New to me '87, got some questions!

[jubelo]

Heres my intro post on the New Members section

I have had this rig for a week now and I totally love it. Its not perfect, but no 25 year old car is going to be. I guess I should start off by asking what are typical fail points on these trucks? What should I keep an eye on, what should I replace immediately before it breaks on me?

Is it normal for the fuel gauge to be spastic? It seems to be fine until I drop below half a tank and then it basically stops caring about how much fuel is in the tank. Where should I start my search on fixing that?

I'm sure I'll come up with more stuff to ask, but I'll just start with these.

 

[fourwd1]

The sending unit for the fuel gauge will get dead spots over time making readings erratic.
If it really bothers you you can remove and disassemble it
Electrical contact cleaner on the windings can sometimes bring it back to life.
Not a whole lot of weak points, make sure the timing belt has been changed recentl.
They're good for 100K mi or so.

 

[jubelo]

Ok, I'll take a look at the sending unit and see whats what. Thanks!
Supposedly the motor was recently rebuilt, though I dont have documentation to prove it, but it pulls good and doesnt leak anything so thats a good thing. The tranny makes a horrific noise in 5th, but I was warned about that and I am going to get a rebuilt tranny put in shortly so thats not a big deal.

 

[RAD4Runner]

Heres my intro post on the New Members section
I have had this rig for a week now and I totally love it. Its not perfect

That thing is siiick! arty:

Amen to that! The good news is that truck looks good! The bad news is people would want to steal that truck. Our first must be one of the most reliable trucks out there, so you should be set. I just got an 86 myself this year and I look forward to driving her each day more than I did my Xterra that she replaced. Another bad news is our trucks are not too difficult to steal, so I suggest you work on a theft deterrent(s) ASAP. Fuel & ignition kill switches would help waste a thief's time enough to urge him to move on to someone else's Cadillac =D.
One big advantage of having a first-gen is that you can pretty much diagnose it with your senses (hear tranny, smell oil or coolant burning, see black smoke/oily spark plugs) and a multi-meter; we don't have to rely on stealers.

Aside from getting familiar with how the truck sounds, I also think gas mileage is a practical/good indication of when an engine or drive train part is deteriorating fast. I suggest you keep a log of gas mileage.

 

[jubelo]

Aside from getting familiar with how the truck sounds, I also think gas mileage is a practical/good indication of when an engine or drive train part is deteriorating fast. I suggest you keep a log of gas mileage.

Yeah, thats why I want to get the speedo/odo and the fuel gauge working!