Apparently I have some catching up to do...
The electrolysis showed that these tanks have already rusted through. They're junk. Rather than try to patch, hack, mod and chop, I'm (eventually) going to build some new ones.
Project #2: heater core repair and water pump replacement (04-17-2016)
My water pump had been leaking badly, and rather than pour antifreeze through it, I'd been refilling it with water. Well, that bit me. Winters here are normally pretty mild, but last December was chilly, and one night the heater core split open in the below-freezing temps. It produced a spectacular gusher from the heater box when I tried to leave home in the morning.
Here's the offending hole. That dog, as they say, won't hunt.
Other than the hole, the heater core was in good shape, so I decided to try to fix it. First I brushed the metal clean, then hammered (gently) both sides of the split as close together as I could get them.
Then came a little acid core solder.
Once that was back together, I got rid of the gnarly old water pump. For some reason I apparently didn't have the presence of mind to take photos of the job after this glamor shot of the old pump. Or maybe this was just meant to act as a reference for reassembly. Anyway, this is the old pump. It's gone now, and a loomnum pump lives here now. Also, new belts, because the old ones had part numbers written in Roman numerals and had lost some (all) of their youthful glow.
Project #3: cleaned the cowl vent pockets
I found my round tuit and finally, after years of denial and procrastination, de-trashed the kick panel vent pockets. Like in every other FSJ, these were packed tight with pine needles, seed cones, leaves, and various other components, all rotting together and forming several pounds of really neat organic compost. The junk makes its way through the cowl louver into the plenum, which feeds fresh air to the vents in the kick panels, and then it all just collects at the lowest point. Here are the what the left and right vent pockets looked like with the grilles and dampers removed.
I also got started on a real end-all, be-all cowl vent screen to keep this from happening again, but got sidetracked. Probably better remember to finish that thing...
Project #4: fuel leak repair
This was an easy one. Started with a slight aroma of fuel now and then, and rapidly developed into liquid gasoline puddling on the intake manifold in front of the carburetor. Well, when you can see daylight through the accelerator pump diaphragm, that kind of thing will happen.
Chucked a new diaphragm on. No more leaks. I do love an eight dollar fix.
Project #5: new radiator
This was tonight's project. I knew the radiator on this truck was not in great shape, but didn't realize quite how nasty it was. Say "ahhhh"...
And that was one of its better angles. Here's an unflattering shot of its less-than-attractive backside:
So that obviously ain't gonna work. Step one: run some radiator flush through it, then drain, fill with water, run, repeat until clear water comes out. Follow with step two: remove everything that doesn't look like a new radiator.
Step three: installation is the reverse of removal. Brand new all-metal rad from BJ's Offroad:
So far, I like it. It fits perfectly and seems well-made. And at least I know it can be repaired if an issue should arise.
Step four: fill with the finest (and only) antifreeze available at this end of town on a Sunday evening. Unfortunately, I'm still seeing a whole lot of dirt and/or cooling system cleaner in the coolant. Well, at least the finest antifreeze is also very cheap. I'll throw a flush tee in it and blast the whole system clean later in the week, and then replace the coolant one last time. Hopefully, I will then be able to leave the cooling system alone for a couple of years.
I think I missed a couple other ... yeah, I
know I missed a couple other little jobs. But we'll get it caught up sooner or later. This is enough for now.
Project #6: new tires (04-22-2016)
Well, not much of a project so much as handing someone some money and letting them do their job. But it needed to be done, so...here it is. I finally got/had to bite the bullet and get some new rubber under this old tractor.
Gave the old pig a quick warsh and got over to the tire store in the morning. Basking in the sun, waiting for the doctor to see her:
After waiting way too long (they were deep in the weeds), they finally made some room in the shop.
And shortly thereafter, the deed was done.
Went with Cooper Discoverer S/T MAXX in the same LT255/85R16 size. I would have liked them to have a narrower tread, more like the old-style Discoverer ST, but I wanted the three-ply sidewalls. I almost chose the old STs anyway for their more retro-looking tread pattern, but these should be just fine. All I can say for now is that they are pretty quiet at speed, and a whole lot rounder than the old ones. Which is a good start, really.
Couple more. Still no really good shots to show the true size and width of the tires, but...well, they're just tires.
Project #7.1: 4" spring lift - front
You know how things tend to drag out if you let them? That's the problem. I let them.
When I bought this poor old truck four and a half years ago, I thought it might need shocks soon. Well, it did. But I also wanted to lift it a little, which meant longer shocks, so I waited. I found a suitable (read: cheap) set of used springs, did the math, bought the shocks, and promptly did nothing but drive the truck and complain about the miserable ride quality.
A couple of weeks ago I decided enough was enough and dug out the parts. It was time to get the thing put together. So I ripped into the front. And that's what I got done. The front.
So we got this for now:
It's a couple inches low in the back because there's a ton (well, 2400 pounds, actually) of Daddy Weekender landscaping materials in the bed. But even without the load, it's still dopey looking, and still rides like poo with 8400# rear springs and nearly no damping on the rear axle.
Just looking through my old PMs, apparently I bought the springs in late 2013. There's nothing like procrastination, is there?
I'll get the rear lifted pretty soon. Probably.