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]

FYI, I have fairly nice grey Mountaineer seats still, if when I can find replacements, I'll sell you the covers if needed. My Mercury is a spare mail truck for good, and I have aftermarket seats for my 98 Limited. I hadn't thought of what to do with the Mercury, other than swap the other best parts over to my Limited(it'll look like a Mountaineer in general when finished).

I appreciate the offer, but Betty requires prairie tan.

 

[Turdle]

So, like it really matters but the rear seat mounts were a lil rusty so paint is drying. Distractions are killing me

Procrastination made me what I am tomorrow

should have noticed-taken care of this over the winter dooohp!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

you mean you didnt powder coat something?

 

[429CJ-3X2]

bluka told me this once, and it worked. the foam is identical for both drivers and passengers side front seat. hit up a wrecker and find a passengers side foam, and use it on your drivers side. when i did that, i also found the seat base broken, some springs broken, stringers broken, and the seat back frame was broken. when i fixed it all, it felt like a totally different seat. like a new one.
hashtagfatguyproblems

I've done this several times. Not only is the foam the same, the steel seat frame and the upholstery are the same. You just have to use the hardware for the side where you're using the seat. All the holes are on both sides of the frames and threaded. If you use the upholstery on the opposite side you have to make a hole in it for the seatback latch, at least on a 1st Gen. The existing hole that you'll no longer use is up against the console and can't be seen. Or maybe it's just the arm rest that needs a new hole in the upholstery. It's been awhile.

The old floor mat is a good idea. I used some stiff plastic in my '94 Explorer and it was too stiff. That was maybe the 3rd time I swapped foam in it. The bigger issue that time was likely the missing and broken springs, but the wires eventually cut into the foam. I just went overboard firming it up since I had it apart. Pretty sure one of the springs is off the seat in my '01 Sport Trac. I felt it go, but it's not that bad, and I don't drive it far enough for it to be a problem.

I bought just the upholstery at the salvage yard once to ship to someone else. They looked at me kinda funny, but since someone else was paying for it, I didn't want to get stuck with foam and frames I didn't need.

 

[Turdle]

Re doing the powdercoat on the sliders. Had them blasted because the old powdercoat was going to cost more in sand alone on my blasting rig.

it is taking over 45 minutes to bring them to 350 for shooting the powder , the heat helps it get into the welds.

Then it took over 35 minutes to bring the oven temp to 390, and then it's another 30 minutes for cure. This is a slow link wrinkle black which is supposed to be twice as strong as the S&S wrinkle I was using.

Had to get a neighbor to lug them back and forth for me while I held the hooks.

second slider is on it's ramp up cycle now. Maybe another hour it will be cooked.

 

[Turdle]

You guy you guys you guys!!

These turned out way better than I expected. Pure hot sexy on a stick, and textured for her pleasure.

glossy would have been to slippery for her to to step on and she could break an ankle.

 

[gmanpaint]

Looks great. Nice job man !!

 

[WormsExplorer]

Can't wait to see the sliders mounted. Looks great.

 

[traveler]

Man, those do look nice. But they look so "non-skid" are you sure they'll still "slide"?

 

[gmanpaint]

Man, those do look nice. But they look so "non-skid" are you sure they'll still "slide"?

When they do, they won't look the same. lol

 

[Turdle]

Thanks for the remarks, It means a lot

Ok, stop what you are doing right now and go show your missus how to slowly lower a floor jack. Believe me, the time will come when you need her to.

MLB was not aware a floor jack go go down slow. She only knew down fast. She was running the jack while I was guiding the sliders in to place. I had my finger where it wasn't supposed to be when I said down slow. The jack came down fast, slider slid off and right on to my finger. The shock caused me to jerk my whole body and I kicked her in the face. We were both moaning and groaning. Good times



Pictures in a bit

 

[CDW6212R]

Tell her I'm sorry, you made me laugh.

I like that finish a lot, I hope it survives a long time.

 

[gmanpaint]

Foot to the face!!!

Ahh, love. Some want it, some don't understand it, but clearly, you two have mastered it. Lol

 

[WormsExplorer]

That is something the wife should always know. Mine does thank goodness. She even helps a little with maint on the vehicles. Hope all is good with your Finger and your wifes face. Looking forward to the pictures.

 

[traveler]

I am sorry. Hope you both make compete recoveries. While you're teaching her to use the jack, ya might want to think of any other tools that can cause damage and make sure she knows how to use those as well!

 

[CDW6212R]

I am sorry. Hope you both make compete recoveries. While you're teaching her to use the jack, ya might want to think of any other tools that can cause damage and make sure she knows how to use those as well!

... like how does that handle on the cherry picker work? Drop that engine into the car.

 

[Turdle]

Betty has been a very good ol gal for the last few days.

Last Friday she took us to Denver, Co 75 MPH all the way with no issues. Then across Colorado to Ridgeway, up and over the million dollar highway and back, Through the south and east side roads of Black Canyon park,the east road changes elevation by 2000 feet in 5 miles with 16% grade. down was great, but back up--- Talk about a trans cooler shake down! The speed limit is so slow--

Wednesday Was Ridgeway to Mesa Verde, to 4 corners then up to Moab Utah. Betty took Fins and things like a good ol work mule today, some things now have extra ground clearance, same ball joints, hubs, tie rods and ends, and cv's as were used in Colorado last year. I know I slowed the group down but she made it through in one piece. Thanks @67truckguy for leading the way. some of the places we went I probably would not have tried had he not driven them first, using a great line for my truck. many applause!



Like is said, she's a good ol gal.

I am going to remove the front drive shaft in the AM, as we are returning home Tomorrow Via a layover in denver, on to home Sunday. I'm sure we will have no issues. She doesn't look as good now, I scratched her up pretty good today. Stupid dirt thing was where I wanted to be, got hung up on it and rubbed it 3-4 more times just to be sure it was trail rashed good.

That is mainly dirt, but there are a few scratches that snag a fingernail real good.

Oh. She's thirsty. 15.6 MPG to date on the trip. The front skid plate is acting as a reverse spoiler and causing lift, along with a lot of drag.

 

[WormsExplorer]

Looks like you had a great time. Hope to see more pictures of your trip. If you are stopping in Denver Must stop in and see me. Working this weekend in Denver.

 

[CDW6212R]

Excellent, good long trip I gather.

 

[Turdle]

Looks like you had a great time. Hope to see more pictures of your trip. If you are stopping in Denver Must stop in and see me. Working this weekend in Denver.

Tried to but family-truck would not cooperate.

Had a little scare with Betty coming off vail pass with less than 1/2 tank of fuel, more like 1/4 tank. Going uphill the fuel level would show over 1/4, downhill the needle went into the red. I was getting a little concerned when on one downhill plunge the engine just shut off. No dash lights, no check engine light, just no power.

Since all power accessories were going, I shot off the highway at the first place the shoulder would allow, causing my Son in law following in his outback, to almost rear and us.

Got down to the great fuel station in vail where gas is 4.75 per gallon to fill up and it only took 13 gallons.

White Tahoe which filled up right beside us in Loma, Colorado was also at the pump in Vail saying his engine also shut off coming down the hill. We laughed it off, paid for the rape and carried on. So, if you are coming down vail pass going east, be sure to fill your tank before the Eisenhower tunnel. Just a PSA for ya.


anyway, other than that, Betty got us home in one piece, and man do I have a lot of stuff to do around here. Been gone 10 days, dog sitter did a 50% adequate job of dog sitting, and nothing else but eat our food.