diesel4life

He must REALLY baby that truck, every 6.0 I've ever driven was doing good to get 12 mpg.

When you say the calipers don't slide freely on the pins, this is with new pins correct? Keep in mind when greasing certain components that have a "blind hole" that too much grease will fill the void and limit the travel of the pin into the bore.

Lookin good! How much of an offset do those wheels have? Is it noticeable from the front? I have the exact same truck cap for my 2nd gen. Love the extra head room it has over a conventional cap, comes in really handy. The only downside is it does not match my truck but I am going to scuff it up and spray it this spring.

If the truck starts right up and idles fine, your good. If they weren't tight enough they would be leaking fuel. I would not back them off. The more you mess with them the more likely a leak.

Please keep your build progress updated with lots of pics. Would be a cool conversion. Are you planning on setting your cab on a 4 Wheel drive chassis?

I'm pretty partial to Wright tools. The company I work for supplies them in the tool crib and the personal set they issue new hires. wrenches, ratchets, impact sockets, screw drivers, pliers, and pneumatic tools just to name a few. Prett much anything you need they make. They take a lot of abuse and are subjected to a corrosive environment and hold up well for years. I've been slowly infiltrating my tool set as I need replacements of something with Wright stuff. They are a bit pricey but I'm confident I won't have to buy that tool again so it's worth it to me.

X2 on the inch pound torque wrench. You will never get an accurate reading using a ft lb wrench that low. A little tid bit most aren't aware of when it comes to using a torque wrench, the general rule of thumb is you should use A wrench that is close to the middle range of its torque ratings. For instance, if you have a torque wrench that is rated for 250ft lbs and one that is rated for 150 ft lbs the one that is rated for 150 ft lbs will be more accurate torquing a bolt to 60 ft lbs than the 250 ft lb Wrench. The closer you get to the upper and lower ratings of a torque wrench the less accurate they tend to be.

Once you use one, you'll never bleed/flush lines any other way again. I just did a brake job on a Grand Am for someone and snagged my cousins power bleeder to flush the lines before putting everything back together.

Not a bad looking rig, shes definitely been a work truck without a doubt. The 2 auction sites around here the seller has to pay a handlers fee if the vehicle sells. The buyer doesn't get bent over until he hits the liscense bureau and has to pay sales tax on the purchase price to get the title switched over. They get ya comin and goin.

You are right about the onboard air and (most likely) the air pressure gauge. Strange place to mount one none the less.??? Is there a reserve on the truck? If the bidding doesn't pick up that may not be a bad deal unless the truck has been abused.

My truck was also run on dino oil for the first 12 years of its life (about 67k miles worth). I switched to synthetic and have not developed any leaks. The engine is one of the cleanest I have ever owned, not even the slightest of leaks anywhere. Recently the power steering pump developed a slow leak, so I will be addressing it this spring.

I read your post from start to finish. Everybody has already mentioned all the obvious and it didn't seem to satisfy your search, so I was simply throwing out other ideas. We can only do so much to help sitting behind a computer screen.

I recently installed a 5" straight through ShuttleWorth muffler on my truck. It gives a nice deep tone but is not obnoxious. It also cut the resonations I was experiencing in the cab back to almost nothing. They are more of an industrial application and I am impressed with the build quality. It was on an old GM dump truck my cousin scrapped out. The exhaust looked brand new so I snuck under neath with a cordless sawzall and helped myself.

Have you looked at the Lock N Stitch website? If your crack is small enough to be stopped up by bars leak I would definitely give them a try. It is not a gaurantee but has been a successful fix for alot of engines. It is inexpensive compared to the alternative, the most you would be out is your time. Remove everything in the engine compartment that is in the way, and follow the directions to the tee and I bet it would hold up for a long time.

Very cool! Nothing better than a little dirt track racing on a Friday night! What part of the country are you located in? There is a local dirt track in nearby Sharon, PA, owned by Dave Blaney. He grew up in the area and raced sprints there as a kid before moving onto the world of outlaws and eventually Cup racing. Once a year he brings all the former outlaw boys from NASCAR to Sharon and they put on one heck of a show. I was into it it briefly for a few years out of highschool but the wife got pregnant at the age of 23 and that along with a few other expensive hobbies went by the wayside.

Happy birthday Dave! Did you have to spend your day away from home on the job site or did you make it home?

Do you know if the complete rebuild kit they offer has the larger solenoid contacts as well, or do you have to buy them separate? This is on my spring time maintenance list. I figure 16 years is enough to ask out of cranking an engine like a Cummins over!

Drive any Chevy or Dodge with rear drums, when they are cold and wet they will grab like no tomorrow. Mine will actually lock up if I stab them to hard before they get a little heat in them. Off subject, but please induldge on your temporary fix for your cracked block! Did you smear some epoxy or jb weld?

Joe, didn't you buy a power bleeder recently? Or were you just looking? I'm about to pull the trigger on one pretty soon, gonna buy the master kit so I can do all makes and models.

You sure it isn't a freeze plug or heaven forbid a cracked block?

I think there are a lot of differences here, my VW is pre emissions, much smaller/lighter than your wagon, and HP is substantially lower. Not to mention as cold as it has been here, I'm sure it has been MUCH colder up where you live. Sure, if your pocket book allows! I have always been impressed with the Audi platform.

01 Beetle TDI with 120k miles. It is the wife's commuter car but I drive it every chance I get! Never thought I would be caught dead in a Beetle but the fact that it is a diesel and a five speed makes it OK! Even in weather that has consistenly been in the low teens to below zero we have been netting 40 to 43 mpg. (All highway miles). It's been a great little car.

the 0753 is most likely due to the 1765 code. I think your problem is either in the relay or in the circuit between the pcm and the relay. Have you swapped relays out to eliminate the possibility of a bad relay? You can use one in the pdc under the hood. Also check for voltage at terminal 86 in the relay control circuit where the relay plugs in. I think its c1 on the relay.

Did you check the relays in the power distribution box under the hood? The 2 codes showing are circuit related, sounds like either a bad connection/relay somewhere . How are you achieving second gear lock up? A custom valve body/lock up controller? That is the only way I'm aware of. I would really love that function.

It could simply be the grid heaters drawing enough amps from the battery that it is keeping your fuel pressure down a little until the truck warms up. Next time it is cold watch the voltmeter to see if there is a correlation between grid heaters running and lower fuel pressure. That is completely normal. Does your power steering system have any leaks? When the pump is cold and the fluid viscosity is thicker the pump can possibly suck air if there are any leaks on the return side or even any from any leaking seals in the pump itself. Check the fluid in the resevoir after the truck has been running, does it look foamy? It sounds like your describing a caviting pump so check for any leaks, and if the fluid looks dark/burnt it would be a good idea to flush the system. Check out the write up on this forum it is a pretty good one. PS fluid and brake fluid seem to be the two most overlooked fluids to be included in a maintenance program but they are both very important. How did you stop your block from leaking?