Doom Despair and Agony on me

[GotSmart]

I finally had everything together, and weather that cooperated. Two plus inches of rain yesterday so sunny skies and wind was great. 

First thing was getting the ramps out of the barn. Who put them behind a door causing 45 minutes of searching ~~~. 

Then came the actual work. Drain the radiator into a bucket. Surprisingly clean and clear. That came out easy. Then came the fan assembly. The book was a little confusing on this subject. I am used to GM and Dodge using bolts. Not this Mazda/Ford. It is screwed on with reverse threads. Off to rent a special tool. $70. And of course being 30 years old it won’t unscrew. Being primarily a woodworker, out comes the sawzall. That was fine because the clutch fan system is being replaced by an electric fan. 

Out comes the pulleys for the belt. Hmmm. Wrong size replacement was sold to me. Another trip into town, where I am told that the item I bought was not available in the proper size. But the manager took my old pulley and replaced the bearing so I got $90 back for returning the tool and price difference. 

Next was the thermostat. To get to that shields and the alternator had to be removed. Dremel to the rescue cleaning up the old housing.   Heater hoses check. One was factory so ready to self destruct. That made my day as i now will not have to deal with it on the side of the road. 

Our comes the fancy tensioner i special ordered and waited a week for. It was 45’ off. 

Trip 3 to the parts house. I got the new kid as the manager had gone home. Back to square one with someone that was not familiar with the situation. OK. I just want to return the special order part and buy a bearing. 

Do you want me to change it out for you?  I ain’t never done that before. (Oh hell no!). Thanks but I got it.  I got a $40 credit on my card and left.  No problem knocking out the old bearing but for some reason the pulley wasn’t working properly. After taking it off and making slight adjustments I got the clue that the washer under the main bolt was cupped. I turned it over and happy dance. 

Next was putting the idler gear on the water pump. Out comes the Dremel again so I can get the gear off of the mess that is what is left of the fan shaft. By then it was getting dark, and time to put things up. Tomorrow I will finish and post pictures.

[rvpopeye]

That's what you get for having a plan...... sounds typical for these days , when you get to do it again.
My parts place( CQ) was bought up by Adv. and they limit what is carried as to quantity (1?)
and dumped most of the electrical stuff completely , I even chewed on their DM and he didn't care...

[GotSmart]

Today I was whistling my theme song for my truck. I cleaned the water pump opening about 5 times yesterday, and Arturo did the same. So today it only took about 10 minutes of detailing, and scrubbed the bolts. I got most of them installed, and then let more flexible body do the contorting. 

Then came unknown territory. The electric fan is to be attached to the radiator ~~~ by a long zip tie. 
Ok.  It seems to actually work well. Let’s see how long the plastic zip tie bolt lasts.   I wish that serpentine belt was not such a four handed marvel of the Rube Goldberg school of engineering. It’s not a fan belt anymore. The radiator and fan slipped right in and two bolts later, hoses, and  then I tried to install the overly complicated fan electrical   Finally I tossed most of it away and used a couple of wires and the fuse   

Finally I got brave and filled the radiator with water. Immediately a drip. Just one. Easy fix. I ran it and the fan came on. One detail needs to be made. I have to raise the shut off temperature of the fan. 

As promised, the pile of parts. The fan was extremely cracked, so even if it came off easily, it needed to be replaced anyway. That one is as expensive as the electric one. 

Unable to post pictures right now. Cheap internet.

[sternwake]

I'm always a bit amazed at the parts still available for my 30+ year old rig, but when they arrive it, the amazement is more or less how is this POS able to be marketed as OEM or better quality?

Then I remember our new 'post truth' world and decide to keep the old failing stuff for as long as possible, for while that stuff was designed to last the original pathetic warranty, the new stuff is designed to last just long enough in extremely light duty usage, so that less than half the screwed individuals might try to exercise any recourse when it fails and therefore is still profitable, since it was made in west bumblefuckstan where they earn 37 cents a day before taxes anyway.
upset? sue me, I got lawyers will make you regret being upset in the first place.
Expecting quality... what a fool.... haw haw......

It would be great to actually replace old worn out parts, with new top quality stuff which should last just as long original if not more than 2x as long, but that is simply not profitable.

Let marketing deal with it.

[GotSmart]

Let marketing deal with it. 

[sternwake]

[GotSmart]

The final detail on this repair project is the thermal switch for the fan. It turned on the fan, and stopped working. The fan stayed on. I have to unplug it to shut it off now. I sent a message to the company I purchased it from, and was told that a new one is “in the mail” today I bought parts to replace the sensor with a better design. The little ones are not very dependable. 

Now for the next project. Replace the headliner. I already have the material, I just need two days to have it torn apart. 

Next will be the fuel pump and tires. The total cost will be under $4,000. Unless I decide to get fancy and do new headlights and grill. Camila mentioned a paint job. That still would be under the cost of an upgraded unit from the dealer.

[rvpopeye]

I think we all can add Customer Quality Control to our resume' these days....

[GotSmart]

More progress on the beast

A friend offered to replace the headliner. Since I had the parts and tools I thought why not. 

Within a week the back window was blocked by hanging material. I found the only company left here that still does headliners and $320 later.  The base was destroyed bad enough to need a professional. 

Yesterday I replaced the grill and headlights. I expected a finished grill, but got one that was primered. The only full can of spray paint was for the tractor. Now my truck blends in with a John Deer Green grill. 

I am thinking of selling this and getting something that can tow.

[Abnorm]

^Looks like the GRINCH mobile