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Since I couldn't find any non-rusted rear crossmembers in the Chicago area (the Heart of the Rust Belt!), I asked my brother-in-law in Texas to look around HIS local junkyards for one. It took him about two months (he had to buy a cordless angle grinder to remove it) but the crossmember arrived...

Thanks! I took the Wife out shopping this afternoon, so everywhere we parked, I took a peek under the hood and under the engine. No leaks, knock on wood. I DID notice that the radiator cap seems crooked: when I pull the pressure relief lever, the coolant squirts out of the cap, NOT the overflow...

Rick, I decided to wait until the stuff set before pushing the hose ends onto the pipe nipple, as I would probably need to drive the truck soon and couldn't wait a day. I didn't want the water pressure to push the wet stuff out. It was a pretty snug fit. So, the job is completed, as planned. I...

A clever solution, but somewhat beyond my skill set. And you are right, it would be difficult to slip the crimped tubing into the hose...the smooth tubing is already a snug fit. But not snug enough, I found. So I bought a 3 inch length of 1-1/4" threaded galvanized steel pipe at Home Depot...

Rick, don't award me just yet! The hose that I coupled with the copper pipe and hose clamps slipped right off this afternoon, resulting in some loss of coolant but no overheating. When the engine cooled a bit, I threaded some stiff wire through both hose clamps and twisted the ends as tightly...

Had to replace the upper radiator hose AND the ignition key lock cylinder today. I should have replaced the upper hose at the same time that I replaced the water pump over the Independence Day weekend (see my previous post on this topic), as I had noticed it was swelling like a balloon, but I...

Funny you should mention that. I have been hearing a grinding sound when I apply the brakes at low to moderate speeds, and the sound seems to be coming from the side that had the bad rim. But the last time I inspected the pads (about three months ago), they looked new. And the rotor has no...

Thanks, I will try that. I did manage to pop out the three anchors from the old rim with a flat punch. Didn't damage them, so we shall see...

Early this week, my neighborhood tire shop got in two Hankook 225/70R14 tires to replace a pair that some mischievous kids had slashed with a knife. I had been driving on two mis-matched spares since that incident. The new tires cost me $270, including spin balancing and installation. Not a bad...

Sorry, just getting around to posting this today, as our internet was down for several days due to the worst thunderstorm Chicago has seen in years! Made it very difficult to get to an auto parts store due to flooded streets, malfunctioning traffic signals, and submerged underpasses. Yikes! On...

The door window sweeps had deteriorated badly: rubber had torn off and the steel reinforcing had rusted away. I ordered a pair of replacements from RockAuto. Didn't need the special tool to remove the old ones, just a big flat-bladed screwdriver. Tapped the new ones in with a rubber mallet...

For years, I had been having a problem with the rear tailgate handle not retracting properly, often resulting in the tailgate dropping down when the truck hit a really bad speed-bump. So I finally removed the eight T30 Torx screws from the access panel, removed the panel, and expected to see a...

I am responding to this thread kind of late, but my experience with the Hankooks should still be valid. I have a set of TWO of the Hankook Kinergy 225/70-R14 on the rear of our 2wd long-bed. This was the size specified on the doorjamb plate, so I thought it would be a good idea to stick with...

We have never washed ours. The paint is way too faded to make a difference, the old wax job is peeling off, so any good rain is sufficient to get the dust off. In hindsight, however, we should have been hosing down the chassis frequently. Chicago's road salt has been eating it alive from...

Our 1993 Ranger has 170k miles and we haven't changed the differential oil since we bought it in 2011. I had seen no record of the previous owner changing it, either. So I expected the worst. The RTV was shredding, hence the seepage at the 3 to 7 o'clock position. When I popped the cover, and...

I was never formally diagnosed as such, and have been tested for well above average intelligence. But I don't use hand gestures when I speak, tend to speak in a monotone, and don't understand the body language and non-verbal cues of others (especially their hand gestures), so I expect them to...

AJ, I received the spare tire bar over the weekend. THANK YOU!!! Since I didn't want to pay for an expensive, rust-prone eyebolt from LMC, I had been trying to fit a 12mmx100mm long metric bolt in through one of the five holes in the rim into the tire carrier bar, and found that, unless the...

A BLOWN Jag-U-Ahhh? That IS BIZARRE!

How did we get away from the Weirdness of Maverick theme to the ins and outs of prison etiquette?

Back in the day when carbs helped an engine breathe, and were not something that we were in fear of ingesting, it was...naaah, this will be too hard to explain.