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.

 

[CDW6212R]

Bolts out, that's #1 goal, done. I loosened as many of the oil pan bolts as I could reach, including those above the mounts. I didn't want to fight it too much, and I don't know if it really helped a lot. The middle curved section is what I think is hooked by the pan the most.

 

[Turdle]

Bolts out, that's #1 goal, done. I loosened as many of the oil pan bolts as I could reach, including those above the mounts. I didn't want to fight it too much, and I don't know if it really helped a lot. The middle curved section is what I think is hooked by the pan the most.

You're telling me! Once I knew those bolts were loose, I felt a lot better. It's actually 2 of the water pump bolts that seem to swell with gunk on the sealant. I think I may get try to keep the sealant 1/2" or so off the tips of threaded end.

I stopped for dinner, which turned into for the night but tomorrow brings more joy.

 

[Turdle]

Oh boy these gasket surfaces are tricky to get to. Sure glad I have time, as the guy who stuck it on last time used something hard, not gooey to hold the gasket. Most of the blue is gone after scraping with a razor blade. Gonna use scotch Brite now.

I was hung up because of oil pan , once it dropped a bit , and I remembered the dowels pulling the time ng cover went ok. I also had removed the accessories brackets hoping for room, but this stunt causes more grief than it's worth, so, I had to fight em back into place using straps. My spine ain't going to let me lift and hold so I find shortcuts.

 

[Turdle]

Everything but the one thing is here.

Still waiting on timing cover. First ordered, last to obey.
When it does arrive, of course the color has to change. I think chrome would be best, a lighter color will show any leak sooner that dark. Chrome requires a second trip thru remask, booth and oven.

Bright red might look good up in there also, and only needs one coat.
Decisions.

 

[donalds]

Ford blue

 

[Turdle]

Ford blue

Already have red and black up top.

Nother excuse

And 3, I don't have any blue powder

 

[CDW6212R]

How have you come with matching the OEM Toreador Red? I know not much is visible with everything together, I've only planned to do the valve covers in red, most of the rest of the long block black. I really like that dark grey you used a lot on brackets etc.

 

[Turdle]

How have you come with matching the OEM Toreador Red? I know not much is visible with everything together, I've only planned to do the valve covers in red, most of the rest of the long block black. I really like that dark grey you used a lot on brackets etc.

That red is going to be tough to duplicate, but close can be achieved. The factory clear has pink tint to kill the silver glare of the metal flake in the red base.

The correct champange gold base with red tinted clear is where I'd start.

Anthracite gray is the color. That might look good.

 

[Turdle]

Well, since only 3 people cared, and timing cover just now arrived, it's just going on. Other reasons have me needing this on the road yesterday.

I know, disblingappointment.

 

[traveler]

Now now now. I do care about the Betty, and her timing cover. I want her to be well and serve you as she was made to do. The color of the timing cover is entirely up to you, as you are a far better judge of the correct color than I am (not to mention much more adept at applying it!) I hope all goes well.

 

[Turdle]

So, finally got the timing cover and water pump on.

Thought I thought it all out but it still ended up being a fight . Didn't notice the punch out holes for the dowels until it wouldn't go over. Silly mistake.

I do have good globs of rtv out of all corners so fingers crossed oil stays in the pan.

Got some baby backs on the smoker, one cold beer, life is good. Back at this tomorrow.

 

[Turdle]

Meanwhile, repair sleeve for harmonic balancer seal surface? Yes, no?

 

[Turdle]

Cleaned with emery cloth and brakeclean
@410Fortune does the sleeve actually work?

 

[CDW6212R]

That looks like a tiny wear groove, can you feel it at all? Mine looked similar and the new balancer plus seal ended my front leak. The rear is tougher, I think the front sleeve does work. Most say for the rear a sleeve will put more tension on the seal and make it wear out faster.

That looks slight, if it feels rather smooth, a new seal may be all it needed.

 

[Turdle]

@CDW6212R I can feel the groove with my fingernail, so it's getting the sleeve.


Balancer in freezer, sleeve heating in oven. Should slide right on

 

[410Fortune]

You can use the sleeve, yes they work
However another trick I learned is just don’t seat the front seal 100% leave it out 1/16 or 1/8” and the seal will no longer ride where the groove is

Good job so far! This truck is one of the forum main stays she needs new parts sometimes

I hate those locating dowels, and I really hate the stupid Little Blue gasket punch outs!! Have caught me many times in the past

I have put together quite a few 5.0 timing covers with just one or none of the dowls in place, makes install so much cleaner

 

[Turdle]

You can use the sleeve, yes they work
However another trick I learned is just don’t seat the front seal 100% leave it out 1/16 or 1/8” and the seal will no longer ride where the groove is

Good job so far! This truck is one of the forum main stays she needs new parts sometimes

I hate those locating dowels, and I really hate the stupid Little Blue gasket punch outs!! Have caught me many times in the past

Thanks. I did remember reading about the front seal depth, and seated it with some gap at seat. About 1/16 - 1/8 " out.

Thinking out loud , is the seal in the fel pro timing gasket set with sleeve , sized to use the sleeve?

 

[410Fortune]

Yes if you got the kit w the sleeve then that seal is for the sleeve, at least that is how I understand it. Felpro sells two kits one w sleeve one without. Maybe cross part numbers on the two seals see if there is a difference

I also leave the oil pan drain plug out while I service the timing cover. I use aluminum’s foil to keep crap out of the oil pan, but some coolant and gasket material always finds its way in. So I will use a half quart or full quart of cheapo oil to flush out the front of the pan

 

[Turdle]

Understood, and did same.

 

[Turdle]

Hot and cold worked well. Block of wood and a mallet did the last 1/4"