Well, I did notice that fan is tucked in that shroud quite close. I'm just trying to figure out how the shroud is connected to the cab.

 

I believe the lower portion is simply held in place by the radiator. The top portion bolts to the lower portion, and also the the core support, essentially trapping the radiator in there.

 

I meant how does the shroud move when the cab is lifted? I’m not seeing what raising the cab has to do with the fan shroud. I’ve heard it does from more than one source and I believe it but I just don’t see how.

My mind gets goofed out on this one. I’m thinking the cab is the cab and is independent from anything in front of the firewall. Clearly it is not but I’m trying to see how.

 

The cab, fenders, and radiator support are all essentially one piece when it's all bolted together. Ya need to remove ALL the bolts that hold the cab/front clip in place in order to lift the cab without bending/breaking stuff. Radiator support will move with it as well.

 

I’m liking the cab mounts on my truck more and more.

Maybe I’ll wait till after Ralph is done with his. He’s a better mechanic than I am. Better guinea pig too. But I’m a better chicken than him.

 

Put the wife's Jeep on jackstands. Front struts roached! Boot disintegrated, shock coated in oil. Both sides. Tie rods roached! Excessive play in the 3 to 9 position. Can see the inner tie rod moving in and out and also the tie rod end moving about the knuckle. Gone! Zero play in the noon to 6 so that's good news for the ball joints. End links appear roached too so add that to the list. Haven't looked at the back end yet but the rear struts are going on the list too whether it needs it or not. New pads n rotors all around as well. It never ends.

KYB does not make Gas-A-Justs for her Bleep so I'll get their Excel-G struts instead. From what I have learned it is probably best to reuse the spring from the original strut. The ones that come with strut assemblies are frequently suspect. Besides, KYB does not make a strut assembly for her car. But they sell all the strut components so I will assemble my own struts with all new KYB parts except for the spring. I'm sold on KYB from all my research for my Dakota so I want to stay with them. Monroe kinda scares me these days. Ralph has bitched about Ranchero and I don't know much about Gabriel or others. Stick with what I know and I know KYB is solid.

Oh, and I can get Bendix rotors and Wagner TQ pads for the Bleep so I'll stick with them. Also ACDelco tie rod components. Proforged makes only the inners, not the outers.

 

Ralph, I messaged you.

 

Ralph, putting the body mounts aside for now I'm going to focus on the R&P bushings next. A few questions from your earlier post:

1) When disconnecting the intermediate shaft, does it disconnect just above the pinion or is it further up? I haven't looked yet. And is it a 1-way off/on or is there a spline or similar such that I risk getting the steering column out of sync with the steering wheel?

2) Do you know how the rack is bolted to the frame? Welded nuts in the frame, threaded frame holes, captivated nuts again?

3) Are there shells in the rack where the bushings go? And is grease required on these bushings? There really isn't any pivoting going on with these bushings.

 

1) Per the FSM, you're supposed to remove the roll pin or stake bolt through the bottom joint at the rack, then slip it up. Seems like you could just leave it attached until the rack is out to make it easier to work. And yes there's a spline, but it has a flat where the factory joint is straight across; it's pretty darn hard to misalign THAT end. (Well, on my 1988; the rack's a different part number on the 1991+ units, but I don't think it's different THERE.)

2) IIRC, it's welded nuts, but may be threaded frame holes.

3) The rack is the shell. The grease will be so you can slip the bushings in, they don't actually pivot. The reason for poly is that in "sporty" driving (or just dodging potholes!), the rack won't shift some like it might on rubber.

RwP

 

Thanks for the R&P info, Ralph! Sounds pretty straight forward.

The tool you linked in the quote above to tighten my new KYB Gas-A-Justs showed up today. Didn't get the best results because the Double D socket is a loose fit (all three double D socket ends that came in the package). I got a turn or two out of them before they started to round over. Had there been a better fit it would have worked like a charm. The hex socket was loose too but good enough. For laughs and giggles I test fit them on the Monroe SensaTraks I pulled off my truck. The double D sockets were MUCH tighter...excellent fit. The hex socket was too small (both sides of the hex socket) and wouldn't even go on.

My new Gas-A-Justs expand 3x faster than my 12 year old Monroes. I gather this is a good thing.