flagmanruss

I believe it's a controlled vent cap. Perhaps the cap is NG.

The bank clamps work fine & ae much better if you ever need to get it apart. It's not about the speed, it's about the load. How hard you work the truck. My previous truck was a Chevy C30, built 454, headers. The header kit came with glass packs & it sounded sweet running around empty... not loud at all. THEN I hooked up a horse trailer to it. One trip. It was so loud, I was half deaf & I was worried if I was deafening the horses who were closer to the outlet. I put oversized truck mufflers on it, quieted it right down. Same with the straight through glass pack that came with my kit. It would have been easier to do it all the first time.

I have the extended cab & my kit came with a straight through "muffler" (a glass pack with a 4" hole straight through the center, LOL!) I ended up adding a 36" FTE resonator... the drine got to me towing... sounded fine running empty. I could have saved work by including the resonator in the first place. I bought a generic Stainless Steel kit... It will outlast the truck.

I wonder what causes this? Lot's of vehicles go their whole lives & never need steering box adjusted... or used to...

Found it. I hadn't looked in the Download section. Not in the Articles. No, I don't want to pull (or have pulled) the gearbox just to take the slack out of it. If it can be done in the vehicle, it would save a lot of time. If Worn thrust preload has to be redone, I think I'm gonna need to get help with this.

Is there a good link to the Factory Service Manual? The second adsjustment was what was stripped out of my 80 Challenger when my ex returned it.

I am 64. Was MS diagnosed at 50... was Secondary Progressive at that time. The fact I can still get around at all & try to hang on to some of my life... I'm doing as well as can be expected. Yes, people die from the complications of MS, not the MS itself generally.

If it's so simple... and I really hope it is a goodfix... Why are long standing, highly thought of, front end shops oblivious to this? Duhh!! It certainly is where I'm going to start. Good melting going on today & looks like most ofthe week... everyone of working on ice dams. We've got one tiny spot in the kitchen with a water spot. We've been applying long dark socks with ice melt with a pole with a hook, crossing the ice dam & it is quickly cutting a drain path.

I know this is no help now... I normally refill fuel at the half way mark. On a trip, I start looking for fuel them but will run to the last quarter. I had the dread LP failure which was when I got the 150AD installed which included getting the system bled & started.

Once we get rid of the snow in the back of the truck...

Sure, ATV mounted snow blower would be great. Or a dedicated lawn tractor/snow blower. It was such a b*tch to get back on, I never took the deck off my MTD ride on again. It would have been ok on a paved drive but considerably less than the ATV plow set up. The tractor / loader would be fine for someone fit enough to get on (as I did for many years). An enclosed cabs are more common now than in the past. I thought about building an enclosure out of plexi... screwed to the ROP frame. BUt it's still unheated & wife does not want me on it. (If you F up with a machine that big, you make a mess!) I can get a decent used plow for the truck ~$3000... and I already own the truck. I don't know what a tractor is worth after these years... I paid $7500 for the 410. $1000 for a rebuild on the IP. $500 for the tire chains. I paid $3000 for the ATV. Looking at a walk behind snow blower (additional) a bit over $1000 new.

I am going to check the steering box sector adjustment first. Then I'm planing to do a steering box brace and steering column fix http://rocksolidramtrucksteering.com/ Both are realitively cheap and supposed to be a couple of hours each... so each should be completed in "a day".

(Previous year photo, grandson operating) Even with tire chains... pushing snow in front of you has limits. A wider bucket wouldn't be a help. (Previous year photo) The plow pinned in the bucket was too far in front & would go high & low above the ground it was over because it was controlled by the machine wheels so far away. It plowed nice where it did. I was going to adding castor wheels to the plow blade so I could let it follow the ground. I also considered remounting the plow to the machine frame & lift the loader to operate... decided the bucket was too heavy to drive around with it up like that. Of course, removing the bucket & swapping in a plow would work too, just a major project as this bucket mounts directly to the arms. (previous year photo but snow is actually higher this year.) ATV is nice for small snow but we had big snow in 2011... it happens periodically... so best to plan for the bigger snow years.

This is an on going problem... I've not used the truck much in the last couple of years largely because of the wander... been chasing it without fixing it. In the meantime, we've found & fixed other things. The truck is 01.5 8800 GVW, camper package, plow package. The Cooper 265/75R16 A/T3 are the same size as the option which came on the truck. Now have about 70,000 miles. The first time I recall was when we picked up the toyhauler in 2010 & towed it home with the WD hitch non-functional. I blamed it on the WD hitch being incorrectly assembled by the seller... but maybe not?? The coil sping cups on the front axle had rusted out. Since they are not available as a separate part, I had repair parts fabricated & installed. The wander predated this & it didn't change it though I'm really glad the springs didn't pop off the axle. I had the truck in the front end shop & had the 3rd Gen track bar upgrade done & aligned. Shop didn't find the track bar to be bad but did it for me since I wanted to eliminate it as a cause. I'm a good customer at the front end shop & I've had them check components several times. I think we've replaced one TRE. I had the U bolt plates fail under the rear axle last summer... allowed the rear axle to move forward & back on one side... truck was all over the road when that happened. The same shop replaced the U bolts, spacer blocks, plates under the axles. With this fixed, I'm back to 'just' previous wander. To keep the truck tracking properly in lane at 60-65, I have to work the wheel back & forth constantly... an inch or slightly more either side of center... so a range of 2-2.5 inches on the wheel constantly.

When my wife & I got together we used a tow behind wood V plow behind a truck. It was built by her late husband (before me). It is easy on gravel drive surface we worked so hard to smooth. Up in Vermont, near the Canadian border, he used his horse team to clear villiage sidewalks with similar V plow. It is very good on long stretches, perferably with a turn circle at each end. My buddy still uses one on his mile long right of way where it is least destructive. At this house, I had to unhook to turn it around in the street... it doesn't want to be too heavy either as sometimes we've flipped it like a piece of pie to change direction. It was 2 sawmill planks on each side... 2" by what ever long, bottom oak, top pine. (I built one out of all oak & it was too heavy.) A drag behind V plow can punch a nice hole in the snow... but the width is pretty much what you get as it just skids over if you try to widen. I can not find the scans of the original film images we took. As I recall the V sides were 12 feet and there was a single spreader to keep it open to 10 feet tip to tip. The point of the A was minute of chainsaw accuracy. The tow rope angle and speed is critical so you don't lift the nose of the V, allowing snow to go under. I thought about adding a homemade enclosure to the JD roof / ROP. If I could get up on it, it might still be an option. You can buy official cabs, but likely to cost too much unless you can salage a cab somewhere.

My headlights are quite acceptable... I mainly park nose in facing the woods (North). I have a problem with random "upgrades" that put different bulbs in the housing. I had off road lights before they were DOT approved... I learned a lot. The filament can end up located in the wrong place in the reflector. While non-specified bulbs may put out a lot of light... the combination can lack the light control resulting in blinding oncoming drivers like me. If you blind somebody & they crash into you, you both lose. Now maybe newer kits or bulbs have resolved these issues... I don't know. When we undertake to do mods, the responsibility falls only on us.

I used to push snow with the front loader on my well used (2WD) JD410. But even such a big machine can get too big a snow pile on long stretches & need to lift or push it off to the side. I needed to add tire chains… I had the 14,000# machine pack some kinds of snow into near ice & slide sideways on the side hill. With this open station machine, even with tarps… I had trouble with ice getting into the reverser shift linkages. Of course I ran block heater & charger starting the night before. It really sorked, trying to work in the cold. I wasn’t thinking of snow removal when I bought the JD. It was for barn cleaning where it was ideal. Eventually I pinned a old highway plow into the loader bucket… pushed snow off ok but would go up & down on uneven ground… & my drive was surprisingly uneven. The machine would follow the contour where the wheels were & the plow was on different place. It’s a big machine to maneuver near things you care about. I can’t get up on JD without help because of my legs… so if I need to get it running, I need to bring someone in. As far as snow removal, it should be an enclosed cab. I bought a ATV. Bombadier 650. It’s only a 1 cylinder. It will plow snow but it’s really heavier service than the machine is built for. We are plowing with tire chains on. Operator is exposed to the weather, of course. Mine uses the winch to lift the plow & fixing the cable is necessary once or twice a year even with roller fairlead. The plow is not tall & it’s easy to get more snow than it can handle. I’d like to put a wider top wing on it to roll the snow over the bank to the side but it will always be a small plow. We are fighting to keep a full lane open & ATV is too small to push it back. We are discussing getting a snow blower to use in conjunction with ATV. The idea would be to widen out the plowed path. I don’t know much about them. Looking at 3 stage model. She would have to use it because I can't be walking that much & it would be out in the weather. My contractor plows with a plow mounted to his skid steer bucket. It’s all flat where he is. He swears by it. He plows a couple of ajoining businesses. Butthen he uses it in his excavation business. I am very scared by small tractors after a Kabota I had on trial tried to roll over on me. It had a tiny front bucket but no rear wheel weights. I was barn cleaning with it. As you lift, the bucket goes up & forward changing the balance point. The front end wobbles side to side following the ground contour & if the change in ballance lifts the rear, there’s nothing to stop it from rolling over. (Backhoe / loader would do the same except for the weight of the hoe keeping the rear down.) Wife has no experience with these but thinks she wants one. They are cute but too costly around here. I’m contemplating putting a used V plow on my truck which is 4WD & came with a plow package. It is hard for me to get into the truck but at least it’s enclosed. And I’m already paying to maintain the truck. I’d be looking at a quick-mount type plow. Power connectors & a control harness… I’d like to run the control harness along the passenger’s side with the hood up & then in through the passenger’s door gasket. All the rest of the unit is in front. Wife thinks long bed Q-cab is too long to plow with… not ideal but I own it. I have no interest in trying to make money plowing so I could take all the time needed to plow my own... no need to rush & slam bang equipment. Mythinking is the V would be useful on the long stretch of the driveway. I’ve thought about & rejected buying a (additional) dedicated plow truck. Buying someone else’s junk and would add full costs of another vehicle to maintain. It would need to be registered, inspected & insured so I could take it to a repair shop as needed. It would need to be a full size SUV with body on frame construction, not unibody… to mount a plow to without damage. Unless I sold my car & switched to a SUV as a daily driver... SUVs are harder to get into with my disability because of height & poor mpg is no incentive. I might as well drive the truck I already own in that case.

That was how my (Jap built) Challenger was when I got it back in the property settlement. Come to find the lash adjustment bolt was stripped out of the cover. We weren't on speaking terms so I never found out how it came to be that way. It was at least a quarter turn to get action at the wheels. I had the Cummins out today. It made it up to 40*. Wife cleared some of the snow out ofthe back of the truck for me. It seemed to track a bit better today or maybe I was driving slower. The steering is constantly 1 inch either way of center to keep lane at 60-65. It is exhausting to drive this way. I've not driven much since I had the 3rd Gen track bar upgrade, rear U bolts replaced, front end shop went over the front & didn't find anything else to fix, fresh alignment. Trying to think logically, I think attempting to adjust the lash on the steering box should be the first step when we get a break in the weather. I hope it's not too hard to get to. I'm thinking to try to get some help inspecting the steering shaft lower bearing (aka Rock Solid Ram Truck Steering). I think the shaft wobble should be visible if that's a problem. I'm thinking I may be able to stand on the step with the hood up & work the wheel (engine off). Next, a steering box brace... None of these are high cost. More snow coming tonight...

Those look like the same panels. I guess it's all about having the right storage & flexible mounts. A 2 x 4 frame on the ground with a pivot would allow aiming & yet be easy to break down.

The only thing I could do was lean the panels up against something solid. I routed out chanels in 2x3 & used threaded rod to hold together extended 36" threaded rods to hold together. They are pretty big. I would not permanantly mount but I could see a rotating base. I'd want a plan to secure it if there's a storm... these are glass face panels. Depending on how strong your roof is & how confident you are about climbing up... I'd set up on saw horses, with a plywood base, center bolt with castors around. I'd have a framed plywood cover to fit over the glass.

Please remember I am disabled, I have to pay to have any work done on my truck. I have already had the front end gone over by a front end shop & done the third gen track bar upgrade. The question remains, do First Gens have these issues? Third Gen's? SSDI only goes so far & I still have to live.

Are there other years / generations besides Second Gen that have Loose Goose steering problems? Is there contineuity to it? Is it the Diesel & V10s that have this or across the product line? 2WD? 4WD? Should I throw in the towel & buy another brand truck? My ancient C30 never had this. Early 60s Jeep Wagoneer (rust bucket) with solid front axle (and Buick V8) never had this. WTF?

I bought this same HF kit to take camping. Now our "camping" is re-enacting so most activity is in Primitive camp. My ToyHauler is left in the parking lot. Because of my disability, I sleep in the camper at night. I use a big outdoor scooter to get into & out of camp (cover scooter as much as possible with saddle blankets & burlap). Because ours was a temporary location, it neded to be portable. I didn't find the supplied brackets to be useful though you might. A lot depended on the solar orientation of the rig & I had little choice, so not ideal. For a more fixed location, it might have been better. The Toyhauler has 3 big Marine / RV deep cycle batteries... a pretty potent battery bank. I since we mainly used lights & occasionally water... the battery bank lasted fine. BUT I didn't have the converter working to charge the 24V Scooter from the battery back. And the Scooter was in Primitive camp during the day so I could not direct charge it. I ended up running a small Honda generator to charge the scooter... in the early morning and let it charge the battery bank at the same time. I sold the solar set up to a guy who wanted battery light in a gezebo with no AC access. IF your use was semi-permanent & could orient better... getting by with fewer batteries... It might be worth it. Since I was running the Honda anyway... it was one more thing to transport. And they are bulky & fragile.

Wife put ATV back in barn after making a couple of test runs to check out the winch (plow lift). Wife is happy with it so I'm happy too. We've had a fine light snow falling since noon time... supposed to pick up by dark. Weather liar has upped the total to "8" in localized areas (like where we live). News had 2 more garages collapse yesterday & an ice rink (Kids were waiting to skate) everyone got out safe. My barn (30 x 60) is over insured so it won't collapse. If it did, I could fix the problems from the original contractor! Flakes getting larger as I sit here.

Another 3-6" of white sh*t coming. Wife brought the ATV over near the house (to save me steps on the ice... and spread dark wood ash on walkways). I put an old hunk of Astroturf where I had to work & a small stool to sit on. I'd disassembled the fairlead & straightened the section where (looks like) the pulley had jammed. So this was "just" a reassembly. Put the repaired fairlead back in place. New repair links, pully & shackle. The biggest problem is with my numb fingers holding the cable doubled over the thimble. I've used small vise grips before but all but one are AWOL right now. I used zip ties to hold the slippery eel I was working on... worked well. Got the cable clamps started & pushed down the cable to the thimble. YES!! I used electrical tape on the wire cable to wrap to protect my hands. When I was done, I taped a secion beyond the clamps & wacked it off with bolt cutters & a tiny snip with wire cutters to get the last strand. Then tape wrapped the tail of the wire down. Should have taken an hour... at least I was in the sun. Wife can put it away when she gets home. OMG. That hunk of Astroturf is approaching 40 years old. A customer had it in their boat cockpit... long ago in a previous life. The down side is Astroturf does is not waterproof & my knees got wet kneeling on it but still better than icy driveway. But it gave good traction for me getting up & down.