At least you were able to put in a bed liner? 
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Yeah, they came to snow The Rooster. You know he (ain’t even gonna) tryyyyyyyy! Lol.
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With winter pretty much over I figured it was time to finally get off my butt and buy a press so I can deal with the carrier support bearing. I’d been putting it off because at the moment I have no place to store one but outside, and I didn’t want it getting ruined. Naturally, snow is in the forecast tonight and I didn’t actually need a press. It’s all good though, turns out a 33-gallon garbage bag fits perfect over the top—that should hold me over until I can whip up a shed.
185,972.6 miles
Make the Spinny Things Spin
There’s so much room! Like, I can actually get to all four bolts without rotating the shaft. It’s too tight under a Subaru, and the Disco…Land Rover actually makes a “special tool” for getting at the propshaft bolts because they’re recessed so far into the joint that a regular socket and extension doesn’t fit, and you still have to rotate the shaft and pull the bolts one at a time.
This was probably the easiest driveline related job I’ve ever done: only 6 bolts, all easy to reach, and no bloody knuckles. In fact, the hardest part of the job was assembling the press, which just gets bolted together. That, and figuring out exactly what I have. I’d scoured the forums pretty thoroughly, but none of the instructions were making sense and none of the photos I found looked like my driveshaft.
The answer ultimately came from a Chevy parts catalog, and it’s indeed possible this is a Chevy shaft or some kind of hybrid (the carrier bearing fits both marks). Where I should have bolts+straps I’ve got clips, where I should have a U-joint yoke held on with a 33mm bolt I’ve got a slip yoke, where I should need to carefully mark to keep the balancing aligned perfectly I instead have keyed splines that only fit together one way. This makes the job super simple: everything just slides together…except the bearing (thus the press). Well, perhaps even that—I only used the shiny new press for pulling the old bearing, the one job I could have done with a grinder. Contrary to the popular e-pinions, the correct size pipe and a hammer made short and accurate work of seating the new bearing. At least wheel bearings and suspension bushings will be easy to tackle now.
This time while under the truck I actually remembered to re-secure the exhaust, so now I can make right turns without the embarrassing scraping noise of the heat shield rubbing the driveshaft. Good enough for now—the plan is to tie the two pipes together at the end of the headers so it’s tucked up into the frame (instead of hanging below the pumpkin), and likely either straight pipe or a glasspack since there’s no reason not to hear that 460 given the truck’s use. I’ll play it by ear…
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Some of the most rewarding jobs are the ones that get rid of noises that aren’t necessarily threatening, but mildly infuriating (and embarrassing). Enjoy the silence.
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It’s been an interesting few months, and few hundred miles. I’ve been lurking because my heart just hasn’t been in it, or in much of anything lately. Long story absurdly short: I kicked Dani out in May, and Something Blue went with her. I could wrap up that thread with how I’d been working on peeling the improperly sprayed bright blue Plastidip and cleaning up the midnight/tan factory two-tone, but I think I’m just going to stay away from Subarus and Sagittariuses for a while. (Is that even a word? Sagittarii?)
With neither the Volvo nor the Discovery anywhere close to being ready for daily driver duties, and me suddenly in need of something to check the mail and pick up groceries, yeah…here comes the Rooster.
186,263.7 miles
No He Ain’t Gonna Fry
The aircon is completely there, but completely empty, and no one will touch these old freon systems. Long term I’ll be buying the conversion parts and getting it charged up with the good safe stuff, but in the mean time it’s summer and I’ve got a buddy with a new tinting business that owes me money from buying my last Subaru. I went with 35% on the doors (he did offer 25%, but I like to see) and 5% on everything else. It was put to the test last week during what they called an unusual heat event (105°F), and was absolutely worth every forgiven dollar. (Also, so glad the heat kicked off our monsoons and got us back to our usual summer 80’s.)
Restomod Continues
The reverse lights haven’t worked since I bought the truck. I haven’t cared much as I can see just fine with the split window open and the big bright brake lights, but now I need it to be 100%. With while-I’m-in-there and upgrade-whenever-replacing in full effect, I popped off the covers to start troubleshooting only to be pleasantly surprised by a pair of empty sockets—both reverse bulbs simply completely missing. In went the new LED brake and reverse bulbs, job well done. 
After some finagling and filing, I also managed to modify the pointy ends of the newer style dome light bulbs to work with the flat blades of the old dome light (which wants the loopy-style end, festoon?). Both map lights were just standard 194s, so easy peasey. Yep, I went with warm white to keep the color temperatures true to the vehicle’s era (same with the reverse bulbs).
Rats
I have absolutely had it with the rats (not packrats, they’re cute and fairly easy to deter). Somehow—despite killing dozens—I still have a few full-sized rats running around, less than before, but still enough to cause trouble. About a third of the replacement coolant cap I’d snagged from the junkyard was found chewed up nearby.
This fix was supposed to wait until I replace the radiator, but at least it was easy to do since these older systems aren’t pressurized.
Back to the rats: I’ve managed to rid the workshop and attic of them with a combination of sonic warfare and traps, I’m going to have to do the same with the vehicles. If anyone has other effective measures they’ve used I’m all ears (I’m willing to go scorched earth now).
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Things have been rough all over, man. Slow going when you keep getting pulled away on damage control. Long stories call for long pours, imo.
Is it just my screen or are the dome light lenses butter yellow? I know how you are about color calibration. 
The interior shot looks accurate af, but the dome lenses look like buttah.
Keep it moving.
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I’m frankly shocked at the amount of stuff I’ve been able to get done (while arguably depressed even) without her claws digging into my back. Bar is built, kitchen is nearly done (just need a booth), closets are all probably 90% now, and there’s been a ton of progress outside.
Yeah, the yellowing I think is a Samsung thing, those close-ups were on the Note 20 Ultra. It gets confused on how to deal with a frame strong in both yellows and blues. The wider interior shot is on the Canon R5 and pretty much spot on (and also pretty much straight-from-camera 
).
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Could someone double-check my math please:
An automatic transmission that’s having trouble would “slip” when getting on the throttle, as in power vanishes into the box of hopes and dreams and never comes out to the wheels, but has no effect on the engine. Correct?
Could a transmission having issues cause the engine to bog or stall when getting on the throttle?
I’m beginning to think the transmission might be fine (or mostly ok) since the only problem I have is the truck bogging/stalling if I get even a little aggressive with the throttle (it shifts fine). I don’t mean burnouts or teenage leadfootness either, more like if I’m just a little too quick switching from brake to gas at a stoplight or start to lean into it a little going up a hill. This only happens in gear (including reverse), sitting in neutral or park it revs smoothly and quickly and sounds like a dream.
Cold or hot, ambient or engine temperature, doesn’t make any difference.
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Does it have a MAF sensor? How secure is that connection? Have you cleaned it recently? Sounds like a nasty hole in the fuel map at tip-in.
If the trans is shifting okay, I think it’s probably fueling related. I know every MAF-equipped Mitsubishi I’ve had would shit the bed if you forgot to reconnect the MAF. Add old, sketchy vac lines, and you’ve got a recipe for suck.
This thread any help?
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1590663-1991-f250-7-5l-460-bogging-down-on-acceleration.html
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Nope, no MAF, it’s carbureted…temp, oil pressure, and brake fluid. 
I’m thinking it’s vac related too, I just know Ford transmissions can get sketchy fast once a problem starts and want to rule that out as highly unlikely before I ignore it and tackle what’s left of the vacuum lines instead. There’s a wealth of knowledge on that forum, but I wish they’d break the OBS range down further between carb and EFI. There’s other big changes pre- vs post-88 unfortunately.
Planning to replace all of the lines, but I’ve gotta figure out where they all go first. Half of them are just capped off…
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Think of those vac lines being the earth sailor’s mainsail repair two weeks from the nearest land.
Until you have to, it probably needs to wait until you can spare a week adrift, or farting along on a little storm jib
Oh so rewarding when done though, ya know?
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Great analogy. (and point)
I do plan to hold off on it for a bit. I’ve got a friends vehicle coming in for an electrical build and that cash will pay for the tires on the Discovery. While the Disco does need all the things redone, there’s a fair chance that it only really needs new tires with a fresh balancing. (Which would gain me another working daily.)
(Not sure how wrenching and wiring in my driveway turned into a business, but I’ll take it.)
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Right up there with refurbishing the entire wire harness. One day, I want the whole setup, ya know? The big harness board on a rotisserie with the rack of wire spools? Oh yeah. That’s the dream.
That, and spending a few days causally working on the boat far out to sea.
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Tssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss…
186,288.9 miles
Band-Aids & Beer
The truck had been doing fantastic in the heat, I’ve been making runs through both of the 100+ heat spells we’ve seen and it barely reaches the middle of “normal” on the gauge. That is, until today, when after this week’s run to the grocery store the above sound was detected from the front end accompanying the tell-tale chemically over-sweetened smell of coolant.
It seems when I originally inspected the truck to ensure all the belts and hoses were serviceable, I neglected to notice that these may quite possibly be the original hoses to the heater core. At the very least, the Made in USA markings mean they’re probably at least two decades old? At least I have a dozen ice-cold Coronas, know how to tinker with cooling systems, and have some bokehlicious L-glass to play with.
Gotta love how simple the plumbing is on this old workhorse. The fix isn’t great, but if I drive with fingers and toes crossed it should get me through the three-mile round trip to pick up the replacement from my mailbox…in a week. (Since there’s no straight 5/8th heater hose anywhere in town.)
Also, sorry I’ve been lazy and using the “okay” camera in my phone (first two photos). I’ll go back to using one of the Canons, it’s so worth it.
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Hey Chazz,
We had an older F-250 at work with the 5.8L in it that had issues we thought were transmission-related, similar to what you’re describing. Even had a shop “confirm” our transmission suspicions and quote us several grand for replacing the slush box.
We got a second opinion since this was an old work truck.
Second opinion put the spotlight on a clogged catalytic converter. Replaced that. Problem solved. No more “transmission issues”.
Maybe that’s an angle to look at.
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I did just get a welder, it might be time I tackle that absurdly low-hanging exhaust.
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Dude. Great idea.
Cut out the cat. Replace with test pipe. If the problem’s solved, get ye a new cat. If not, enjoy the new exhaust note and power all the way to Yavapai emissions. Oh wait. >:)
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Well, that didn’t go as planned.
186,294.8 miles
Silicone Blues
Since I had to wait a week anyhow, and the price difference was negligible for the short lengths required, I decided to redress the plumbing with some nice silicone replacements and stainless t-bolt clamps (because screw clamps are dubious at best). Not sure where the clamps are made, nice as they are, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the Flexfab hose is made here in the US.
I also decided to eliminate the odd couplers Ford installs about half way up each heater line. While I get that the bulkhead connections are (slightly) harder to reach, hot coolant flowing through a hose is hot coolant flowing through a hose, and two connections per hose is four points of potential failure. I couldn’t think of a single good reason not to just do a home run for both lines.
A nice thing about this fancy silicone stuff: it’s so flexible I managed to squeeze this section into place in the impossibly tight gap between the water pump and the top of the engine. I’ve heard this can be done with the rubber hose too if you’re really careful, but I’ve also heard you have to pull the water pump to get at it.
The main radiator hoses are in good shape and Gates, so aftermarket, so not 34 year old originals, so I decided to save some cash this time around and replace them when I do the radiator. Unfortunately, when warming up the truck to check for leaks I noticed my feet getting wet…guess that means I’m doing it now.
The radiator split where they all do, right where the plastic end cap mates with the aluminum core. In a week a replacement all-aluminum three-core radiator will be here along with the rest of the replacement plumbing.
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Ugh.
Well you know, if you’re a white label parts manufacturer diligently outsourcing every inch of the supply chain to the lowest common denominator in a commoditized raced to the bottom where more is somehow better than, well, better, the failure rate of this design has limited, if any effect on profit margins. Indeed, the risk is wholly assumed by the end user.
Which is no doubt why, as much as every human being in the world with a radiator under the hood knows, this is a shoddy, careless design thinly marketed as saving us money, we’ll only see full-metal radiators further vanish from existence.
Bummer, dude.
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