Hello everyone. I have two questions that have popped up just this week I need to take care of.

The first is steering related. The PO put some awful steering wheel on that is way to small. I was going to replace it but then a new issue popped up. I had my blinker on and turned to my right into a gas station when I hit a bump. Now when my blinker is switched to the right side it won’t turn off when the wheel is straightened. It also now makes a terrible clicking noise when the wheel is turning.

My next question is about my radiator hose. I am planning to add power steering and high steer so I went out on my lunch break today to look at the crank pulley. When I popped my hood I noticed the radiator hose was collapsed, almost as if it were under vacuum. I opened the radiator cap and was able to bend it back open. I’ve never noticed my truck running hot before but who knows how accurate the gauges are on a 38 year old truck. By the looks of it someone switched out the hose but is that the only problem?

Any ideas?

 

I can't speak to the turn signal question, but that radiator hose is a cheap, :universal" replacement hose. When the engine cooled down from running, the radiator pulled vacuum, like normal. Instead of drawing in water from the recovery tank through the radiator cap, as it should have, the cheap hose collapsed. Go to Napa, or whatever, and get the right hose(s) for that truck. It matters. Remember, there are three hoses of the main system. Upper, Lower, and the Jumper, that goes from the pipe the lower connects to, into the water pump. It's under the PS pump, so it's a little hard to see, or get to, but it's there, and should be replaced when you replace the other two.
It's only a matter of time until that hose fails completely. Replace it, and any like it, the PO used. Soon.

Change the water and coolant, while your at it. Flush the system, too. Who knows how long it's been? When you pull the lower radiator hose, if you do, you'll drain the water out anyway. Once the new hose(s) are on, may as well flush the system, and put new coolant/distilled water in. It's best to use the red coolant from Toyota. It costs a little more, but it's designed to be used in these engines, that have an iron body, and aluminum heads. Prevents differential metal corrosion better than the green stuff does.
Of course, always use distilled water to mix with the coolant, to a 50/50 mix. Since it's an 8 quart system, a gallon of each will do the job. Keep some more coolant and water to add to the recovery tank, as required.

Remember to "burp" the system once you're done. Park it nose high on a hill, ramps, whatever, put the cap on the radiator loosely, and run the truck for about 20-30 minutes, heater temp set to full hot, and the blower on low. This method should get most of the air out of the system, and having the cap on loosely will keep the water from overflowing all over the ground. It will direct it to the recovery tank, and only allow the radiator to draw water from the recovery tank once you shut it down, and let it cool down. Once it's cooled off, say about an hour, check the level of water (meaning water/coolant mix, of course) in the radiator and recovery tank. Top as required.

Hope this helps some...
Pat☺

 

thanks. I had already ordered new hoses from Napa and will order a new radiator cap tonight. I’ll also change out the coolant as you recommended. I think I actually have 2 gallons of the pink toyota stuff from a Prius engine I had to rebuild

 

A picture of the steering wheel you have on it would help, as well as a picture of the steering wheel adaptor.

 

As you can see, the PO made a terrible mistake replacing the stock wheel with this crap. That is why I want to replace this. From what I’ve seen I can get a nice aftermarket wheel for the price of a used factory wheel

 

While I’ve got these pics posted I might as well ask what these two toggle switches do. Can anyone tell me?

 

Here’s another toggle I’m curious about

 

While I’m at it I might as well ask if anyone can tell me what this is. It appears to have blades like a fan

 

Those toggles look as though they were added by the PO. They could be anything, really.

Have you tried switching then on to see what effect they have? I suspect, and may well be wrong, the one by the hood release might be a kill switch. Try starting the truck with it in both positions. If it won't start in one position or the other, bingo, you figgered it out.
As to the other two, you're going to have to trace out the wires to see where they go. That may tell you what they're for. They could be nearly anything, though.

As to that red thingy, with blades like a fan, where did you disconnect it from? Where was it mounted originally? It looks like it went onto a device of some sort. I wonder if one of you mystery switches actuates the red thing? Maybe?

Sorry, not super helpful...
Pat☺

 

Thanks, Pat. I’ll try the one by the hood latch after work to see if it’s a kill switch. One of the other two switches makes a sound like a pump running. I’ve tried to locate where the noise is coming from but have been unsuccessful. I’ll keep trying.
As far as the red thing I haven’t moved it or disconnected it. It’s under the hood mounted on the driver side fender

 

The red thing kind of looks like an aftermarket horn.
As noted, none of those 3 switches are factory. Neither is the little decal "Travel Tanks AUX Main"
I wouldn't be surprised if there used to be a secondary fuel tank or switch activated fuel pump.

You'll just have to chase the wires.

 

Well the switch by the hood latch is a kill switch. The switch on the steering column I’m unsure of but it makes an awful sound when flipped. I can’t tell that the one by the lighter does anything but I believe it once went to an auxiliary fuel tank. I’m still unsure about the red thing. It’s had that horrendous steering wheel without a horn button since I bought it. I’m going to replace it as soon as I can. Once I get the wheel off I hope to figure out what the clicking is when the wheel turns.

 

I’m looking at a Nardi Wheel and hub adapter. The 82 pickup isn’t listed. Which of these would work?

 

The steering wheel you have looks like a Grant setup. From the Summit Racing web site for the steering wheel adaptor application chart ( https://www.summitracing.com/parts/g...ns/make/toyota ) it looks like the same kit will fit all of the other Toyotas listed in the link I gave you. The same kit also fits Chevys, etc. The Grant P/N is 3593 ( http://www.grantproducts.com/product...#28/33/356/383 )
Hope this helps. And the red thing, it looks like a siren. Hook it to the battery and see what it does. It's not stock to the truck. The toogle switches aren't stock either. Only way to know what they do other than trying them is to trace the wires.

 

The red thing is a siren. There is an impeller inside that is spun by an electric motor. It intake air from the center front then pushes the air out the slots in the casing.

 

You gotta love aftermarket accessories!
Theyre like the sudoku of car repair.

 

Swampedout, did you ever get pics of those grille clips?

The aftermarket/reproduction headlamp bezels and doors fit like crap

 

Your mounting points dont line up? Thats not cool. I posted some pics on the other thread

 

The grille fits nicely, but the headlamp buckets and headlamp doors don’t fit well at all