Repairs

Radio Delete.

In Progress, Repairs on 25 May 2011 with no comments

Looks like someone boosted my tunes

Last night I finished grinding a dash cover plate down enough to fit a DIN-9 sleeve for my spare Kenwood radio. I stole out into the garage at 10:30 and pulled the Wal-Mart special, marked off the relevant wires, and test-fitted the Kenwood. Unfortunately, there was no juice. I think part of the problem is that the new deck needs constant power and switched power from the key; I’ve got switched power but noplace to draw constant power from the battery. So next I have to figure out how to make that happen.

In other news, I ordered two replacement J-hooks from SSS yesterday in preparation for my gas tank swap. Now that the weather is calming down, I need to set aside a day to make that happen.

Starting Blues.

In Repairs on 5 April 2011 with no comments

I’m suffering some new starting woes this week, which have me in the dumps. I swapped out the positive battery cable on Sunday thinking I might be able to fix my intermittent starting issues, but when everything was hooked up and ready, I got no juice to the starter at all. I’ve been getting loads of help from the Binder Planet from guys who have much more experience than me, and I’m slowly making progress on a diagnosis. Tonight I’m going to try jumping the solenoid to see if that might be my issue, and the troubleshooting will continue.

Plug Update.

In Progress, Purchasing, Repairs on 29 March 2011 with no comments

I did a dumb thing the other day. I ordered a box of plastic vacuum plugs from Amazon before going downstairs and doing a little more investigating on my gas tank. I got fixated on covering the preinstalled brass fittings without considering the obvious: remove them (they’re all threaded, of course) and find threaded brass plugs to replace them. $10 at the Home Depot and I’ve got five 1/4″ square-head plugs that will cap off all the unneeded ports with no fear of disintegration.

It appears, though, that I’ll most likely have to buy a new set of J-hooks for the tank straps I’ve got; the advice I’m reading on the Binder Planet says the OEM nuts will most likely snap off the ends of the bolts.

Now, I just need a warm, free weekend day to pull her out of the garage and drop the tank.

Update: Here’s one of the plugs installed.

Undersea Cable.

In Progress, Repairs on 21 March 2011 with 1 comment

Last week, when the weather was getting warm and sunny, I was itching to get the old girl on the road. I was foiled, however, by an intermittent starting problem. Specifically, I could get her to start easily, and an hour later I’d get lights and radio but nothing from the engine—no click, no grind, nothing. Putting the battery on an overnight trickle charge gave me enough juice to get her started Friday morning, but I was wary when I got in her to drive home.

A little research points me to the battery cables, which have been problematic since the day I bought this truck. On Thursday evening I stripped about two inches of insulation from the terminal side of the cable and found green corrosion inside, so I’m going to need to find a new cable and a way to seal it up tight. SSS sells a positive cable for $80, which is pricey. Rock Auto sells one for $12 but I don’t know what gauge or length it is. I think i need to see if Evil Mr. Clean can hook me up with some of the cables like he’s got.

Thinking About Tanks.

In Future Plans, Repairs on 12 January 2011 with no comments

I’ve been thinking about replacing my gas tank ever since I got the poly tank last summer, and I’m making plans to gather the tools I’ll need to swap it out this spring:

The tank
A new sending unit
A pair of new J-hooks
A pair of new tank straps (although, for $24/ea, mine may still be usable)
Caps of some kind to cap off the evap outlets on my tank
Jackstands to hold the tank up as I’m pulling the old/installing the new
A professional siphon for emptying the remaining gas

A quick look on the Binder Planet returned a few good threads with pictures and advice:
Gas tank strap install – with a few nice pictures and advice on which side of the straps to start with (the fronts)
My quest for the correct o-ring to fix my leaking gas tank at the fuel sender – info on O-rings
Gas tank belch, possible fix!! , which talks about poly tanks and using the extra emissions fittings to avoid burps at fillup time.

Seat Base Repair

In Future Plans, Inspiration, Repairs on 31 December 2010 with 1 comment

This guy did some seat base repairs that are exactly what I need to do with mine.

Fixing Sloppy Steering

In Future Plans, Repairs on 9 December 2010 with no comments

There is a huge amount of play in my steering, so I read this post with interest. Among the advice:

…have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth while you watch the rag joint and the input and output shafts on the steering box for slop.

There is an adjustment on the steering box. Look for a 5/8 or 11/16 nut usually on the side of the box. It is on a shaft that usually has as screwdriver slot in it. Raise your front end off the ground. Center the wheels. Hold the center shaft while you break loose the nut. Turn the screw in to some resistance. Temporarily tighten the lock nut. Check for play again. If the adjustment is too tight, steering will be stiff at center. If so, back off a little.

Additionally:

…in addition, the correct way is to disconnect the drag link as well. As long as I have dealt with the lash in any Saginaw box, the correct way was just the same as any adjustment. All adjustments are made off-vehicle, so you must, as the books say, remove all preload. Which means pulling the drag link. Make it seem like it is off vehicle. While true final adjustment is made with the steering wheel connected and the gearbox mounted, note that the drag link is not! Also note that a dial indicator and lb-in torque wrench are also used. Inch pound that is, which means there is little room for mistake/carelessness.

Battery Blues.

In Purchasing, Repairs on 11 November 2010 with no comments

This morning I pulled the tarp off of Peer Pressure and made ready to driver her to work; the weather is perfect, clear and 60° so I was excited to get behind the wheel. I popped the hood, connected the battery, got one reluctant crank out of the battery, and… nothing. It looks like the $70 Pep Boys Special is dead—this after only seven months. I’ve stored it with the hot lead disconnected since parking it, so I know it’s not a short; it’s got to be either the battery or the alternator. So I’m going to try to replace the battery this evening and we’ll see if this one lasts any longer.

Update: The battery tests fine on the machine at the parts store; after some futzing with the terminals she fired right up. I left the cables connected to the battery over the weekend and she started immediately on Monday morning, which leads me to believe it’s the cables themselves.

High Technology.

In Progress, Repairs on 18 July 2010 with no comments

The other day, while waiting at a stoplight, I happened to notice the small headphone jack on the faceplate of the RoadGear (Wal-Mart) brand radio in the Scout. Intrigued, I filed this away for future investigation.

This afternoon, I pulled a 4″x6″ speaker from a spare dash and plugged it in to one of the lamp cord speaker wires coiled on the floor and tested the radio out. Success! I was pulling in stations, which means A. the antenna is connected, and B. there’s power to the unit. It even turns off when the key is out, which means it’s connected to the accessory circuit correctly. Next, I plugged my spare iPod into the jack and held my breath. Success! The headphone jack auto-switches to the accessory (something the fancy-shmancy Kenwood in the Jeep can’t do).

Lastly, thinking I was pushing my luck, I tried plugging the iPod charger into the cigarette lighter to see if it still carried power. Success!

I can hardly believe it. Now, to find a cheap pair of 6×9 speakers to cover up the big jagged holes in the rear walls.

Short-Term Projects.

In Future Plans, Repairs on 12 July 2010 with no comments

So, now that the carb is working correctly, I’m looking at small, inexpensive things that I can accomplish next on a tight time and money budget. There are a ton of things that are crying out to be worked on, unfortunately.