I know what you mean. I've never bought a vehicle without seeing it first so this is a real kick in the balls. After the initial shock is over now, I still know this is the truck for me, but will take more work than I thought to get it where I want. Other than the engine trouble right now, it's still in great shape and once I get this sorted out, I'll be able to get out with the fellas from the AZ crew and have some fun.

Since a crank pulley tool isn't readily available, the plan tonight is to cut up some metal and make my own so I can at least verify if the timing is correct or not and check integrity of the tensioner and the rest of the assembly. Then go from there.

I did notice last night after taking the alternator out, that there is a lot of drag and noise while spinning the pulley, so I'm going to take it to O'Reilly and have it tested, and compare it to a new one if they have it in stock. Wishful thinking that MAYBE my alternator crapped out and was causing some of this issue (low voltage to fuel pump, ECU etc) and maybe the source of all of that noise. Probably not, but can't hurt to get it checked out as well as change out the battery cables. They were quite loose on the battery, and in pretty bad shape. Also, noticed what looks like the ABS harness was up against the exhaust manifold and has melted a bit. Have some repair to do there as well.

I posted in the main tech section to get some views over here.