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]

Wow... So glad to hear Sheri is ok. Tell her to take it easy and relax a while. Is the yota gonna be replaced or repaired?

Yeah, we're gonna get screwed. B pillar is pushed up jamming both driver doors shut for good, side air bags deployed, driver dog leg warped contacting rear tire, And lastly, the impact mark to the wheel is not looking good. She was heading east but ended up pointed north. She was hit at 30mph or over with no indication of the other driver attempting to slow.

It's totalled for sure but worth more to us than real world value. Other driver has progressive, they are on phone with Sheri as I type this. we'll see what happens.

A cop saw it all, witnessed him running the red light, and is on the report as a witness.

 

[gmanpaint]

That stinks, for both Sheri & the car.

It's good to wait a day or two for all the pains to show up. Really hoping what she feels now, is all that she feels, and nothing else comes up.

 

[ahodges]

It's crazy how little it takes to total a car these days. I do believe it will be totaled, but it doesn't look that bad at all for what it went through.

 

[WormsExplorer]

WOW Jon prayers to Sheri. Hope all goes well for everything. My Wife was in an accident 2 years ago with a driver rear ending her. He was going 40ish mph and slammed on his brakes and hit her hard. Totaled our Malibu. It was a 12. We will keep you and your family in our prayers.

 

[Turdle]

Thanks for the positive thoughts. Without whining, we are going through a lot of other personal things right now and this just puts the cherry pit in the toilet-
Sheri is at the chiropractor now. I have good pictures of the growing bruises.


Jamie from progressive is out there now looking the car over, taking pictures and uploading them on his fancy tablet. Fingers crossed.

 

[Dono]

Hang in there Jon. Wish Sheri the best from all of us.

 

[WormsExplorer]

You got this Jon.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

never a fun thing when someone gets hurt. glad to know sheri didnt walk out worse then she is now.

 

[Rick]

I sure hope Sheri is ok and doesn't have any lasting issues due to the accident.

 

[Turdle]

I appreciate the thoughts guys.

Chiropractor said she got whacked, don't sign a medical release yet.

We'll be lucky to get 6k for the car. I understand valuation, but valuation does not cover the "get in and go anywhere" feeling of a car you know the complete history of.

 

[traveler]

I've got a Mercedes I'd happily sell for less than that... But just couldn't do that to a friend. Hehe

 

[rizzjc]

Bummer, but glad she is ok!

 

[GRNMACHINE]

Jon, sorry to hear of accident and prayers also to your wife and yourself! Hopefully Progressive will be progressive in helping you get a fair amount to buy another vehicle.

 

[Turdle]

Ok, let's see if I can get this into the correct thread this time.

Update from earlier.
We got a check, paid off the house and used the remainder to get into another car loan.





Today I went to wake up Betty and was greeted with a pee stain on the floor underneath. Coolant. a big puddle of it. several drips off the front sway bar, and the power steering cooler.
Going to take the fan and shroud off, oh, and the front skid will have to come off to see exactly where the leak is. Hope it isn't the timing cover but a quick glance shows more moisture to the driver side, and some drips looking like a spray-no drip hanging off the oil pan thankfully from what i can see so it isn't looking like a timing cover leak quite yet-seeing some moist on the shroud also, hoping for a pinhole in the radiator as it is in warranty and easy enough to change ( compared to water pump or timing cover gasket anyway)

This is a handful of gravel n my oatmeal for sure. Dangit. Funny how coolant issues come up when it's cold outside, ac acts up when it's hot, and wipers fail in the rain.

Due to a mid life crisis purchase our other vehicle is a RWD v8 non snow car. Betty is supposed to be our foul weather transportation.

It's always something even when it aint.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

its because betty is jealous of your mid life crisis purchase

 

[Turdle]

I reckon so.

The issue is the Gates brand water pump when the engine got replaced in 2014 . I see moisture venting residues from the top vent hole, and the bottom of the pump is all wet. spinning the water pump pulley by hand causes a drip. Bottom of oil pan is dry.

Phew. I think I dodged a bullet. But we'll soon see as I am going in.



Because it is a bad time of year for shipping and against my better judgement I am going to have to get an autozone duralast water pump. They can have one in the store by noon tomorrow.

I seem to see Autozone everywhere so I guess there is the lifetime warranty going for it.

 

[traveler]

I use store brands often. Havent had too many issues with them. And I think they do have a lifetime warranty
If its the radiator it's a good time to upgrade to all aluminum.

 

[Turdle]

I use store brands often. Havent had too many issues with them. And I think they do have a lifetime warranty
If its the radiator it's a good time to upgrade to all aluminum.

Radiator seems good, and is also of the Autozone lifetime warranty vintage. I think it is a little over a year old.


I have the drain **** de-****ed and the coolant is draining now. I'm glad i have a couple water pump gaskets so I can see where the bolts are lol

 

[Rick]

Ugh, the radiator in our Ram started leaking. Only leaks when it's cold and it seals up when it's warm.

 

[gmanpaint]

Dang it. I was hoping for a loose hose clamp.

Well, beats a timing chain gasket at least!

Merry Ex--mas Jon