ftpiercecracker1

Thanks a lot for all the info 1987comanche. I will definitely pass along the advice to my brother, he felt it needed to be decked as well.

Now the only trouble is if the head needs to be decked. We found a low spot and it correlates to where the HG blew. The depression is about the size of quarter, maybe a little smaller and is about 5k of an inch at its deepest. The rest of the head surface seems uniformly flat. We used a straight edge and a dollar bill to check.

Good advice sir. Well I thought the high numbers ment the HG was fine but that is apparently not the case. Using the shop air I pressurized the cyliders (TDC, of course). Cylinder #1 immediately started bubbling water/air out of the radiator. Cylinder #2 was pushing air out the tailpipe ever so slightly. I haven't even bothered with 3&4 because it seems blatantly obvious now that the HG is indeed blown.

So my brother's pickup blew the top radiator hose to smithereens a few days ago. Immediately after replacing the hose the truck started to overheat and run rough, significantly more so as the truck gets hotter. The truck has over 250k on the clock, but has been 100% issue free since bought (70k miles ago) It is a 98 2.7L 4cyl manual toyota pickup, don't think they had started calling them tacomas yet. Done thus far: Replaced the t-stat with a verified good one (boiling pot of water and a thermometer trick) Flushed and rebled system several times. Original coolant was very rusty. Compression test, front 120, 120, 150, 150, back. Spark plugs have good color. Aren't blackened/gas soaked nor do they have white ash from burning coolant. No smoke out tail pipe either, minimal water. Pulled WP to check fins, perfectly intact. I suspected the radiator because when it's hot, the top is to hat to touch while the bottom remains ice cold even as it boils over into the overflow tank. HOWEVER, after removing said radiator I used a garden hose to check it's flow and it appears to have no restrictions. Water flows out the bottom as fast as I pump it in. I have a new rad coming in tomorrow, going to see if it makes a difference, other than that I am at a loss as to why it continues to overheat. Thoughts?

Jacks bar-b-que is a must. You can find it on the main strip.

Well %*$^ me, i guess i needed to have paid closer attention. :doh: I think i remember voting in that poll and i think i remember voting for the badlands! :doh: :doh: don't know what i was thinking.

I really want to go, but i am out of a job ATM and don't know if i can justify expense of such a trip. Just food for thought, but after searching for some local off-road parks here in TN i discovered this place. http://www.windrockpark.com/ Cheaper than Badlands, free camping and about 20x as big. I wish i had found this place and brought it up months ago, i think it would have been far more ideal for a lot of people. Even so, i want it known that i am very glad that the time was taken to arrange an official club member meeting, regardless of its location. Still crossing my fingers that i will be able to find a way to attend. FPC.

Thanks a lot fellas. My current trans fluid looks and smells like diarrhea, so it needs to be flushed multiple times. I just hope the redline stuff will get third gear to quit grinding.

Hey guys, I'm finally getting around to changing the fluid I'm my ax-15. I have 4qts of Redline MT on order, but before put the good stuff in I am going to flush it first. Can I use motor oil to flush the trans? If so does it matter what kind? If not, what can I use to flush it? Thanks FPC

Awesome thanks for all the input guys.

My ax-15 is in dire need of a fluid change, but it needs to be flushed before I dump in the good stuff (red line, red max?) What is the cheapest crap that I can dump in there to flush out all the junk? Why do I think it needs to be flushed you ask? Current fluid looks like nasty chocolate milk and smells utterly putrid. Thanks fellas.

Wow, that blows.

Mopar?

Well I guess it was it's time of the month, because the trans is pretty much back to normal. All the aforementioned noises are gone, but a new one has started. Now when trying to shift into third gear it grinds for a brief moment before it slips in. There is no notable resistance, just the momentary grinding like the synchro won't synchronize.

I cut and shortened the steering column by about two inches.

Well after driving around for the last few days it seems the issue with third gear and the noise in neutral is intermittent. However the grinding in fifth has been consistent from the onset. I will ckeck the oil next chance I get, it's been a long time since its been done. I put schaffer's gear oil in it last time, this was before I knew about redline, I wonder if it was the wrong kind.

I think I found the problem. The sycro for third is stuck engaged. Without the clutch depressed I can attempt to shift into third at any speed, this is met with a LOT of grinding and clashing of gears however so I have not tried to force it. I think that is why it sounds and feels like it does in neutral. The sycro won't fully disengage. As for the other noise I guess there must be some kind of minor interference between fifth and third.

It only makes noise when letting off the gas in fifth gear and in neutral, which, after a very short drive today has gotten a good bit worse. Now instead of just a rapid tapping sensation on the shifter I can easily hear something grinding. It sounds just like a synchronize has slipped out of mesh, and the only way to make the noise go away is to push in the clutch.

I've never delt with a problem like this before so I really don't know. The only thing I am certain of is there is a noise and it's coming from the general area of the transmission. Is the clutch release bearing the same as the throw out bearing? Both would require dropping and partially disassembling the transmission yes?

I suppose nothing lasts forever, including the almighty ax15. Completely out of no where while driving home from the JY today the trans started to make a very audible very concerning grinding sound. I was in fifth gear and simply took my foot off the gas. Pushing the clutch in does make the noise go away, but. . . . Even in neutral I can still feel something grinding, you can't hear anything, but it's like someone is rapidly tapping on the bottom of the shifter. All gears, including fifth, still go in smoothly or smooth enough should I say. Fifth gear is the only gear that grinds. I just need to know how concerned I should be at this point. Its the original trans with 225k miles, never rebuilt, fluid only changed once to my knowledge, and a pilot bearing that has been worn out for 20k miles. Thanks, FPC

I strongly suggest you look into the Volvo LSD swap. Long story short, Volvo 740s and 240s used the Dana 30 as a rear axle and some came with a gear driven LSD (torsen, I think). It is a 99% direct swap, the only thing that must be done is shorten one of the axle shafts, I don't remember which one, by 3/8th of an inch. YouTube has a great 3 part series explaining all of it.

We got ours about a month ago. I drove one, it's a car. I haven't had the chance to test an "off-road" variant yet though. I think I remember some one saying the dimensions like grood clearance, and wheel base is almost identical to an XJ.

I was rummaging around the junkyards a few days ago and happened upon a newer model two door XJ with power Windows. I snagged the coveted switch and cover bezel everybody wants for the 97+ door swap and went about my business. Later on that day I found myself in a newer model (97-ish) two door Dodge Dakota, looking at the split bench seats when I noticed the power window switch looked extremely familiar. As it turned out it was identical in every way to the switch out of the XJ. Unfortunately the covers are nothing alike in design, but I thought my little discovery was worth sharing anyway. You will still have to hunt down a cover from a two door XJ but at least the switch will be a heck of a lot easier to come by.

based on your description, it would seem that the alternator has seized, which means yes it is shot.