So as a few of you guys know I recently joined the forums here when I bought a pristine 99 sport... I really wanted to build that truck up but i think it's just to nice to wheel... Then I was driving home and spotted this gem in a firestone parking lot... Upon inspection the body looked great it had no plates Flores weren't rusted and looked solid to "cut" up and make a murdered out trail/winter driver... I left a not on the windshield asking if it was for sale since it had no plates... They called the next day and explained that it was. 91 4.0 4x4 one owner truck with 110,000 miles from a local older guy who daily drove it.... They said it was overheating and possibly needed a head gasket and that the brake booster had failed and it has no power brakes.... They asked for 1000 I offered 800 and we settled on 900$ cash... Since it was only 2 miles from my house I drove home very carefully and quickly as to not let it get over 210 degrees.. Upon further inspection I realized it had the crappy bendix9 brake system.. And that it could sit and idle and not get hot but when it was driven temps climbed fast... My raytec temp gun showed a head temp of 230 after driving it for 4 minutes once operating temp was reached... I then decided to replace the entire cooling system and look up a way to fix the braking issues... I quickly learned that the 95 booster and master cyl will bolt right up so I ordered all the parts when I went to pickup the new cooling system.. I need to get it reliably running before I will spend any further$. I also did a cylinder check to see if there is a bad head gasket because that's what the Firestone I bought it from who bought it from the original owner said they think the overheat is from... Cylinders 1,4,5,6 all only have 10% leak down at tdc.. Cyl 2,3 are loosing about 22%
My friend who's a ex top fuel crew chief helped me perform the test and assured me it was done correct.. He thinks the fact that two cyl's side by side can be suggestive towards a head gasket issue but the plugs looked fine and the oil was clean... We then decided to install the whole new cooling setup and see what happens before I rip off the head and he takes it to his buddy's for inspection... Hope you guys enjoy the ride this things gonna be cool and cut!

Details/plans : has minor rust on rear lower quarters... Planning on cut and fold to eliminate the cancer..
Brakes are DONE! Lol time for the 95 dual diaphragm setup and new mc / booster
It's overheating .. Replace the entire cooling system possibly head gasket if necessary...
Bedline or home brew paint the entire truck
98+ mirror swap
Budget lift with new leafs/shocks/springs







Glenn

 

Its article was to remove all old cooling crap... Radiator was F'd up see pics below





The fins were gone on both sides... How much effect do you think this had on system?? Lol plus the water pump and thermostat were leaking slowly and the water
PUmp looks well over a decade old


Then I went back for more supply's and my brake parts came in already!!


Got home cleaned up all old coolant and started cleaning block for re assembly tomorrow after I flush heater core even though heat works well...

Then I will strip the bendix 9 and get after that issue... Also debating removing heater control valve although the shop just replaced it a month ago chasing the overheat issue

Coolant was also a month old about 50 miles on it so it didn't look terrible guessing the flush they did got a lot of crap free but I still bet the rad core is clogged after seeing it's the original and how smoked it was

What do you guys think about the heater control bypass?

Opinions needed!!

 

. Good news I buttoned up the complete cooling system swap today and it's running great so far let it warm up burped it topped off coolant checked for flow let it warm up topped off reservoir and viola no overheat :-) it runs 200-210 all day without the heat on and my raytek probe is giving me accurate readings of 195 on the Tstat and head opposite of exhaust manifold... There was 1-2 inches if sludge in the overflow tank!!! I'm gonna flush the system out next week again to clear any leftover particulate that was in the motor or heater core. Looking good though guessing that was the overheat issue... So far I have 1097$ into the truck and it's strong! Time to detail and do the brakes after work tomorrow. I'm stoked!!

 

well i began looking for some springs today since i have a set of cheapo shocks from a zone 3" lift that i replaced with billsteins... figured i can get a set of 3-3.5" leafs and front coils relatively cheap and maybe some budget lca's and a trac bar.... you guys have any suggestions? i like ironrock offroads trackbars and the double shear isn't that expensive