Well, I’m back from hiatus. Here’s an update on the Big Tank…

The overheating problem I mentioned a while back turned out to be a water pump going bad. Had both of those replaced. The shop doing the work also determined the temperature gauge wasn’t working properly and installed an aftermarket gauge under the dash (not sure I believe that, and they only hooked it up to one of the sending units, but will worry about that later).

I picked it up and drove around a bit and everything seemed fine, have to get used to looking at the new gauge. When I tried to start it a couple of days later, there was this strange metal-on-metal screeching sound when trying to start. The head mechanic came over to listen and of course it wouldn’t happen again, but he agreed to check it out. They determined the fan assembly was bone dry and lubed it, hoping this would fix the problem. I took the truck out for another spin and after a few miles felt a slight vibration in the gear **** at idle, and it sounded like the idle was slower than normal (maybe becoming paranoid by this point). So I headed back home. Sounds steadily worse the closer I get, and right after I pull up in front of the house it starts making this gawdawful racket like a sink disposal, so I immediately turn it off and get it towed back to the shop the next day. The cause? The fan spindle bearing and impeller shaft had a battle royal and neither won. So I’m waiting on replacements for those.

Anyway, what with all this, I think it’s time to bite the bullet and have the engine rebuilt, along with the tranny and rear axle. I was gearing up for all the bodywork anyway and was convincing myself more and more that I should just have the whole thing torn apart and restored (rather than nickel-and-diming it the rest of my life) and I think this is a sign. I’ve been working on some lists of goals for each major component of the truck (body, interior, running gear, etc) and will start looking around for shops willing to do the work. Advice is always appreciated…