What Did You Do To Your 3rd Gen Today?

[Limited02]

Had the tires rotated and balanced and then I changed the oil. Installed new front wipers, changed the rear window struts and ripped off the cracked rear applique and installed the new one. Looks MUCH better now! Need to change the serpentine belt and might do that today.

 

[Tyleryac]

What kind of glue did you use for the back?

 

[Limited02]

What kind of glue did you use for the back?

3M double sided tape from Advance Auto. Bought a 15' roll and used all but 8 inches or so. There was a small seam around the edges, so I used clear caulk I had and did the sides/top and left the bottom open for any water drainage.

See post #157 . http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3345471#post3345471

I did the same thing as well as taped center section. Super happy with how it came out and hopefully it stays on for a while.

 

[IIGood]

I actually painted my rear hatch applique today. It's been in semi-primer since I bought the truck last month and today I decided to paint it. It's just a Duplicolor rattle can job but it looks better than it did.

I also removed the dealership badge that was on the right side of the tailgate.

I tried to get the dent out of the tailgate as well but not having any luck with that. I may have to call in the big guns for that one.

Here's a before shot which was actually taken the day after I bought it:

And here it is after today's "facelift"...sorry it's a night shot but I got finished late:

 

[Limited02]

I actually painted my rear hatch applique today. It's been in semi-primer since I bought the truck last month and today I decided to paint it. It's just a Duplicolor rattle can job but it looks better than it did.

I also removed the dealership badge that was on the right side of the tailgate.

I tried to get the dent out of the tailgate as well but not having any luck with that. I may have to call in the big guns for that one.

Here's a before shot which was actually taken the day after I bought it:

https://plus.google.com/photos/search/#AutoBackup?pid=6073517852690479106&oid=109534954876223071087

And here it is after today's "facelift"...sorry it's a night shot but I got finished late:

https://plus.google.com/photos/search/#AutoBackup?pid=6085063052110666834&oid=109534954876223071087

Photo's are not coming up for me?

 

[IIGood]

Photo's are not coming up for me?

Thanks...fixed it now but good god are they huge. Google, why you no have better photo sharing!

 

[Limited02]

Thanks...fixed it now but good god are they huge. Google, why you no have better photo sharing!

Looks much better! For pictures, I have good luck with photobucket.com as it'll keep the sizing normal. Haven't really posted images from Google, so not sure is there is a resized button you can do.

 

[IIGood]

Today it's at the shop having the front upper control arms changed, one of the front lower ball joints, and the right front wheel bearing (ABS light came on and the shop found the bearing to be the culprit).

Tomorrow is alignment and state reinspection then should be able to get the permanent plates!

 

[IIGood]

Today the truck got it's alignment done and the reinspection passed. Woot! Gotta go get the permanent registration tomorrow as long as the DMV is open.

 

[IIGood]

...and the last of my saga, at least for now...spent a little more than an hour this morning at the DMV getting the permanent tags for it. Got home, put the new sticker on the plate, then went out to get some little accessories that would come in handy to have in the vehicle...tire pressure gauge, cell phone charger, flashlight, etc. Should also get a set of jumper cables in there or a boost pack.

I do need to get a battery terminal though. The one on the negative cable has rusted a bit and the bolt doesn't completely tighten so it's kinda loose on the battery post. Move it slightly and connection is lost. No bueno.

 

[ccm2001]

Blower motor resistor .
And had the stupid Door Ajar srapyed silicone lube and it worked

 

[5whiskey]

Blower motor resistor .
And had the stupid Door Ajar srapyed silicone lube and it worked

Yeah silicone lube (or wd40 for that matter) works wonders. One day I'll probably have to replace the switch... but if a shot of wd40 handles it for a few months I'm good with that for now.

In other news I installed auxiliary reverse lights tonight. Had a hard time seeing while backing up lately... now I know why. Regular reverse light don't work. Luckily it's just the fuse. I'll probably post pics of my aux reverse lights tomorrow. They're pretty sweet for the money I paid for them (thank you northern tool black Friday... got a 70 dollar 6 gallon air compressor)

 

[IIGood]

Ended up replacing the negative battery cable connector tonight. Last night as I was leaving my parents' house, I went to fire the truck up but everything completely went out again. Wiggled the negative cable a bit on the battery post a few times and it fired back up. Finally went to buy the connector this evening after work and changed it out. Now it's nice and tight and not going anywhere.

 

[Sock Puppet]

New spark plugs. The old ones had a gap of about .084.
New spark plug wires; replaced the originals
Changed the transfer case fluid ('twas nasty)!
Checked the transmission fluid level.

 

[Limited02]

New spark plugs. The old ones had a gap of about .084.
New spark plug wires; replaced the originals
Changed the transfer case fluid ('twas nasty)!
Checked the transmission fluid level.

How did you test the transmission fluid level?

 

[Sock Puppet]

How did you test the transmission fluid level?

Got the trans up to temperature and removed the center plug (t30 fitting). Mine was actually a little over full, so I let it drain a bit until the fluid just dripped. There are a couple of videos on YouTube that go through the process.

 

[Tyleryac]

Put another $300 into her

 

[Rickademus]

Replaced thermostat housing on a 4.0 today. Cleaned the top of the engine. Took alot of care not to overtighten the bolts snug more on the loose side than tight.

 

[Tyleryac]

Changed front diff, transfer case, and transmission fluids.

 

[funhousejoe]

work progresses on my front and rear bumpers added brushguard loop to front bumper all custom fabbed by me i did have a shop bend this pipe as i don't have one