k9sar

My local shop (while doing an inspection) had told me that my centerlink was bad and needed replaced. I asked him how a big-ass metal bar can be bad (unless it was bent) and he just stammered until he finally said that there was too much play in the suspension and it could be ball-joints, t-rods, etc. What an idiot. I crawled under, wiped down the centerlink with a greasy rag (made it nice and shiney) then took it back. it passed. sheesh!

got mine

boo! hiss! sorry guys, I can't agree with you on this one. should be a good game though.

that has me confused too. I would go with basic troubleshooting before doing an engine swap.

I heat my seats every time I pass gas.

so I just finished replacing my drive axle and reassembling my auto hubs. Of course, I needed to test that I didn't frell something up so I pulled out into the street and pointed up the hill, let it idle in gear and put just enough tension on the parking brake to let her slowly creep forward (a lame old man with a walker would be faster). Once stable, I got out and walked to the front of the truck (had my windows open just in case my door-lock ghost came back at a bad time). I crouched in front of the truck and the axles were not moving. I jumped in and popped it into 4wd, got out and looked again... both axles going nicely. Backed up to release the hubs (just to make sure they would) and all is good. Now... all I need is some damned snow rather than this 70 degree weather.

these are interference engines. If your t-belt is gone and you crank the engine, you'll destroy/bend valves. By not hearing anything, am I to assume that the starter solenoid isn't even clicking?

lower cover is more work but you can inspect the t-belt with just the top one off

to get the t-belt cover off, you should start by removing your fan, then the belts, then a bunch of little bolts holding the upper cover on.

VSicks makes an excellent point (never thought I'd ever say that ) label everything... if you have a digital camera, that'll help too. If you're gonna pull it, make sure you do as much maintenence on the replacement as possible. Things like the t-belt, cam seals, water pump, plugs, etc. all those things that are real knuckle-busters if it's in the engine bay.

again... if you're sure that your problem is a throw rod or other catastrophic event in the block. I got a complete engine for about 700 and installed it myself. I have no idea what a garage would charge to swap one.

sorry... thought you could get the pistons in from underneath. I've had everything disconnected when I replaced my main bearings and had to drill out an oil hole in the connecting rod but I did it with the pistons still in. I'd still pull the pan and dig around from underneath before commiting to an engine swap. You should be able to see if you have a broken rod from underneath (and if there's metal chunks in the pan when you remove it)

hmmm... if you have a thrown rod, there are probably other issues as well. You 'could' pull the front diff and drop the cross member to get the oil pan off to access your main bearings and connecting rods. Once you get to them, it's not a real big deal (remove bearing caps, pop rod off crank, slide out piston, fix/replace, compress rings and reinsert piston, reconnect rod/bearings, ...) once you get to it.

my CV blew apart

I hear ya. Philly is in the basement too.

yea, but they played Boston

glad to hear you got that bugger out.

My pathy has a great turning radius. Of course, I usually lightly tap the brake, turn the wheel and hit the gas. She slides around the corner just fine

check the consistency of the droplet. If it's greasy or oily, it's probably from a lubrication point. If it's thin like water, it probably is. You may have gotten water in the axle or something and have a bit of rust happening that is coloring the droplets. From the looks of the color, I would say it's rust. No intentional fluids are that color. edit... I just looked at the FSM for the 99 and my guess would be that your grease seal has allowed water into the bearing and allowed rust to happen. You might want to pull it apart and replace the seals and bearings though I don't think it's time critical. If the droplet is oily, it might be the oil seal in the shaft assembly has failed.

I still have my original stock ones. After my poor-man's lift however, the sport/comfort selection switch on the console remains lit and nothing changes when I hit the button.

worst case, if you can't get at the plugs, pull your intake manifold. It's not that hard and the gasket tends to remain intact though I'd reco replacing it anyway. That'll give you better access to get at the plugs and stuff.

I've had no problems with my CV joints... other than finding all the pieces.

could it just be grease breaking down? I don't think it's anything to worry about but I've been known to be wrong (ok, stop laughing).

I've had 'bad hair' days from sleeping in the pathy that require a brush to look my spiffiest the next morning.