RE: Here's what's going on w/my Scout/Help in the Bay Area?

[Farmer <pharmer@domain.elided>]

Heather wrote:
> When I take off, it shakes a lot. (It was changed from a 304 to a 345 in
> Aug 97 by PO's shop.)
Bad u-joints?

> It has very slow pickup for a V-8 in my opinion.  Is this normal, or
> should we be worried?  Does it have anything to do with which suspension
> package I have or whatever (don't know and don't understand, but plan to
> figure out at least what we have this weekend)?

No, a V-8 in good shape generally has good pickup.  Mostly depends on the
ring & pinion gearset in your axles.  The r&p gears live in the big
"pumpkin" shaped area in the axles, and they provide additional "torque", or
mechanical advantage to the engine - like the gears on a bike.  Should be
anywhere from 2.72 to 4.10 to 1.

> There are also lots of other things like the environmental control slide
> switches are all stuck to the right and we gotta get up under there to
> find out what's happening, cuz it's getting warm!
If it gets too hot, a temporary fix can be to go under the hood, and look
for some valves on the rubber tubes that go in & out of the heater box.
You can wire those shut with something like a plastic zip-tie, so that they
stay closed (like you had the heater slider all the way to the left).

> We are planning on tuning it up this weekend, and we are going to have
> that guy at Anything Scout take a look at it at the end of the month.
> Get this, we got this truck at the WRONG TIME!  His lead time to take a
> look at it was *four* weeks.  Everyone has brought him their trucks to
> get ready for springtime fun, I guess!  And the poor guy is the only one
> there - he needs help.  Anyway, I plan to use him for the things that we
> cannot do ourselves, of course.  One person is having like $12,500 worth
> of work done there!
You should probably find somebody local that is available on a shorter
notice.  Somebody with a good reputation.  Pick them like you pick a doctor.
Competance is more important that experience with IH, a mercedes guy can
work on your scout.  Of course, experience with american trucks is
preferred.

> Speaking of which, we need a jack for this beast.  I would LOVE to find
> an original jack and the hardware to stow it where it's supposed to go.
> Anyone, anyone?
I'd get something like a 3-ton hydraulic jack, and store it along with a
piece of a 2x8 lumber, just in case.  It'll work for you better than the
stock one.

Good luck and have fun,

Ken Farmer