Wrenchin... Adventures under the hood... Put em here.

[tuco]

I'm a fan of buying good tools but looks like the Tiger socket press is $230. If I have lots of them to do no worries. But kinda rough for that first one. I guess other was on jeep only a couple years ago. Guess I'll sleep on it.

Hmm, maybe split it with my mechanic buddy, there's an idea.
Thanks either way tuco. Good call on mtt's ignition btw.

So yeti, then you still had to pound the last spindle in when you got it back home?

edit, oh, looks like I might be able to drop the drive shaft with the ujoint intact and then remove. Buddy with the hydraulic press says the danger is bending the yoke, not the ujoint cap, so I guess I might get it up to him across town which will be a chore but I guess that's why it's an adventure huh.

Yeah, it's not cheap, but if you have to service your own truck, worth it. That tool removes and installs u-joints(axle & driveshaft), ball joints, steering joints & wheel studs. No getting parts to be serviced across town, no waiting 2 weeks.
Success rate on those damn AZ rental tools isn't good for me.
As far as removal of drive line, my f150 is 4 12 point bolts connecting rear yoke to the pinion flange and then you can slide the slip yoke from rear of t case and it's free.

[Rideski]

If the truck is on flat ground will fluid spill out of the t case? How much higher do rear wheels need to be to avoid if so?

[tuco]

If the truck is on flat ground will fluid spill out of the t case? How much higher do rear wheels need to be to avoid if so?

A little. Catch it in a drain pain. it wont be much. The tail housing on the t-case is higher than the fill plug.

[Flounder]

It's been a long time since I've worked on my own vehicle. I'm better at house renovations than wrenching so that's been the focus since we bought a house.

Today I finally finished up this install in my 4runner. Dual batteries and a compressor. Getting it set up as a wheeling and camping rig. Learned a ton about 12v electric and I think it came out well. py sideways pic of the inside showing switch pro switch, voltage meter, and down low the blue sea ACR control. Also ran 3 15 amp circuits to the rear for fridge and feeds to the roof top tent.

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[basinbeater]

Looks pretty legit to me.

[ill-advised strategy]

It should work, no? Front is typically an open diff, and center diff no longer has a rear shaft...so really just a front wheel drive truck.

There's no "should" about it. It works, I've done it enough that saying I’ve done it "many times” isn't egregious. Pretty much every time a 4x4 I've had needs rear ujoints I end up driving it around in front wheel drive with the rear driveline off. It always works fine.

[ill-advised strategy]

It's been a long time since I've worked on my own vehicle. I'm better at house renovations than wrenching so that's been the focus since we bought a house.

Today I finally finished up this install in my 4runner. Dual batteries and a compressor. Getting it set up as a wheeling and camping rig. Learned a ton about 12v electric and I think it came out well. py sideways pic of the inside showing switch pro switch, voltage meter, and down low the blue sea ACR control. Also ran 3 15 amp circuits to the rear for fridge and feeds to the roof top tent.

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I bought a group 31 commercial battery, like the ones in our bus fleet, as a second battery in the plow truck this year. If you ever replace one, look into stuffing a giant bus battery in it. I can leave the headlights on all day and it still would crank and fire right up cold I'm sure. Given a choice between a huge alternator and a big battery versus a normal alternator and a pair of massive batteries, I'd far rather have the big batteries.

[Rideski]

Well if there’s a time to try it, it would be right now since I’m mostly out of food.




But enlighten me. If I get back from storm chasing and wake up to bare ground since I live in a desert and shit, if I was still in 4hi it wouldn’t be fun at all to get out of my parking spot and into another at Safeway for food. Just hopping and jumping all over the place. Would fuck things up pretty quick no?
Even in moderate dirt or snow jumps a lot on a tight turn.



Ps the web version on a phone is still rotating pics, make that stop.

[ill-advised strategy]

Do you have a detroit or spool in your front diff?

If not, and if you’re running it with the rear shaft removed, you really shouldn’t have any binding at all.

[ill-advised strategy]

Took some of those horrible rotor retention screws out this evening...here’s how I do it. Nothing fancy.

[MakersTeleMark]

You should invest in a small hand impact.

[El Chupacabra]

Another air conditioning issue on my truck:

AC blows cold when first turned on, and will continue to blow cold for about two hours of steady driving. It then gets warmer - still cooler than outside air, but nowhere near what normal cold AC is.

Any ideas on where to start troubleshooting? My first thought is get a gauge set from Harbor Freight and check high and low side pressures, see if the system just needs more refrigerant.

I've owned the truck since 2011, never recharged the AC. I replaced the low side pressure switch right when I got it, because of icing up.

Truck is a 2000 GMC Sierra, 6.0 gas motor. Simple HVAC controls (dials), no automatic climate control.

[Obstruction]

Just went through something similar with both our Subarus.

Might be the refrigerant level certainly worth checking out 1st. Kind of makes sense where you're getting good cooling for 2 hrs before it craps out.

Also check The AC Clutch. Is it engaging when the ac stops cooling? If it isn't Could be the magnet is getting past it or maybe the air gap has gotten to big and clutch needs re-shimming.

One of our Subies was was the AC relay (2nd time in 4 years) but only $12. The other one I ended up getting another compressor after eliminating everything else.

[El Chupacabra]

I was reading up on the AC clutch, but could that be the issue if the truck is still cooling after two hours? The problem is that the temp of the air isn't nearly as cold as it should be - it's still cooling, just kinda anemic.

[fatnslow]

Sounds.like your lines might be freezing. Make sure your cabin air filter is clean and all your vents are operating. If you don't have enough airflow to the condenser it will freeze up, leading to no AC. You could also have air in your lines but take a look at your cabin filter first. If you have air in your lunes you'll need to evaluate the system them pull vacuum to check for any leaks.

[Obstruction]

Usually it's more like 10 - 20 minutes but there's a lot of voodoo in this ac shit.

+1 on the cabin air filter. It can do a job on the evaporator.

I'd also visually observe the clutch when the ac stops producing cold air. Then I'd touch the metal low pressure line running out of the compressor. If the car isn't cool enough the clutch should still be engaging to spin up the compressor. If the compressor isn't spinning then you have to figure out why. Could be low coolant (compressor cuts out as a failsafe), could be clutch trouble or could be some other climate control electronics.

Now if the compressor is engaged and the low pressure line leading out of the compressor isn't good and cold you have to wonder about the refrigerant levels and or the compressor.

[El Chupacabra]

Thanks all - I'll check the cabin filter tomorrow. Didn't think airflow inside the cabin could affect this.

[Thaleia]

I know this is going to sound crazy - but is there any link between a dying battery and a dead fuel pump?

My 08 Nissan Rogue stalled when driving home the other night. Zero power to crank over, so I had it towed home assuming it was the battery or maybe the alternator. I had noticed that earlier in the week that the battery was under performing. Tried boosting it at home, starter would turn the engine over but wouldn't get going. I'd usually spend more time trouble shooting but my schedule made me get it towed to the shop.

They said the battery was toast, but they were also trouble shooting the fuel pump. They found a weak/odd signal from the crank sensor, replaced that assuming it was the cause, but still, no fuel.

They went ahead and changed the fuel pump (and battery) and we're good now (they didn't charge me for the crank sensor).

Is it not odd that two components would fail in this way? What am I missing?

thanks as always.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

You had some sort of short? I've got a pinched wire I need to fix that is causing intermittent ignition problems and blowing my horn fuse. I only know this because I caused the problem myself.

[tripice351]

My 08 Nissan Rogue stalled when driving home the other night.

Zero power to crank over.

Tried boosting it at home, starter would turn the engine over but wouldn't get going.

.

From these pieces (and the part where you had already noticed the battery "under performing", which I assume to mean a slow crank), I would say your battery was weak and failing to begin with. Stalling from a dead battery without having to jump it to begin with is relatively rare - but when it happens it usually starts with weird electrical faults happening as the alternator can no longer keep up and voltage drops before the engine quits.

The fuel pump may have been weak also (was the "under performing" also extended cranking time before starting?). Truck stalled when fuel pump shit the bed. Jump start overcame battery issue but couldn't overcome a dead pump.

[basinbeater]

Another bit for the ac... If the engine cooling system is losi g efficiency and the engine is running too hot (clogged radiator, faulty thermostat, etc) your ac may shot off to reduce the load on the engine. You need to determine if the compressor clutch is engaging g wje. You have symptoms. If it is, you have a refrigerant/oil mix problem, leak, or something. If it is not spinning, could be a number of things, insufficient pressure in the system, engine running hot, fan clutch relay dying...

[El Chupacabra]

I have a couple of things to check now - thanks all.

On the AC clutch - would I be getting any cold air out of the system if the clutch weren't engaging? Or could it be engaging only partway (slipping), but just enough to turn the compressor a little bit, and cause some cooling?

Possible relevant data point: I replaced the radiator and all coolant hoses when I got the truck (radiator was leaking), and the pressure tank cap. Truck does not lose coolant, no overheating issues while driving.

[uglymoney]

Clutch is on or off. If it engaged halfway it would burn up. You can just test the wires going into it and make sure it is engaged when it has 12 volts. Or if it safe to do because it is easy to access hold a screwdriver in front if it. If the screwdriver gets pulled into it by magnetic but the clutch isn't engaged it is bad. They usually stop working once they are hot.

My guess is your system is probably freezing up due to low refrigerant or make sure your condenser coil up by the radiator is clean and not full of bugs. Hose it down and hit it with a brush if you can.

Bad relay acts like a bad clutch. Ac works great and then no ac until the clutch or relay starts working again. So the air goes cold to warm quickly. When the clutch first goes bad it will take a little while longer to engage so it might feel like the car ac has less power but you should notice a hot cold cycle on the air coming off of your evaporator into the cabin. If it is freezing up you'll simply notice a decrease in performance that is more linear.

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[basinbeater]

Little 928 work last week before rollin up to Idaho. What a great long distance cruising car. Just eats up the miles at a high rate of speed in total comfort.

I pulled off the front valence/batwing type cover from under the front bumper, and reset all mounting points with new speed nuts, new screws, and reinforced any weak looking spots with big ol fender washers. Sits much more secure and tight than before. Then went through the mish mash of mixed hardware that was semi holding on the under trays and put new matching hardware everywhere that the under trays bolt on. Will be much much easier to remove and replace next time they need to come down. Also popped the top ball joints on the front end checked for tightness, all good, put new booties on them,

[basinbeater]

Last week I also got around to fixing the ac on my 944 turbo. For the first time ever since I have owned the car. First I pulled the condenser out, cleaned it, took it down to Jmac radiator who pressure tested it for me. Then I finished cleaning up and straightening as many of the fins as I could on it. Gave it a quick light coat of black paint. Cleaned up the ac lines by sanding down any corrosion, painting exposed steel. I pulled the compressor, drained any crap out of there, and cleaned the thing up the best I could. and replace any o rings I could reach. Filled compressor with the proper amount of oil. Put compressor back in, replaced o rings all around the system at condenser, lines, and lines at the firewall. I left the expansion valve alone. Put a new drier in and pulled vacuum. left it overnight and checked to see if it still had vacuum, and it did! Yay! Started checking clutch operation, and didn't engage, crap. Bypassed low pressure switch and still didn't engage. Found a loose connection for the compressor, and now can get the clutch to engage. Sweet. Bypassed low pressure switch and fired up the motor, and enagaged the ac system and started putting refrigerant into the low pressure side. Sight glass began to run clear, no more bubbles, done. AC works. For the first time ever in my ownership of 5 years. Happy days, For a black car with a black interior, this makes the car much more usable in the summer.