Recent content by Blacktower

I had some high temp RTV laying around and thought, what the heck, I'll try to stick those dust covers back on. It has to be one of the nasty looking RTV jobs known to man, but it appears they will stay on there now that the starter is in place. Heck, it will look great from the drivers seat...

Ya, I was going to see if I can rig something up without destroying it when I go to put the starter back in. Just waiting on the rear main seal to come via UPS today and I can start getting this all back together. The seal had what looked like some dirt/oil mix around it. I don't like messing...

Well, transmission is out and the only casualties I see now is the flex plate (cracked half way through) and the Dust Cover - Starter End Frame 28199-74110 on the starter. That was pretty much dry rotted. Found 1 place where I could get one, $3.00 for the part and $50 for shipping - LOL...

I can usually get anything apart, it just might not go back together...ever :) Thanks for the video. Probably a symptom of baking my brain for 8+ hours in the heat under the truck :) Overall, it went pretty well. If I had to complain about one thing it would be the top passenger side...

Sounds like a plan... i didn't follow it all the way up. To busy staring at it in defeat :) Thanks

Feeling a little dense here... I looked around for a bit and didn't come up with a good answer. About ready to drop the transmission and need to get the speedometer cable out. Most of the ones I have messed with have a knob and you unscrew it. Not seeing it on this one and not sure how it...

I appreciate all the feedback and suggestions. That's a good forum thread that I didn't come across while searching for possible answers to the noise. The bearings on the fan bracket were on their way out and I swapped that out, so it wasn't all in vein. The other day, I was talking with the...

Better yet, I borrowed one out someone's tool box :) Anyways, the view is looking at the top of one of the large circular cut out. Looks like a shift in the surface, plus a nice shiny line nearby. Thinking that looks like a crack to me...

Taking a look at the flex plate through a few spins, I didn't see any cracks. Of course, that doesn't mean they are not there. Cracks could be by the mounting bolts/crank where I can't see. I'm really on the fence about pulling the transmission or having someone do it. Being lifted and...

Ya, a photo doesn't really help a bunch. At first I thought it might be just oil and debris mixed together, but I believe it would have more weight to it. Just seems odd to me as its just like a small pieces of wood charcoal -- light density, very dry and crumbles easily. Never seen anything...

While I'm waiting on an extra set of hands, I pulled the flex plate inspection cover off and at the bottom of the bell housing was chunks of what looked like charcoal or graphite. The pieces had next to no weight to it, was not metal (magnet wouldn't pick any out) and a little bit of pressure...

Looking at some other flex plate issues, it seems that might be a very likely cause. I'll take a look at in the next day or two and see if I can find any issues with it. I've never dealt with a failing flex plate, so the noise is unfamiliar. I ordered a new fan pulley bracket to throw on...

Got the fan belts off and ran it for just a minute. The knocking was still there. Seemed about the same without much change. On a positive note, the fan pulley sounded a tad crunchy when I was spinning it by hand, so I will probably look to replace that. Now that I have the skid plate...

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of history with the vehicle. It's relatively new to me, had it about 6 months. The good thing it's my vehicle to play around with and not a daily driver(yet), but I have been starting it up every week and taking it on short trips. I got it off a relative who...

I have a tapping/knocking noise coming from somewhere and have not been able to pinpoint it. It is very similar to the one in this post Some quick specs: 2000 SR5, 4WD, 3.4l engine, 238k miles. Timing belt changed at 198K I've crawled all over and under the engine with a stethoscope and have...