Hello, MDers...

I just got a complaint from the HOA regarding my '97 truck. I have been working on it to pass MD state inspection, but they want it out. Is there a place where I can store and work on the truck somewhere? It runs and drives, and is insured. Sorta like renting a garage?

Thanks, all.

 

What is the HOA? Home Owners Assoc????? Ut-O

 

Are you in Howard County? Can the truck be driven? Legally?

What has to be done yet to get it Maryland legal to get a tag?

 

Yes, that would be them.

No, Montgomery County. Yes, the truck can be driven. Legal? Not anymore. Stickers expired last June.

The inspector gave me a long list as to why it failed:

Rear tank straps & crossmember rusted out, tank could fall out
Rearview mirror broken [midst replacing w/ a junkyard part]
Radiator front core support [current one has some rust]
Bench seat [soon to be replaced w/ a junkyard one]
Was told the front brake rotors & axle U-joints were bad but they look fine to me.
Steering intermediate shaft coupling is worn out & very loose
Left exhaust manifold cracked
Power steering pressure hose leaking
Battery hold-down missing

 

So Chad, what is your plan? Do you have any of the parts yet to replace what you HAVE to replace? Did you mike the rotors? Any play in the U-Joints?

 

they cant fail you for a seat (unless its like a milk carton or something dumb like that. find a different inspection station. as as for the hoa it think that they are a waste of time if i pay 300k for a house im going to paint it whatever the hell color i want to and let the grass grow to more that an 1.5inches if i want it to. ok im done ranting about hoas just know that i will never move into a neighborhood with one....

 

and they cant fail it for core support being rusty unless rusted through, or the exhaust manifold. what did you do to **** that guy off.....

 

To get it pass...but it's taking so long. The inspections in my area are very stringy, possibly because it's very urban.

Not so much. Ordered some on rockauto.com. Trying to keep it on the cheap so I'm hitting the junkyards.

The rotors look OK to the naked eye. The truck stops pretty good without issues. I haven't tested the u-joints yet. I'm not sure how to test them.

 

The seat so worn out, there are pillows stuffed into the cushions...not very comfortable. And a tarp is covering the bottom part because the vinyl is mostly gone.

I couldn't agree more about the HOA ******. Unfortunately, most, if not all, neighborhoods around here have some sort of HOA.

Here's a pic of the core support...bad enough to warrant a fail?



The exhaust manifold is cracked, and someone patched it with some white milky substance. It's leaking too.

Dude, if you know someone who's really flexible, or will take only 30 seconds to inspect, send them my way...

I'm about to either torch it or sell it on ebay with that vehicle deal going on...

 

This truck must have been SUBMERGED in sea water!!!! Where did you find it? Talk about "rode hard and put away wet"!!!

 

yea that core support is uhhh pretty bad. i would go with part that truck out and getcha one from far away from where you got that one.....

 

It was a landscaping/plow truck, so it's had its share of heavy use. I got it pretty cheap. However, the core is a bolt-on...it's replaceable, but I gotta take a lot of stuff off to access it...unless you think it's a bad idea? Everything else seems ok in the immediate area.

I'd hate to part it out. It's a good truck. It has all the stuff mudders dream of, and none of the things sissies need to compensate for something.

 

Say what, you mean it's a real truck not a showboat?
Chad, I'd tell you to bring it up here but would have to ask the wifey
first. How much time would you need?

 

What I meant by that was it has the stuff a real truck should have - like 4.10 limited slip axles, manual hubs/TC, vinyl seat/rubber floor mat, no radio nor A/C and has characters (scratches, dents, creases, etc)

That would work. Let me know. Maybe a weekend or two. Lots to be done. When I get it done, we can take it to flathead and burden him with the inspection...

 

I'll talk to my wife and see what she says. can you drive it here?
She won't be home til probably late tonight she took her niece to the ocean
and tomorrow has to take her to the airport, but as soon as I can corner her
I'll find out.