Tax time overhaul?

[wizkid00104]

Looks like I'll be starting to order parts March 1st, so sadly no action until March =/

Need to start a parts list and find a reliable source in the Central New York area for trans and transfer work.

Any one have experience with the Skyjacker kits?
http://www.jamesoaksenterprises.com/products/skyjacker.htm

I don't have experience with them, but I know that the general consensus is "you get what you pay for". People speak very highly of them. I was between them and Duff, and decided on Duff because they use heim joints on the radius arms and Skyjacker uses bushings like the stock radius arms. Not necessarily bad, I just wanted the heims

 

[84bluebronco2]

Still valuable info for me. I have a lot of researching to do apparently... I have never done work this deep before, but I'm incredibly handy once I see how the bits work.

 

[wizkid00104]

I was in the same boat. I learned a ton!


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[84bluebronco2]

As nice as a new car sounds, I have no desire to pay for the ridiculous insurance increase.. Now I'm getting super anxious lol. If only I could pull out my bike now and tear down the explorer...

 

[84bluebronco2]

Minor issue struck on Saturday. Fairly certain my slave cylinder exploded... Truck tries to start in gear and rolls around, clutch is soft, and if you push the clutch in while it's running in neutral, grinds when you attempt to engage a gear. Might be mechanic time...

 

[wizkid00104]

A slave cylinder is easy to replace. Getting the tranny out and bleeding the new cylinder can be another story. Tranny removal will be time consuming and expensive. You may want to look into doing it yourself and with the help of a buddy or 2. While you have the tranny out, might as well rebuild it and avoid paying double labor. Do you have another driver besides the bike?


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[84bluebronco2]

A slave cylinder is easy to replace. Getting the tranny out and bleeding the new cylinder can be another story. Tranny removal will be time consuming and expensive. You may want to look into doing it yourself and with the help of a buddy or 2. While you have the tranny out, might as well rebuild it and avoid paying double labor. Do you have another driver besides the bike?


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No alternate vehicle sadly... I have done these clutches a few times, so I know it would be easy enough to do, but the rebuild would be a bit above my head. Starting a new job driving tractor trailers Monday so probably won't have the time to do myself...

Hate paying for labor, but he's gonna take care of the coolant leak, shackles, a replacement trans, and the clutch for me.

 

[wizkid00104]

Hopefully the price is reasonable. Congrats on the new job. I also have very little time and my project is an hour away from where I live and work, but the space and tools were free. You always have to take what you can get!


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[84bluebronco2]

Hopefully the price is reasonable. Congrats on the new job. I also have very little time and my project is an hour away from where I live and work, but the space and tools were free. You always have to take what you can get!


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Absolutely. Just hoping it's heads are still good and not contributing to the coolant loss. I have the garage and every tool under the sun available to me, just no time... It was either let another Gen1 go to the scrapyard in the sky, or pay for labor... Scrapyard is soooo out of the question!

 

[wizkid00104]

Lol. Agreed. On the bright side, 4.0 junkyard parts should be a dime a dozen. A bad head and gasket is not much more than an inconvenience ;-)

I'm still gaining tools and have a buddy with the garage space, but didn't have the budget to pay for labor. Plus I constantly get screwed by shoddy work. I did have a back up vehicle which helped though. It's back to finding the time.


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[84bluebronco2]

Got all the details finally... Looks like head gasket, water pump, and timing cover are leaking. No oil contamination yet. Slave needs to be done. Needs two rear shackles. Refresher on the trans so second gear isn't so moody anymore... I'm almost to the point of this is too much and I should start fresh sadly...

 

[wizkid00104]

None of those are catastrophic issues.

A junkyard motor and transmission could cheaply solve the problem. The slave could be replaced when you swap the tranny. Shackles aren't too bad to replace depending on the amount of rust.

You could cut your losses and get rid of it, or buy a super cheap beater to fill its void until you fix it. Don't give up yet!!!

 

[84bluebronco2]

Well... haven't posted an update to this recently... The explorer has been stripped down to the short block and trans removed. Waiting on a fly wheel and then building her back up!

New clutch, slave, master, flywheel, water pump, gaskets, upper and lower rad hoses, and a thermostat.

Should keep her running for now!

 

[wizkid00104]

Now that's what I like to hear

And now I can post this:

 

[84bluebronco2]

Intake Removed

Piles of parts in the back

The M5OD and 1354M combo

Part of the engine harness and the hole in my floor

Not much left to take out