Megadan

There is always the option of powdercoated lug nuts. They are a little harder to find, and just like the chrome plating they will eventually loose beauty as they are removed and installed with tools. I honestly just replace mine every couple of years with a new set from the parts store. If I even care to. Obsessing over how pretty the lug nuts are is something more akin to a garage queen or a show car.

Sherman Parts front left and right fender liners are easy enough. to find. the rears are a different question

Generally the only reason you would want full coverage or set value coverage on an older vehicle is if it is a collector car (good original condition) or you have modifications done to the vehicle that greatly exceed the "value" of the vehicle. I plan on covering my little isuzu for at least 30,000. Not because it's actually worth that, but because of the money I have sunk into it. The same could be for these trucks. Dump thousands into axles, lockers, engine, etc, and wreck, you will never recover the cost. Sure, you could buy the totaled vehicle back and locate a donor to swap what you can over, but it is just a matter of peace of mind.

You could always powdercoat the block. Be different. :thumbsup:

This is decent advice, but I wouldn't live by that idea either. Heck, my very first car was mostly disassembled, and I spent 8 months learning how to put it all back together (including the engine). I guess that would kind of cover learning how to take care of it in a weird way... If you still need help posting pics, open a photobucket account. you can copy and paste IMG tags into your messages.

I chalk it up to demand. Most people won't buy a diff for 3.55's, because most people aspire to more than 31's or don't care about on-road manners as much.

Yea, ended up finding the one on summit. Whenever I tried searching Dana 30 Limited Slip, I just got 3.73 and up or Dana 44 30 Spline diffs. I will be the first to admit that I suck at Google :hmm: What I don't get is the price difference between the 3.54 and down and 3.73 and up. It's over $100 more for the 3.54 and down carrier. Now, with the true trac side covered, I did mention other limited slip types as well. :doh: P.S. your rusty's link doesn't work for me for some reason

This is something for me to keep in mind as well, and not just for my Comanche. Thanks for the information, and for going through those headaches to find this stuff out too. :thumbsup:

Oh, I may look into that option. Old Volvos are fairly easy to find at the yards here. I would prefer something a little more bolt in, but affordable options are always welcome.

You can always take the original core to a local radiator shop and see if they can clean it up and fix the leak. It may cost as much, or more, than a replacement unit, but it is often an over looked option.

You can also use a piece of wood in place of a screw driver. Same effect. Especially if you are afraid of being shocked, or other such injuries that may result.

I've searched and scrounged and read a bunch, but when I try to find a limited slip for 3.55 gears on the D30 I run into some conflicting information. The basics of the story are. I have a set of Moog "upcountry" CC782 springs on the way to use with my spacers along with some chevy drop shackles. My plan is to run 31" tires, but I need to re-gear. 3.55's with the manual transmission are looking like the right gears for me. I would be right at about 1900rpm at 60mph, which is much better than the 1700 I currently sit at with my 3.07's and 235/75-15 tires. So, my plan is to either grab a ford 8.8, or maybe an 8.25 Chrysler with 3.55 gears already in it. and a 3.55 geared D30 front from an XJ at the yard that I can also build up a little. I want to at least brace the C's and maybe do a truss or inner sleeves. Not really necessary for 31's, but I have always liked a little overkill. Now, the real issue is. i want to run some sort of limited slip at each end, ideally truetrac diffs. Whenever I search for limited slips I get conflicting information on what gear types can be used. They either say 3.73 and up only, which basically eliminates my options for an LSD, or that any ratio can be used. Can somebody clarify this? I'm scratching my head, and not able to really find a solid answer.

Somewhat true...but it's not quite that cut and dry. If you do the basic brake force math using the factory disc brakes front and rear with a 1" master cylinder bore and 60lbs of input pressure you end up with a bit over 4900lbs of front braking force and a bit over 2800lbs of rear braking force (with ZJ rear disc setup). which gives a 61.5% braking force bias. and a total braking force of 7700lbs. Just increasing the rotors in diameter by 1" front and rear (12.02 front and 12.21 rear) with the same braking force input you end up with just shy of 5500lbs of braking force front and a hair over 3100lbs of braking force rear - a total of 8600lbs of braking force . All of that from only a 1/2" increase in that lever arm radius at each end, and without any change in the brake line pressure, and as a result, brake pedal feel or travel. On top of that better thermal management you brought up - which is never a downside. going to a larger bore master cylinder actually reduces brake line pressure, and as a result brake force, at the same input force. Smaller, the exact opposite. This will also greatly change the feel of the brakes and the brake pedal travel. It's not something I would do lightly to improve braking power personally, but is an option. Generally, the change in master cylinder size should coincide with a change to caliper piston diameters, which also greatly effect brake force in relation to said master bore size. etc etc yadda yadda. I learned a lot about brake math and setups after swapping C5 corvette brakes on to my Isuzu. I went this route, in this order. Somewhat scientific and logical. 88 XJ rear discs off a Grand. Nice. 90 MJ 95 to 96 booster and master keeping rear drum brakes. Holy mackereel!! WJ booster/master on the XJ that already the rear disc conversion. Very nice!!! rear discs and WJ booster are next on my list. There are 5 ZJ's with rear discs and 2 WJ's at the nearby pick and pull. If everything goes right, I plan on grabbing most of the parts I need to do the conversions and re-doing my front brakes and bleeding the whole system. My brakes right now work well enough, but they don't inspire confidence. I plan on getting the main brackets for the rear disc and using rebuild calipers and new rotors. Anything from the booster side I should grab? ZJ or WJ prop valve?

I don't know whose database you're looking at. I have the factory owner's manual for the '89 MJ open in front of me. The tire sizes it lists are: P195/75R15 P205/75R15 P215/75R15 P225/75R15 P215/65R15 I believe you. Two local tire shops pull it up and then tirerack lists it. For all I know, those two shops are using the same basic database. None of them even list the 195, 205, or 215 sizes. Just the 225 and 235. It's not much of a difference to be an argument anyway. 10mm of section width with the same aspect ratio only makes it a 0.6" taller diameter tire. Not enough to really sweat over.

Somewhat true...but it's not quite that cut and dry. If you do the basic brake force math using the factory disc brakes front and rear with a 1" master cylinder bore and 60lbs of input pressure you end up with a bit over 4900lbs of front braking force and a bit over 2800lbs of rear braking force (with ZJ rear disc setup). which gives a 61.5% braking force bias. and a total braking force of 7700lbs. Just increasing the rotors in diameter by 1" front and rear (12.02 front and 12.21 rear) with the same braking force input you end up with just shy of 5500lbs of braking force front and a hair over 3100lbs of braking force rear - a total of 8600lbs of braking force . All of that from only a 1/2" increase in that lever arm radius at each end, and without any change in the brake line pressure, and as a result, brake pedal feel or travel. On top of that better thermal management you brought up - which is never a downside. going to a larger bore master cylinder actually reduces brake line pressure, and as a result brake force, at the same input force. Smaller, the exact opposite. This will also greatly change the feel of the brakes and the brake pedal travel. It's not something I would do lightly to improve braking power personally, but is an option. Generally, the change in master cylinder size should coincide with a change to caliper piston diameters, which also greatly effect brake force in relation to said master bore size. etc etc yadda yadda. I learned a lot about brake math and setups after swapping C5 corvette brakes on to my Isuzu.

I just find it strange that it gets listed as an OE size. Never said I didn't believe him. My door sticker is unintelligable, so I can't figure out a darn thing as far as factory size and pressures go.

If this is true, then why is 225/75-15 and 235/75-15 listed as the 2 OE Sizes by pretty much every database when replacing tires on my 88 Pioneer?

Tallest factory size is 235/75-15 (roughly 29"). The real question is, what gearing does the rear axle have?

One issue the BA10/5 tends to have as they go out is selecting 2 gears at once, or selecting the wrong gear (in this case 4th as dasbulliwagen stated). There is a reason the AX-15 swap is popular and very common.

If he means it is a D4 axle code (found on the drivers door sticker), then that means it is a 3.73 limited slip. If the ID tag is still in place on the diff cover, it should be numeric. Ex: 4L10 = 4.10 Limited slip. 4_10 = 4.10 Open. 3_73 = 3.73 open, and so on.

BA10/5 is the Peugeot 5spd manual transmission used up to mid 89. the one I swapped to an AX-15 from because the input shaft bearing was going bad on.

A sensor won't work and kills the engine because of a ~3 ohm impedance? Only in a Renix. Damn, what a POS designed system. :shake: I know that just re-doing that ground wire solved about half of my trucks running and driveability issues. The other half was my ignition system, which is now shiny and new. I still have a random miss at a very specific RPM and throttle position, but it isn't consistent and only happens when the engine is up to temp completely. At this point I think the last of my problems are with the intake air temp sensor, with which I can find no replacements.

double Check the resistance on the TPS ground. Mine used to do that, and I was seeing nearly 3 ohms. I repinned the TPS and ran a whole new ground wire for it. It's sitting at .8Ohms now and that problem no longer exists. Double check the TPS adjustment as well.

Yea, I am having no luck with finding those drip rail mounted bars.

Sounds like you did a lot of work with the sand paper and a whole lot of time in the prep. So you purchased a spray gun to use with your air compressor. Purchased a 1 gallon can of HVLP primer and applied it with the spray gun. Then finished the job with Rustoleum spray cans? Really do have to ask how much would a couple of gallons of automotive paint cost compared to the $110 spent on Rustoleum spray cans? Especially since you purchased the spray gun. Well, lets see. My compressor (29 Gal 2Hp - 6SCFM@40psi) can't keep up for long with an HVLP gun to apply paint. It struggled with the primer, but at least the primer was being sanded back. I also don't own a good HVLP Spray gun, so the cost difference? Compressor (used) - $500. Dryer (used) - $400-700. Good HVLP Gun - $200-well over 500. Quality automotive paint (at least 1 gal) $200+. Then let's throw in clear, thinners, sealer, etc... So yea, $110 in cans is a bargain. At least compared to doing it properly, which is the only way I would bother doing it when/if I ever get around to it. Also, I took the time to primer because I had to in many spots, it was down to bare metal. I used a filler primer (Self etch on bare metal first) so I could sand it back and try to smooth out the difference in thickness between painted and non painted. I didn't seal it, nor did I bother to do any of the much needed body work (dents here and there). For what it's worth, people think my truck actually looks good. It doesn't look like an obvious rattle can job, which is what I was going for.