Of course now the battery went south and won't produce juice. For what it's worth, I use a group 27 in the Gen 1, the biggest I could figure out how to fit lazily.

I think this truck wants an 87+ transfer case shifter, if it'll still line up with the hole in the tunnel. The -'86 stick just doesn't seem to agree with the transfer case I have, or there's some other alignment issue.

Having a heck of a time getting the exhaust finished. The closest shop (I don't dare to drive it far at all) with known quality can't get me in until Friday and everybody else is too far to walk home from/back to. Two different exhaust shops near me closed within the last several months...of course.

John B.

Hey man i'll try and make it back over there soon to put some more time in on getting it back to road worthy.

I have seen the shifter issue before. If the top part of the T/case is assembled backwards that will happen...

Big day. Progress, I guess. I put in new plugs, wires, rotor and cap. Then I drove it around the neighborhood, at least until the thermostat in the transmission cooler line (I presume there is one) opened and made the transmission too low on fluid and I had to add a quart. Fortunately, I was only a couple hundred feet from my house at that point.

After doing that and adding a bit of extra gas from my new can, I drove it (!) to QT and filled up the tank for the first time in 3 1/2 years.

I will take it up to the shop on Friday morning for the local mechanic guys to fab me up a pipe to join the catalytic converter with the rest of the new exhaust. Fortunately, that's two blocks away because it's especially loud right now and I have to take it up there at 7 a.m.

LT, I already texted you on this, but the truck magically shuts off when the key is turned off now. How weird is that? It's worked every time so far today.

Lloyd, thanks for the tip. I have at least verified that it's not in 4wd-low right now, at any rate.

Still can't locate the timing ground point.

Man, I wish I didn't have to go to the DMV to show them I have insurance again before I can get a 30-day temporary permit. All I can get is a 3-day ($1) and they only give you a couple in any given calendar year period. Already used up one... Incidentally, the truck is old enough to qualify for 'historic vehicle' plates. Wonder how much that is? It would really make people wonder what it is.

Can't wait to get the tires balanced and take it to the alignment shop. Something ain't right there, and they don't charge me to tell me what to fix before I get it aligned. Great shop (Jack's, on Thomas at about 30th St.).

Now, to get that devil's mix of transmission fluid out of there and get back to some clean stuff. That'll be my next trick. Wish I'd never started the thing before draining it. Live and learn.

Ordered a bunch of small parts related to the doors and power windows, like the pads the windows sit on, the inner weatherstrip, the little clips that connect all the linkages to the locks and latches and the plastic inserts around the inner door handles. Also got the funny washers and grommets for the little wing window because mine went bye-bye somewhere.

John B.

Good to see her under way on her own power ... What about the seats you got from me did you install them ?... Sorry on the water in the trans I feel real bad on that <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />.. The trans was indoors "when I got it" ... And I flipped it over and it had no water in it ... But The converter was on a motor out doors but covered ...I never did look at it .. The trans is from the legendary "Mine shaft Monty" and had like 30k miles..A friend that owns the tow companying that pulled the old girl from the mine shaft says theres a photo of her hanging from a crane some where in his files and he will get it for me .. I'm doing a commando raid on Junk Yard X this weekend if you need anything.. Did you get the trans kickdown worked out ..?

The seats I got from you, HazToys, are the shizznit. They've been installed for years, fortunately behind tinted windows.

No problem on the transmission. It works, anyway. I have to convert the end of the transmission kick-down cable from a clamp-on end to a cable-stop-type end, where the cable stop fits into the fitting that I added to the linkage on the side of the throttle body (the OEM one for auto trans).

I'd like to get a copy of the Mine Shaft Monty photo one day.

John B.

Got the exhaust done today. I had forgotten all about Loper's, which is right down the street from my house. The guy had it done in under a half hour. Tucked it up under there real nice, too. It's still not exactly quiet...but there are no leaks.

John B.

Pulled the driver's side inner door panel off today to re-connect the exterior door handle to the rod that actually unlatches the door. Replacement part to hold the rod on there is on order. Greased the inner workings of the power window mechanism, cleaned the contacts on the window switches and put the panel with its speaker back on.

Better than that, I decided to take the MAF out of the air cleaner and look at it compared to the other one I have. They both have prominent numbers printed on them, so it started dawning on me that because the numbers, as well as the style of the component design, were different, that I may have a model-incorrect piece in there. Yep. I looked at photos on Rock Auto's web site for replacement MAF's (ex-pen-sive!) and saw that I had the wrong one in the air can I was using. Switched them and it runs much better. One step closer.

John B.

Save some paint money for the Montero Mural... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" />

No kidding, Justice. The wall is still blank. Incidentally, this truck needs a rear bumper. Are you still making them? Has a 2" BL on it...

John B.