Feeling a Little Low

...on compression, that is.

Did a compression test this morning and the results were less than encouraging. Here is what we have (dry/wet):
1: 89/109
2: 125
3: 92/110
4: 90/100
5: 107
6: 120
7: 111
8: 93

Cylinders 2 and 6 seem to be the only ones holding up. The lifters are still making quite a racket, especially in the vicinity of #8.

On the bright side, if there is such a thing at this point, is that the plugs are burning nice and clean and it still starts right up.

But with half my cylinders below 95, and 3 of 4 on one bank, it looks like a transplant is in my future.

Allergy Test, Part 1

Put oil back into Hanky to see if it would be rejected or have any other adverse reactions. Started right up. Lifters clacking away. Pulled it out of the garage, so as not to fumigate the whole house through the garage door. Let it idle up to temp. Ran it above idle for a bit. Lifters quieted down and it sounds good. It's not puking oil on the ground. So far, so good. It does have a good bit of blow by as seen through the unhooked PCV. And there was oil in the air cleaner and on top of the carb. Not from this run, but from the ride home. So clearly it is blowing oil. But running it tonight, it didn't seem like there was that much crankcase pressure. No sign of water in the oil - yet. Didn't check for bubbles in the radiator. Next step will be to do a compression test to see where we stand.

Another One for the Books

Back from another great weekend in the Pinelands with the Triple Diamond Crew. We had a record turnout with, I think, 19 trucks on the trail on Saturday. Hanky did well. Got the carb a bit wet and it was a little finicky after that, but not bad.

Got stuck once, but came out easily. If I had that Aussie locker in, it wouldn't have happened. Next time...

John J brought the replacement for the Junkyard Dog. After he put the fan into the new aluminum radiator on Friday, it was dubbed 'Fanny'. Pretty girly name for such an awesome truck (a 6.9l diesel stuffed into a Terra and it looks factory original). He had it fixed and back out on the trail Saturday.

Not much damage this time. The only trail injuries were to John's Terra. Chris lost a wheel bearing on his F250 out on the road between pits, John B fried a U-joint and to top it off Carl lost an axle shaft on the way back to the lodge, then had his Scout try to unload by itself when they got it back to camp on the trailer - a real life case for always chaining down a vehicle like you are driving 100 miles, no matter how short the trip. Luckily, no further damage was done, te axle was replaced in the morning and he was good to go.

Had some Jeepers out with us and they did a fine job of getting muddy. They were good sports and hope they come back in the fall.

Hanky decided to blow all it's oil out on the way home. There was enough to maintain some pressure, but the valves started tapping pretty good. I'm starting to think that Hanky has an allergy to motor oil. Looked like it was puking it out the dipstick tube, so am going to have to do a compression test to see if it's not blow by. Still, I can't imagine that blow by would force out that much oil (we're talking many quarts).

Hopefully a heart transplant isn't in Hanky's future. More diagnosis to come...

Ready for Launch

Almost ready to head out to Pinelands. Didn't get anything done this weekend, with Mother's Day festivities taking up both days, then off to Santa Barbara on Monday and back this morning via the redeye. I *think* that I have all the truck stuff packed. Just need to get my gear together. Note to self: remember the sleeping bag. The plan is to head out Thursday night, but if I haven't recovered enough sleep, I may opt to roll out early Friday morning. In any case, plagues of locust won't keep me away...

Pic a peck

Folks are requesting pics and who am I to dissappoint.  Total lift is now about 6.5" with body (2" lift plus new bushings) and spring lifts (4" springs and extended shackles). I am liking this stance.

Who Knew?

So, who knew that the front hubs on a '71 1100 4x4 are smaller than those on a '78 Scout? I sure didn't. Went to swap out tires and daggone it, the things don't fit on the hub. I'll be darned. So much for having mud tires on Hanky for Pinelands. I think that I'll still put a pair in the back as spares in case that cut in the sidewall of one of the AT's decided to give out. I should at least be able to put them on the rear and have a matched pair on each axle.

So, on to the next thing on the list. Flipping the roll bar bolts. Not thinking when I put them on that they would tear up my tires, I dropped them in from the top. So, before I subject my 32s to the business end of the bolt shank, I flipped 'em the way they should be. While I was at it I relocated the fire extinguisher from the roll bar to the driver's seat base. Much easier access should I have another dash fire (fingers firmly crossed, hoping that extinguisher never gets used).

I did get to drive it today. Took it to the gym this morning. Behaved pretty well. Even at highway speed on US 29, I could drive it with one hand. Now, if I was on a road that was rutted, I'm sure it would have been more of a hand full. Still, I think that I'm driving with a little negative caster, so really should get those shims in before I hit the highway next weekend. Gotta swap out those heater hoses though. And it has a little bit of an oil leak. Looks like from the passenger valve cover.

Up, Up and Away!

The rear shackles arrived today, just like UPS said they would. Yesterday I got the rear shocks in and the old shackles off in preparation, so it took all of about 15 minutes to get the new ones on. Sweet! Me likes!

Took it for a drive and it is a wee bit more squirrely than it had been, so I will put in those 4* caster shims and see if that doesn't correct it. Might put on the steering stabilizer too. If I can find it. It's around here somewhere.

Retrieved the mud tires from old #3 yesterday too. I'lll put them on when the sun comes out next. Might have to drive 'em a little to get them back to round after sitting for so long.

Four and a Quarter

Got the front shackles in (5") today, along with the front shocks, front bumper and push bar and rear bumper. With the extended shackles, my total lift from stock is 4.25" (plus the 2"+ from the body lift and bushings done previously). Put new bushings in the upper shackle mount. Didn't do the springs, I'll come back to that later.

The extended shackles from IH Only North are awesome. Well worth the expense (although shipping was a bit steep at $30+). The rear shackles should be here Monday, so tomorrow I'll get everything ready.

With only two weeks until Pinelands, and weekend obligations and work travel during the week, it's not looking like the Aussie is going to get installed in time. :-(