The Chronicles of Grumpy

October 21, 2009
Driving back and forth to work, I confirmed that the vibration was associated with the front drive shaft.  Now I need to find out if it's due to the shaft or something going on with the transfer case.  Will probably grab more stuff from 25% Off to find out.

October 20, 2009
Removed the front drive shaft to see if it's the source of some highway vibration Grumpy's been having.

October 19, 2009
Lube service, ran out of grease mid-way through hitting the zerks.

October 18, 2009
Swapped the worn BFG Radial TA/American Racing Outlaw wheels with the Cornell/stock rims from 25% Off. Discovered that the leaky BFG/AR wheel was also blowing air out around the valve stem.

October 15, 2009
Rolled over 310,000 miles.

October 14, 2009
Tire holds air.  Woot!

October 13, 2009
Bought some longer valve stems and installed one in the leaky wheel from 25% Off, then set the bead using starter fluid and the redneck flame thrower. Tire now passes the soapy water test. If the pressure is still good tomorrow, Grumpy will be getting some different wheels for the winter.

October 5, 2009
Leaky wheel still leaking.  Looking back, I wish I would have had them mark where the wheel was leaking from.  I infalted the tire to 50 psi, then applied soapy water around the bead on both sides.  No noticeable bead leaks.  Luckily some of the soapy water splashed over and landed by the valve, which proceeded to blow bubbles.  Broke the bead again, removed the valve stem, and sanded that section of the rim.  Bought some valve stems at Advance Auto only to return home and discover that they were too short for the rim. 

October 4, 2009
Labor swap.  I work on my wife's Jeep, she finishes sanding the rim.  Once the rim is cleaned up, I remount it and set the bead using the started fluid and redneck flame thrower method.  Inflated the tire and left it to sit overnight.

October 3, 2009
Pulled 25% Off's wheels out for inspection before installing on Grumpy.  I had inflated them at my brother's place before putting them inside the van, one was no longer holding pressure.  Since Discount Tire fixes flats for free, I took it over there to see if there was anything they could do.  Their diagnosis wasn't good, they told me rust has taken the rim and that the solution was a replacement rim, which of course they could get for $75.  I took the wheel home to see what I could do with it.  Using my $50 Harbor Freight tire changer I stripped the tire from the rim then started sanding the rust from the bead area.

October 1, 2009
Rolling tool shed as we go to the warehouse to make repairs on my wife's Jeep.

September 27, 2009
Junk yard run.  Found a big ol' trans cooler and a blower motor resistor.  Installed the resistor, Grumpy has heat again!

September 23, 2009
Played 3 distributor shuffle. Pulled the dist from 25% Off out. Installed Green's, test drove, and had the van return to just throwing the P0302 code. Decided the Green's dist wasn't any better than Grumpy's original, so I put Grumpy's back in. Whole lotta work for zero result.

September 22, 2009
Discovered that after yesterday's work that Grumpy will now set P0300 in addition to the P0302.

September 21, 2009 - 309,058 Miles
Swapped the distributor and crankshaft position sensor then crossed my fingers hoping the P0302 problem was fixed. Nope.

September 20, 2009 - 308,899 Miles
Beautiful morning to install new rotors. Pull the caliper off on the passenger side and notice a leak. Start searching the caliper to find it completely dry. Check the brake line dry too. Plus it smells more like oil than brake fluid. What the heck is leaking oil over here? Crap, the shock just puked it's guts. Held on for over 308k miles though.

Decided to make a run to my brothers and pull some more parts off the parts van. I set out with the idea that I'd grab the wheels, crankshaft position sensor, distributor, and front shocks.

I started with the wheels. Previously I had left a pair of donuts on the front from the dolly tow, so I only had to swap out the rear wheels for...a couple more donuts. Found out something I didn't notice before too. The AWD vans use a much larger donut. So now the van has two 16" rim donuts in the front, two 18" rim donuts in the rear, and looks seriously funny.

During the wheel swap the rain started so I put the shocks off till a later date. The crankshaft position sensor was a quick grab so I did that in the rain, then I climbed inside and pulled the distributor.

September 14, 2009
Ordered Grumpy some Raybestos Pro Grade rotors from www.RockAuto.com , $26 each.

September 12, 2009
Grumpy's front brakes had been giving me trouble with odd grabbing.  Pulled the rotors today and headed to NAPA to get them turned.  Was told they would be very close to discard thickness after machining and was quoted $37 for new rotors versus $20 for turning.  Returned home and put Grumpy back together.  I'll deal with the grabbing for a few more days.

September 2, 2009
Topped off the front diff fluid.

August 24, 2009
Checked after work and the axle is still leaking.  Sigh.

August 23, 2009
Priorities, what priorities? Back to my distractions.

I need some nuts and bolts to mount the horns, red and black spray paint, a new air filter for the lawn mower, some spade connectors, a longer section of air hose, and my wife needs some CV clamps. Walmart, Home Depot, Napa #1, Ace Hardware, NAPA #2, home.

Sanded and painted the bow tie. Hey the compressor for the horn is silver, painted it black. Added more paint to the grill.

Mounted most of the hardware to the horns, more silver, painted black.

Drilled the another hole in the center bar for the second horn.

Distraction from distractions. Taught me wife how to make counter sinks into the mounting bracket for her Jeep's CB antenna.

Drill hole in Grumpy to mount the air horn's compressor and bolt it in place. Pull stock horn wires back into the engine compartment, attach leads for air horn, and attach them to the compressor. Test the compressor, it lives. Mount the horns to the center bar and the center bar to the van. Run the air lines. Test the horns. Success, Grumpy can express my disapprove of others' driving abilities. Wife and daughter, who are now both in the house, come to the window. More triumphant horn blowing, they shake there heads and go back to what they were doing.

Put the rest of Grumpy's face back together, thinking the black grill looks so much tougher. OK, time for the axle seals . Well maybe I could get the first coat of paint on the rims and let them dry while I do