91Pioneer

Typo, I meant intake manifold gasket, not manifold. How do you reach the lower bolts? And do I need to remove the exhaust down pipe to do the job?

Bump! Has anyone actually tried to fit tailgate cables instead of metal straps? If no, I'll just buy some cheap 1" I.D. shrink tubing and copy hornbrod.

OK well I got my harmonic balancer replaced and everything back together. The engine is so much quieter now with the metal-on-metal squealing gone :rock on: Anywho, now I can hear my very slight exhaust leak all the more. It's not a loud leak but it is an annoying one. I definitely hear it while accelerating, less so while I'm cruising at a steady speed. It's not loud like a muffler is gone but noticeable, and makes my truck sound crappy. So I want to replace my exhaust manifold gasket. Specifically: - do you guys have a specific brand of gasket to recommend? - any tips or tricks for the installation? - how hard is it to reach the bolts under the intake manifold? - should I use any special hardware or loctite when reinstalling things? - should I replace the intake manifold gasket at the same time? It looks like I should since I'll probably have to take the intake off too (not sure on that though)... Thanks.

I don't think anyone clearly explained the benefits of switching to an open cooling system. I've got a stock 88 with the closed system. I replaced the cap on the pressure bottle with the upgraded Stant 10244 cap and now my cap doesn't leak. The bottle has a slight crack but doesn't leak, and a new bottle is only $25 on Amazon. I don't see the justification in spending $600 on something that isn't broken. I'm not trying to start something, I just really want to understand what the benefits are. I don't care if my system is open or closed as long as it works :thumbsup:

Just out of curiosity does anyone have an '88 Pioneer window sticker?

I have my dash apart right now, specifically that lower full length dash piece is out. I was thinking about just removing that silly timer since I have 146K miles, I guess I can just take it out and ziptie the wiring connector out of the way. What a silly device, to put it nicely. So what, it doesn't need to be changed again after another 82,500 miles? WTF.

Wow basically no rust, if complete that would go for good money here, too bad it's in the junkyard, boo. No surprise the Comanche specific parts are gone already - tailgate, tail lights, rear fender flares, cab vents.

The video isn't terribly helpful. Pull the window crank handle straight off, unscrew the 3 screws on the door handle, the 2 screws on the handle, rotate it 90 degrees (up) to remove if it's the "hockey stick" type. Then use a tool to pop the clips off the back side of the panel, on the front, back, and bottom and pull the panel up and away, off. You don't even need to remove the door handle clips, just fit it through the panel when pulling it off.

OK I didn't torch my truck. Long story short I read on another forum a tip to try and punch the seal inward toward the crank so it "loosens" the seal against the cover. When I did that I was able to take the biggest screwdriver I have and pry it out then. So I guess I was just trying to not damage the timing cover too much before. In the end I think it's all good. I picked up some black RTV, I'm going to smear a little bit on the seal where it fits into the cover to help prevent any future leaks. And I put the new seal in my deep freeze to help make it a tiny bit smaller before putting it back in :thumbsup:

Argh, it's gone from bad to worse. I tried the drilling a hole and using a screw to pull it out trick a few times and it just tore the front metal part of the seal. So what needs to come off to remove the timing chain cover? I may just take it off... Someone stop me from pushing the truck out to the street and lighting a match... :mad:

p.s. I forgot to mention that I used the old trick of putting a socket & breaker bar on the crank bolt and cranking the engine to break the bolt loose, it worked wonderfully. It sounded terrible (I only cranked it for about 1/10 second, just a blip) but it worked great.

I found a trick on YouTube for removing a stubborn seal... drill a small hole and put a screw in there and pull. Cool idea, I might have to try that... but I'm done with this for the night, I'll tackle the project again tomorrow afternoon.

For the seal or woodruff key? Good question. The new balancer comes with a new key so I just kind of assumed I need to change it. When I think about it it's easier to just leave that one alone. Consider that done :thumbsup:

OK good news bad news, I need help... Bad news #1 I forgot to remove the washer after I removed the crank bolt, then starting using the remover tool but that messed up the washer slightly since I was cranking on it. I'll need to go buy a new washer, no big deal. Good news #1 The balancer came off nice without removing anything but my skid plate and the splash shield. No need to remove rad, fan, etc., none of that. In hindsight I probably didn't even need to put the truck on ramps to do this job. Good news #2 The balancer was rubbing on the timing chain cover but luckily it didn't dig through, it just "scored" the cover, so the damage is minimal and I don't need to replace the cover. Bad news #2 Here's where I need help.... boy I'm struggling to get the front crank seal (on the timing cover) off. I tried using a screwdriver, I tried using the paint lid tool trick, and I bought the seal remover tool. None of them will budge the damn thing. Any ideas on how to get the stupid thing out of there? And how do I get the old woodruff key out of there? I put some vice grips on there to try and pull it and it wouldn't budge. Yeah yeah I know I butchered things trying to get the seal out... :mad:

Thanks, I'll be headed to the junkyard in the next few days so I'll just wait a bit and see if there are any there first.

The price is on the high side as an asking price, even if it's been well maintained and runs good. No 25 year old truck will be perfect, no matter what you buy will need a bit of work. For what it's worth, I paid $2500 for my 88 Pioneer this month, 4x4 5 speed, with 146K miles and it's a short box with a few rust spots. But it needs probably $500 worth of work which I knew going into it.

Try http://www.car-part.com the prices on eBay are usually outrageous.

The CB radio maybe? Minty, would make a great choice for a collector.

gogmorgo, headlight harness is on my to-do list, just not right away as I'll leave the headlights stock and don't drive much at night anyway. I'm doing my best to prioritize things right now and not get too carried away with things ;) If I decide to keep the truck long-term, I'll probably repaint it red and put in grey interior. So I'll be keeping my eye on grey interior parts whenever I go to the junkyard. Honestly swapping interiors isn't out of the question for me... is your interior in decent shape? My interior isn't perfect but it is in great shape. I was actually searching yesterday on interior paint seeing if repainting my interior grey was an option :D I already have a grey leather steering wheel & grey glove box door.

I got the ignition switch cylinder done tonight, used the free tool loan program from the auto parts store. Boy my interior looks like a hoopty car right now, I need to get it cleaned up and put back together!

Sweet, I won an eBay auction for a working cassette radio, I got it for $1.... :thumbsup: plus $29 shipping. :doh:

Well since I enjoy reading other people's project threads, I thought I should update my thread. I've stopped driving my truck since I discovered the first item below... In the last week I've discovered/done: - Removed serpentine belt to diagnose engine squeal. Turns out it's the harmonic balancer rubbing on the timing chain cover. I've got a new one on it's way to me from RockAuto - Ordered replacement emissions hoses from RockAuto, mine are rotten & leaking - Radio illumination doesn't work so I pulled the radio, discovered the wires were twisted together, so I soldered them all and am shopping for a replacement stock OEM stereo - Ordered & received new ignition lock cylinder (just need to find a lock plate tool now) - Removed IAC (idle stepper motor) & cleaned it & throttle body using TB cleaner, reinstalled - Disconnected & cleaned many underhood wiring connectors - Connected heater blend door cable, was totally disconnected - Diagnosed passenger window would not go down all the way. The bottom plastic tube on the regulator popped off which caused the part with the teeth to rust out. Ordered used regulator from eBay ($30 shipped, pretty good deal) - Ordered Dakota odor bomb to help get rid of funky/smoke smell on interior, read good reviews online of Dakota odor eliminator products. - Discovered very frayed park brake release cable, bought one from member here that isn't frayed What's up in the near short term: - Harmonic balancer replacement - Passenger side manual window regulator replacement - Installation of ignition lock cylinder - Continue checking engine grounds, add 4ga wires at firewall/battery as per cruiser's Renix tips - Give everything a real good cleaning - New valve cover gasket & cut down vent tubes on bottom of cover - Lubricate hood release cable/mechanism to prevent future problems - Shop for various things like "normal" exterior mirrors I'll try to post more pics when I have something worth posting...

Now that's an update! :thumbsup:

That's a very solid truck, good find! Best places I've found to find parts so far are eBay, local junkyards, car-part.com and the classifieds here. Between them you can find just about anything (OK no rear bumpers LOL).

I just soldered all the wires on my 88 radio harness a few days ago. PO just twisted the wires together and taped them, bad, bad idea. There is one loose black wire which is a ground. Don't confuse it with the black speaker return wire, otherwise they're all unique colors. Here ya go: