Betty's "I want to be a mule" progress log thread

The new turd mobile. 2000 Mountaineer v8 awd.



The bad:

Was living it's prior life on a dusty road. Must tear out interior and deep clean.
Driver window off track "or something" and will not roll down. It tries but the rear part wants to stay up.

3 out of 4 door handles have issues. I have 4 new outer handles on order.
Cracked passenger side tail light housing. ( Ebay for some cool tail lights)

Compass-Thermometer thingy lit up and went out--idunno bout that yet

Door locks seem sticky, probably has to do with the handles.
It has a funky purple color trim with red metallic ( you'll have that every now and then)

The good
Gas tank was full
109k miles
I am the 2nd owner!!
Is from the local area, which means no salt!
The undercarriage is fairly clean
No dents to underside panels
Good rubber
Camber shims already installed
Looks like good service records, all recalls were completed.
Clean carfax believe it or not.

The "maybe" bad

The original owner, told the dealership it had a bad "heater core" however I have run it for several cycles, over an hour each idling in the driveay and see no leaks.
However, there was evidence of a windshield leak or the like,I saw condensation on the inside of the windows this AM. The moisture smell is that of water only-no anti freeze smell. I am thinking it could also be a cowl drain which is clogged???? but she did say the passenger carpet got wet.

I tried to get heat, however it is an auto climate control. Being 90 degrees outside, I doubt it would have given me heat.The heater core hoses were hot, and the coolant bypass valve does operate. AC blows Ice cold.

Maybe she meant to say "heater door"???

Anyway--here are the pics.



My intent is to drive this and use it as a tow rig for a light weight off road toy. Mods will be minimal. Edit: This plan did not work out so on to plan "b"

Current visual status

Progress pictures

Now, let's clean it up a little


Herculine'rd rocker panels. Rock sliders installed

BW 4406 True 4x4 Manual transfer case ( AKA Mouse entry point) installed 8-27-2012
Installed newer Tcase from a 2003 11-14-15

Saw a rainbow in Colorado so yeah, time for a picture

And here she is, on top of the highest pass road in North America. Careful tire placement a must!!!

2-2-2013

Changed "color scheme" of the Dick Cepek DC1 wheels. New Falken Wildpeak AT 31x1050x15

Then I decided Maroon washer on the wheels would look better

Update 6-6-2013

New bumpers, winch and Pro LED light . Front Bumper from RLC, Skid plate from RCI, rear bumper from Kert307

Rear anti sway disconnects

Update 9-2-2014
A cracked radiator at 70mph led to engine failure. Replaced with a freshened up a bit 80k mile engine starting on page 23

Found another rainbow in Kansas.

 

[Dono]

Driveshaft Selection

Doesn't this mean that we should use the double cardan joint? If I remember correctly the front pumpkin output is at a different angle than the output of the transfer case?

Both the transfer case output and the pumpkin output need to be at exactly the same angle, or the double should be used....I think.

 

[CDW6212R]

The ideal case is when the two shafts are parallel, thus the two angles between the driveshaft u-joints are equal(which balances the forces of the u-joints).

As I recall reading the theory, the DC joint is best used when the angles are more than just different, but quite a bit different.

 

[CDW6212R]

This picture shows what I think to be 4" slip yoke travel with the shaft installed.

In this picture the other end of the tape measure is hooked to the transfer case end flange, So, I assume I need a 34" drive shaft?

I can compress the drive shaft down to 31" with some force and it would go a bit further if I could hold it there while measuring.

I only need it to compress to 33" or so for installation

Also,does anyone know if the front drive shaft with Double cardan ( cv) should be parallel or cross phased?

Okay, that's interesting, and mine is likely going to be too short.

The front shaft I had made has a different kind of slip joint, it only travels about an inch or so.

This one measures close to 32" fully compressed, and just over 33" extended. If yours seems to need to be around 34" running, mine will be too short. Ah well,

 

[gmanpaint]

Cheap angle finder on both flanges will tell the story.

 

[Turdle]

Since transfer case flange angle always runs 90 degrees of transmission pan angle and front pinion didn't change the angles are no different then with the 4404 awd case-correct?

 

[CDW6212R]

They should be close, but the different TC's could have the output shaft lower/higher/left/right of the other TC.

Parallel is the big key, but it's also about how close the two center lines come to each other, where they intersect(imaginary lines).

The driveshaft does have some angle coming out of the TC right? Too little(close to zero) can create vibration also.

 

[Turdle]

I moved and edited the title of this thread out of the elite registry section. I started a new "registry" there. I moved this thread out of the elite area so non elites can post in this thread.

It has become more of a work progress thread than a registry. No time like the present.

 

[dkchrist]

Since transfer case flange angle always runs 90 degrees of transmission pan angle and front pinion didn't change the angles are no different then with the 4404 awd case-correct?

Right and what was originally with the AWD t-case?

If it was the CV style theorectically you should be ok.

(Just reading back to see that I am not too crazy V8boatbuilder, MoutaineerGreen, and 410Fortune all used single u-joint shafts)

 

[delexploder]

Or you can do what i did, the f-150 front driveshaft was a tad long for my 99 mounty so I pulled it apart and trimmed both sides with a cutoff wheel then I chamfered the splined male end cleaned and repacked with moly and all is good

 

[Turdle]

(Just reading back to see that I am not too crazy V8boatbuilder, MoutaineerGreen, and 410Fortune all used single u-joint shafts)

Bingo!!!

In fact my single joint shaft ( on the Turdle) was from Mountaineergreen.

 

[Turdle]

Or you can do what i did, the f-150 front driveshaft was a tad long for my 99 mounty so I pulled it apart and trimmed both sides with a cutoff wheel then I chamfered the splined male end cleaned and repacked with moly and all is good

I do have an old f150 shaft I could try, could you please measure how long yours is from tc flange to the spline neck? I took the splined end off mine and it's 31" from flange to end of splines.

The splines are cut differently then the cv shaft DKChrist rebuilt though. I was hoping just to swap the front yoke end but nooooo


Oh, Now I get it. You cut off some of the splined part also. This might be something to try just to see if I am on the right track. Thanks!!


did you use a conversion joint at the front?

 

[delexploder]

Yea I used the conversion joint , and i cut both the male and female sides a little bit at a time, I did this until it would install in the truck as easy as the factory setup, I drove it around with the hubs locked and had no vibrations, I'll grab you some measurements this evening when my wife gets home, its her DD

 

[Turdle]

Or you can do what i did, the f-150 front driveshaft was a tad long for my 99 mounty so I pulled it apart and trimmed both sides with a cutoff wheel then I chamfered the splined male end cleaned and repacked with moly and all is good

Top=old F150 shaft to try
Bottom = cv shaft at 33" long

OK, it does look like I can trim some off the splines and get the length to match the bottom cv shaft.

And clean it up of course.

 

[Turdle]

Well, yippy!

F150 shaft fits! It will compress about 1/2" further than I need it to to get the front u joint in the front diff yoke.

So, I made marks, took out the u joints and stuck the parts in my parts washer. I'm going to powdercoat the parts then install the joints, using a conversion joint on the front.

 

[delexploder]

Thats good did you have to cut it? Mine actually was from a 97 expedition ,not sure why it was too long

 

[Turdle]

Thats good did you have to cut it? Mine actually was from a 97 expedition ,not sure why it was too long

Nope, no cut. It's from a 5.4 f150

 

[gmanpaint]

I like this idea better than a new custom shaft for figuring out the 4wd issue.

 

[Turdle]

Smoked out the parts at 450 degrees and all the weights stayed put. They must be spot welded huh?

 

[CDW6212R]

Well, yippy!

F150 shaft fits! It will compress about 1/2" further than I need it to to get the front u joint in the front diff yoke.

So, I made marks, took out the u joints and stuck the parts in my parts washer. I'm going to powdercoat the parts then install the joints, using a conversion joint on the front.

Great, so what is the length of that F150 shaft, short and long lengths?

 

[Joe in NY]

Are you sure that 302W block is no good? I have seen people really overheat iron blocks and they dont care... When a 351W overheats in a boat the first usual sign is that the temp gauge goes from 150*where it should be to over 200*, then the wet exhaust hoses give out from extreme dry exhaust temps melting them... Get back to normal and the motor runs just as it did before...