Death rattle

This is what main bearings, rod bearings, broken rods, broken piston, broken crank, or other MAJOR broken part sounds like.

going forward

1989 4.0 before. (BTW-this valve cover had 14 bolts. my leaky junk had 4... thank goodness for improvements!

after

after 20 minutes and an impact wrench. only thing stopping me now is headbolts being torqued on severely!

donor 91 HO motor that had the head I want. somethings missing!

gutless wonder

somethings wrong with this truck... missing something

sits a little funny. LOL

lost a 20" wheel?

well, that lightweight part of a truck totally was more than the OEM 1981 4.2L jeep motor could handle. I'm coming to think that the motor has either 228k on it or an ABUSIVE 128k.

went to redding on sat to grab yel truck, sell a part i didn't need(and met a really cool bunch of guys!), and help sis with her honda.

going up a long shallow onramp-i couldn't hit over 25mph(shoulda been 40-50 in that space). WONDERFUL =/
my 52 gmc with WORE OUT 250 inline 6 had more power towing. =( yes I miss it, yes I'm glad i now have 4x4.
been RARELY hearing a thump from internals of motor. this trip did it in. i think i was realizing about half of the rated 110hp... we were unloading the yel truck at the boneyard at dark o-clock and the 4x in fulltime 4x4 didn't have enough power to pull the trailer from under the yel truck.
Wife pushed with hands and it moved...

i couldn't even get the motor to spin the tires in the damp grass. worthless! putting it in 4x4LO helped a tremendous amount. I left it idling while i moved, adjusted, moved adjusted... and it started knocking SOOO BAD!
Wife started calculating in her head how long it would take to walk home if engine developed a new "window". read the service manual and in the troubleshooting section every noise described is present indicating failures in rod, main bearings, maybe piston pins, certainly valvetrain...

now-I'm done.
stock 1981 4.2L is 110hp/195tq brand new stock
stock 1989 4.0L is 177hp/235tq brand new stock
stock 1991 HO 4.0L sim but head flows better.

combine various parts from each and add a set of pistons and you get a 4.5L or 4.6L depending on various things....
=over 260hp and at or over 300 pounds of torque

donor 1989 4.0 with 283k miles. runs. add cash, time, and parts. now all I need is the cash.

Hoodie

so this is what a good camera and shaky hands does at 8pm

I got the hood on and the latch on but they don't line up properly =( gonna have to loosen the fender bolts and wiggle it around a lot. I had to get aggressive just to get the pin to go in latch. This front end and hood are mates to the cab-been together since factory...they should line up.

I finished the TFI/HEI upgrade. not sure i noticed a power difference cause i still have a carb bog but i think its is more peppy. will see tomorrow with trailer tow to redding. filled up with gas. i think/hope ODO is wrong. no yard idling and i only got 12mpg... =(

pass door glass was loose so i installed felt channel weatherstrip. i can believe the utter lack of attention to detail. it was shipped to me curled inside out. no big deal? its corrugated metal... in other words its FORMED THAT WAY! so i have to deform it, then attempt to reform it without making it kinked... PAIN! at least its in.
theres another thing that rubs/cleans/seals inside of passenger glass. called cats whiskers... pic below shows OEM i removed(stapled onto metal trim!) and aftermarket replacement.

can you tell the difference?!! FREAK!! ARGGHH!! i think a pair was 10-15$. i would have paid $50/EACH if when they came, they were correct shape and material. arghh!


getting ready to go to redding to do some horse trading. few months ago i had gone wreck yard shopping and found a 50 gmc with the key in the glovebox!!! needless to say i grabbed lock and key never thinking i should grab the door cylinder! duh. went back later and got it!

so now i have 1 key that matches glovebox and door! =) installed today. now i can lock the cab!

next is air bag spring helpers to cure the significant "wag sag" that 50# of anything causes.

Tea party day

linked here are news stories of Tea party protests
The one where I live was not posted here but a map of some of the ones nationally is HERE and HERE and HERE

I went and made my presence known just to add my body to the mass. Locally I estimate 500+? showed up at any one time and people came/went as schedules allowed. A VERY few of the signs I liked. Space prohibits posting them all. Clicking on a picture opens it fullsize.

Honda pusher

Easter Sunday on the way to making holes...

I finally got a real bumper on it. this is the bumper and splash pan from a 47-53(AD) 2 ton and bigger truck. yes-it is 1/4" steel and the bumper and 2 very small brackets weighs 65# hopefully this leveraged weight will soften the ride by providing more mass the suspension cant move. after hood goes on, if its still sitting/riding the same way-i will take the shortest spring out of the spring pack. this is a road warrior not a trail rider.

BTW-I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT SUPPORT GEICO ANYMORE!!! please change companies if you can-i will no longer recommend them to anyone and will do my darnedest to get people to leave them. over 15 years of on-time payments and no claims/accidents/problems. I sold a few cars I've owned for years and don't need/want/afford anymore and suddenly I'm a dealer. "soapbox" double hockeysticks to them!

Tuning

Well, the other day i had found with carb cleaner that i had a few vac leaks at base of carb. also the manual choke i cobbed together didn't cover vac hole and it didn't close or open all the way.

yesterday i pulled carb and today i pulled the adapter and the EGR. EGR had a LOT of oil in it-weird. i think engine has a lot of 'blow-by' so that's prob where came from. welded EGR full shut. I'm still a participant in the jeep oil change program.

took man choke off and re-installed electric-don't like elec but... put RTV between every surface from manifold up. followed directions WOW! you know-lay a bead then assemble without tightening, wait 20 then torque to spec.

worked like a charm. after an extended crank time while carb filled with gas-it fired right up. i cant find my elec choke wire-its around there somwhere. but its starts a little easier(stared fine before) idles smoother and has a touch more power.

monday/tues i do the TFI/HEI upgrade which by all accounts is the kick in the behind that is needed. more power. it mates many things together. Jeep OEM dist, ford cap/rotor, GM ign module... some wires and connectors... the rumor is a 2x+ power boost as instead of max 15k volts, its now near 50k...

stock ign module external to dist which will go away when HEI module is installed.

Weight test

Before with 3 year dry oak-loosely piled. wish i had my dump setup working.

After unloading. I REALLY need air bag load helpers!

More grips Scotty!

If it wont go where you want it to go-MAKE IT! "more vise-grips Scotty-she's slippin!"

should be strong enough now... 3/4" plate backed with 1/4" webbing... dumpbed pivot

custom bed mount.

need to add running board. Thanks for the help guitarman!

these fenders came with bed, bugly and i realize the wheels not centered in opening-these are NOT the intended fender. cant wait to get my utility boxes on but this should satisfy the fuzz for now...

closeup

Tilting at...

Those RV scissorjacks from harbor freight have been a lifesaver!


this will OBVIOUSLY need to be stronger... especially the more i look at it.


about a 25 degree angle

didn't pt angle finder on it-looks like about 45-50 degrees and i was worried about gate hitting bumper-HA! that wont happen. i can even leave hitch on!

Now-should i have the utility boxes bolted to bed sides
OR
stationary on their own frames so they don't tilt with bed?

drivability

bedside ready for holes.

the bed now at 71.25" instead of OEM 87" i curved the ends and bent the sides around to front to match OEM design. i wont have front stake pockets. possibly not rear but still not sure.

my wife's legs holding down the carriage bolt heads while i attach fasteners from underneath. GREAT JOB HONEY! thanks for putting up with it. =)

plastic wood installed. ready to move towards the truck. i am going to buy stainless strips to match the trim on the windshield.

The inching on of the bed a one-man job. slow and steady-these boots aren't steeltoe.

Adoring fans and songs about redneck trucks...

here's how she sits now with my DOT approved hold-down devices.. LOL! They held over 75MPH out to the shopping cart on Thursday. I helped Dad pour a slab for AC condenser and grabbed some steel to make official bed mounting. Maybe after the race tomorrow. =)

I've been putting a few miles on it now. I pulled valve cover, did some serious grinding, adding gasket goop, and other various attempts but I'm still participating in Jeep's factory oil change program... poor valve cover sealing design means adding oil between stoplights.(not really but a real PITA and smokey from burning oil leaking out of valve cover)
i messed with carb more and got a touch more power, not gonna check MPG since been doing a lot of running in place whilst tuning.
bed mounting is HIGH priority. even redneck mounted it has been used almost every day. sure nice to have a truck that doesn't look like a honda CRX
Visited my niece and helped my brother tile their dining floor today. Nice visit and nice break and great food from brothers wife-great cook-thanks!.