That Guy

My mother ordered some christmas things the other day and they all arrived within 3 days, mostly USPS with some UPS. Seems like there are considerably more localized issues. Top that off, ever since CNN(1980) and FOX(1996) decided that news was a 24/7/365 affair, "MSM" has been lying through their teeth and it has only propagated further. Now we are in a position where FOX testified that "no reasonable viewer" would take Tucker Carlson seriously, citation, pg.12. I just want Walter Cronkite back. I don't trust what any of them say, at all, including President Trump, or the maybe President-elect Biden (okay, some of it is probably true, but it has been run through too many filters and agendas to get real information) Too much big money is flowing in for me to believe any of these politicians beyond the state level aren't as crooked as a dog's hind leg. Not a single one of America's top 10 issues has been addressed at the federal level in 60 years if it wasn't backed by the donations of billionaires first. You have the wife of the president of the New York Stock Exchange running for congress in Georgia worth $800 Million, and she is supposed to be "of the people". The inmates run the asylum. We are an oligarchy, no longer are we the democratically elected republic of the people the founding fathers created. Covid is just the icing on the cake. All of that said, there is no place I'd rather live, and I've traveled a lot. We are the most free modern country I know of.

Once I get around to it, buying an entire set of 12v injectors for less than the cost of 1 CR injector will be nice.

The pedal feels fine initially. By the time you are half way down, it starts to feel sluggish, the rears are on the verge of locking up. Pressed further, no additional breaking, rears are locked. going to the floor changes nothing. Just stab the pedal (panic brake) rears lock, fronts keep rolling. Both would be performed on relatively cool brakes (80-90*F) and there is no fade. It isn't stopping like it used to, or like it should. Would previously lock all 4 at about 3/4 pedal travel. RWAL isn't working and explains the rears locking. It seems like currently, the rears are doing all the heavy lifting. Truck does not have any brake steer at all. I checked piston extension using air before they were back on the truck. The slides and the 2 rubbing areas fore and aft (tracks?) have a touch of grease and anti seize respectively, and move as freely as new pads/rotors will allow. I won't deny some unknown fault of mine there, but I'm not seeing anything different than I've done in the past, other than rebuilding calipers. I have rebuild hydraulic cylinders, surely a square seal and a dust boot cant be that complicated. As IBM said, I'm beginning to suspect the original rubber lines. I'm pretty sure I have a new set on my parts shelf somewhere. Was going see if they are stretching the next time I have available (wednesday) and go from there. If they are stretching because the lines were moved outside their normal limits (hung from the control arms) then I'll replace and reconvein once some progress is made. If not that, I'll look at further bleeding, then pull it back apart and check it out again.

It took some persuasion the u joint to come out. Ended up bending one of the ears on the shaft slightly. Got it straightened out and hit it with a hammer near the joint with pressure on it till it went BANG... 3 or 4 times and that was fun. But it was only a 20 ton jack in a 30 ton press. My shocks came loose without fuss, didn't even need both arms. Did that in the field. I happen by SouthMainAuto on youtube every now and then, seeing cars from up north with the salt... a rust bucket down here is considered solid in some on those places.

I also replaced the master, but that was about 2 months ago. Not saying it can't be bad, but it seems unlikely as it was working fine prior. I should also say, I can push it to the floor, but it takes considerable effort and the rears lock up about 3/4 of the way down. Normal braking the truck seems fine, I just feel it should be able to lock the fronts. The brakes start applying at about 1/2" of travel, which is normal. The fronts are definitely working, just not how they should.

My new set of pads and rotors are being particularly recalcitrant, spent nearly 2 hours trying to bleed and still not quite right. I did rebuild the calipers with new seals and pistons and it was fairly clean inside. A touch of grease and the new stuff was in with no issues and no leaks. I had never rebuilt calipers before, is that maybe at fault? Went through a big bottle of brake fluid. Did a gravity bleed, had someone help me power bleed (both using a version of Mopar1973Mans pickle jar), tried bedding the new pads and rotors. Went several more rounds after the new fluid hit and bubbles were gone. Still can push the pedal to the floor without too much fuss and the rears will even lock up, the front just aren't doing their part. They are working, I can hear the tires scrub and the slight smell of warm brakes as well as being warm to the touch. They certainly do not appear to be dragging. I even wiped down the rotors and pads with brake cleaner (again) after the 2nd time I came back from trying them out just to be sure. There was a little pad residue but nothing else, no change. Pedal feels plenty firm. Ideas? Keep bleeding? They certainly worked fine before I started working on the front end.

I was actually surprised that nothing was rusted together. All of it basically fell apart. The axle stubs came loose from the hub with the slighted tap with a hammer, all the bolts came loose fairly easy, hub wasn't rusted in... it was nice. There is absolutely no rust on this truck. Even the knuckle came out with just a few moderate whacks with a 2lb hammer. Got everything buttoned up and...WOW.... it's steering is almost on par with my Prius. Better than the 2012, and way better than the chevy. Alignment is out, but I'll take it.

I'm wondering if that wouldn't be easier because it is mounted to something solid, though you are then constrained by height. Honesty, ball joints is one of the easier things I've replaced. I was a bit surprised, I had 3 OE and 1 replacement upper that was knurled and still tight. I went back with non oversize joints. Passenger side was worse than the driver side. It had started clunking (rarely) on uneven bumps in the last 2000 miles or so. Everything I've read suggested that ball joints were going to be a massive pain and everything would go wrong. My first set came out and went in uneventfully. The wheel lugs were the hardest part to reinstall. It has been on 33" tires basically since the day it rolled off the dealer lot, neighbor said "it didn't look right with 245's, it needed more tire to fill the wheel wells". After seeing the condition of the ujoint on the passenger side I elected to leave the drivers side alone. It didn't have any appreciable wear compared to a new one. The other one is sitting in a box on my parts shelf. Probably could have done the same with the hubs but I replaced them anyway. I had assumed (incorrectly) that virtually everything on the front axle was either gone, or close to it. Even the brakes had over half their life and the rotors look like they had never been turned. I will guess a lot of this is due to being a mostly flatlands truck and all the farmers I know are apprehensive to putting themselves in situations where they would need 4wd even though they wouldn't buy a truck without it, but could count on one hand the number of times it was used. Things tend to sink here. You are either driving along fine in 2wd or buried to the frame in 4wd. Other than the brake calipers and ball joints, everything was in perfectly serviceable shape.

Some idiot decided is would be a great idea to overtorque the grease zerk on the $60 spicer U joint. Naturally it snapped right off and would not back out for anything. I Ended up drilling it out which is where I discovered that not only does Spicer case harden these things, they harden them all the way through. Ended up using a masonry bit to drill it out, what for having a carbide tip. I had of course installed the UJ before installing the zerk so I got to pull it back apart after drilling to clean out all of the sparkly bits. Thankfully, after sitting overnight with jbweld on a new zerk, I had an uneventful putting it back together. I also discovered it is much easier to install the ball joints with the press used as though you are pushing it out, just with the cup reversed. Also much easier to keep straight that way. I rebuilt the brake calipers while doing all of this as well as replacing the hubs and the rotors. Figured I may as well since I had it all apart. Now all thats really left is track down a power steering leak, replace the valve cover seals, and figure out the abs light. Pinion seal on the rear axle leaks a tiny bit, but Ill let a shop take care of that with it's insane torque spec.

I've been watching that Precision Transmission channel for a few months now. He seem willing to share most any secret, he just hasn't gotten around to them yet. He goes very in depth on a 4l60 in one video. In my experience, for every shop that takes the time and energy to do it right, there are 10 that know how but don't, and 100 that are just R&R's. There is one half way decent shop in Chattanooga and the others are all the back of the class type. And thats in a county of 600,000 people no less.

Was hauling feed to the barn the other day and discovered that I had a much sharper turning radius to the right than the left. Turns out I only thought I had the pitman arm centered. Anywho, I am off of school till my finals in december and decided to tackle the hubs/calipers/ball joints/ujoints/and rotors. I think my ball joints may have been original, but I'm not entirely sure, they weren't knurled anyway but they were very much toast. just over 3/16" of vertical play in the lower on the pass side. I got the old out and the new in, got the knuckle back on the truck and ran out of light. Turns out I didn't have all the tools handy to do everything. My harbor freight ball joint press isn't quite large enough length wise to be able to press the lower out completely without some antics. Side note: I think the impact gun is older than I am.

I started buying pallets a few years back. Was getting .308 for $0.33 a round for a 30k round pallet. Neighbor has his license and sells it to people at a good profit. Between the two of us, rough guess, 70,000 rounds in personal stock. 9MM is crazy right now.

Are you sure it isn't tires? I have had 3k overloads on the on the 97 since I got it. It has the aforementioned side to side wobble going over some terrain. Me shaking the truck revealed little, if any, play in the in the suspension whether the overloads are connected or not. The sidewalls would give a good inch and a half either direction. Ill have to go back and look at it again if you find something different, always bugged me.

Sigs don't show on mobile.

I miss snow. Always so quiet, and not to mention, picturesque. My philosophy is, you can always add another layer, you can only take so many off.

Even with higher RPM it should kick back off. It uses a bit of guessing and the IAT and coolant sensor to figure out if it should run the heaters. Next time it does it, maybe tap the relays with a wrench or something and see if they are sticking. It doesn't sound like sticking relays. If it isn't that, something with the IAT or the computer is telling them to stay on. What are you outside ambient temperatures?

I tested some nozzles off a tank for rockwell hardness and came up with 55-60. Hard for a steel, but not as hard as tool steel. The needle would have to be the same otherwise differential wear would take place. A pre filter makes a huge difference particularly with decades long reliability. We were running stuff that was the original pump from the late 60's. That is a 15" wrench for size, the two lines came in from 50 gallon tanks of the respective sides of the tank, goes into the box where stuff settles out, through 4 overlapping screens into the pump, then to dual filters before the injection pump. The filters going to the injection pump never had any build up on them. Had a few tanks that would get gunk built up around the pre filter until we pulled the tanks and had them cleaned. 50 years of gunk. Process of cleaning. Back together and mostly ready to go back into service.

I don't know anyone who has retired and not kept working for the shear entertainment value. My mother decided to take over the family farm (wants to grow cannabis), neighbor does hay, father got a consulting position with the FRA and put in 130 hours in 2 weeks and manages the dining car back at work. They all work more in retirement than when they were working. I suppose it is a lot more therapeutic to work for you self on your own time.

Does the crank have groves from where the old seal rode? If so that is not helping the case. Can install a sleeve over it. It is most likely a rubber (Buna-N) seal that you bought. They work well overall. Viton would be an upgrade. Teflon (PTFE) has less resistance but has a tendency to get a memory to it. You shouldn't have issues with it in Texas. Side note, a leaking rear main can cause the clutch to slip.

Voltaren is what my mother has been using. She describes it as taking the sharpness out of the arthritis and bone on bone knees and ankles, carpal tunnel too. She is retired on railroad disability because her joints have gotten so bad.

If you are at all handy with a soldering iron, a lot can be gained from just reflowing the connections with some good lead based solder. That is assuming that there is nothing blown on the board. Sometimes you get lucky. Funny thing, last time I was in Chattanooga, I had to run the defroster in my old Chevy. It went to heat and stayed there. Its an electronic panel. I pulled the glove box out and manually turned the shaft to assist the motor to get it back to cool. It was the night before I left to come back to Louisiana. Fast forward 16 hours, we are loaded up in the 2012 and in the heat of the day just cruising along, it starts blowing hot without any input whatsoever. Tried moving the dials, turning off the truck and restarting, ect. After fooling around with the actuator in the dash for 15 minutes at a truck stop, it decided to start working again and has worked fine since. As far as the blend door "falling", I don't think so. Its pretty well entrenched in the case and it should be in such a manner that the case has to come apart for it to move from its mounting holes. The only difference in the 12v and 24v is that they got rid of most of the top bits, and installed a motor on the end on the shaft on the bottom.

I actually have no idea what the pressures are currently. I had the tires put on the rims and that's been the last I thought of it since the truck is still being worked on. Though, I imagine they set all the tires at one pressure, I would guess in the 70 psi range just off feel when I was moving then around. They are softer M/T's so I'm sure the lack of contact patch has something to do as well. They were free tires, and basically new (3 months old on a parked vehicle). To be fair, I did apply the brakes while rolling in 2nd to get em loose, but third surprised me. I just grabbed it and it kept spinning. Then I felt the clutch start to slip after a few seconds so I let off, no clutch burning smell, only light rubber. Stock napa replacement that is 9 years old doesn't like 32psi from the HX35. Last trip over the scales (5 years ago) I was 4200 on the front and 3000 on the rear. For comparison, my Prius is like 3100 total. For the rear weighing as much as my car, it feels very light. https://www.jjkeller.com/shop/Product/Tire-Pressure-Gauge-10-160-PSI?PromoCode=205087&cm_mmc=Google-_-ProductFeed-_-015099-_-58052&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=&scid=scplp58052&sc_intid=58052&PromoCode=205088&gclid=CjwKCAjw0On8BRAgEiwAincsHJS92M7QEfpMSK3GjynR3L4ovYX6LNKYKO5CGuVmnJFW4BW09d8HohoCEBQQAvD_BwE I use a gauge like this to check the pressures on duals. Don't have to hold it directly on the valve core, and makes life much easier with bigger hands that can just barely fit in the holes to get to the valve cap. I think at one point in the past I was running 40psi in the rears so it wouldn't hop going over railroad tracks. But it is awful fun sometimes. I was smiling the whole time. I have gone to 4th in the past, so it was merely a jest. Can't be doing it too much, tires aren't getting cheaper. It is nice having a vehicle that will actually get up and go though. The Prius isn't exactly exciting with 130hp, but surprisingly will do a proper tire warm up/cleaning in a burnout box. The 2012 with no programmer isn't nearly as instantaneous as the old 12v either.

The truck can get out of its own way again.

You sound like my neighbor, except, he has a trailer that has a battery on it for a winch too. From my Deka sales days, the lead is porous enough for the acid to wick up over time. The terminals are supposed to have some sort of coating or some treatment to make them not wick. What that is, I do not remember.

The build sheet on my 97 says it has the 35 gallon tank. It always seems to be empty after about 26 gallons, filled up to the click. Gauge shows empty and truck has run out before. It seems as though there should be almost another 9 gallons. I'm on my original sending unit. I'll be watching this as I,ve been thinking about one of these for while.