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Glad you caught that! It’s easier to get to now that I know

Thanks for the encouragement I just learned that the C158 connecter is in the back of the cab under the carpet (under the seat I guess). Not a project for today! I was just out for a 20 minute drive and everything was perfectly normal. So, a bit encouraging ……. until it happens again

I guess I’d better go look again and maybe it’ll make more sense. Serious lack of knowledge and experience with vehicles here🙄.

Sorry, I’m having trouble figuring out what you mean by C158. Is that on the diagram you posted? The only way to tell if it’s gone will be to drive lots I guess, because the smoke is very sporadic (once or twice on a 20 minute drive) and short lived (15 seconds at most)

Thanks for that link. It looks more involved than I hoped but if I can get the puller and lock plate remover I might give it try. Probably I’ll spend more time looking/hoping for a bad connection under the dash since I won’t be able to get those tools till later next week.

Ok, I’m willing to get a puller and try taking the steering wheel off but after that how to proceed? Will I need to disassemble the whole column? Is it likely that it’s the turn signal wiring? And how did you discover the oil drip onto the exhaust? I don’t see any evidence of oil underneath and have spent quite a while looking at the wires under the dash but still can’t see anything burnt or melted. The smoke still happens but only for short periods and very inconsistent and doesn’t seem to be related to anything. I’m guessing eventually something will short out or catch fire so I’m nervous about it. thanks from a non mechanical guy!

Thanks for that. I’ll check to see if it’s oil but I’m thinking that would probably be more consistent or regular. I’d need a steering wheel puller to get it off ,right? Too bad you can’t just take the plastic cover off

I have a 1989 Comanche 4 L. The other day I was driving along and noticed some smoke coming out of the steering column, specifically right around the turn signal. It stopped the smoke after about 20 seconds, but occasionally it starts up again. I’ve checked the wires as much as I can underneath but can’t see anything obvious. I’d like to have a look inside the steering column but can’t see how to remove it to get at the wiring. Please suggest how I should proceed now. Don’t want to have a fire!, thanks

Thanks for the guidance and advice guys. Given how busted the old one looks it’s probably been non functional for a while and yes for now just plowing myself and neighbours so I’ll wait to deal with it

Thanks. That’s pretty much what I imagined. Took a look and I doubt if it’s ever been changed so probably will be a struggle to get out. Might just wait until the weather warms up a bit.

Thanks for those replies. It’s an 89 4.0 and yes, left hand driver. To be honest, I’m such a novice that I’m not sure whether the oxygen sensor is there or not. I’ll check though. The main question of course is whether this is an essential thing, or could I get through the winter plowing my driveway without it?

I was plowing some really deep snow and when I looked under the truck afterwards (because of a blown lower rad hose-but that’s a different story! ) and saw this dangling right behind the front differential on the driver side. Being an old geezer and lying on the freezing snow, I couldn’t see anywhere obvious that it should go. Hopefully somebody can recognize it and point me in the right direction. Thanks of course!

I appreciate the advice. I’ll take some time on the weekend for carb cleaning!

Thanks. Lesson learned! I guess I’m one of those who cheaped out. Generally I run super unleaded in all my machines but with these power outages becoming longer and spending a fortune on gas to keep the generator going, I thought “well it’s supposed to run on regular so how bad can it be if it’s running steady?” Obviously I found out 🥺

That makes sense

It’s gravity fed. I wondered about the diaphragm but if broke or was compromised I don’t understand how it’s working ok now. Admittedly I haven’t run it for hours but it’s been good for half an hour at least.

I thought I’d ask here because people seem knowledgeable and friendly but it has nothing to do with my Comanche. I have a generator with a Honda GX 340 motor on it. During a recent three day power outage I was using it and everything was working perfectly. Sometimes I’d shut it off using the fuel shut off valve but if I knew I was going to be starting it again soon, I would just flip the switch off. Once the main power came back on, I didn’t bother running it out of fuel and just shut it off. The next morning, I went out to start it up and run it dry for storage, and I noticed that fuel was dripping from the carburetor, and when I tried pull the recoil to start, it seemed frozen. With a lot of strength, I could get the engine to move but nowhere near enough. Thinking maybe for some crazy reason that it had run out of oil I pulled the dipstick and out flooded a mixture of gas and oil. I was sure it was pooched. But, I pulled the spark plug, drained all the fluids, replaced all the fluids, let it dry out, and got it started. Lots of black smoke at first but everything seems OK now. With my rudimentary knowledge I can’t really figure out what happened and how it would go from running great to that situation overnight. I was thinking I’d at least need to clean or replace something on the carburetor but once I got it going, haven’t bothered. Should I anyway? Should I always use the shut off valve? Thanks folks I’m just hoping that if I can understand how it happened maybe I’ll know where to look next time.

Thanks for the feedback folks :) It's all pretty much along the lines that I was thinking. I'll probably get a good set of V-Bar chains just for the rear right now and see how it goes. Then, as soon as I get them, we probably won't get another big snowfall for the rest of the winter!!

I actually have some smaller ones (225 75 15 I think). Would it be a problem to have different sized on front and back?

snow

I'd appreciate some opinions on whether or not to put on some snow chains. I use the MJ for snow plowing all winter, and it's all on a gravel driveway but I never need to go on pavement. Overall things work well, and I can push a ton of snow..... except when there is ice underneath. Recently, we had a huge snowfall (24" plus) and if I went too far off the driveway where there was a slight incline, I got stuck. I have good snow tires on, and the box is half filled with firewood for ballast but it's soooo frustrating to dig out in freezing and snowy conditions. Right now, I have 235/75/15 tires all around but there is slight rubbing at full steering lock. I don't mind it normally, but I'm concerned that with chains on the front it will do damage. Does anybody use chains in winter and can give me feedback on whether it's worth it? Maybe just put them on the rears?

Hauling Canadian Sugar Maple: Cut the tree down and loaded the branches and whatever I could lift by hand for ballast, and then dragged it down a ravine and up a 25 foot bank then 1/4 mile home along a "logging" trail:

And the previous plow and firewood truck...

My current plow and firewood truck....Ready to go: The driveway : Finished around the shop:

Well, I got the truck back and it turned out to be the CPS as most thought. Thanks again for the advice and encouragement folks. I like being part of this club even as an avid lurker! But, obviously I have to learn to use the multimeter properly. I don't understand how I could have gotten such a good reading in a no-start situation, unless I am using it incorrectly. I'd really appreciate if someone would look at the image I posted of how I had it set and tell me what I did wrong. Sure, I will post up some pics of the truck and snow soon. thanks