The daily demo car.

[85_Ranger4x4]

Get the thing tied down so you don't break more than your neck if you get in another demo rally.

 

[prerunner]

Get the thing tied down so you don't break more than your neck if you get in another demo rally.

Pulled it out after work tonight. It had rolled over and puked gear oil throughout the cargo area. So everytime I drive this I'll remember when it had a Dana 44 in it.
lol

 

[prerunner]

I'm confused by this thing. 1997 V8 AWD Sploder lately seems to jump in and out of AWD. It can literally fishtail and sometimes slides to a stop at stop signs. It doesn't in AWD.
Now I haven't messed with it or disconnected anything. But on my icy street I can drive up or down it at a 45* angle. Some All Whee! Drive.

Stupid thing.

 

[prerunner]

I'm confused by this thing.

I'm not sure how far I'm going to go with this now. Lately its been going into neutral while in drive. Idk whats up with this but I'm not so in love with the thing that I can afford to not have it be a DD. It still has to do DD duty until I have something else to DD.

I feel a bit stupid. It was low on ATF. Added a liter and its back to its usual POS self again. If we ever get decent weather on a day that I have time I'll try to figure out if its losing fluid and from where.
Side note: from the front this thing really looks like a demo derby car. Its pretty beat up. I'll have to bash the sides and back to even things out someday.

And currently I'm trying to get the D44 together for the Ranger.

If I get another DD it will not be an RBV. Probably be a 3/4 ton.

 

[prerunner]

Taken yesterday morning. My old deathtrap is under the ice someplace.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I bet you are sure glad the remote start works.

 

[prerunner]

By "remote start" you mean my ol lady? Nah. She won't go near that thing. lol
I still gotta dig my way in there and turn the key. I've never seen ice like that in the pacific northwest. Might be common elsewhere.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I remember in college once my car was iced up so bad I had to crawl in thru the hatch to start it so it could thaw enough to get a side door open.

It was not easy to do.

 

[prerunner]

Its amazing what us guys will do to drive something.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Its amazing what us guys will do to drive something.

It was that or spend the weekend by myself in the dorm. Literally nobody anywhere on campus stayed thru the weekends.

So it was kind of a do or die situation to get the thing going.

 

[prerunner]

Been a week without my beater. Last Sunday I stopped for gas ($1.31/liter - a liter is a quarter gallon, btw) then when I go to leave click, click (followed by several expletives.) Replaced the fender solenoid at the gas station and I still got click, click and more expletives.
Towed it home.

Turns out the starter in a 5.0 Explorer is expensive and I was between paydays.
Decided to replace the wear parts in the starter. The solenoid on the starter has to be ordered and none of the parts places could say for sure if they could get the correct one and eventually I ended up at a mom & pop starter and alternator place. He had never seen the housing on mine before so he swapped my housing onto a rebuilt but otherwise similar starter. ($162.xx taxes in)

Moral of this story: at my earliest inconvenience I should pick up a wrecking yard starter for one of these and maybe get it rebuilt or possibly look into the hi torque mini starters from companies like Powermaster.
https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/pwm-9162/overview/

The Canadian Tire "Champion" brand starters were $169 before taxes and core charge and half the reviews for it had it breaking on install or failing within 3 months.

Lesson learned. Have spares.

Edit: while under this thing I located the tranny leak. Its dripping out of the bellhousing.

 

[wildbill23c]

Dang sounds about like a money pit. I know the feeling.

Probably a blown front seal in the transmission by the sounds of it, probably caused by the accident.

Your repairs are looking pretty dang good though for not being a body shop. It runs and drives who gives a shit LOL.

 

[prerunner]

Dang sounds about like a money pit. I know the feeling.

Probably a blown front seal in the transmission by the sounds of it, probably caused by the accident.

Your repairs are looking pretty dang good though for not being a body shop. It runs and drives who gives a shit LOL.

It eats my paychecks like theres no tomorrow. I hadn't thought of the accident as a cause of trans trouble but now you mention it I can't think of a better reason.
At this point I'm kind of on the fence whether I fix it or replace it / part it into the other toys.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Probably a blown front seal in the transmission by the sounds of it, probably caused by the accident.

The torque converter is bolted to the engine, it can't go anywhere. The transmission is bolted to the engine, it can't go anywhere. The light press fit of a seal isn't holding any of the tranny guts in place.

It is probably just a dried/worn out 20 year old seal... that is of course a PITA to get to.

 

[prerunner]

The torque converter is bolted to the engine, it can't go anywhere. The transmission is bolted to the engine, it can't go anywhere. The light press fit of a seal isn't holding any of the tranny guts in place.

It is probably just a dried/worn out 20 year old seal... that is of course a PITA to get to.

I'll pour some Lucas or Gunk trans fix fluid into it to see if I can stretch out my time with the thing. If I yank the trans it'd never go back in this car. It would get an overhaul and go straight into the Ranger.
This thing would be more interesting with a 5 speed.