Not a problem, guys. I generally always* try to spread knowledge and quash ignorance/ incorrect information about these systems. *There are some guys who are just too dumb to listen, though, so I let them get into their own train wrecks... Toytoy, next time I go to the U-Pull-It yard, I can pick one up for you; I can't imagine they would be too expensive. However, I just did a little bit of research, and it turns out that there is an upgrade you can do, the "LS1 Steering shaft Upgrade," which eliminates that stupid rubber rag-joint on the LT1 cars. How urgently do you need this? What I can do is get both shafts, modify the LS1 to match (they are clocked differently, which would cause your steering wheel to be off), and send you that one. For the record, I did the "Astro Van" steering shaft upgrade on both mine and Jungle Julia's Firebirds to eliminate the factory 3rd-gen rag joint; here's where I have it installed on her car: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-lsx/758706-4-8-swap-factory-3.html#post6361403 And mine: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/suspension-chassis/359607-cheap-easy-u-joint.html#post5079545
I was reading about the LS1 shaft swap while I was searching for one. It's not an urgent need. I just happened to peer down at mine and saw it was horribly rusty and that annoys me to no end. I'm trying to get as much of the rusty crap replaced as possible. Never, ever buy a car that spent it's entire life on the coast. It's an endless parade of broken bolts trying to replace things. Thankfully the body, sub frame, and front clip are all solid, but all sorts of the peripherals are corroded/rusty. So, yeah....when ever you get around to it, I'd really appreciate it.
Well phooey. Took the Z in for the alignment again. They told me everything is already adjusted all the way out. They checked the frame alignment and it's fine, they had no explanation for why it couldn't be aligned. They did mention that it appeared like it might have been lowered at some time, which I'm sure it hasn't been. But....I got to thinking....it's 25 years old, I wonder if possibly the front springs are sagging enough to fuck it up? At least they zeroed the steering wheel for me, so it's not cocked to one side....that was driving me nuts. Also put on the front tower brace,which did seem to stop some of the wander and gives a bit more of a confident feeling to the car. I'll put it through some twisties in the next few days and see how it reacts.
In a somewhat related vein.... I peeked under the hood after a short drive and noticed that my new tower brace was dirty. My eyes went up and noticed that my under hood insulation looked like shit. Long story, short: New under hood insulation and full set of fasteners is on the way. It's nice to know that I'm now sweating the small shit. Instead of "The car needs this", it's now "Yeah, I don't like that, let's replace it."
ToyToy, is it possible that your remembrance of how well the car was back in the day is a bit rose colored? I had this discussion of someone who would like to get a 1970 Chevelle as that is what he drove and got laid in back in the day. My thoughts is he would realize how shitty the 60s muscle cars really were if he bought one. About 20 years ago I was given the opportunity to ride a 1967 Triumph Bonneville for about 20 miles. I got off of it after about 5 miles, the damn thing shook, had no suspension and less brakes. Just saying 20-30 year old cars did not and do not work nearly as well as we remember them. Of course, I have a 1979 Yamaha Daytona Special and a 1985 RZ350 in the garage as I do not listen to my own advice.
You know that the under hood insulation is all bullshit, right? You do not need it in any way, except to SLIGHTLY lower decibel levels out of the vehicle. It has ZERO to do with engine performance, and I can tell you that for a fact: on my Firebird, my Camaro, my F150, my F350, my Grand Marquis, I got rid of the hood isulation, mainly because I don't like fiberglass particles raining down on me when I'm working on them. Just pull out the old, shitty insulation, and cancel the order. Spend the money somewhere else.
To a degree, quite possibly. I do know there is a 20 mph hair pin that I used to take at 45 in my RX7. When I got my 300ZX I damn near rolled it on that corner trying to take it at 35. (And the RX7 wasn't memory holed at that time, I kept it for over a year after I bought the ZX simply because it was so much fun.) I wouldn't even think of taking the Camaro through that corner at 35, it's too twitchy. That is, until yesterday. I went out on that road with the new tower brace on and it took the corner somewhere between 35-40 and felt stable as could be....I wasn't even pushing it hard. That tower brace should've been installed by Chevy when the car was new, it makes an amazing change in the handling characteristics of the car. It's right there with the Hurst shifter as best money I've spent on the car so far. I know it isn't needed, it just kind of goes along with my vision for the car. I want to keep it as stock as possible, (Not stock as in how it left the factory, but stock as in something that could've been ordered.) The only real changes from a box stock car are the tinted windows and stereo. The shifter, Bilsteins, and even the tower brace are things that could be ordered from the factory (Albeit only on an SS.) Someday down the road I may decide to go full blown custom on it, but right now I'm happy with a clean stocker.
Well it has been some ugly weather and i dropped 45lb's directly on my pinky toe last week, so i really haven't had much drive to work on the Explorer. Well i got everything back together, and it is still making the same noise, ffs. So when i get it up to in town speed(50kph) or slightly above and take a nice sweeping right hand turn so i can keep the speed up easily the sound goes away, when i take a left hand turn it doesn't go away or maybe gets slightly louder. To me it still sounds like it is coming from the front right. So my question, could it be the CV axle? Are my ears failing me and maybe a different wheel bearing? edit, it is my wifes car, she even thought the sound was coming front the front right, the side I changed.
Usually, a sound that goes away in a turn is a bearing. Jack up the front of the vehicle, then spin the wheel by hand, and have your other hand on the spring. If you feel vibration in the spring, that bearing is probably bad. While it's in the air, grab the wheel at 12 and 6 o-clock positions, and try to move it up and down. If it moves, the bearing is bad (or possibly a ball joint, but that's a whole other story. But you shouldn't have ANY movement. ).
The bearing, tierod end and control arm have been changed. Everything led it it being the bearing, but i had to take the knuckle out and ended up fucking the tierod and ball joint, so those had to be replaced.
Well there is no heavy duty thread so i will just post here some shit that went down in our shop. Last week one of our spreader trailers(basically a low bed flat deck) had an issue with 3 out of the 8 tires. So the mechanic load the 3 onto a pallet so i could take them to a tire shop. So i called back today asking where my tires are they gave some bs excuses that they had a wrong number and couldn't get a hold of me. I asked if my tires were done, and they said they were solid tires and were confused on what they needed to be done. So how this mechanic decided that these three tires need to be worked on who knows, but he will not live this down when he starts his shift on Sunday.
question for you guys; I'm (finally) in a place that I need to start car-shopping. I'm leaning towards a smaller pickup(Tacoma/Ranger/Colorado, etc). Anyone have any experiences with the these brands? 4cy/6cyl? 2wd/4wd? My 99 Toyota Camry is starting to fall apart, and the idea of keeping up with the "minor" issues feels like throwing money into a pit(but it runs/drives fine, so I'm in no rush). My impression off lokking at used Tacomas is that jesus, everyone wan't ALL the money for these things, even used. I'm just curious if a, say, 2011 engine with 105,000 miles is just a problem waiting to happen, or if it's probably pretty solid. Stuff kinda like that, what would be the red-flags on anything that you'd lookout for. Preciate it!
I guess i would say "new" style, however the body styles/ect don't really concern me that much. I kinda just want to get something that I can help my mom/dad out with gardening stuff, and I can easily park in my parking spot. Other than that, I'm kinda flexible on everything else. Also, does anyone have any experience with the Ford Ranger Manuals? Like is the clutch guaranteed to be fried after 100k?
I'm pretty sure the new Ranger doesn't come in a manual so you must be talking about the older (ended in 2012 IIRC) Ranger. My father in law has a '95 Ranger (Virtually identical to the 2012) that has a manual. He's still on the stock clutch with around 120k on it and lives in SF, so lots of hills. The Colorado from that same vintage had some weird inline 5 cylinder I don't know much about. But, like all Chevy's from that era, the interior is dong. Looks dated and they have stock in squeaks and rattles. For my money, I'm going Tacoma. There's a reason why they hold their resell value so well.
fuck, yeah...I kinda knew people were gonna say that...you think a 100k+ engine in a 2000-2010 model is acceptable in a good price range, or are there other options just as good/cheaper?
I wouldn't consider 100k+ on a Toyota engine high at all. I'm convinced these engines don't come apart until owners start really neglecting them, or abusing them off-road. Maintain them, keep the cooling system functioning and replace the timing belt/chain at recommended intervals and I doubt you will have an internal engine issue. I had an old Nissan that I spun a rod bearing in trying to get out of a mud hole, it knocked for 10,000 miles before it actually stopped. I dropped a used engine with 193,000 miles on it that I got for $250 from a junkyard. Before I put it in, I did head gasket and timing chain just because it was so easy with the engine out of the truck.
I can vouch for that. I had a 2001 Tundra with 200k hard miles on it. Just before I sold it I drove it 18 hours straight on the freeway at 80+ mph and it got the same gas mileage it did when it was brand new and used zero oil. One of my buddies has a 2002 GMC 4WD with 250K on it, it still runs like a top and drives excellent. It's only issue is some rust starting to pop through. Anymore, 100K is just getting broke in as long as the vehicle hasn't been horribly abused.