Greetings, folks!

Thanks so much for your help! (Richard! OUCH! I wish IÆd bought it!)

The local shop (and I, but they had better leads) went looking for either a low-mileage take-out or a reasonably priced rebuild, and found both in CA. The take-out (with 35K-40K miles) was $1,400 and the short-block-plus-heads (I believe is the best description) rebuild (they had a core) was $1,800 (12 month/12K mile warranty).

I ôbit the bulletö and chose the rebuilt engine, as I felt it was the more reliable and durable option. (I have asked my shop to specify the instructions Frank passed along [thank you, Frank!] regarding the head bolt torque, etc.) It should get here in about a week and then my local shop can swap the engines. The owner of the local shop said the folks in CA who will send out the rebuilt engine all had thick Japanese accents, so IÆll take that as a good sign! á ;-)

There are still some details (two cracked connectors, two broken fusible link cases, and a deteriorating battery shelf) that need to be addressed at this end, though, so I humbly ask your advice once againá.á.á.á


---- Cracked Connectors ----



I have two cracked electrical connectors that emerge at the same point from the control (?) harness and plug into the power transistor and ignition coil. The metal clip has come off the power transistor connection and the connector has a cracked boot as well (hard to see in photo). The ignition coil connector has only had the cable pull out of (or crack at) the connector boot. Both connectors should be replaced (especially the power transistor connectorùcurrently secured with multiple tie-wraps).

Replacing the entire control (?) harness would be no small task. Can the two connectors (plus power transistor boot?) be purchased somewhere? Removing the existing, cracked connectors would result in a tight run for the cables, but there may be some slack available. Thoughts?

(FYI, it was this forum that provided the link to the 1989 Raider Powertrain Diagnostics-3.0L FSM that made it possible for me to get ÆBecca out of a snow drift a year and two days ago! Thank you again!! The power transistor connector was corroded, but a small jewelers file did the trick! That was when the connector crumbled. It had probably never been opened in its life!)


---- Broken Fusible Link Cases ----



Two fusible link casesùone attached to the positive battery post and the other mounted to a bracket on the passenger-side of the engine compartment wall, just in front of the batteryùhave both broken loose over time. The one on the battery post has been jury-rigged with some copper flashing and does seem to be holding up OK, but a replacement would be best, and the one mounted to the engine compartment wall is also now secured with tie-wraps. I would like to replace both (the fusible links seem to be fine, it is just the cases that are cracked and worn), but IÆm not sure what the part numbers are, as the 1989 Raider Parts Catalog doesnÆt show them clearly. My guess is that the part numbers are (page numbers are for the parts catalog PDF):

MB622302? - Main Fusible Link (on battery post) - p. 122, #28?
MB596949? - Sub Fusible Link (on bracket on engine compartment wall, passenger-side) - p. 116, #19?

Any advice as to just what the part numbers (and proper names?) really are for the two cases would be appreciated!


---- Deteriorating Battery Shelf ----

The shelf that the battery sits on has corroded (possibly from battery acid, there really is very little rust anywhere on ÆBecca) such that I had to make up a 1/2" thick bundle of baling wire, wrapped under the whole shelf, to keep the battery from breaking free (as shown in the above photo); she canÆt rely on the standard, threaded-rod-with-the-hooked-end arrangement: they keep breaking loose.

Suggestions?

Thank you so much!!

(ÆBecca has now successfully made two trips down off the mountain and back up to camp, albeit at 30 mph going downhill and 10 mph coming back up. If she can just do that two more timesá.á.á.á)

Richard Fairbanks