Which reputation is that? Their quality parts or hit/miss service?...lol!

I jest, but those calipers are undoubtedly excellent...if they're anything like their clutches. The price tag, though! I realize it's not much different than the dealer, but then I'm not one who can usually afford those prices. I got my calipers from O'Reilly for that reason. (Of course, complete with their nifty lifetime warranty!) I've never really has any issues with them, either. I just make it a practice to keep the fluid fresh so they last longer. I guess the only thing was the aftermarket calipers didn't come with new springs and guide pins. That was pain.

Made any decisions on what to do with the motor, yet?

 

thook: I't snowing like a bee-otch here so I haven't done anything yet. I'm toying with only replacing the offending HG, oil pump & timing belt (plus one tensioner) in order to get out of this cheap(ish). It doesn't use much oil at all, has no oil leaks, and runs well otherwise; rings are probably fine. Why tear into more than I have to?? Your thoughts?

 

Is THIS blue better?!?

 

My thoughts? Well, doing a motor swap....uh, yeah.. that's a lot more work and a lot more money. You know the dilemma I went through with my 3.0! It's finally finished, though. I mostly had the help of a friend to tear it down and rebuild it, but I did quite a bit by myself. If you don't have to anything but the HG's, pump, and belt, I'd say just do that. I'd also say once you've done it, make sure you don't overheat it again. I'm dying to ask, of course. But I won't...lol! The job is basically nuts and bolts. Hopefully you have a trusted machine shop to check the heads and resurface them?

 

I'm researching machine shops now; someone suggested Ship Point Machine in S. MD.

OK, since you aske so nicely : the first overheat was result of a blown out hose while driving down the road. I've had a couple of tiny pinhole leaks in the top of my radiator now for the last 100,000+ miles, so it tends to drop the level over a few weeks. Combine that with the hose & OVERHEAT #1!

Overheat #2 was when the water pump died and combination of the pinhole leaks leaving with less than full radiator. I've since fixed the pinhole leaks and keep a closer eye on the level. The funny thing is, the engine NEVER overheats until it is COMPLETELY out of coolant. It can have a couple of quarts in it and still run normal temp; amazing!

 

Oh man, don't you hate it when we make more work for ourselves? Humans like to push the limits, don't we?
I will qualify that statement.....
A few weeks ago I was pulling a trailer with my '86....something I do ALL the time. Except!!this time I had bolted the ball hitch on the receiver upside down from the usual so that when I was pulling the trailer with the '92 the trailer would sit and ride more level. Well, the '86 bumper sits several inches higher (it's a custom jobber) so that in this instance the trailer tongue was now riding elevated. I thought to myself before I left the house,"I should fix that.". And being in a hurry, I blew it off. (Bad, bad, bad choice!!! I knew better!) Hours later, I was loaded and headed for the next destination when....guess what happened? The trailer popped off the hitch smashing right into the tailgate! I had about 900lbs of cargo and it slid towards the back of the trailer when I hit just the right bump in the road. It didn't break the glass, but I had to dismantle the whole tailgate to pop the dents out so the glass and regulator would work again. Plus, my little, plastic Toyota insignia got smashed..... Anyway, I've stopped blowin' off little things like that. I'm also getting a better hitch on the trailer, damn it! That was the second time my tailgate got smashed by a renegade trailer. And it ain't easy getting the regulator out when the window is all the way up.

Just out curiousity, do you think a new thermo would have made a difference?

 

I recently installed a frame hitch from eTrailer.com (great site, terrific customer service) made by DrawTite. It's very heavy duty and required removing the bumper for installation but it's great. I highly recommend both the site & the hitch. Hitch is good for 5500 lbs so the truck will break before the hitch does!

 

lol...Thanks TN, but I think we're talking about different things here. I need to replace the part on the trailer tongue that clamps on to the ball. Right...it's called the coupler.This is what I've been looking at....
http://store.towshop.com/store/more_...Category_ID=91
There are better prices than this, though. My friend told me about this...it DOES NOT come off!

 

Ar you sure you don't have a 2 5/16 coupler with a 2" ball? That's what it sounds like, that or your lockdown is missing the retainer pin....? It should NOT come off...

 

Yeah, I'm real sure. I've got a new retainer pin, safety chains, etc. The reason it's coming off is because the little mechanism piece that actually clamps on the ball (underneath) is too worn, so I have to keep tightening the thing up. I know it shouldn't be coming off, but then my coupler is not optimal, either. It stays on even in this condition if the trailer sits level and the load sits towards the front. But.....

 

Dude! and I thought I was bad driving 100k miles with holes in the radiator...

 

That's why I thought I'd share that bit of story with you....

 

Worst fears are confirmed: #2 cylinder HG is gone. The weird thing is, it was running great!

SO...I started it my truck today to warm her up for the compression test---GOBS of white steamy exhaust that completely filled the garage so bad I couldn't even SEE. Indicator # 1.

I did compression test next and here were the results:






What the h@!! is this?!?? No WONDER I was having to use 93 octane gas to keep it from pinging! DANG!

Anyways, that didn't tell me anything about a bad cylinder, so I did a cooling system pressure/leakdown test, then was going to start the motor & see if I blew coolant out one cylinder. Well, before I did that I told myself I'd at least look in each spark plug hole and see what I could see....#2 cylinder was COMPLETELY FULL of coolant. Confirmation Indicator #2.

At that point, I started draining the radiator & taking the top end off. I made it down to the fuel rails before I quit this evening. engnbldr, here I come!

 

I'm gonna follow this one....to be here if you need any support! Good luck!

 

I've already ordered two brake calipers (old ones sticking), & at this point, with the compression as it is, I'm only going to replace both HGs, timing belt, & oil pump. I figure the OVER compression is from carbon buildup, so both heads are coming off. It's running good otherwise & I don't think a complete rebuild at this point would be worth the effort/expense. I'll have the heads checked for warpage, but unless I find more when I go in, I'm limiting it to that.

However, for an additional $120 I can get the entire Master Engine Rebuild Kit...and a LOT more labor to do....

Heck, she needs an exhaust, too....BADLY.

 

Can o' worms! Vehicles...who needs 'em?! Oh wait! We do...pfft!

 

Here's the carnage (pics) so far:








Incidentally, I didn't have the issues loosening the cam sprockets & main shaft bolts that most have; I just cranked up the pressure on my compressor & knocked all three out with an impact wrench while everything was still together (Timing belt, etc.) and they busted right loose.

I found my top center idler pulley bearing is shot (wasn't making any noise, though...?) and I'll have to replace a few heater hoses due to deterioration. You never go into one of these projects & only do what you started out to do!

Also, I HIGHLY recommend taking the hood off any time you conduct major surgery on your engine; makes things a lot BRIGHTER and easier to get to!

 

..Make that TWO (both) idler pulleys...also, does this belt look like it has 62,000 miles on it?!?

 

asdfasdf

 

Well, mine had only 21k miles and it still looked practically new when I did my rebuild. Why do you ask? Are you considering reusing it?

And what is asdfasdf?