Looked at the pics and what you've described wrong with the truck. IMO all of these things are fairly easily remedied. Yes, the valve stem seals are kind of a pain, but with the proper tools it can be done in a day.
The only reason I say this, is when I bought my SR last year, the engine gave out 600 miles after buying it. I'm currently at 8000 miles on the rebuild. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />
I had NO previous mechanical experience other than maintenance items like changing spark plugs and oil. I spent literally months reading this forum, and with the help of the fine folks here, and a couple of the guys from the AZ crew, I got the engine out and torn down, short block rebuilt by a shop, and new heads. Yes it was expensive, and time consuming, but I learned a ton and no longer fear doing any work on this engine. In fact, I get called to help with things like valve stem seals and timing belt changes now. Was it worth it? Yep. I grin from ear to ear every time I go off road.
The point of this long winded story is to not give up on a decent truck just because you don't know how to work on it just yet. My .02
Thank you jinstv,
Your story gives me inspiration, and i will see about doing a bit more of the work myself in the future, just not on this SR. Aside from what I listed, the truck is fairly beat up. Not rusty (except for all metal in the cab due to leaky sunroof and closed windows by previous owner), but in need of a LOT of work to get her clean enough for my liking. She has been hit, and it shows. she needs a full front end suspension job, as the hit cracked her oil cooler, which soaked all the bushings in the front end, ruining them all.
She needs a full paint job, new tires, a lot of the interior trim pieces that are discontinued, external trim pieces... the list goes on and on.
I do not have the time or money to do it all, and as such, I don't look at it as giving up, I see it as moving her along to someone who can and will do the things she needs done.
But fair play to you for accomplishing what you have. Like I said, your story is inspirational <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />
