JustEmptyEveryPocket

^ That isn't funny. The truth of it just hurts too much.

I would stop and run a compression test, and a leak down test. Make sure you have a good starting point before diving into any other parts + labor. Any auto store should be able to rent you the equipment for "free". I say "free" because you have to put down a deposit, but will get a full refund when you return the equipment. Let us know the numbers and how it reacts on the leakdown test.

Does it smell sweet? If so, I have some bad news about your head/ head gasket.

I've got three points for ya billy: Its fine to drive with it slightly low for a short distance at lows speeds Even if you ruined it, its only a D35. So no worries. If it does act up at any point, R&R it with a Ford 8.8, Chry 8.25, Isuzu 44, etc. Till it drips. Although I am not sure why a broken bolt leads you to a new cover? Just drill out the threaded part, run a tap in the hole to clean it up, buy a new bolt, and put it back together like factory. Unless I am missing something else?

Obviously a tie-fighter

*Just joking* Change the thermostat? Hell naw son, you have to take it out completely. That will cure the overheatin' in a hurry!

Is that . . . .is that most of a 97+ cherokee header? On a zuki? @Pete M ,can you steal this pic and post it to the "Put down the hammer and walk away" thread? I feel its deserving.

At least its a dry heat?

Considering what you have done so far, including swapping TCUs, I'm thinking its a bad wire somewhere. Follow Ohms recommendations. He is the genius around here for tracking down wiring problems.

i'm . .. uhhhh . . .gonna go check on that leak by my rear wheel. And maybe check diff oil level.

Why do you think you need new ones? If it was me, I would brush off most of the rust, run a tap into the holes in the head, and chase those bolt threads with a die. Then slap it back together. What am I missing?

I know you said you checked fuses, but did you check the TCU specific fuse? Its located passenger side behind the lower dash trim panel. Check out HERE for a pic, shamelessly stolen from cruiser54.

I found and bought a JDM Toyota Land Cruiser years ago. 1985 BJ73 with a four cylinder diesel and 5 speed manual. That thing is amazing offroad. It came stock with a PTO style front winch, locking hubs, and a removable top. Ever since getting it (and driving it hard!) I have been looking at importing a Toyota Hilux. Four person seating, a usable bed, diesel engine, manual transmission, fantastic reviews, great off-road-ability. If I ever come across one reasonably priced you better believe I am buying it up. Why oh why are they not available here in the US?

Negative. If you are reading at the CPS terminal itself then the only thing in the mix is the CPS and the wires going to it. I guess also your voltmeter, but we will assume you checked it for good working operation before hand. If you are measuring the CPS input into the ECU, then you might have further issues. So to totally answer this question, we need to know where and how you are checking for VAC from the CPS. But I would bet you are reading at the main CPS connector located at the rear of the intake manifold. If thats true, then the only thing it can be is the CPS. R&R time.

Yup. At this point CPS replacement is needed. FWIW I got my replacement CPS from Napa (ordered two at a time in case one was a dud). The first one I installed worked great. Something like .45VAC, and has been working for ~1.5 years now. YMMV I also highly recommend taking the exhaust off the manifold, removing the rear driveshaft, and dropped the transmission crossmember as much as you can to gain space to remove and install the CPS. Total work time for me was FAR less this way that trying to wrangle all of it in place. Although I have arms like a gorilla and fingers like sausages. Its amazing how far the engine will rotate safely doing it this way, and how much room you gain to access that stupid sensor.

How old is the gas in it? If you have been working on it for 2 years, I hope you put in some new fuel. Next step for my peace of mind would be to check fuel pressure. You want ~31, jumping to ~39 if you remove the vacuum tube at the Fuel Pressure Sensor. After that, its not a bad idea to run a compression test and a leak down test on a vehicle that has been sitting that long. Otherwise, follow cruiser's steps. cruiser54.com FTW.

This statement, along with hearing the fuel pump, would have me checking the CPS output on cranking. If you have it, put an inline spark checker on it as well. Report back with results to that.

Agreed! My pulling truck is a 1997 F-250 with the 7.3 International motor. It is coming up on 300,000 miles and I know it won't last forever. So I have been casually looking at replacement towing trucks. None of the ones I look at come optioned with a manual transmission. You have to special order them, if you can get it at all. I don't know about you all, but while my manual daily driver is for fun, a pulling vehicle NEEDS to be a manual. How else do you engine brake going down hills? Or avoid the smash shifting an auto gives you when climbing a steep part of the road? Or get enough torque to the wheels to pull that trailer where you just HAD to put on one more tree's worth of wood to bring home? And for ~$60,000+ dollars I better get what I damn well want! Besides, a manual is truly becoming an anti-theft device.

This^^^ I would be VERY tempted to buy something like this. But I'm picky. Would need the diesel engine and manual transmission as options as well. Does anyone know why the Gladiator has a diesel engine option, but it ONLY comes with an auto tranny?

Not sure if any of the following will help or not. I just did a google search for "site:comancheclub.com shift indicator" and am posting the top four results. You might try variations on my search to see if you can narrow it down. In case you didn't know, the "site:comancheclub.com" part limits all results to that domain. So everything will come as links to this site. Super handy to avoid the spam crap thats out there. Good luck!

Random observation, take it or leave it. Just don't take offense at it: You're young. The desire to plan comes with age. After you mess a few big projects up by making stupid mistakes that could have been avoided with planning . . . . well, you learn to enjoy the planning phase. The mistake in this specific plan was looking at the $$$$. Should have just made a list and order of operations. Then buy parts a bit at a time.

Like maybe give us a better truck version than a 2020 Wrangler that some highschool FFA kid tack welded a square body truck bed onto? That would be cool.

x3 for the copper/nickle and run it yourself. The only thing I would add is to get the gravel guard as well. Since the tubing bends so easy, it was peace of mind to me to throw some extra protection on there. Just make sure you put the gravel guard on BEFORE you make your last flare on the line. Don't ask me how I know that. Especially don't ask me how many times I learned it.

Mine saw 1 replacement. It was never going to see a 2nd.

~$20,000?