a followup!

nothing significant to report so far. The Jimmy has been starting and running without incident. I pulled it out of the carport over the weekend and gave it a proper washing-off. It also got rained on HARD all day Monday... started up just fine each time I tried it.

(of course the hood was closed this time. May have to resort strategically hitting suspect components with a spray bottle of water to force a failure)

I did take it for a short spin last night. The front stabilizer bar bushings were visibly torn so the bar clunks severely at full lock. Also looks like the high pressure power steering hose has sprung a leak. Can't see it spraying but there is a significant amount of fluid dripping off that line. Doesn't seem like the pump is bad as the steering effort at a standstill is light and the pump is making no noise..

I figure I can change the stabilizer bar bushings on my own. Might as well do the links at the same time, they're cheap enough.

Probably going to have to let a shop deal with the hose, as it looks like you have to remove the PS pump + bunch of components in order to get to the pump side of the line... I don't have the tools for that.

 

One thing does in fact appear to lead to another.


George

 

A followup. Probably the last one.

I decided the Jimmy was running well enough to at least get it insured & registered. I figured that with that out of the way I'd be able to (legally!) take it to a shop and have the power steering leak and other things resolved..

Another problem! The truck belonged to my late uncle who passed away several years ago. Turns out that my uncle signed the title over incorrectly, so the only way to properly transfer ownership was to go through the probate process. It has therefore been sitting at home since November of last year, undriven. I did fire it up once a week or so to keep the battery charged and moisture out of the fluids, but that's about all.

smash-cut to today. I get a call from my Dad at my office... "hey son can you come outside for a minute?"

came out and there he was, sitting proudly in the truck. The paperwork had finally come through from the court so he decided to surprise me by taking it down to get the title transferred, inspected and registered. Hooray!

Got home (late) tonight and found the truck parked oddly in my yard. I went to move it and holy hell is that the smell of burnt coolant?
Fired it up - it barely ran, had a flashing CEL, sounded and felt like it was missing a cylinder or two. Shut it off and popped the hood. The lower right radiator hose had turned loose, the radiator was 100% dry. Reseated the hose, refilled the radiator. Hooked up my scantool and fired it up. Showing crazy misfires on cyls 4 & 6. No milkshake at this point (there was no coolant in it) I will reinspect the oil and do a compression test in the morning but I'm pretty certain as to what the result will be.

... I don't think I've ever been so disappointed.