I ordered a new 180° thermostat and 7 lb. radiator cap from Super Scout Specialists this afternoon, in the hopes that I can get a day over 40° to install it. Then the fan shroud, and then we cross our fingers to see if she stays cool.
This is only peripherally related to my engine (I have a different carb setup) but the writeup is good so far: This gentleman is swapping a Holley 2100 for a new 2300 350CFM unit, which is the one I’d like to eventually have on my Scout.
Here’s a great article on a heater box rebuild from the Binder Planet.
Santa was very, very good to me this year: He sent me a brand-new Tuffy console for the Scout to replace the odd metal/wood stock unit that doesn’t lock. Once I get this installed, I’ll have someplace safe and secure to lock down tools, radio, and other important gear.
The excellent Mr. Clean and Brian H. stopped in this Sunday, despite two inches of snow, to help motivate me enough to tear down the coolant system on Peer Pressure and see what’s what. One of the things holding me back has been my inexperience with this particular section of the engine, and my fear that I’d get it pulled apart without knowing how to get it back together again.
With three sets of hands, we made short work of the pulleys and hoses, and had the water pump separated from the engine within an hour. What we found was confounding: there was no gasket on it at all—just a hint of RTV. The impellers were still shiny gold. Could this be the reason for the intermittent leaks?
The consensus was that if it’s not the water pump gasket, the next thing to check will be the thermostat, which means tearing down the top coolant hose and outlet. New thermostats are inexpensive, so that’s not as daunting a job as the water pump is.
While we had the fan off, we figured we’d put the fan shroud on in order to get it ready for fabricating a new mount, which went well. We pulled the clutch portion of the fan off, after remounting the pump, and carefully eased everything back in place. I think that a few carefully cut sections of steel will tie things up perfectly.
So, while she’s not ready for the road, she’s closer than before. Thanks guys!
Well, it’s official: I’m overheating. I got the Scout out on the first dry Saturday in three weeks, made it down the hill to Ellicott City to gas up, and across the river into town before the temp gauge spiked beyond where I was comfortable. I pulled over into the International dealership at the top of the hill and popped the hood to take a look. The radiator cap was cool to the touch and the overflow tank was at its normal level; there was no sign of steam although I could faintly smell cooking antifreeze. I slowly unscrewed the radiator cap and got a burst of steam as well as gurgling from down below. After a half an hour cooldown, I made it back through town and about halfway home before I had to pull off again. It took two more rests to get it back in the garage.
So, the plan has changed a little: I’m going to mock up the fan shroud supports, probably out of some aluminum sheet I saw at the Lowe’s, buy a new water pump online, and then scoot down the street to our local garage to have the cooling system sorted out. At this point I just don’t have the time to fool with it myself, and I don’t want it sitting for months without running like my last Scout.
Then, after that’s fixed, I’ll bring it down to my other mechanic, who has experience with carburetors, and have him go through the Thermoquad and the ignition for me.
Meanwhile, there’s a fantastic thread on the Binder Planet about tuneups, including overhaul of distributors and cleaning carbs. I’m subscribed and watching it closely.
I haven’t done much in the way of working or playing with the Scout, but I’ve been keeping my eyes open for future plans. Here are some links I’ve collected for possible future purchasing:
Heat Shield Mat – this will come in handy for next summer when there’s a ton of heat coming off the engine.
Door jamb switch – a possible replacement for the ones I’ve got.
I haven’t done much with the Scout lately, only because it’s been ridiculously busy in the last couple of weeks, and the temperature gauge has been giving me a scare. I drove home from work about two weeks ago and for the time it took to sit at a red light, the gauge climbed towards the red uncomfortably quickly. When I got out I popped the hood and felt the radiator cap, which was surprisingly cool, and the engine didn’t seem any hotter than normal, but with my water pump troubles earlier in the year I’m afraid to chance cooking the engine. So I’m saving shekels to buy a new pump and have it replaced along with the seal (I don’t have the time to do it myself) as well as fabricate a fan shroud adaptor so that whoever does the work can install that while they’ve got the pump off. Lowe’s sells sheet metal that I can cut down and adapt pretty easily, so I think I’ll try to tackle that this coming weekend.
Ever since I’ve had FrankenScout, the tailgate never latched shut. It would stay up due to gravity and its own weight, but the latch arms on either side were pointing backwards and the button was inoperable.
Saturday afternoon, after a trip to the Home Depot to pick up ten bags of mulch (about 20 cubic yards) I took twenty minutes to pop the diamondplate cover off my tailgate and removed the access panel to see what the issue was with the latch mechanism. It turned out that the spring attached to the cam which both locks and unlocks the latch mechanism was completely disengaged from its stop, so that continual pushing of the button would cause the entire mechanism to spin around and stop functioning. I screwed the mechanism down to the tailgate and pulled the spring back into place with a screwdriver, then spun the latches and reconnected the entire mechanism. It closed and latched like a dream.
This was also Jen’s inaugural ride, and I think she enjoyed herself even though the exhaust fumes were strong. We rode a short distance with the top down, but had to stop and put it up on account of the chilly wind. I’m happy to say that 20 cubic yards of mulch didn’t so much as dent the rear springs—something that would have had the Jeep looking like it had been torpedoed.
It’s getting colder, and it seems like it’s raining every day, so I broke down and put the soft top back on. I also got the oil changed down the street (I kept a close eye on the guys in the well) and had the oil in the rear diff replaced—it was sludgy when he pulled the bolt off.
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