No, he is like Santa, he is everywhere at one time!

 

Don't get too excited, I'm confident that he shall return for your next project.

 

 

Well he is back. Drivers door window was left down on the 4 Runner when it started raining the other day. Still working on drying things out in spite of the rain. Garage is full of "stuff". Imagine that!

 

Oh good Lord, don't get me started on that. I came home from work one day, opened the garage door to pull the vette in, 2 car garage wall to wall and 6foot high of "stuff" she had moved out of the closets and every nook and cranny in the house. Oh it will only be there 2 days until the garage sale she says. 6 years later and she still complains that i won't fix certain large things on the house. Well dear, when i can get to my table saw / router bench/ insert misc large tool needed, after you have your "garage sale" i'll get right on that

 

I think that that is part of the female genetic makeup. After 70 years it has not changed much. For me anyway.

 

 

Very cool! I too would have taken a moment to give it a good look.

I like the tow mirrors on it

 

I'm guessing, those are new(er) axles underneath.

 

Really cool. Would of loved to see the inside. They did a really good job.

 

 

You know it, Byron...i kerp just enough in the acct to clear the checks written..heck, at one point, i had the entire cleared "equity" from the sale of the elsinore house, stuffed away...That was ALOT of trips to the bank and a ton of weird looks at time of withdrawals..lol. Same answer to the clerk everytime...Do i ask you what you do with your money...?

 

Good/bad day yesterday:

Good - went to go get a Christmas tree yesterday and it only took my wife 5 minutes to find one (it usually takes most of the day and a visit to at least 4-5 places before she finds "the one").

Bad - the cost. $40 more than last year. I was reading how this is the first year we're going to feel the effects that the 2008 recession had on the Christmas tree business. Whether it is a real or perceived shortage, anything over 5' tall is going to cost you in my neck of the woods.

Good - first time I drove the truck in a couple of weeks. Brakes are getting pretty bad and I made the mistake of saving a few bucks by getting my stuff on Amazon with free shipping. Parts are delayed and over a week past the estimated delivery date. If I would have paid the shipping with Rock Auto it would have been $30 more but would have been here over a week ago.

Bad - saw the blood (oil) trail as I'm taking the tree out to the parking lot to toss in the back of my truck. I hoped it would lead to another vehicle but, alas, it did not. Small puddle under the engine . Drove back home and parked it in the corner.

This truck is going to be the death of me. I've been chasing oil leaks for the last 3 years and can't seem to plug them all. Turbo pedestal, EBPV, HPO leaks (several), oil cooler, injector o-rings, and a fuel leak just for fun.

My wife didn't realize how bad the brakes were until we took the truck out yesterday. She told me if it wasn't for the fact that she's looking at getting a new(er) vehicle she would have made me start shopping around this week. My truck has been a money pit for awhile now so any issue equates to more truck money spent no matter if it is a parts failure or just normal wear and tear.

I've spent more money these last 3 summers than I'm willing to admit but I could have paid cash for a new Focus Titanium. I've got things still sitting in the garage (springs, traction bars, Detroit locker) and a laundry list of to-do for the truck.

The buck$zooka is out of rounds and my patience is running out. Last year there was no end to this ultramarathon of 7.3L ownership (and I was happy to keep pumping money and time into it) but this truck is wearing me down. I can barely keep it running, let alone clean, so it will be a challenge to find this leak. There's not much left to replace unless something has already failed again. Add this to my coolant leak and black fuel filter (did an o-ring get pinched when I put the new injectors in, possibly algae in the tank from sitting for 9 months, etc.?) and I can actually see myself some day just being a consultant here instead of a fellow owner. How soon that will be might depend on where the truck is puking oil from this time.

It feels like a never ending process: find the time, find the leak, find the money, fix the leak, find the time, find the leak, find the money, fix the leak, lather, rinse, repeat...

Sorry to vent. This is exactly what I didn't need with the holidays right around the corner.

 

Yeah buddy...learnwd a lot from this horsechit.

 

Bad truck

A few years ago when my cups we're leaking, I had similar complaints. I think the coolant took out the o-rings, 'cause it also began burning oil, along with the dipstick tube leak, and a pedestal leak. I didn't have time to fix it, so I just parked it on some old OSB on the driveway, and sooner or later they're gonna repave the street in front of the house. And while I technically did change the oil, between changes I "recycled" the old stuff back through it and began dumping old coolant from my TR6 and the wife's Chevy just to keep it full. So while I feel your pain, I was happy to know that even with all that abuse, the thing still runs pretty good. No longer beating on it like that anymore, but I still haven't replaced the water pump yet. My new in the box IH pump turns 2 next March.