Jsdirt

I can't find things that are right in front of me on some jobs. If I paint everything but scissors and brake clean, I might be better off, lol.

That'll work! I need to do that with ALL my tools ...

My truck is all scratched up from my forsythia bushes (got a big white one, right through the clear coat & part of the base .. from a friggin BUSH), and me walking past it with weedwackers and chainsaws, or trying to squeeze motorcycles past it. Got a nice ding on the bed from just barely tapping it with a weedwacker. Used to have someone detail it for me every spring. Now I couldn't care less. I swear my truck's body made of beer cans ...

If it's Rhino, it should have a badge saying so up at the front of the box. If you have a rollup tonneau, it may be hiding it. Rhino-Liner is pretty stout stuff. It's been in the back of my Silverado for 9 years now, and has been doused with acetone, oil, paint thinner, countless pieces of lawn equipment, tools, floor jacks, compressors, lumber, construction debris, metal, and an airborne 550 lb. coal stove that bashed in the bed, but didn't even touch the liner! My tailgate gets used as a workbench daily for small power equipment repairs. Still holding up! They laid it on pretty thick too - not sure if the newer procedures use as much product. Seems everyone has cheaped-out on everything lately. But, even the best liner ain't worth s*** if it wasn't prepped right ...

I just winged my Grand Marquis rear end way back in the day. Thing continued on for another 40k miles before I sold it without a problem. I didn't have an inch-pound torque wrench either - I just went by the amount of play in the yoke to how much force I was putting on the nut, & how many threads were sticking out of the nut. First try, I got the howl on decal. Went a little tighter or looser - can't remember now - without replacing the nut like the manual stated, and it was fine after that.

Funny - I was just discussing this topic with someone on the net a couple days ago. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are prime examples - the cities are flourishing 70 years later, with millions living on top of the debris / fallout. A few months ago I was on Google Maps checking out the site after watching a few Youtube documentaries on the incident. Fascinating.

Well I'll be a SOB - I actually found it. Wow ... can't believe that was 16 years ago. That went by in a blink ... Disregard the stupid "Paint 2" watermark that got forced in there electronically. Friggin computers, I'll tell ya!

That's a total bargain up here. There's only one driveline shop in all of MA that I know of that specializes in differentials and driveshafts on any wheeled equipment on the planet. A complete rear axle overhaul (new everything except the tubes & pumpkin) is $2k. When they build it, it will outlast the vehicle. Been going to these guys since I was a teenager (Mitchell Drivetrain) - used to ride dirt bikes with the owner when I was a kid. They're the best of the best at what they do. They did u-joints and balanced our '86 Grand Marquis' driveshaft back in '03 or '04 - almost 200k miles ago. Greaseable joints, of course. Still smooth as glass at any speed. Should be good for another decade, at a minimum. I remember when I moved to Phoenix, it was tough finding a place that specialized in that sort of work. I did end up finding one, but unfortunately that's long since been erased from the memory banks by hundreds of thousands of gallons of whiskey, rum, gin, & beer ... I'll dig around in my "El Camino receipt jar" - maybe I still have the receipt from the place in Phoenix that did my 'Camino driveshaft. They did a great job - thing was trashed when I brought it to them. Previous owner went over 13k miles without a single needle bearing in any of the caps, LOL!!

Yeah, those work great. Best thing I ever did to my truck. Wish I had known about it 9 years ago (probably wasn't available then, but still) ...

Emission crap all seems to do more harm than good. Harm to your wallet, mostly ...

All new diesels have them now as far as I know. Ask a Ford owner how much that little device's cooler (among the other engine-killing emission devices) cost them in their 6.4 or 6.7 Powerstroke ... Chernobyl part II !

Wow - I'm looking at the structure of that canopy, and forgot you live in FL. That wouldn't last one winter up here! Must be 10x cheaper to build stuff down there. It's going to cost me almost $10k just to put up a circus tent to keep the rain off me ... Yeah, I hear you guys on the store vs. internet pricing. That drives me nuts! Tried claiming a coupon code in person one time, and they told me no can do. I was pissed! Manager could tell, & ended up giving it to me as a one-time deal, since I spend so much money there. Lesson learned. What's even worse, is when you order online to pickup in store ... and when you get there, they only have HALF your order! It's only 7 miles away from me, but this is MA - that's a 45 minute round-trip drive ONCE, never mind twice! I could be getting more important things done in that amount of time. You never know who you're going to get stuck behind on the way there either - could easily be an hour lost on one trip ...

Check them good to make sure they give you the right ones. That place has been an epic FAIL around here the past few years. Great prices, but wow .... TERRIBLE service!

Holy crap - best I've ever done was 19, although I was at 90 MPH loaded with gear & a motorcycle at the time, lol. The fuel up here sucks. Whenever I go out of state & fuel up with ethanol-free gas, I usually gain at least 2.5 MPG. Calculated 15.5 last fill up.

I put gas in mine for the first time in 2.5 months. They were raising the price as I was pumping. Went up .04 cents for the guy behind me. It's coming again .... $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I'd be more concerned with the piston/cylinder clearance than any of those components. That's not to say that they couldn't fail - it's the 21st century after all. I run cast pistons on 2-stroke motorcycles at .0025" - larger for forged. I hear the 5.3's run .003 -.004" ... I'd rather .003" .

That figures ...

What a beautiful spot!

Bottom line is, an engine will only burn oil due to shoddy machine work, or bad valve seals, or head gasket material. Block or heads shouldn't be cracked off the showroom floor, so we'll leave those out. If I let a mower or motorcycle engine leave here burning oil like that, I'd be out of business in a month! I've never had an engine that I've rebuilt smoke, or burn oil after the break-in period. EVER. For a major manufacturer to send engines out like this is an utter disgrace at the very least . I, personally, would much rather have a crate motor installed that was built by a company that does nothing but engines day in and day out (Jasper, for example), unless I planned on dumping the truck on the next victim ...

Going for $700- $1000 for a 30 lb'er on eBay. Freeze-12 is $500 - might as well pony up the extra couple hundred for the non-blended, real deal. I've got a nice stockpile of 12 that should last me quite a while.

Yeah, don't need nothin' fancy if you're not doing A/C work day in, and day out. Doing your own stuff right is all that counts.

Yeah DIY is the way to go there. Shops seem to always fly through the process - never vacuum the system down long enough, and just shoot it to specs and send it out the door with no fine tuning or reserve. I like the accumulator to have a little liquid in it when I'm done as a buffer against slow leaks. I also use Nylog on every o-ring. Few shops will even know what the stuff is. Like liquid snot -another hedge against leaks. I use R-12 alot, so leaks with that stuff will cost you big. Had an under-dash unit in my '72 El Camino. Ran Freeze-12 (a blend of 134a with some 152b to keep the oil moving) in that for almost 10 years, until they stopped making it and the price went to the stratosphere. Decided to sell off the rest of my stash of it - made out like a bandit. Charged it up with propane out the grill tank, lol - had 30° vent temps with ambient in the 80's. Thing was ridiculous, lol. Would fog the back window up. Couldn't run it long, because the evaporator would turn into a solid block of ice, and start spraying you with little water droplets as it melted. Love TXV systems. Wish modern cars still used them. Nothing better. I restored our Grand Marquis A/C system (R12 & mineral oil) last June. Everything new from nose to cabin. Blows 45° air when it's in the 90's @ 70% humidity. Forgot the pic of when it was finished ...

Yeah that's one area modern stuff hands-down beats the old reliable 350. Sealing surfaces & materials have improved tenfold, at least.

If the nut is too loose, you will know the minute you decelerate from speed - the rear will HOWL like hell. Put your foot back in it, and it'll be dead silent. Too tight will do the opposite - howl under load. I'm going from memory from long ago, so I could have that backwards ... Sounds like your pretty close now - could take it for a short ride and see what you've got for sounds. Hopefully none.

Glava, that Z is friggin MINT! Don't see many with the original decals on them anymore. SWEET!