As a mechanic... Don't bother with the front fender or windshield, unless the windshield is totally borked. You can often get a replacement at a junkyard for much less, and they're not difficult to install. Mostly cleaning, more cleaning, and some cleaning, then replace the rope seal and place the new windshield. With patience and a friend to lend a hand, it's no big deal. Of the remainder, the only technically challenging work is the cylinder head gasket replacement. I would recommend renting a compression gauge, available at most parts stores, and checking the compression yourself first, to be sure there's an issue with the head gasket. Even if it does need replacing, it's not too daunting, just a matter of being prepared and methodical.
The windshield is in pretty miserable shape. If I wasn't planning on storm chasing in it I'd consider holding off - but I need it to stand up to hail and strong winds. I could do it cheaper, but Crystal Glass has been awesome to me and the price isn't bad.
The fender is definitely more cosmetic, and isn't at the top of my list of things to fix since it doesn't affect it mechanically. The rest is just plain intimidating because I'm one of those people who pays others to change the oil etc ;)
Storm chasing would put a new light on things, yeah... :) Have you considered military surplus? Maybe something in the twenty to twenty-five ton range?
I have to say, I would never buy a 20 yo vehicle, not even a Toyota, unless I was profesionally in the business of working with "classic", (in the "classic rock" sense) vehicles.
That being said: "Parking Brake" and "Emergency Brake" are the same thing. Most likely, the cable that connects your parking brake to the rest of the car runs under the rest of the car and is totally rusted to shit, which tends to happen on cars that are old enough to be legally able to consent to all kinds of things. So I think those "two" entries are really the same thing: Your parking brake cable is gefucked and needs replacement.
Yeah, my confusion arises from the fact that I can find listings for 'passenger' and 'driver' versions of the brake cable and the worksheet says front. Not helpful :)
Whenever I've purchased a used vehicle, I've budgeted about 50% of the purchase price towards necessary mechanical work.
It looks like, with a decent mechanic, you could get that truck pretty well sorted for under $1000. Which is totally awesome...and, IMHO, a reasonable price to pay for a decent vehicle that makes you happy...
Good find, and not too much work for what you paid. Aside from agreeing with absynthe77 and theweaselking, here's my $.02.
Looking at the uneven wear along the inner half on the front tires, they're shot. Did they quote you an alignment?
Did they give you a rationale for replacing the head gasket? Signs of oil or coolant leaking between the head and block?
Other than replacing the water pump, did they explain the overheat issue? when was the last time the thermostat was replaced?
The connection between the head gasket and overheating could be the gasket split at one of the cylinders. The compression for that cylinder forced into the cooling system, and the increased strain from the loss of power, will overheat the engine. A quick test for this is to remove the cap from the radiator or overflow tank, warm up the engine and look for air bubbles coming up from the coolant.
Are the Bilsteins your choice or Canadian Tire's? Rancho can be had cheaper, followed by Monroe and Gabriel
( ... )
The head gasket is the result of apparent gunk where it shouldn't be - 2 Canadian Tire mechanics and my friend (qualified amateur very familiar with 4Runners) all saw it.
The overheating wasn't thoroughly investigated - with a small leak from the water pump in addition to what was seen re the head gasket there didn't seem much point. I'll get those 2 things resolved and go forward :)
The Bilsteins were my choice. While I'm not planning to go broke fixing this up, I'm also not planning to *completely* cheap out across the board.
Good catch re the tires. They didn't explain why I needed new tires and it wasn't apparent to me at all. I'm looking into the Pro Comp Radial All Terrain as new tires, just need to see if I can get them in Calgary. Unfortunately that's likely to be the most expensive thing I end up doing to it!
Already have the full repair manual thank god. Came with the truck :)
Bilsteins are a good choice, Ranchos are usually what comes to mind for truck/off road duty. Good tires aren't cheap, better tires even more so. Throw in that they're truck tires and it just goes up.
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Don't bother with the front fender or windshield, unless the windshield is totally borked.
You can often get a replacement at a junkyard for much less, and they're not difficult to install. Mostly cleaning, more cleaning, and some cleaning, then replace the rope seal and place the new windshield. With patience and a friend to lend a hand, it's no big deal.
Of the remainder, the only technically challenging work is the cylinder head gasket replacement. I would recommend renting a compression gauge, available at most parts stores, and checking the compression yourself first, to be sure there's an issue with the head gasket.
Even if it does need replacing, it's not too daunting, just a matter of being prepared and methodical.
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The fender is definitely more cosmetic, and isn't at the top of my list of things to fix since it doesn't affect it mechanically. The rest is just plain intimidating because I'm one of those people who pays others to change the oil etc ;)
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Have you considered military surplus? Maybe something in the twenty to twenty-five ton range?
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That being said: "Parking Brake" and "Emergency Brake" are the same thing. Most likely, the cable that connects your parking brake to the rest of the car runs under the rest of the car and is totally rusted to shit, which tends to happen on cars that are old enough to be legally able to consent to all kinds of things. So I think those "two" entries are really the same thing: Your parking brake cable is gefucked and needs replacement.
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It looks like, with a decent mechanic, you could get that truck pretty well sorted for under $1000. Which is totally awesome...and, IMHO, a reasonable price to pay for a decent vehicle that makes you happy...
Reply
Aside from agreeing with absynthe77 and theweaselking, here's my $.02.
Looking at the uneven wear along the inner half on the front tires, they're shot. Did they quote you an alignment?
Did they give you a rationale for replacing the head gasket? Signs of oil or coolant leaking between the head and block?
Other than replacing the water pump, did they explain the overheat issue? when was the last time the thermostat was replaced?
The connection between the head gasket and overheating could be the gasket split at one of the cylinders. The compression for that cylinder forced into the cooling system, and the increased strain from the loss of power, will overheat the engine. A quick test for this is to remove the cap from the radiator or overflow tank, warm up the engine and look for air bubbles coming up from the coolant.
Are the Bilsteins your choice or Canadian Tire's? Rancho can be had cheaper, followed by Monroe and Gabriel ( ... )
Reply
The overheating wasn't thoroughly investigated - with a small leak from the water pump in addition to what was seen re the head gasket there didn't seem much point. I'll get those 2 things resolved and go forward :)
The Bilsteins were my choice. While I'm not planning to go broke fixing this up, I'm also not planning to *completely* cheap out across the board.
Good catch re the tires. They didn't explain why I needed new tires and it wasn't apparent to me at all. I'm looking into the Pro Comp Radial All Terrain as new tires, just need to see if I can get them in Calgary. Unfortunately that's likely to be the most expensive thing I end up doing to it!
Already have the full repair manual thank god. Came with the truck :)
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