Car repair

[puma guy]

Never been a fan of idiot lights. I cut my teeth on a 65 FF /289. My Dad showed me how to install a 3 gage cluster. Oil, Water Temp, Voltage. Nice Saturday project.

[WTR]

Never been a fan of idiot lights. I cut my teeth on a 65 FF /289. My Dad showed me how to install a 3 gage cluster. Oil, Water Temp, Voltage. Nice Saturday project.

One nice thing about the old cars.....you can open the hood and see the ground. Easy to work on.

[cheezit]

Try an overlay wire from the blub to the sender. As stated you pretty much have to have a circuit that is grounded before the sender.

[mayor]

thanks for your assistance, gents. I followed the wire from the temp switch to the dash and discovered that jr had swapped the brake light switch and the temp light in the sockets. the brake pressure switch under the hood is bad and he had connected it back up.

He learned another lesson.

thanks again.

[mayor]

Congratulations to me, I retired! Now, I can do all the things I've neglected the past 25 years.

My '97 Ford Ranger transmission bit the dust and a rebuilt trans cost more that the truck is worth - it had 250,000 miles on it. Searched high and low for a used transmission - as far away as Wichita Falls. Found none. I couldn't afford any of the trucks on craigslist so started thinking out of the box. I just need something to carry a load. I found a 1998 Windstar van with only 48,000+ miles on it for a good price. I did research on the van and some of them had issues with head gaskets, intake gaskets, and transmissions. Most of the problems were fixed by '98. I looked it over really well before I bought it and couldn't see any major problems. I started doing all the 24 years of maintenance on it. Parts from RockAuto are pretty cheap so that cost didn't add much to the cost of the vehicle. Stabilizer links, tie rod ends - the rubber boots were crumbling -, oil and coolant change. The coolant had a brown scum of some sort. After a flush I watched it and the coolant looked good for a couple of thousand miles. Then I started seeing what looked like oil. I decided the transmission was leaking into the radiator because it was also leaking externally from the radiator. No water in the oil ever. Replaced the radiator. Never overheated. Then I started smelling antifreeze. Chased the leak down to a timing cover. Oh, no. It's a big job, but not a difficult job. Lots of parts to remove. Now to my question - I know there are mechanics more experienced than me that visit here.

One of the studs that goes through the water pump and timing cover into the block is seized. Can I put heat on that stud to back it out? What is the likelyhood of warping the aluminum timing cover? I found studs for $10 each. Any ideas, suggestions or comments about the windstar will be received with the notion that I've already bought it /smilie. Thanks. Oh, and I have nothing but time.

[wheelgun1958]

I would try kroil or equivalent on that stud first. Lock 2 nuts together and try it. Slowly back and forth. Mouse milk, if you can find it.

[RSX11]

A low cost alternative to the expensive loosening chemicals is a 50/50 mix of automatic trans fluid and acetone. In lots of tests, it performs better at loosening things than the expensive stuff. Shake it up good and apply with a squirt bottle or brush.

[wheelgun1958]

A low cost alternative to the expensive loosening chemicals is a 50/50 mix of automatic trans fluid and acetone. In lots of tests, it performs better at loosening things than the expensive stuff. Shake it up good and apply with a squirt bottle or brush.

Ed's red. If all else fails, I would use dry ice before heat.

[G.A. Heath]

Also vinegar is a great corrosion remover.

[03Lightningrocks]

Congratulations to me, I retired! Now, I can do all the things I've neglected the past 25 years.

My '97 Ford Ranger transmission bit the dust and a rebuilt trans cost more that the truck is worth - it had 250,000 miles on it. Searched high and low for a used transmission - as far away as Wichita Falls.

Just curious. What are they getting for a rebuilt transmission these days? It has been years ago but I think it was around 1100 dollars.

[mayor]

Congratulations to me, I retired! Now, I can do all the things I've neglected the past 25 years.

My '97 Ford Ranger transmission bit the dust and a rebuilt trans cost more that the truck is worth - it had 250,000 miles on it. Searched high and low for a used transmission - as far away as Wichita Falls.

Just curious. What are they getting for a rebuilt transmission these days? It has been years ago but I think it was around 1100 dollars.

What I could locate were $1200 and up.

[03Lightningrocks]

Congratulations to me, I retired! Now, I can do all the things I've neglected the past 25 years.

My '97 Ford Ranger transmission bit the dust and a rebuilt trans cost more that the truck is worth - it had 250,000 miles on it. Searched high and low for a used transmission - as far away as Wichita Falls.

Just curious. What are they getting for a rebuilt transmission these days? It has been years ago but I think it was around 1100 dollars.

What I could locate were $1200 and up.

I should have mentioned the 1100 I paid more than 30 years ago included taking out and installing. I am guessing the 1200 was if you do removal and install yourself.

[mayor]

Congratulations to me, I retired! Now, I can do all the things I've neglected the past 25 years.

My '97 Ford Ranger transmission bit the dust and a rebuilt trans cost more that the truck is worth - it had 250,000 miles on it. Searched high and low for a used transmission - as far away as Wichita Falls.

Just curious. What are they getting for a rebuilt transmission these days? It has been years ago but I think it was around 1100 dollars.

What I could locate were $1200 and up.

I should have mentioned the 1100 I paid more than 30 years ago included taking out and installing. I am guessing the 1200 was if you do removal and install yourself.

That is correct. I take it out, take it in for a core and bring the rebuilt - and rebuilt means just bad parts are replaced, reconditioned or remanufactured means all new parts - home for the install.

this timing cover job has been just marginally easier than a transmission replacement. at least I'm not under the car lifting 200 lbs. I don't have a transmission jack. The van is in much better condition than the truck was.

I sold the truck for $800 and purchased the van for $3000. I have the timing cover off and I'm cleaning up. Waiting for new studs. Thankfully nothing broke. The rest will be a piece of pie.

Oh, and I used heat on just the studs 'til cherry red. I thought I typed all this in this morning but don't see it.