touching the clip lead to the jumper cable. This will bypass the entire ignition system. If this tests ok, remove the clip lead and plug the connector back into the starter solenoid and try using the ignition key. If this works, you know nothing. If it doesn't, the problem is in the ignition circuit and could be a relay, inhibitor, connection, etc.

Half the fun of having an air horn is it not being visible. You should try really hard to find a hidden location.

I thought they were side by side

as long as the end of the hose is near the bottom of the bottle and there is a vent hole, it should be fine (as long as it fits)

I always grab a handful of clips like that when I hit the junkyard

that sure looks like it's off one tooth but counting is the best. Don't trust the marks

not me but it sounds like a short

now there's an idea

Check that you have 12V on the big wire at the starter Check that you get 12V on the trigger wire that runs to the solenoid (plug on the starter) when the key is turned to start. Check that, if you bypass the trigger wire (starter relay, inhibitor and ignition switch) by running a direct hot line from the battery to the lug on the starter solenoid (on the starter), it jumps to life and cranks. You may want to disconnect your ignition coil first so it doesn't really start. post the results of these diagnostics and we'll point you toweard the problem. If your starter tested good, the problem is most likely in the ignition circuit which consists of the ignition switch, inhibitor, starter relay and all the wires that run in between. I am assuming that you had your starter tested at a parts store, right? When you tested your battery, did you test it on the posts or on the clamps? Did you test the voltage drop when the key is turned? If you fusable link is bad or you have a weak ground, the lights will be fine but you wouldn't have enough power to runt he starter. If your relay is clicking (once, and not rapidly), I would focus on the wire that runs to your starter solenoid damn.. I'm tired of typing this step by step starter troubleshooting information. maybe someone should search and find the threads that have all this information and pin them.

run it till it pukes like a japanese porn star

problem with swapping in a used tranny is that you have no idea what its history is and it may crap out the next day. Better to buy new or get a full rebuild with a warranty.

if your WP goes, you will loose the ability to cool the engine. You can get it home in short bursts but keep a good eye on the temp. When mine went, it got real noisy real quick. Even though the WP leaked through the bearing, it did not dump all of the coolant. I would suspect the same from yours. It will either spin noisily or it will seize (which is not likely since there is lubricant in the coolant).