project Fumbler's Gone To America - Dullness Stabs Me in The Back

[Fumbler]

I did a post mortem on the old thermostat. Not only did it function just fine, there's this hard, milky like residue that looks an awful lot like stop-leak on it

...which was nice. Given how old it is, I'm still binning it. It's become very clear the whole drivetrain of this truck has been abused and neglected for a very, very long time.

I also stumbled across a video from SMA about a Honda with an eerily similar fault to my engine:

So there's that, too.

I think I've hammered enough nails in this engine's coffin. Were I a wiser man, the truck would be sold or bridged, however vehicles with metal attached to them come at a premium in the north, so a new engine is still a worthwhile investment in my (heavily biased) eyes. As briefly mentioned in my previous post, I've been using car-part.com to find a viable replacement engine for the truck and there are a few good options within very easy reach. I originally thought my model year, no A/C and manual gearbox configuration were pretty rare, but as it turns out, there are several in salvage yards for $notmuch. This is rather lucky, since the engine wiring and computer are unique to every engine configuration and model year. This is mainly thanks to the fact that with each model year, engine management power output kept changing. That doesn't mean I couldn't throw an older engine in, but several components would need to be changed, along with the wiring loom and computer from the donor engine. Basically, sticking to the same year and options list means fewer headaches. I was also briefly interested in a remanufactured engine. However, they are only sold as long blocks and I'd have to spend a lot of time in a garage (which I don't have) swapping over a lot of components (many of which are broken and/or old), so a used power plant it is. EDIT: more research shows late twin spark engines (such as mine) will crack heads with gay abandon in several areas, because the second spark plug deletes a lot of material. All Lima engines are prone to valve seat regression and cracking because Ford didn't use hardened inserts; they just flame hardened the iron in the valve seat area. I've started a materials list for the task...

There are a few non-engine things in there, but while I'm working on the truck etc. etc. The jury's still out on whether I'll be doing this myself or getting A Man to do the work, it just depends on when I want to get it up and running again. 

Fortunately, there isn't much urgency because the cold and snow are knocking and soon, I'll be heading back down south to collect a winter WBOD I agreed to a couple months ago. Spoiler alert: it's a Badermatic and as exciting as eating flour. Watch this space...

[dozeydustman]

4 hours ago, Fumbler said:

Spoiler alert: it's a Badermatic and as exciting as eating flour

Ford Taurus

[danthecapriman]

Definitely looks a worthwhile truck to put a bit of effort into saving if it’s still as solid as it is.

You could of course just pull the lot and shoehorn in a V8 on carbs😆

[captain_70s]

2 hours ago, dozeydustman said:

Ford Taurus

Toyota Camry, surely...

[dozeydustman]

equally dull

 

30 minutes ago, captain_70s said:

Toyota Camry, 

[Fumbler]

8 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Definitely looks a worthwhile truck to put a bit of effort into saving if it’s still as solid as it is.

You could of course just pull the lot and shoehorn in a V8 on cabs😆

Oh I did think long and hard about that (beer may have been involved), but I then looked at what was needed to make it work and I also noticed the fuel economy would magically disappear. Funnily enough it's not all that difficult to do, in the grand scheme of things, since the Explorer came with a 302 V8 as an option. Unfortunately I just don't have the area to do that sort of job. Doesn't mean I won't ever do it, mind you.

[Fumbler]

Good moaning,

A collekshun is occurring! This is breakfast:

Poo count: 0.0

[hairnet]

https://www.kia.com/uk/new-cars/k4/specification/

[Fumbler]

On the road in a Toyota with trailer in tow. Took us a while to get going, should have taken photos but we had to unload a free Ford Taurus which wouldn't co-operate.

[Schaefft]

Pics of the Taurus!

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, Fumbler said:

Poo count: 0.0

No surprise, after that brekky 🤣 Chodspeed

[Fumbler]

20 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

Pics of the Taurus!

Will do once we're back. There's a rotten Windstar, broken Avalon, Trailblazer from the Texas flooded vehicle scam, and a V8 Merc around back. All will turn into demo derby food next year.

[Fumbler]

Treasure has been found 

[Fumbler]

[Fumbler]

[Snipes]

1 hour ago, Fumbler said:

Treasure has been found 

I didn't know Toyota ruined the rear lights on USDM A70 Supras as they did in The UK. I always assumed they got the super sexy, JDM full width arrangement.

[Fumbler]

Give @captain_70s a gold star, I have indeed bought an Camry in a soul destroying shade of grey. Lacquer peel included.

More specifically, a 2005 Camry LE automatic with the big* 2.4 4 cylinder and nearly 300000 miles. It even has electric windows, electric mirrors and electric seats!

On Wednesday I get to take it on a roughly 600 mile test drive home to the land of snow in WI.

[Schaefft]

Wow, the definition of an car. What are your plans with it?

[jim89]

17 hours ago, Fumbler said:

Good moaning,

A collekshun is occurring! This is breakfast:

Poo count: 0.0

Breaking Bad count 4 

[Fumbler]

6 hours ago, Schaefft said:

Wow, the definition of an car. What are your plans with it?

Drive it. Then, drive it some more! 

 

But seriously, this will be my winter transport until the time is right to replace the Ranger engine.

[Fumbler]

Damnit, the snow followed us down to Kentucky. The people down here hate snow and the only thing they hate more is driving in it.

Looks pretty mind you.

[Fumbler]

On 01/12/2025 at 14:18, Schaefft said:

Pics of the Taurus!

Here you are! All these cars will be meeting their maker.

2005 Taurus 3.0 automatic. One owner from new, rather soft in the rear (like they all are). It appears to have coolant leaking into a cylinder because it's doing the exact same thing the Ranger is.

Here are the others in the lot:

2000s Chevy Trailblazer with the 6 cylinder Vortec. It's originally from Texas and found its way up to Kentucky after the Texas floods via a titling scam, where flooded vehicles get resold up north with a fake title and the sellers attempt to disappear before the buyers figure out they've been messed with. The vehicle is incredibly rust free but it'll never be road legal again.

2000s Toyota Avalon. Has no brakes at all and the engine is completely ruined. The previous owners ran it into the ground and sold it for scrap money to be derbied.

Ford Windstar. Completely rotten inside and out.

Mercedes C class I think? This has a ton of electrical faults and rust. It has a 5L V8 and the plan is to put this at one end of the track, find a target and floor it.

Annoyed it snowed before I could take any pictures, but I'll be back in the area soon for work. 

[Tayne]

That's a S-class, not a C-class.

[danthecapriman]

Bit of a shame about the Windstar, but they are rust buckets. Pretty cool cars/vans though nowadays, in a weird way!

[Fumbler]

7 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Bit of a shame about the Windstar, but they are rust buckets. Pretty cool cars/vans though nowadays, in a weird way!

I agree, they're interesting inside and out. The guy who sold it basically ran it into the ground and wanted it smashed up in a derby. They're practically nonexistent up north due to the rust.

[danthecapriman]

2 hours ago, Fumbler said:

I agree, they're interesting inside and out. The guy who sold it basically ran it into the ground and wanted it smashed up in a derby. They're practically nonexistent up north due to the rust.

I’m sure there was one on NoNonsenseKnowHow YouTube channel a year or two back that he dragged out of some old industrial building up in Pennsylvania. That was pretty ropey too. Think it got scrapped in the end though as nobody seemed interested in it. I don’t think it was beyond saving either sadly.

[Fumbler]

The good news: the Camry survived its 630 mile test drive back to the frozen north.

The bad news: it was slightly grumpy.

I didn't do a very good job documenting the journey back home but my excuse is we left 4 hours late and got back home at 0230, and that's after a timezone change which gave us an extra hour.

If my bad Internet research is correct, this age of Camry was actually built in Kentucky and so it's lived in the state its whole life. I'm guessing it wasn't happy about emigrating because after a few hours of driving and passing through a couple states, the $$$ light came on. Fortunately, my friend had a code scanner handy, plugged it in and found a P0136 code stored, which apparently means post cat lambda sensor low voltage, which further means either too lean or borked sensor. Since the car still ran fine I ignored it. While stopped we also replaced the windscreen wipers (which were useless) and the cabin filter (which was fossilised)

Yum. We were hoping this was why the passenger footwell was filling up with cold air but unfortunately it wasn't. The further north we went, the colder the air coming in felt.

There was also a pronounced bearing-y whine from the engine bay which proceeded to get louder and louder the further we went, until 20 miles from home, when it went from whining to violent grinding noises. That was fun. I haven't checked what it is yet because it's been 14F the whole time I've been back. It's cold, man. The other major complaint is there's something goofed up with the rear suspension. Whenever we go over a bridge joint there's a horrendous thump from the back and a lot of swaying. I'm suspecting the shocks and/or drop links are destroyed but that too will need to wait until it's warmer.

The final aggravation was with the passenger seatbelt. Hubby went to use it and then it bound up, leaving him with floppy seatbelt syndrome.

Yesterday I pulled the trim apart and had to pull like hell to get it unfolded and working properly. I don't think I've had this problem in a car before.

Hope everyone else is warmer than I am, it's awful cold up here.

[danthecapriman]

Glad you got the new rig back safe & sound, even if it is cold!

Wet & miserable here (as usual!) so I’d definitely rather take the cold😄

[Schaefft]

It's incredible how long some cars in the states manage to survive with seemingly next to no maintenance. You see them everywhere in Tennessee. Makes you wonder how anything a little more sensitive like a BMW or Audi makes it to 20 years, despite looking like coming straight out of the salvage yard. Looking forward to reading more about the Camry. I'm strangely attracted to it's large siblings (Avalon and Lexus ES) since seeing them more regularly. I feel like my personal choice of cars would very different if I was living in the Midwest.

[Fumbler]

40 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

It's incredible how long some cars in the states manage to survive with seemingly next to no maintenance. You see them everywhere in Tennessee. Makes you wonder how anything a little more sensitive like a BMW or Audi makes it to 20 years, despite looking like coming straight out of the salvage yard. Looking forward to reading more about the Camry. I'm strangely attracted to it's large siblings (Avalon and Lexus ES) since seeing them more regularly. I feel like my personal choice of cars would very different if I was living in the Midwest.

I really like the Avalon and Lexus equivalents. I chose a Camry because my brother had one, husband had one and I really liked both. Plus I was able to use the expensive winter floormats out of hubby's car. Still would like a Lexus Camry someday because they really do look nice IMO.

I must admit, this Camry was maintained fastidiously by the previous owner. The PO gave up driving, sold the car to his mechanic and I bought the car off the mechanic (mechanic is a derby friend of my coworker down in KY). It always had its oil changed every 5k and mechanic estimates the car never left the county the whole time the guy owned it. As we were strapping it down to the trailer the mechanic also showed me the two spare engines he said I could have FOC in case the one in the car shits the bed, so that's a nice gesture. Only trouble is it would need towing all the way back down again. Meh, details, details.

For me, a better example of advanced car neglect is the Ranger. It managed to live 28 years with very little maintenance at all. It leaked from everywhere, had its original spark plugs and HT leads, ancient old belts, interior destroyed, fuses pulled etc. and it almost came through until I mistakenly flushed the stop leak out of it.