DirtyComanche

So, say a guy wants a little crane on his POS farm truck. Obviously, he could just go out and buy something. But, that'd be boring. So, I'd like to build one. Of course, like most things I build, I do consider the possibility, or likelihood, of death. So, MS paint of what I'd like (don't hate my MS paint skillz, girls) Image Not Found It'd be about 4' tall, and the boom would be say 42" - 72" measured from the pivot to the choker. The base would be say 12"x12", and the pipe (yes pipe) would be say 3.5" sch40. The pivot would be an upside down trailer spindle/hub assembly welded into the pipe. I am slightly concerned by doing this, and hope I can find a big enough spindle/hub to feel comfortable. To service it, one would have to unbolt the crane at the base plate. More pipe would make the upright to the pivot for the boom. A PA hydro cylinder (jack type) would be used to raise/lower the boom like any old engine hoist. The boom would be perhaps 3.5" sch 40 with 3" sch 40 inside it to allow for length adjustment. I'd run some tube over top of the boom for strength, like is done with flat bar on engine hoists and such. I only want to lift say 800lbs with the boom retracted, less with it extended... Think it'd all be up to the task? Or, am I building something to kill myself with? Oh, I'm aware I need to bolt it to the frame of the truck, the box isn't strong enough.

Japan has had a 'similar' program for a long time. I don't know the details, but you only see knew vehicles there for a reason. They don't destroy them, just make the insurance such a hassle/high price that nobody does it... So they get exported to elsewhere now. Oh, and I seriously doubt sodium silicate could render an engine unfit for rebuild. If it binds to wear surfaces, machine it off... Pretty fawking simple. People take spun cranks and machine them down all the time, it's not a new concept. Same goes for cams, valve guides, etc.

I saw a couple at the local Pick-N-Pull, they had CARS stickers on them and signs that said no engine part could be sold. And how is that going to work? On the good faith of the junkyard? What are the junkyards to do with the pile of vehicles that have engines that they can't sell parts off? Maybe things are a little different in other places, but here junkyards are what I'd consider 'semi-legit' businesses at best. Cash gets you a better deal, and nothing isn't for sale. If a junkyard was required to simply crush the vehicle with such an engine, I can guarantee there would only be the major components left on that engine when it was crushed, unless there was a government appointed inspector standing there when they did the crushing to ensure everything was still 100% intact.

I'm a ways from Vancouver. Think more 'fingers and toes falling off cold' than 'raining all the god damn time'. I don't think this area is really depressed. The foreclosure rate here never approached that of the US... But, it's hard to say. It's a mill town, and everything to do with cutting trees for money hasn't worked well for the last 15+ years. The risk there is I will buy a property, and watch it plummet in value if things go wrong on a local level. Which is fine if you have no intention of reselling it anytime soon, and you still have a job... Beyond that, my own employment is reasonably secure. However, it would easily be 10X more secure one year from now, and easily 3X more in 6 months (if they keep their tentative promise to provide me with an endorsement then). The services my employer provides have little to do with the local economy, and depends much more on the price of oil and minerals, forest fires, and the super-rich still being willing to toss some pocket change on a vacation. Right now it's hard to say where that's going to go... Meh. I'm tempted to wait a year if living with my buddy works out. I don't think the housing market will go up dramatically unless the rest of the economy does, and in that event I will make enough (additional) money to offset the difference anyways. So, who knoooooooooooows...

The last time I checked, a large percentage of the heli companies in the east were either in receivership, running at 10% staff/capacity, or have cut wages by 50% with the notice 'take it or leave it'. However, I could be wrong, I am more or less isolated from the east other than for minor contact in the middle (working in Sask, we sometimes work Manitoba , but Ontario and beyond is almost forbidden except for our permanent off-shore oil ops.) So, umm, no thanks :cheers:

No, it was only listed for about a week. Not sure if the owner changed their mind or if it sold that fast.... It was a good buy. I've been looking at other things, and prodding the banks to see how much they actually would lend me, but I don't think I'm going to commit to anything just yet. It probably would be a really good time to buy, maybe I'll be kicking myself by next summer...

So, you want to hear a funny story? That place that was listed for the $86K... That was mine. I had NO idea whatsoever. They didn't say a damn thing to me, much less provide me with written notice that it was listed and that people might potentially be wanting to look at it (like I say, I'm out of town a lot, 1 day notice isn't enough for me to clean the place if I'm not there :roll: ). However, AFAIK, nobody even looked at it as it was so overpriced. But, the owner decided to move his daughter into it for college or something. So, I was given 3 months notice about a week ago. Of course, they still hadn't fixed the water damage, so they shaved that down to 2 months notice so they have time to fix the water damage. I left him (the manager) a note (with my rent) that I'd be out by the end of the month, and that I didn't intend to fully comply with the terms given for vacating the suite (I'm not steam cleaning the carpet before they do drywall, if logic doesn't prevail I will forfeit a portion of the damage deposit that is reasonable to cover the steam cleaning cost, I do not have the time nor the inclination to arrange cleaning myself and be there when they come), and that I expect a month's rent to be refunded to me (legally, I'm entitled to it). I left my phone number (which he has) with a 'call me if there's any concerns or questions', I don't think he's called yet... We'll see. Anyways, I've lined up another place, a basement belonging to a friend/coworker. Hopefully we're both busy enough with work to not get on each others nerves. Half my stuff is already packed... Just waiting for my friend to get back into town so I can give him some cash and get a key (then start moving my junk). As it is, I'm losing money every day I'm not moved out of here and done with this; as I had to blacklist myself from trips longer than 2-3 days at work :headpop: And of course, 2 days after I find out I get asked if I can go on a 2-week job that would be reasonably lucrative :headpop: At least I explained to them why I can't go and they understand, there's a pretty fragile balance between being considered 'reliable' and 'useless' at work. I've only said no to a job once, and that was because my family was in town. Now that's twice :headpop:

A WJ? That's pretty high end to be blowing up... I guess they still ain't worth $8g or whatever the dealers are throwing out... Edit, can you take engine sensors and electronics? I'd pull EVERY CPS, TPS, IAC, CmPS, ECM and related junk that I could. Throw it all in a rubbermaid tub and you've got spares for a long time. If they really don't care, I'd take the alternators, fuel pumps (the fuel too) and pretty much everything else that was shiny. And the WJ's steering box, that's a little prize... I'm not the type of person to be left alone with a vehicle and told "Help yourself, it's all free". Maybe my windshield wiper motor will never go bad, but I've got two spares just in case!

Did you have any witnesses, or get the police involved? If I'm not at fault for an accident, I'm calling the police unless I have a damn good reason not to. Legally here, over $1000 in damage or any injury and you technically have to call them. It doesn't take much to hit $1000 in damage with the way body shops screw people. I just don't like getting the short straw when the other party starts getting creative with the story.

Hmm, well, hopefully I get sent on a good mine job or something so I can watch mythbusters all day. I had no idea the extreme4x4 (what was extreme about it other than their budget anyways) had booted her. That's what happens when you don't have a TV. :dunno:

She is sooo hot! I wish she was still on the show! I don't know where they find all those overacting idiots for the power block. If it werent for some of the good content, I wouldnt watch them at all. And then they get rid of the best "actor" they had (see above)! Sorry, I can't remember her name. Jesse Combs. She'll be back, she hurt her back (IIRC) and is on leave for a while (who knows how long). If they had actually intentionally got rid of her... They'd probably see a 50% reduction in viewers. I'll agree they're overacting idiots. I can't stand 90% of what they do.

I don't even know what those are... I vaguely recall a nursery-rhyme or the like about them... So, I think you have topped me for uselessness... But I don't think your beans weigh 800lbs and tie up the bed of my truck.

Well, you really never can have too many spare axles. Other than I don't have a place to keep it for a while.

So, in my infinite wisdom I picked up the D60 front out of a 2000 dodge cummins truck. Only because it was cheap, as in $250. And it's all there and not torched off, unit bearings, axle shafts, tie-rod, brake calipers... Unfortunately, I'm now left wondering what I'm going to do with it. I guess just keep it as spare parts for my tow pile... Which I probably won't need for another 100K or more since I just did the unit bearings and rotors/pads on it! I don't even have a place to put it. So it's going to sit in the back of my truck for now.

Short of a housing failure or shearing the pinion off... The pinion seal failing would be responsible for the leak. If the bearing races did not spin, the housing is probably fine. If they did spin, it depends how bad. As terrible as it is, providing the bearing race seating area is only .001 to .002 over-sized, the bearing races can be retained using retaining compound (green locktite, I think is the colour). The actual tolerances on the machined ares as far as relation to each other is actually fairly loose, so even if everything winds up slightly misaligned, the gear setup will still be valid if done properly. Probably. I'd rather throw the housing out at that point, but it's all junk anyways. Beyond that the gears, bearings, races, and most probably the carrier will all be junk. Also, the axle splines should be looked at for the sake of it.

Gotta be ford, or you have to flip it. Having the shift rails at the bottom tends to leak. I have my name on one... I just have to pick it up sometime.

I thought this was going to be another mullet 'how-to' thread. Mildly disappointed.

The stock stuff fits fine, or some combination of stock stuff, IIRC. But the downpipes have to be jammed in there really good. Aftermarket stuff, no such luck. Everything gets you into the frame.

No need to swap the column, it's GM anyways and should work unless there's a pile of different features.

I'd probably swap the 4.3. However, just look through my build threads and ask yourself 'Is this person of sound judgment?'

Negative. The power lines end 20K up the road.

Alright, some decent links there... I'll have to get reading.

Is that like a long-term thing? NSA hookups as long as she owns the vehicle? I guess my other question would be, is this a busty woman or a busty man?

Yes, unless you bypass it.

Google is providing me with a lot more 'Alternate Energy' BS scams than I can stomach. Or people attempting to sell me wiring diagrams (not going to happen). But as always, if I posted it here it means that I am actively researching elsewhere (unless I specifically stated that I don't feel like looking it up :roll: ). I think I found a forum that doesn't blow. Time will tell.