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.

 

[Turdle]

Had to cut pretty deep to get a good fuel pump access panel for possible later emergency. Lines look kinda wonky because I was using a nibbler due to my fear of spinny cut off wheels flying into your body parts.

Now to try my hand at making some sort of cover for it.

This tag fell off the fuel pump cover. 18 years old this coming Thursday.

 

[traveler]

I'll bet my Explorer has a tag very similar to that one. Not sure its ever had a new fuel pump installed either. I've been very lucky when it comes to fuel pumps

 

[Turdle]

ended up with this. Drill holes, connect holes with silicone, and attach

 

[Turdle]

And yeah, I know she's a dirty girl,
I was going to start the cleanout after checking-filling xfer case and diffy fluids but a monsoon is approaching

The top of the gas tank was so filthy I thought for a while I was going to have to get an excavator in there to move the dirt.


Hmm, maybe I should just leave the windows and doors open, pull the floor plugs and let mother nature rinse her out-

 

[CDW6212R]

I didn't notice the dirt, that just looks kind of like my 99 used to(drive with the windows down and see how that brings in the dirt). Make sure that all of the rubber body plugs are in place and sealed well though. Lots of junk gets in if the plugs are not sealing fully.

I like the huge hole and cover, I'm still on the fence about doing that though.

 

[Turdle]

I didn't notice the dirt, that just looks kind of like my 99 used to(drive with the windows down and see how that brings in the dirt). Make sure that all of the rubber body plugs are in place and sealed well though. Lots of junk gets in if the plugs are not sealing fully.

I like the huge hole and cover, I'm still on the fence about doing that though.

One time were were getting ready to head home from Ouray KOA. Fuel pump would not turn on with key. Man I miss Tbars4 being around because he was gong to help swap the fuel pump right there before himself heading home to California.( Miss ya Ted)

But first he jiggled the relay and all was well. I was in such a stress mode I forgot all about the relay. Just the thought of one dying "out there" is the driving force for this modification I should have performed years ago IMO. As a rule of thumb, a fuel pump will die at the worst possible moment while you are far from home. Either pay the ransom at a shop or drop the tank right there in the dirt are your only options without a trap door.

 

[gmanpaint]

Since it is the stock unit, and you now have the hole cut out, I would just replace the pump before you go on your next trip, and use the stocker for a spare to bring with. That's exactly what I did for our trip last year to CO.

 

[Turdle]

Yeah, now that I already glued the cover on he tells me

 

[traveler]

LoL why'd ya glue it on? That's what screws nuts and bolts are for.

 

[Turdle]

Well ok, not glue, silicone sealer and screws. Air-water noise sealer has to be applied and I had no weatherstrip foam on hand, which might be a better choice.

 

[traveler]

hehehe fair enough... You know what you have to do now.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

I had no weatherstrip foam on hand, which might be a better choice.

i was just about to say grab some of that stuff they put between the top of the box sides of trucks and the cap. should work i would think.

 

[Turdle]

The wind fairing on my roof rack had a Curt logo. stupid people would say "hi curt" to me.

That had to change, and, since I had some powder left over from the bumpers I just shot over the existing stuff. Fooling around mainly because I really intended to ditch it altogether.
I was able to pull this off so I'll run it for a while. No more Curt advertisement here.

You can't see the Mountaineer logo well enough in the above, here is a close up, dead center showing base of antenna mount.

 

[CDW6212R]

Excellent, subtle, sweet.

 

[traveler]

Very nice

 

[gmanpaint]

Nice personal touch .

 

[Turdle]

If bags of top soil go for 5 bux per 100 lbs, I just washed about 15 bux worth out of this ol dirty gal. This truck lived for over 10 years on a dusty road. I'll never get all the dust out.

First I blew out all I could with a bow gun, then I pulled the drain plugs, got them soaking in soapy water and washed them. Some windex, a scrub brush and garden hose sprayer to avoid high pressure wiring saturation. Blew out all the channels, and crevices. Gonna look for infiltration spots and use some silicone sealer if I find em.




Now a wet towel wipe down.

 

[traveler]

Awesome! let me know if you run into any electrical problems, or other negative side effects. I'd love to give Eddie a good thorough cleaning.

 

[Turdle]

Awesome! let me know if you run into any electrical problems, or other negative side effects. I'd love to give Eddie a good thorough cleaning.

I will. The harness seems to be real tight, no connectors in the channels. I made sure to keep the spray away from the ones under the seat, and to the rear wiper washer near rear passenger seat.

 

[Turdle]

18 years ago, Betty was in bits and pieces, probably rolling down an assembly line wanting to be a SUV. She didn't know yet her owner would subject her to 25 miles per day of dirt roads, and 2 large dogs with white hair that shed all over ****. Being a smart truck, she blew her heater core so a guy like me could rescue her.

Back to the story. The cleanup. Facebook said you could mix hair conditioner with water for a quick "wax as you dry" solution.

Happy Birthday Betty.

The glare in the next picture hides a real nasty scratch.