bilgamesh

I would be interested, but I know at least one of my rain gutters is loose. I am not familiar with these parts, but it seems like they would require a strong base.

I need to carry a canoe every once in awhile. I would appreciate any experience you may have with a roof rack or other minimalist solution for this task. Thanks, Bill

I have the 4.0. Thanks for the info anyway!

I did try to smell it, but I could not detect a distinct odor of any kind. I think that is a pretty good indication, but given that there is a pervasive motor odor under the hood to begin with, I am not 100% sure there is no odor in the fluid. Thanks

Thanks for the feedback. Since the P/O said he has never added fluid, and it was always done by the oil-change shops, I conclude either: One of the shop hands put in coolant. :shake: One of the shop hands put yellow de-icer in over the blue coolant. :nuts: Or, somebody pissed in the reservoir. :ack: Time to drain, I think! :thumbsup:

I thought the reservoir on the drivers side fender was the washer fluid, however when I opened it, it looks like the P/O has put in water and antifreeze. I am thinking if I spray it on the windshield and it runs down on the truck it may damage the paint. If true, I should probably drain it and put in new fluid. Am I missing something, or does it sound like my conclusion is correct. - Thanks

Problem Fixed! During work on this problem, I did several things which cascaded into more problems. I am detailing the solution here with the end in mind that someone may benefit at some point. After messing with the Idle Air Control Switch and the Ballast resistor and troubleshooting for a couple weeks, I replaced the ignition switch to no effect. During this repair, my instrument panel lights stopped working, so I replaced the light switch. This fixed my panel lights, but my dimmer switch stopped working. It would not stay on bright. I went out to drive that night and noticed my headlights would not work at all. I dug back into the dash and found that the hot wire had come out of the junction block on the light switch and was hanging. Once I reconnected it, the headlights and the dimmer worked. To fix the starting problem, after running the battery down one day, and re-charging overnight, I noticed that with a really hot charge, the truck started every time. I began to suspect a problem in the fuel pump circuit. Once I could duplicate the problem again, I started swapping around some of the relays along the passenger fender and found the problem went away. I bought a new relay for $6 at Autozone, swapped it in and out until I was convinced I found the bad one, and that the problem only happened when the bad one was in there. Evidently the fuel pump relay was faulty. I am happy to report everything is fixed! Thanks to everyone who replied with ideas and information.

I thought it might be a positioning thing, so I loosened it and moved it back. As I mentioned, I can click it by hand and it works, it just won't stay on. I believe I am pushing on it as far as it will go, but maybe not. I will double-check it again tomorrow to see if I push it a little harder if it will click on and stay on. If it will, I will reposition it closer and the rod is still in place and ready to go. Thanks, Bill

I have had my steering column apart to replace the key cylinder and ignition switch. I had trouble getting all the pieces back in correctly, but finally it looked and acted right, until I tried to put on my high-beams. The lever will switch it to high-beam when I pull it, but it doesn't actually click into position and stay on. My question is does the switch on the column click into the on position, or does the mechanism on the column arm somehow make it stay on. I can also move the dimmer switch manually, to make it go on and off of high, but again, it will not stay on. I would appreciate any thoughts. Right now I have it loose on the column, and I can move it back and forth, it just doesn't want to stay on. I would appreciate any thoughts.

OK, the headlight switch was the problem. Evidently the rheostat gets corroded, as during removal quite a bit of corrosion dust and particles dropped into my eyes as I was removing it. I found one in stock at Autozone for $16. The instrument cluster works now. Thanks for all the feedback. On to the next problem...

I'm sorry, but I am not quite getting it. Are you saying the problem is the rheostat, and you temporarily shorted it or something to make it work?

In working through a starting problem recently, I replaced my ignition switch and key cylinder. Once I got it all back together, I notice everything works except my dash panel lights. I was afraid I had knocked something loose, but I have checked all the connections under the dash and the fuse, but I cannot find anything amiss. I have a hard time believing the headlight switch could have gone out on me just as I was working on all this other, but maybe that is it. All the turn signal lights, high-beam indicator, gauges and interior lights are working, just not the dash panel. I also notice I get a buzzing sound from that switch sometimes. Could this be the problem? I appreciate any help. Thanks, Bill

The fuel pump relay was the problem. I bought a new relay and swapped it in and out until I was convinced the problem only happened when the old one was there. Thanks to everyone who replied with ideas and information.

I swapped all the relays back around, with no help for my dash lights. Does anyone have an idea about what I might have screwed up? I am also curious to know if anyone can tell me how to determine which of the 4 relays goes to the fuel pump. Thanks

I did the chinese fire drill with the relays yesterday and though it started with no problems, I was still skeptical due to the fact the battery still had a pretty hot charge. Overnight, the truck sat out in the cold, and it was a noticably slower crank this morning as a result. Even so, it cranked up and stayed started. I am hopeful the relay was the problem. Does anyone know where to buy these relays? Unfortunately I went to drive tonight, and the dash lights don't work now. I am not sure if I screwed those up with swapping one of the relays, or if I loosened a connection in my work under the dash. Any thoughts? Thanks All, and Happy Holidays! Bill