smithoman

On the way from Phoenix to the Bay Area my 3.0 lost a rod bearing. We towed the car up to Pleasant Hill, CA. I bought a 92 with a freshly rebuilt engine and toasted front end parts. It took me a week and 10 trips to Harbor Freight tools (man that place rocks, I saved hundreds) and I got all the good parts off my 90 and on to the 92. I discovered there are a few differences between the two years. For one, they changed the electrical connectors. Except for the back window. Also, the 92 has thicker brake rotors and the calipers are wider. A 90 caliper will not fit on a 92 rotor. But since I was going the other way I had no problem.

I did end up taking the entire steering knuckles off with the rotor, bearing and drive shaft. I unbolted the upper and lower ball joints, took off the caliper and unbolted the steering connection (two bolts). Then I unbolted the shaft from the transfer case and viola, they came right out.

I'm glad to tell that I'm now driving the 92 with the 5 speed manual that I've dreamed about for several years! I'm going to rebuild the tranny and put in a luk clutch next month. New bearings and seals in the rear and I'll be good to go for another 150K.