Megadan

if the hanger metal came out that nice, then the tank is probably in the same condition. The only good reason to drop the tank would be to flush out sediment and rubber bits that might be floating around in there. Not entirely a bad idea.

Sounds like maybe one of the piston seals may be getting weak. Have you checked the slave cylinder for any signs of wetness? Assuming you don't have an internal slave, which is hard to check. You could try and bleed the system and get all new fluid in there and see if that helps any. If you bleed into a clear bottle you can see if you get any particles to come out with the fluid. If so, it may be a good idea to plan on a new master or slave.

Looks like a good solid long bed for sure. Good platform for a truck to build up for sure. I'm actually looking into a 3" lift with my longbed as well here shortly. Just trying to decide what springs and shocks to go with up front. My rear is already figured out (I have hella rake going on). Have you checked the floors for rust yet? Mine was in about the same condition as yours and then I discovered a small hole in the floor on one side, and the other was not far behind.

You went and had a girl. That means you need to start on the "You want to date my daughter" kit now so you are ready in the years to come! The shotgun is easy enough... :yes:

I've done the "mechanics special" car flip a few times. I do my own work as well. Most of the time I end up on top, but I did end up boned on one vehicle that ended up being a cascade of fail as I started digging in more and more. Ended up losing a couple hundred in the end on that one.

I think it would depend on what's needed. The repair bill potential has a lot of range to it. If it has a cracked head, then new heads will add a lot more to the cost than some simple machining and cleaning would. For $400 though, I think I would be tempted... Although I am known to make bad decisions with my money sometimes lol. Definitely consider the total condition of the vehicle as well. If the rest of it is in pretty good clean shape, that will give it a better value on the other end when it's fixed.

They look a little odd, but I would hardly say they look like S#!7 either. Just my 2 cents. I tend to allow for a bit of oddness if there is a function behind it, and you mocked that function in your first post. There is a difference between an honest (which means impartial) and emotionally charged review of something. I hope it ends up how you want it in the end. Should be a relatively simple fix.

With the float being on the opposite side of the hanger flange, I would call it a Comanche unit.

Do the CPS mods he lists in his tips as well.

Congrats! Enjoy no sleep for the next few months! lol

I was actually considering a ZJ. They are way easier to find locally for cheap than an XJ, especially one that isn't a complete pile of garbage.

I am accepting donations! lol

I found his build thread on NAXJA. http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1103987&page=2 Could be done for cheap too. I've found more than one older XJ in decent shape for a few hundred bucks. One was a 2wd, so I don't get the front axle I want to get my hands on, but at $350 with no rust, it's tempting. missing the engine and trans already, but the interior is actually nice, so I may be able to recover some cost by parting some of it out.

Images were borrowed from the Axle Twisters facebook page. I've been wanting to build a camper trailer using a truck bed/frame and a topper, but then I saw this and kind of changed my mind. I've been contemplating buying a parts XJ to do a 97+ conversion, and to have a front axle to build and maybe even a spare engine to build. That means that everything I would have left is perfect for this. I'm a bit of a tall dude, but I bet I could fit a matress in there with a false floor for storage and sleep comfortably enough. You will notice in that last pic they left the fuel tank installed. They put a pump in and are going to use it for extra fuel. I like that idea too. The hitch is a rotating spring lunette unit from an M416 trailer.

Add some sliders to my wish list.... Darn you and your awesome products Krusty! :fs1: :thumbsup:

Yep, my new TPS is a standard motor products auto trans unit. I cut off the extra connector and pigtail flush with the TPS and covered the ends with a little silicon just for a little added security. I got my hands on this one for $26 on sale, but the regular price on rock auto is about $35-ish.

Well, seeing as I have a new TPS it sounds like I may have to go over my TPS wiring again. Definitely can't hurt.

Now that I have my suspension sorted and the brakes are getting done in the next week or two, I am moving on to the next step in my towing preparedness and I am contemplating an oil cooler. I am mainly just seeing if anybody has bothered to install one, and if so what method was used and how big of a cooler did you go with? Mainly my plan is to be able to tow my other vehicle around to a couple of shops and then to some tracks here and there. While I don't live in the mountains, we do have a fair amount of hills here, so I am concerned about trying to keep everything cool and happy. My plan was to get a sandwich plate for the filter and run a remote thermostat with maybe a 19 row cooler (undecided on size). I have been toying with a remote filter as well as I hate filters that point down (messy), but trying to find a convenient location for it may prove a small challenge. Like I said before, just seeing what/how anybody else may have run their setup and what size/type of cooler did you go with. I may end up going with a stock oil cooler from an Expedition or Explorer with a tow package. They use a bar and plate style cooler that is pretty decently sized and 2" thick. Plus I can get one at the bone yard for pretty cheap and just clean it up.

that looks nothing like the relays that came on mine (I still have them). Mine were 4 pin, but the pins are at different angles.

Nothing he has done so far cannot be undone easily. It definitely is a sweet truck.

They must have changed that aspect of it, because when I bought mine it used some strange non-standard relay. Either that, or they just didn't sell that style around me. In any case, that's cool, less things to deal with.

The only downside to the Putco harness is that it uses a non-standard relay, so if they go bad you can't just grab a new one from the auto parts store. I Swapped out those relays out for some off the shelf units from NAPA and extended said wires to locate the relays along my fender behind the battery. The advantage of the relay harness is the bulbs will see near to 14V at the bulb. Before I installed mine I checked my bulb voltage, and it was just a hair above 11 volts. The wiring for the stock headlights travels a long distance through thing wire to the siwtch, the switch takes the full brunt of said circuit power, and then travels all the way back to the front of the truck. The relay setup uses that circuit to simply trigger relays, and the power to the lights is supplied right off the battery through thicker wire, which means it sees full charge voltage. That increase in voltage means more power is actually going through the element, and thus making them brighter. Quite a bit brighter too. It's probably one of the best upgrades you can do for both lighting, and taking stress off the headlight switch and circuit, which is known to short, melt, or burn out. As far as housings, I have Rampage clear (euro style) headlights that have a glass lens and aluminum body and use H4 replacement bulbs. I love my setup, has a good light spread and distance and much brighter. These are the ones I have. http://www.quadratec.com/products/97009_501_07.htm Another good option is E-code spec lights, which I think are the same or similar to the Delta lights listed above. They are designed to spread light laterally and have a nice cutoff to them (as do my rampage lights).

I can't say for sure I have no Vacuum leaks as my current brake booster may be a culprit for mine, but I attribute that leak with a different issue it has, and it only happens when I first touch the brake pedal. It's supposed to be nice this weekend, so I plan on removing and cleaning off the CPS. I may trace and go over the ignition wiring in the harness and if I have the time to eliminate the C101.

With a factory stat, at 20*F outside, I have cabin heat in less than 3 miles of driving. The truck heats up from cold in about that same amount of time, maybe 5 min. It is possible it isn't closing all the way, but otherwise it does operate.

No, it's actually got a good amount of clearance and all of the wiring is well shielded with tape and/or sheathing.