Speed

Well,here I go again...1990 Trooper,2.6L 4 cylinder,4X4,5 speed manual trans.,VERY nice condition over all,EXCEPT the engine is toast. (I'm told by the owner it had an electrolysis problem,blew a head gasket,was rebuilt but the rebuilder didn't check for warpage,it leaked,overheated and warped the head AND block.) He says the 2.6 or 2.8 engines will be a bolt in,even earlier ones if I use the intake/exhaust,distributor etc. off the later engine,and the V-6 engines offered starting in '92 are "an easy swap". (How many times have I heard THAT and learned otherwise?.....) So far I'm having a rough time finding anything that A-is a runner,or B-is remotely affordable. One good 4 cylinder for $900,One good V-6,$1,200. I'm only into it about $50.00 for the gas to bring it home,so I could PROBABLY go for the Four cylinder,but I'm looking to do this as cheap as possible,as a DD while I build a couple of Yota trucks. Here's the bombshell-is there ANY kind of a workable engine conversion other than the Isuzu family? Another day in Paradise... Speed

Here's another question-If I went ahead with the Cherokee/Comanche axles,would there be a chance of using a pair of those double u-joint set ups on the front drive line,(one at each end) to compensate for the front driveline crossing to the other side? SO far,all the front axles I've found are right drop,but the Yota is a left drop. For what it's worth,the truck will never see over about 40 mph with its hubs locked in,so I don't think vibration would be a deciding factor. There seems to be plenty of room at oil pan etc. for the shaft to cross from left T/C to right drop axle. I guess the BEST thing would be either another set of Yota truck axles or maybe Land Cruiser axles-IF I could find 'em for less than a fortune. around here,they're harder to find than a four speed Monte Carlo. Speed

At this point I'm not really choosy about what axles I use.like I said,if there's room for spring pads,a left side carrier,and 3.55 or deeper gearing,I can make 'em work. Any other axle sets that might work? I thought about Land Cruiser axles,but they can't be found for less than a fortune. The guy at Elko Wire Rope says this cable is 5/16",like the original,7X19, and is rated at something over 9,000 pounds,which I'm guessing is nearly twice the rating of the one I destroyed. The cable appears the same as what I took off,but FEELS much less likely to "rats nest" than the original one. It spooled onto the drum as neat as I could have hoped.I bought 60 feet of cable instead of the stock 50 foot,and though it's a little close to the cross supports I think it'll tuck in a little once it's been stressed a couple of times. Speed

BTW-I broke the cable on my 5K winch,so I'm getting a quote from "Elko Wire Rope" to get the same size/length,plus one wrap,of their best quality cable. Having the winch down has made a one day job into a three day (so far) job. That "Badlands" winch from Harbor Freight is a pretty good unit if you get GOOD cable on it. Speed

The main things I'm concerned with are which side axle drop is on,and the spring pad width,or room to fit spring pads. So far the Toyota is 29" spring pad width center to center,and the axle drop is on the left. The Jeep Cherokee is 31" spring pad width and has a right side axle drop, A '78 J-10 has a 32" spring pad width and a right side axle drop. I checked this one just because it was there.. I suspect most of GM's axles will be similar,though Dutch says Suburbans have left side drop. I'm calling a loss on the Jeep Cherokee/Comanche axles,mainly due to the axle drop,and the J-10 for the same reason but I was told about a Chevy LUV 4X4;. I'm not sure what year it is,and when I make contact with the owner I'll need him to dig it out of a pile of cars. In '77,when I worked for a Chevy dealer,the 4X4 LUV was offered as a special order conversion,but I don't know where the axles or T/C were sourced from. I remember they were only available with a 4.10 ratio. We had one on the lot and I drove it a LOT. When Chevy started producing them in '79,if I remember correctly,they used an IFS instead of the leaf spring solid axle,so it'll be a one year wonder if it fits....I'll keep looking Speed

Okay-What would it cost to swap the gears from the MJ front housing to the XJ "spare" axle? This is a worst case scenario. If it turns out all this stuff is not compatible in any form,I'm looking at a mid 70's Chevy truck axle set. I'm just wondering how different they'll be in width,available width for spring pad attachment,etc. and which side the carrier is on. (I don't even know THAT about the Jeep axles.) I'm going out there tomorrow to get #'s,measurements and comparing ratios for a possible match.

Okay-the '82 Toyota 4X4 is officially mine. I sold my semi trailer for $800.00,spent some on bills and gassed up my bike,my Toyota and 3 gas cans. ( I SHOULDA paid some more bills with the money,but-priorities,ya know?) STILL not sure what I'm doing for axles for it. It occurred to me that the Cherokee axle has 5 on 4-1/2 wheels,and the Comanche,I THINK,has six lugs. (I never saw the hubs because the wheels had caps on 'em.) So I'll ride out tomorrow and see what I can learn. If these don't pan out,maybe FS Chevy axles.(?) The seller said this '82 has a SQUARE tube front drive line-anyone know anything about those? He said it seemed to be fine up to about 50 mph,vibration-wise. With any luck I'll be able to run a front axle with locking hubs,so balance won't be as much of an issue. Are full sized Chevy axles a common swap? If not,what would be a good choice?

Hi all; I'm working on an idea for mix-n-match of Jeep parts (front and rear axles) and my "rollin' wreck" Toyota 4X4 truck. I've been given a rear end from an '88 Comanche that was wrecked and s "spare" front axle I THINK is from an '89 Cherokee. It's a pretty long drive to 'em,so I'm trying to do some research before making the trip. I think the front axle is from a Cherokee with an automatic,and the Comanche axle was from a 5 speed model. What are my chances of them having the same gear ratio? If they're different,I can get the Comanche front end too,but the right end is torn off;how much of a bag-o-snakes is it to swap the gears over to the other housing? (I hope it's built like my Toyota with a removable carrier.) Thanks in advance for ANY information you can offer-the repair manuals don't show any pics of the axle housings so I don't know HOW they're built. Speed

Here's my LATEST challenge. The Yota has no brakes. They've acted "peculiar" since I got this rolling wreck,but NOW they're just flatlined.I've installed new calipers,brake pads,and master cylinder a few months ago,I knew at that time the rear brakes were fubarred due to leaky axle seals-they worked fine around town,but after 20 miles of highway,the rear brakes would drag the truck down to a stop. Bleed a brake line of some fluid at the master cylinder and it was good to go for a few more miles. I adjusted the shoes as loose as they'd go,and shortened the master cylinder push-rod as short as it could go,THEN the brakes worked FINE for almost a year. Then I started losing fluid,but could find NO leaks. Simple,right? Master cylinder leaking into the booster. If it is,it's going straight through the vacuum hose,into the engine's cylinders. But usually I can smell burning brake fluid in the exhaust,but not here. If fluid is pooling in the booster,there's likely over a gallon in there by now. I'm thinking I'll gather new everything and go through the brakes (and rear axle seals) from one end to the other. Without replacing brake lines,I can get everything else I need for around $100.00,not sure about brake lines. That part of the job could be costly,metric lines and all. Thought about putting the big GMC back on the road,but it'd cost me around $70.00 to transfer plates and insurance. Speed

It LOOKS to be in decent shape,so I don't think it has a lot of miles on it. not banged up,usual issues aside from the engine-brakes,tires,glass seals,little rust,etc. Since it was used only for setting power poles in town,I'd be surprised if it has 100K on it. UPDATE-06-06-2018 My '54 GMC is likely to get only a little upgrading;.I have an OEM radio for it I need to have rebuilt,if I can find anyone who can do it. I'm also needing to replace the rear section of my drive shaft as its yoke is worn out. I SHOULD replace the clutch,but probably will wait until it gets enough chatter to shake the mirrors out of adjustment. The engine could stand a rings-n-bearings job,but that'll have to wait until I have some money to invest. I'm going to revisit using the truck to haul scrap metal to the scrap recyclers in Southern Idaho and Northern Utah,since Pacific Steel is paying considerably less than anywhere else I could go. I figure my 2 Ton can haul enough to make the trip profitable for me. Speed

Parts or builder-Needs all glass,replaced front group,brake work,2 wheels and 4 tires and misc. hoses etc from the engine. Has 4.0/automatic,AWD-working on getting the Title,was running/driving until a tire went flat,truck was vandalized where it was down while owner was getting the tire fixed and installed. CALL Speed-775-934-4760 SOLD!!!

Hi all; I'm giving thought to ANOTHER '82 Toyota 4X4 pick up. It's in pretty nice condition except for the front fenders,but even those are way better than the ones on my rolling wreck. I can get it for $500.00 relatively complete. All that's missing is both axles-the springs are still there,it runs and was functional and operable before the owner pulled both axles to rebuild for his 4Runner. Here's what I'm considering-I'll have access this Summer to an '88 Jeep Comanche that was rolled,and I'm looking at swapping its axles under the Toyota. I expect they'll be too wide,and the spring spacing will be off,but I feel like it could still work. The springs under the Toyota are a 4 inch lift,so that might leave enough room for tire clearance with wider axles. Haven't looked into this very deeply yet,mostly wanted to see if anyone out there has done this before. It'll have taller gearing so it'd be a good truck for longer drives and highway use,and the Rolling Wreck will still be a solid work truck. (I also located a 2WD Toyota truck that has the SR5 trim and the dash with Tachometer,it runs and drives but has no title,so I'd have to drive it to Sparks and get that handled,then it'd be a parts truck,mainly the cab and front group for the wreck,and possibly the engine-I'd have to check the compression etc. to decide that. That's a lot of work,but it'd pay off in the long run. The rolling wreck is down while I get the brakes to work again. (The Cops are really tweaky about brakes for some reason...) I have a '92 Grand Cherokee now that was vandalized,I'll sell it for around $450.00 or so;no glass,front group ravaged,no front wheels/tires flat tires on the rear, has the 4.0 inliner/automatic and AWD,roof rack and receiver hitch,pretty nice interior but the dash was hurt a little when the stereo was stolen. I'm currently working on getting the Title and Bill o'Sale from the owner. Selling this will pay my Gas-n-Electric this month. I know this isn't the place for selling things,but... Speed

Seems like everything kinda blew up at the same time. I believe I coulda made it work but the Jeep body owner decided to keep it,another one surfaced but that guy wants more for it than for a NEW Jeep,finances changed,the VIN bailywick seems to get more complicated every time I talk to the "experts" at DMV ,etc. I decided instead to throw most of my effort and meager finances into just making the Yota run right,go down the road at a reasonable speed and stop well. Then I'll figure out the cheapest/easiest way to keep it dry inside in the rainy season. (Probably still go with a flatbed with fold up sides though,) Speed

Hi all; Taking a long hard look at my '81 Toyota 4X4 truck,it finally became obvious to me how much RUST is present. This truck was rolled at 128,000 miles,but everything still worked,at least marginally. The floor on the left side was virtually gone when I got the truck,but I patched it with a piece of old road sign. I know the bed is rusted out a little in the floor,but worse is that it's rusted out probably 1/3 of the perimeter of the floor/bed sides and ends. I figured I'd probably end up building a flat bed for it anyway,so I didn't worry. What I'm now facing is the fact that the ROOF is rusted out;it leaks on the gearshift,on the edge of the passenger seat,on the CB mike,and right behind the mirror. The one small crack in the windshield has spidered pretty dramatically. Since all the leaks are above the windshield, what would be the possibility of just cutting the roof at the bottom of the windshield posts and just below the rear window (the rear window opening is pretty warped too,the rear slider is not fitting well.) I have a friend who can weld everything as needed,and I figured once that was done I'd have a new windshield installed;I don't especially care how pretty or ugly it looks since it's just a work truck.ugly's actually more in the truck's character. I also need to replace the left door since the rollover kinda "folded" the door,top to bottom, in line with the rear edge of the wind wing. The main reason I'm considering the roof job is because I was given a cab that was hit pretty hard on the right side,but the left door's good,the roof and glass/door openings measure out as intact. If I do a cab swap I'll have to buy one,and there'll be the issue of a different VIN to reckon with. Comments or suggestions? Speed

Hi Moses; I think I have this filter thing figured out. All I need is a used Weber air filter base and lid,and I can make a canister from sheet metal,high enough to accommodate a pipe the right size for a flex hose to fit over it and be clamped on,probably 4 inch or so,probably squeezed down to an oval shape to make for more hood clearance. Connect the flex hose to the air filter housing and it's done. BTW-the engine's sounding and running worse,so I'd better start gathering parts to do the rebuild. I had my spare room rented for a short time by a young couple,but the Husband repeatedly violated the "NO problem drinkers" part of the agreement,and the Wife threw him out without any word from me. A few days later her friends in her Church invited her to live with them for free,so she left too. (I can't blame her-I would have gone for a free room too.) I was looking forward to using the rental money to get the Yota and the GMC done,but now that'll have to wait for a while. Anyway,as soon as the room is occupied again I'll start buying the parts. I'm going to do the brakes first,then get the carb and related parts,then the clutch,then order the ring-n-bearing kit, then get the head done (Milled if needed,valves done,new parts as needed),and finally do the rebuild. Once it's done,it shouldn't take much more than a weekend to swap the engines. I know the trick for installing and tightening the bell housing bolts now. If anyone out there has an exhaust header for a 22R they don't need,I can work up a few bucks to buy it. (I can't BELIEVE how the price has gone up for a new one!) With these things taken care of (and possibly replacing the shocks,which all look like the ones the truck was born with),the truck will be roadworthy to travel in. Speed