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]

What Yoda model was the muffler intended for? Most models have 4-6 bangers with smaller tube.

Just trying to get an idea, of which rice burner your rig sounds like now. More Yaris or more Tacoma?

Toyota 10S03 made by Tenneco. It's rather large.

Now it sounds like a 5.7 liter Tundra.

 

[gmanpaint]

LOL, whoa Black Betty, ram a lamb.....

J/K.. Glad the holes are gone, and no more brain killing fumes are present.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

I'd be grumpy too for having a Turdyota muffler

 

[Dan Whitaker]

What Yoda model was the muffler intended for? Most models have 4-6 bangers with smaller tube.

Just trying to get an idea, of which rice burner your rig sounds like now. More Yaris or more Tacoma?


If it was a Tacoma muffler, it would say taco, taco, taco at idle

 

[Dan Whitaker]

LOL, whoa Black Betty, ram a lamb.....

J/K.. Glad the holes are gone, and no more brain killing fumes are present.

That's whoa Black Betty Bam-Ba-Lam. Let's get it right next time

 

[gmanpaint]

Ram a lamb sounds better!! I almost said, slam the ham, but yeah, was watching out for the youngster's.


Lol

 

[Turdle]

well, for all you lamb rammers--

Life has been throwing curve balls and sometimes I overthrow the pitcher on the return. Not even batting these days it seems, just catchin'. Betty has been doin our dirty work.

Anyhoo, I have been stockpiling parts as I can afford to rebuild ball joints and stuff when I finally put the coilovers on. In the meantime Betty decided to hold her rear passengers hostage. Rear inner door handles just filled the holes, but did nothing. No way to bail out if needed, which could be an issue---
No biggie, we don't have rear passengers often.
Then she decided to make the driver door not work. It will not unlock from outside, but will when pulling inside handle. 3 doors messing up means 3 strikes, time to change the batter, or method, or something.

So, yesterday I attacked the rear latches first. I have a set complete with rods and clips procured years ago from forum vendor. Using them as a guide I decided no way was I gonna mess with that. Nope.
So, I got my wd40 and silicone sprays and started spraying all the stuff I could into the rear latches. By golly they were just dirty, now that they are lubed up good the handle rod pushes the latch mechanism just fine . Before you could see the long rod bind and bow before pushing. Check that off. Phew. Pretty sure the rear windows have to come out to replace the latch. dodged a bullet.


Moving on to the driver door. I had some issues a few weeks ago , so, to fix it I moved the yellow clip upward on the exterior door handle push rod clip at the latch. This made the door open easier, but also induced a no unlock problem, so, this time i wanted to spend a bit more time and see what could be done. well, to make a long story short the clippy got into the window channel, I lowered the window and no more rod clip latch. I can get it latched but it pops right off. I have more clips, I know i could put them on this latch if I remove it, but I believe it has problems. I ordered a new latch.
Driver door opens fine from inside but the outer door handle is now non functional. Kind of a hassle

 

[Rick]

Mine are going bad and I'm not looking forward to fixing them

 

[Turdle]

Mine are going bad and I'm not looking forward to fixing them

Just no room to work in there---

speaking of, 156k mile Upstream Oxygen sensors have been changed. Had to remove the center console to get to the connectors.

 

[gmanpaint]

Ack! They are a booger to reach!!


Unless you have a body lift. Lol

 

[Turdle]

Ack! They are a booger to reach!!


Unless you have a body lift. Lol

I can't though. All my stuffs would be hanging. would open a can of worms-

Kinda like the Job coming up I am not looking forward to, but I gotta get it done before frost-

PCV seems to be weak. I think I should have used rtv instead of the rubber rear lower intake valley seal-

I see oil fume type seeping all the way around the valve covers, some seepage at intake path gaskets ( throttle body and elbow) plus she is marking her spot. I think the pcv valve, seal grommet and hose are poopy. So, to get to the PCV a lot of stuff gets moved.

I have a lower intake gasket set , o-rings for injectors, new oem pcv valve, hose and F fitting, and valve cover gaskets. Good times a coming I tell ya!

ebay bag is full of assorted colored hard lines and vacuum fittings because those easily break.

 

[gmanpaint]

I know the feeling there. I have an upper gasket kit waiting on me to work up the want, to install it on the 94 Ex. Same reasons with the valley and valve covers leaking again.

I went with the rubber valley style this time tho. Lol

 

[CDW6212R]

Good luck with that PCV. I had mine pushed out about six months ago, a day after I recall one back fire. I can barely touch the PCV with a couple of fingers, no way can I pull it out and manipulate it with finger tips of one hand. That PCV grommet I think is shrunk badly in any original mileage 302, it should be replaced.

Why didn't you consider the steel valve cover gaskets, the type which were stock in the 90-93 Mustangs? I have a pair of those to use next time, they are really strong, and shouldn't leak. The aftermarket kind are a thin flexible metal core type, the OEM are 1/8" thick steel, rigid, with a black rubber bead on top and bottom. They were about $40 a pair when I got them.

 

[Turdle]

@CDW6212R I guess I always blindly trust fel pro . Pretty sure these are steel core encased in silicone.

 

[WormsExplorer]

Looks like you are gonna have your hands full. My 4.0 is leaking a bit also and not looking forward to getting the gaskets and things needed to make her not leak anymore. But in due time. She is not leaking so bad right now to be a huge threat.

 

[Turdle]

Looks like you are gonna have your hands full. My 4.0 is leaking a bit also and not looking forward to getting the gaskets and things needed to make her not leak anymore. But in due time. She is not leaking so bad right now to be a huge threat.

Thanks to a broken wife to take care of, and, this forum I made it another day without wrenching on them gaskets!

 

[Turdle]

Oh, and Gman called earlier, he cracks me up--

 

[gmanpaint]

 

[410Fortune]

Geesh you guys need to live closer
I can fix Gen II door latches in my sleep, they were calling me the "explorer door doctor" for a while you gotta haev ALOT of patience to work on those rods and clips.
Usually I just remove the drivers master latch from the door, work on it or replace it and then re install with all 3 rods already attached, then adjust as needed.
Also gaskets on a 5.0? Lets do this!
I wish I was your neighbor we could have a wrench party

 

[Turdle]

Geesh you guys need to live closer
I can fix Gen II door latches in my sleep, they were calling me the "explorer door doctor" for a while you gotta haev ALOT of patience to work on those rods and clips.
Usually I just remove the drivers master latch from the door, work on it or replace it and then re install with all 3 rods already attached, then adjust as needed.
Also gaskets on a 5.0? Lets do this!
I wish I was your neighbor we could have a wrench party

Lets do this. I am now going outside to tell my neighbors to move, hopefully the house will be vacant shortly. BRB

Or do I move? Just say the word