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]

I don't see any tow/pull points yet!

Working on that. I do have the rear hitch and a strap.

That's all I should need, I don't get stuck.
But I am trying to figure out a way to mount my winch behind the bumper and grill. I'd like to have just the aluminum fairlead outside the front plastic bumper--if it's possible.

Looking good! Looking pretty good for some back country cruising

More to come. Sliders tomorrow if I can round up help.

Hopefully true 4x4 is also in the works.

 

[delexploder]

Love it

 

[Turdle]

Rock Sliders, installed with a fresh coat of shiny back

 

[TekMan05]

Rock Sliders, installed with a fresh coat of shiny back

Awesome match Jon! Man I miss coming down there. We might have to sometime soon! Truck is looking Killer!! I'm digging those wheels too. I may have to do that next year at some point!

 

[delexploder]

Hey Jon is that the stock roof rack? I like that alot better than the one on either of mine it looks more like a second Gen.

 

[Turdle]

Hey Jon is that the stock roof rack? I like that alot better than the one on either of mine it looks more like a second Gen.

Hey Rick. The Mountaineer roof racks are unique, and, I do think the mounting studs are different than explorers.

 

[CDW6212R]

Hey Rick. The Mountaineer roof racks are unique, and, I do think the mounting studs are different than explorers.

How did that do to powder coat the other Mountaineer rack? I've looked at mine and noted some plastic and rubber. Did it come apart easily to powder coat? I'd like to get mine done.

 

[delexploder]

I think if i can get mine back on the road I wanna try to use one it kinda looks like the tremor concept

 

[Turdle]

How did that do to powder coat the other Mountaineer rack? I've looked at mine and noted some plastic and rubber. Did it come apart easily to powder coat? I'd like to get mine done.

Hi Don. We actually painted the green rack. There is a toxic green paint available on the internet.

 

[CDW6212R]

Ah, shoot, I was hoping you had "fixed it" permanently.

 

[gmanpaint]

That looks sick! Nice work, and a shout out to Corkey for making that happen!

 

[Turdle]

Oh, I forgot to mention that in this thread.

Thanks Pete! How do they look?
Folks, these are Mountaineergreen's sliders, AKA corkey's sliders which were shipped to me. They have been sitting in my garage. I asked Pete if I could use them, and he said ok, since he is all the way in Canada, and they don't have real rocks up there to worry aboot anyway---

Yeah, I'll have to pay him for these some day, I reckon. Right now they are in storage.

Unless he gets here to grab them first. :
In that case we might have to just build a set for him.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i see another turdle mobile in the works here!

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Awesome match Jon! Man I miss coming down there. We might have to sometime soon! Truck is looking Killer!! I'm digging those wheels too. I may have to do that next year at some point!

My poor old Mountaineer's parts get around. Those are off my old Mounty that I sold a about a year & a half ago to another member (now ex member).

The set of wheels I had on it before that I sold to Jon which he sold to gmanpaint which I think ended up on Corkeys Explorer

 

[Turdle]

Actually, Dan, they went on Bryan's truck, then to Gmanpaint.

Today was an excellent day for wrenching so I decided first to change the oil and filter. I must have bumped the drain pan with my elbow, and was wiping off the drain plug when I noticed oil draining right off the outer edge of the catch pan. I'd say about 2-3 quarts ran onto the driveway.

So, I filled the oil, changed the filter and back out of the driveway without tracking thankfully. I used about a bottle of laudry detergent and half a bottle of dawn --scrubbed and powerwashed.
There is still a stain but i said heck with it and backed the truck up onto ramps to change the rear diff fluid. After making sure i could get the drain plug loose I pulled the pan to see it had been recently changed. The fluid was clean and there was blue RTV on the housing. OK, well, didn't really need to do the fluid change but Puff did get a shiny black diff cover. refilled and moved to the front diff.
The front diff fluid can be checked--filled while the truck is on the ground.Problem being you have to look right up at the diff from underneath to guide in the fill hose. I squirted some in, saw the gush come out, twisted my head real fast and yup, now the front diff, and my ear are full of fluid. The fluid into my ear made me jump and bang my head on the control arm. Gravel

Ok, well, that was fun. Good times. There is a funny smell that keeps following me around now.

 

[TekMan05]

Lol good times Jon, sounds like one heck of an afternoon. Those are the memories you look back on and laugh at. Im wishing I would of double check the front diff on mine now when the engine was still out. What fluid did ya use?

 

[Turdle]

Lol good times Jon, sounds like one heck of an afternoon. Those are the memories you look back on and laugh at. Im wishing I would of double check the front diff on mine now when the engine was still out. What fluid did ya use?

I found some "Havoline synthetic" at autozone.

 

[CDW6212R]

I found some "Havoline synthetic" at autozone.

Try Walmart, $26 to $27 for synthetics, five quarts, for Valvoline, Castrol, Pennzoil. Here that is the best deal to get.

I'm going back to Amsoil given those high prices.

 

[Turdle]

Try Walmart, $26 to $27 for synthetics, five quarts, for Valvoline, Castrol, Pennzoil. Here that is the best deal to get.

I'm going back to Amsoil given those high prices.

Oh, Don I used Quaker state synthetic --for that

The havoline synthetic was gear lube for the diffs.

 

[CDW6212R]

Sorry, I read your post, but only the first part of his, figuring it was oil he asked about. I have the Amsoil Severe gear, and that stuff is really high($10/$11) a quart. It better be good for that, that #### better not stink.