DirtyComanche

The design principle of the Torx is that you don't need pressure on it to stop it from camming out. If the bit is in straight and fully seated, and the torque is applied only in the correct direction, and it is undamaged, it will not cam out. I used to hate them until I realized how they work. Clean them out, use the correct bit (and not some 10 cent junk you got from Mao's Candyland either), make sure it's seated, apply the torque correctly. You will snap the bit off before camming it out or rounding the fastener. OP is still at the point he probably has to remove the fender, and should just to avoid making things worse. Things are going downhill rapidly for him. I'd try a rounded bolt extractor, then probably just get annoyed and weld a nut on to it. One might be able to get it turning with a cold chisel and a hammer too. Eh, I don't know, not getting in this situation is the ideal solution.

Does the shaft have any machining defects on the splines? It might be what is stopping it. Or they may not have splined it far enough down the shaft.

Looks like you've got firewood now.

So I bought an '88 Cutlass Supreme. I used to have an '87. Nostalgia hit me. And I wanted something fun to drive for the summer, given that my Comanche won't likely get to that point with all the other things I've had going on. Originally I was eyeing up a '72 Buick Riviera, but it was $5000 more and turned out to be quite the bondo princess, then I got sad and impulse bought this instead. Plan is to do as little to it as possible. It needs some interior pieces put back in, the rear window sealed, some trim put back on, new wiper blades, and the oil changed. It looks way better in pictures than it actually is. Drives nice though.

Something else is wrong then. It should be just roasting them.

Exactly. Like I said, I think if he can get it to hook he should run a 12 flat in the quarter.

Somebody definitely has. Not sure if I saw the pictures on here or ZuckerbergBook.

I bet you got yourself a low 12 second car. In the 1/8th. Honestly, I think you should be able to do an 12 even in the quarter if you can get it to hook. I'm guessing that was the issue?

There's different throttle pedals that are bent differently... or they bend over time. Not sure which it is. I put one that was much higher in my XJ because it hit the floor otherwise at full throttle (floor isn't stock shape because doubler).

Depending what kit you get they will come with more things. Some have shocks and control arms included. Also I'd try it before changing the ujoints, unless they're already worn out, it may be totally fine with the old ones. I don't really do stockish/mild builds that often so I can't say what products are better or worse. I also can't tell you the best way to build it. My last mild build was a 3.5" lift and I was never happy with how it rode due to the control arm angles, hence the current build will be a long arm setup, but it may just be that I'm spoiled as most of the time I've gone with long arms or other major changes to improve ride quality. I would stand by the earlier comments to use Bilstein shocks for what you want to do though, there is some other options but the Bilsteins are great for a mild build.

Yup. Ride quality has a lot to do with springs and other aspects of the suspension too. At 3" lift with short (stock style) control arms the ride isn't too bad, but it won't be as good as stock, all other things being equal. It's also going to wander on the road a bit unless you either buy adjustable/longer lower control arms, or shim you the frame side mounts (not sure if you can get enough adjustment just with shims). Also, if you have any worn components in the front suspension, you're likely to find out they're a problem once you lift it, as the lift tends to exaggerate wear issues. Likewise you may find you need to change out the u-joints in the driveshafts too, since they may have worn a set that was working fine at stock height, but now gives you some vibration. If you change one thing it inevitably affects other things.

Is the truck stock or not? If it's lifted, what 3" lift?

I'm in the crowd of throwing new gaskets at it and putting it back together. Those dry numbers are great. Also if the stud didn't break flush or below I'd just take it out with the welder. 10 minutes to do that if it goes well.

The tcase shifter being stuck in 4lo could be as simple as needing to drive it around a bit while pushing it to get it to come out, or it could need some adjustment or new bushings, or the tcase could be screwed internally. $200 or so for a used tcase and a few hours to swap it should be worst case scenario. I'd have already bought it.

Maybe, but not likely. Rope seals were largely obsolete by the 1960s. I don't think there would be any AMC I6s that would use one and have any sort of interchangeable crank with a 4.0 based on that.

Rope seals use those, they basically pump the oil back out of the seal. As to it being right in this application I just assumed it is, as I don't recall if any of my 4.0 cranks looked like that or not, and I'm not aware of any way to add those short of a machining process with the crank out of the engine.

I'd try putting it back to stock if nothing else. There is a partial vacuum on it the way it was designed and routed into the intake. That filter *should* be okay like that but when you mod anything and there is another unexpected result, it is always good to back up a few steps and see if the modifications are causing the new issue.

Before you give up, make sure your CCV system is venting right. I toasted a 400 SBC because of that. Couldn't get the rear main to seal, tried multiple times, finally one day I ran it out of oil. Turns out it was a breather issue pressurizing the crank case. But yeah, those gashes aren't going to play will with a double lip seal, assuming they're as bad as they look.

Fel-pro is a double lip from the P/N on Rockauto.

Definitely would check for vacuum leaks as Cruiser said, carb cleaner or flammable non-chlorinated brake cleaner works good. Otherwise just do all of his tips, grounds and cleaning stuff especially.

I'd use actual emery cloth. It won't fall apart right away when you put oil on it. But you could try what you have.

I'd try polishing out the damage first. I'm not aware of any sleeve procedure that can be done to that part of the crank. Spray weld and turn down, yes, but that's likely as much money as a new crank.

Not to get political, I'm a Canadian so your politics are your politics, but the previous admin rolled things back a bunch to support certain industries and the consumer as a whole. The new admin then brought back in the targets from the admin before the previous one, plus added an adjustment to them for the 4 "lost years." This means that FCA, Ford, and GM, who build a lot of pickups and SUVs that get less than stellar fuel economy, and now absolutely scrambling to come up with ways to meet the fleet average requirement set by the EPA. GM will pump out econobox cars and some electric vehicles, Ford is likely going to hit it out of the park with their electric F-150 sales along with a fleet of econobox cars/the Mach-E, and FCA... Well, FCA is going to do what they can to improve their existing product line, because they aren't in a great place. I do have to give it to FCA for still offering Hellcats and other neat things to the masses, but government regulation is ultimately going to put an end to that. Their only super high mileage weapon that is selling is the Wrangler 4xE, which is honestly a terrible product that takes advantage of the poor wording of the legislation, but they're not going to make or sell enough of them to fix their problem. I embrace change. My next MJ build will be electric. But that's a ways out, I need enough market uptake to be able to buy the components for cheap enough. The good news is I work super slow so my current build won't be done anytime soon.

They have to in order to meet the EPA guidelines for fuel economy.

I made a really crappy video on it at one point. Basically it's 3 "pelican" knock off cases. I've got a starter, alt, driveshaft ujoint, a bunch of sensors, ECM, fuel pump, FP regulator, some wire, and a bunch of tools. Then another small Rubbermaid Action Packer with some ATF, oil, brake fluid, and coolant. And a tarp, because I hate lying in mud. I don't carry axle parts because Dana 60.