In hind sight,,,,

Took Buff out for her bath after getting my laundry done,,, Had to scrub a bit harder than usual at the grunk behind her rear DS wheel,,,, Not surprised since I used a paint scraper in her wheel well to get that crap off. That things been going for a while and the gunk was 1/4″ thick under there. Between road grime, mud n dust, and 85-90w gear oil, there was something very closely akin to La Brea Tar attached to her.

But, that hind sight thing,,,

The noises and issues had crept up me so slowly that I didn’t notice them.

Until they were gone.

It’s like driving a completely different truck now,,, Smooth, QUIET,,,,

Still impressed as all get out that the axle was still functioning as much as it was. That was nearly a catastrophic failure,,,

And amazingly I had two spare axles to replace the one that was galled,,,, (price on a new half shaft is $189 at a local parts dealer, saw that when pricing parts,,,) Those are from a blown diff from two trucks back. , , ,

Seems I have a hard time with differentials doesn’t it? Actually, that one wasn’t ‘blown’ so much as the rear brakes had disintegrated and were not rebuildable without major teardown. The wheel cylinder had broken loose (one of GM’s finer ideas: to hold a major brake component in place with a spring clip,,,) and tore all sorts of shit apart; shredded the backing plate, and busted a hole in the rim when it cracked the drum and sent shards outwards. I originally kept the half shafts for a project that never came to be,,, Should have kept the pumpkin too,,, Oh well, Hind sight is 20/20.

So if I have such a hard time with this model, WHY is this one my fourth one? Because they are ubiquitous in my neck of the woods, parts aren’t hatefully expensive (usually), and they can be worked on by purt much anyone. Granted the 4.3l is sorta underpowered and a fuel pig, but they are as common as the Chevy 350, share many parts the same, so common parts are readily available. Thats why I stick with them.

BUT, I am looking for a secondary ride, (a beater with a heater, as Brudda B called it) so that I am not in this boat of needing to borrow/rent wheels while one is down. I can handle the added expense in insurance rates, and if something needs repaired, I have ‘backup’ so no need to take time off work for major repairs,,,

But I doubt it will be a common model like Buffalo,,, Probably not even the same maker,,,, And I am not rushing into anything. Looking for cheap, decent, and not much more. ( 4×4 is sort of mandatory though,,, Y’ain’t seen my hill to get home,,, ) Hell, I don’t even care if the vents are rust holes in the floor boards, so long as my feet don’t go through them,,,, That sort of stuff is easy to bandaid over and won’t make a lick of difference in drivability.

And Brudda B sent me a link to a Jeep Cherokee that would fill the bill,,, BUT, not right now; sorta tapped on things for a spell,,, just gonna keep my eyes peeled as I build a fund up,,,

Anywhoos,,, Chinee dinner in belly, domestics done, Buffalo is clean again and running like a champ (until the next catastrophe) and Dio is in chill mode,,,