Sadly our air compressor hates the cold weather and the electric isn't that great. (Things tend to go into 'brown outs' under load.) So no use with the air chisel

We've got that Baby "Thor" and that didn't do squat. So yeah... I'll be picking up a mini sledge tomorrow on the way to the yard for the hard parts.

Re: the brake hose. Picture what would happen if you removed the caliper and rotated it a complete turn and then installed it with that huge kink in the hose. The hose was rubbing into the mounting bracket. Also the brake line itself where it attaches to the hose is twisted about 1/4 turn. It's the same problem that I had to create when I did the brakes and hoses on our Journey. The fitting rusts solid to the end of the flare and she won't move! So the solution is to unclip the hose, drop it through the mounting bracket hole and loosen/tighten it while free floating. Kinda sucks- But that's what we deal with when everything is crusty! However I'll admit- That was is done to the extreme. So the line is twisted up on itself, and the hose has a slot worn into it from where it was rubbing into the mounting bracket. (The brakes on the journey only had a very slight twist in the steel line. Looks like the last owner went all "Gorilla" on this one.)

We'll make 'er right. I do like to be able to come to a complete stop at the end of our ride :-)

S-

 

Posted a couple of questions.

This is more of an observation. When running with the 4wd engaged I'm hearing something of a metallic rotational sound. It's not quite as noticeable in 2wd mode. I found a bad wheel bearing at the right front. I think that might be why it's making that noise. I figure when the 4wd mode is engaged it will put the wheel bearings under more stress and that might be the cause of the noise. Also I had to order in at the same time a CV shaft for that side. The boot on the inner joint tore. We had it jacked up for a while and the dry rot kicked in and the boot just separated. Of course I gave the swap bar links a closer look, and ordered in a pair of replacements. (The rubber was dry rotted on those)

This last owner was an idiot IMO. He stated all the work he did on the truck. I found both the upper control arms where in fact replaced. But the boots are both 'exploded' for the grease. I told the wife "You only add enough grease to see the boot move. No more...It's not a balloon". Both these new parts will need to be replaced probably come spring time. I greased them up to push out the garbage. I then looked over the lower ball joints. Also torn up boots. The grease fittings where pointed right into the spindle and it would be impossible to get a grease gun on it. But I'll see if I can rotate the fitting back slightly and give it some fresh grease. The ball joints are not loose. They are still tight! But they are on borrowed time as this clown blew out the boots!!

S-

 

Running 4wd on dry surfaces puts wear on everything. Only use it if you have to.

 

Quite Correct. Plus, it's hell on the fuel economy. As I mentioned in the other post. I'm fine with nursing the transfer case along until Spring. (When the wife's car goes back on the road, and I can spend extended time on the Dakota without worrying about rushing.) If I have to come to a stop and do the 4wd release back to 2wd? I'm okay with it.

I'll give a shout out to "Rock Auto" this time. I think I might have mentioned it- But I placed the order for: RF CV axle, RF wheel bearing and hub, both sway bar link kits, and the Denso O2 sensor. Used the standard shipping. Had the parts the next afternoon! Every time I order I always check how long it takes to deliver and then organize the entire order around shipping from the same location. Sometimes I'll have to spend a few more bucks for a higher quality part, but having it shipped from the same warehouse cuts out the 2nd shipping cost from a different location. In this case, everything shipped out of the Buffalo warehouse. It hit the FedEx plant in Syracuse the next morning at 3am and was at my home by 3pm the next day.

More often than not? I can usually have most parts at our home within a couple of days. The only issue then would be waiting for my next day off to do all the install work.

S-

 

Okay, update. Had some serious setbacks and some annoying items.

As mentioned, we did the 'maiden voyage'.

The 02 sensor is now replaced with the Denso. We also installed a new CV shaft and wheel bearing for the RF. (This might repeat...I apologize if this gets repetitive)

I have to give a shout out to Mavis in our area. We spent the better part of 2 hours trying to knock that wheel bearing off the spindle. Finally said "Screw It" and just removed the entire assembly. Mavis applied some heat and hammered the bearing off. My wife cleaned all the crust and rust off the mating surface. The new bearing was given a coating of fluid film and it slides into place so easy! All bolts torqued, and the new CV shaft installed. Also had to replace one of the blown-out boot ball joints. The lower one didn't want to release without a huge fight. So, we pulled out the pickle fork and that did the trick.

By this time, we're out of daylight. And we left it for the day. Fast forward to yesterday. Supposed to be another test drive, but I decided to run it in 4wd again off the ground. Heard the same Metal grinding sound. Granted the bad wheel bearing sound is gone... I traced it back to that stupid CV joint on the front prop shaft. It had a small break in the rubber boot. The joint is loaded with dead grease with rust and grit. It had a slight amount of play that decided to present itself. As a test we ran it again with that shaft removed. Zero noise.

Returned to the P&P yard as we have a known good (heck, it's pretty new) drive shaft off that donor that we put in the cab. Retrieved it and went to install. No Joy! (Only out $32 bucks) The prop shaft that was removed from the donor is about 2" shorter than the one in ours. Learning moment. We pulled the CV joint off and examined it. 100% new! But the end cap didn't survive to well. I was going to transplant it. Not with that dinged up cover!

We 'rented' a 5-ton puller as we now know how to disassemble the CV joint from the shaft. It took the puller to get the old crusty joint off our prop shaft. (Put a 1/8' press mark into the top of that prop shaft! But the joint finally relented and came off. Splines are in excellent shape! Just covered in a bit of rust and a ton of gritty grease! It cleaned up extremely well)

Parts on order: CV joint from Rock Auto. (Under $50 bucks.... local purchase would have been over $160!!) Also am getting in the tailgate handle. (Under ten bucks...) And also ordered in the parts for our journey (ball joint and tie rod end.)

Parts should be in soon. I'll update as we move forward, and hopefully closer to the finish line. (Either the truck will be finished....or I will LOL)

Best Regards!

S-

 

Glad that you found the source of the metal grinding noise while in 4wd.

 

Yep, Been a busy few weeks so time was limited.

After all the fuss about that CV joint it's installed and seems to be doing well. Much quieter. Had a headache getting both those shells to fully seat. Finally wound up clamping them down as best we could and sense it's all installed in the receiver cup with the 1/2 moon retainers.

It's not going anywhere.

It still rides very rough. From a rotational standpoint it feels like driving on a surface of mild rumble strips. Not anywhere near a smooth ride. However the brakes are good, The 4wd works as it should (Except we will need to come to a full stop and do the manual 'release' back into 2wd)

I've got an appointment to get the other 2 tires changed out. The rear tires would pass inspection-barely. So when I purchased the used tires from the P&P yard, they are a matched set removed from the same car/truck when it was processed. Not the ideal situation, but I lack the budget for spending several hundred dollars more in tires. On the lighter side, the 'used' tires are in like new condition with a date code of only a few years old.

So Wednesday for the tires, I'll see about the windshield hopefully on Thursday if the glass company can schedule it. And from there it's only the 3rd brake light for it to pass inspection. Admittedly this little snot of a truck as more power then I expected. I gave it some extra kick on the test drive (after it was fully warmed up) and she lit up the rear tires. Okay Okay... Simple to do when the rear tires are almost bald...

Progress at least!

S-

 

I figured it was time for people to see what the wife and I have been working on. The tires and windshield will be done tomorrow (Wednesday). I'd love to know of any good sources for the red reflective tape the fire dept used on the doors/fenders. I'd love to re-add the missing sections where the fire dept removed them as well the main decals. (not the logo or such, just the red reflective tape) As for the small wing door on the left side- That one was pretty rotted away at the lower 9" mark. Not sure why most of them give out in that same area, but most I've seen in the upstate NY area are like that.

And yes, the ol' girl really needs a severe bath. It sat for so long most of that dirt and 'green crusty' is stuck on. The wife's car was the same way ('88 TurboCoupe that sat for 6 years before we brought it back to life)

The NYSI will be next week. That should give a few extra days to get that brake light figured out and to double check the basics.

S-

 

Coming along...great work!

Do a Google search for "red reflective tape for emergency vehicles". Came up with a bunch of possible sources, including Amazon.

https://www.google.com/search?client...rgency+vehicle

 

Check the Yellow pages for a fire and safety supply company. When I was the motor officer for the police unit I was in, I sourced a lot of cool stuff. I even was able to get parts for a Signal Corp. Model 78AR siren. It came off our '59 Plymouth wagon when it was surplussed. It was so loud it would vibrate ***** and handles off the inside when we ran at speed for a while.