first in many moons it seems. Too bad I have to take tomorrow off for Da (doc visit) Is whut’tiz, no complaints cuz I’d rather HEAR what the doc has to say than expect Da to remember it all AND act on it. (He absolutely dislikes docs and being told what to do.)(Hmmmm,,, wonder where that little trait of mine came from,,,LOL)

All zee Blooie parts are in my hands,,, One tool not yet here, but shows is in area and slotted for delivery tomorrow. Thats the extractor tool for the lifters.

AND, I just finished kicking Buffalo out of her stall for the weekend, Hoping the weather holds and that I can get this stuff done, and not resort to kicking Da and the ‘Coma out of his basement. (and the damned packrats had already made a nest under Buff’s hood, despite my starting her every other day,,,, Frellin’ RATZ!!! I need to get some spearmint oil or something, to drive them off.)(they have already been evicted with prejudice. And I blame my silly putty-tats for lack of proper response: little bastaches are too well fed apparently.)

Fact, I need too really look at the weather right now so that I can make sure this is the way to go… Da has made the offer, but I’d rather not do that to him again. (recall: last time I said it was going to be a two day job, and it ended up being three weeks plus.) (And, I could hold off a week if needed,, looks like the next 72 hrs are gonna be WET with emphasis on ‘wet with winds’,,,)

anywhooozabaj-ja-jings,,, I’m beat, HUNGRY, and sorta sore too. All the posts I sank here at the stead have left my shoulders a might beat up. (the SpudBar, 35# and high impact. Leaves a mark, and not just on the soil and rocks.)

more later-ers

Live

Learn

Laugh

LOVE

LOAD!

(, ‘)

After J.O.B. efforts, I return to the ‘Stead and do other things. Most days, not much o nuthin.

This week though,,, little mores of sumpins,,,,

Building a new wood shed closer to the house, away from future carports. Gotta build it before I can move the wood, Salvaged 4×4’s that Da dropped on me several years aback, Long ones too! 10′! I’ve held onto them because ‘reasons’,,, and now,, they has use. Sank the poles into 2′ holes, and using those Highway barriers as a ‘pen’ to hold the rock I’m using as a base (and to level it out) Thats just to keep the wood off the wet ground, Big stone to drain fast and 6″ thick to keep the wet further away. (the stone is from my driveway, a section I haven’t driven on in several years. Cost? already bought and paid for)

Yes, I know my gutter needs attention,,, shush,,,,

Woodshed closer to the house, north side where the winds blow hardest and exposed to sun to help ‘season’ the wood inside. Lazy me pointed out to Da that when I get a load of wood, I can just ‘roll it down the hill to the shed’ from the drive,,, Split and stack, done dealios,,, And not a trudge out and back when it gets cold. Doesn’t look like much, but thats 10’x6’x6′ at its lowest level. I will get the framing peices here over the weekend to finish out the box, and I have oodles of ‘tin’ rooffing to cover it with. Might be some holes in the tin from old nails, but not enough to worry about in a woodshed

Total cost? About 3-8hr days effort when said and done. (I’m about 5hours into it so far)

And I’m collecting BLoo parts,,, As they arrive.

Bloo tossed me a surprise today though. Was going to the J.O.B. and suddenly she was FRELLIN’ LOUD!!! OMG, so loud,,, Had no clue what the hell, Felt like a rod knock again too.

Nopes,,,, Just something I sorta fugg’ed up, and didn’t realize. I changed out her O2’s the other day, and surprise-surprise, had to use the demo-hammer to bust them loose,, Got that, right? Probably OE sensors, and they were rust welded on tight.

Welllllzzz

When I did, by vibration, I had loosened the three bolts holding the flange at the manifold, Didn’t spot it. (this is the new manifold I replaced, not the passengers side with its original stud/nut setup.)

Those bloody things were walking out for two days, and the noise; open manifold right at my feet on the otherside of the firewall, and the ‘knock’ was the pipe and flange bouncing around.

Oh, and that ticking lifter,,, getting quieter. Still gonna do the deed as it is NOT going away, but its a whole lot quieter than it was. I’ve been real easy on her not pushing hard to get to speed, no second gear downshifts to stop. Light footed I have been,,,

But thats the sorts of things that happen around here, not world moving insightful perspectives, but down to earth humdrum-itudes,,,

Live

Learn

Laugh

LOVE

LOAD!

Orvan has a damned fine post up,

My take on it,,, Other than the fact that those arrested and never truly charged, detained indefinitely in a living hell-hole and treated FAR PAST what prisoners should be expected to endure: with thier being pardoned by current Prez, this thing is gonna get swept under the rug like so much other “discrepencies” of the last 20 years.

No accountability, and the TRUE criminals walk, make bank and consider themselves untouchable.

And we have never done a thing to prove that thought otherwise.

Been hearing winds of ‘tax revolt’ in the streams. Been saying that is the MORAL way to go before we start stacking bodies, for years. My “DO NOT COMPLY” memes, my stop feeding the beast posts, My ‘Thereaughtabealaw’ posts,,,, Same things, different veins, but same same.

What’s gonna happen?

I’ll give you my opinion. In an image,,,

We’re spoiled as a country: like all of humanity, we prefer the easy route, the least amount of ‘heavy lifting’, and one only need stroll through a wal-mart at the first of the month to see how lazy and out of shape we have become since the turn of the century (30 years prior IMO, but its REALLY obvious the last 20)

Ain’t a thing gonna happen until the umbilical cords are cut and life gets downright miserable. When the Petro-dollar implodes, those umbilicals are gonna get cut and cauterized.

Ogain, Just my Opine,,, YMMV

But, I ain’t gonna sweat it, I am working on my ‘escape pod/plan’ and there is so much going on behind the scenes and around the shop that I haven’t an extra ounce of energy to expend on venting my spleen over Executive Over-reach. (on this, I will say something. Yes, MADuro needed removed. IMO, we overstepped our bounds, and showed the world exactly why we, as a country, can’t be trusted. BUT, Seeing how the CIA and other deepstate agencies are likely culpable of PUTTING THOSE ASSHATS in place, and the Deepstate ain’t playing along, someone had to do something. BUT, It SHOULD have been the peeps of the country in question, NOT US. Just sayin’. Use the information accordingly. When things go sideways here, and there are pockets of resistence here at home,,, do not think those ‘rules’ won’t be applied.)

Whallzamahjalongitz,,, its been a day, short day, but a day. Bloo now has FULL FUNCTIONING P-brake (I had to wait for re-delivery of a part that DID NOT SHOW. Package came, but was empty!! ) Waiting on the parts to show for the Lifter/Oil pump surgery forth coming. Looks like my luck holds and its gonna be colder than a witches teat by the time all are here. Sigh,,,, Is what it is,,,,

More laters

LIVE

Love

Laugh

LEARN

LOAD!!!

install b4 clean up. One post I wasnt happy about, but due to circumstances of install, wasn’t a thing to be done and not raise Bossmans Ire. Leave it, let him deal with the customer if they complain.

mo’laterer,

(and I talked to the customer after I posted the pics. VERY HAPPY!!!)

Easy Fab: doesn’t look like much to it when the final product was standing, but lots of little intricate welds, small angle cuts, and MUST be matched peices, or the whole thing would have looked ‘off’.

Son of Bossman’s final appraisal was “ooohh,,, tha’s purty!”

What was it? 20 section of handrail and a 4’+ section. The 20′ is on a slope, and the 4′ goes catty-corner to it on the approach to the porch. Pictures after install. Thats the next phase of ‘one of my hats I wear’ for the J.O.B.

Parts (sorta) shipped out today. One part for the Oil pump (extension driveshaft, required for the higher flow pump or voids warranty) didn’t ship,,, Shortest time line, if the shippers expectations are correct, NEXT WEDNESDAY,,, Jan 14th, before I have all parts in hand. This weekend will be ‘other projects’ weekend. IE, moving my woodshed closer to the house, mostly to open up my driveway so I can park sidebyside, not inline. Will also make it doable to put in a larger carport, multi-stable sort so my kids BOTH have a stall of their own. Really hates the frosties on the sheilds in the AM,,, Something I have gotten quite spoiled with by having Buffalo under a roof,,, No scraping snow, no scraping frosted windsheilds,,,warm ups in AM are shorter since the need to clear the glass is lessened. Bloo, not being under roof: She gets that warm up run (not a bad thing) to clear the glass, but it takes longer. (she has more mass to heat up,,,)

It would be nice to make an actual carport, not just a gravel drive with a ‘tent’ setup. Thanks to Brudda B for donating the original frame and tarp setup (retired from his pre-camper days). It has made life so much easier, not just in parking, but being able to work on Buff over the years, even when the weather is not friendly. May be open sided but it keeps the wets off you. I’d like to expand on that, solid concrete floor, and large enough that both twucks fit underneath with some extra room between. ( I can’t tell you how many times I have dropped a bolt or nut and spent 20-30 minutes trying to find it in the gravels underneath foot.) And if I can, build it with the future purchase of a LIFT in mind: that means a taller ceiling plan. Or at least a barn styled roof that slopes up fast for a taller ceiling.

Yup,,, plans of more money in the future. Not gonna jump, little here, little there, it grows. Big thing right now: clearing the way, and that costs nothing but time on my end.

Why am I tellin’ y’all about this? This is the cumulative compromise that I am coming to, from some of the things I haven’t vented to you. I’m gonna deal with BadCuz, because I have no choice, the only advanatage I have: He has a short half life. His lifestyle and current age,,, He probably only has a few more years before he does himself in, or someone does him in for the sake of humanity. I won’t be that person though. I like my freedom and that POS ain’t worth my giving that up.

Some other aspects of those unvented things are still in flux. Was told by Da that there may be even more going on, or coming my way, but if so, it will actually make things easier, not harder. Don’t know, not holding my breath, nor am I holding hope: just noting what one has said and keeping my options open.

yes, I am being intentionally vague,,, This sorta thing doesn’t need advertised, though you should know I am likely QUITE distracted by ‘local stuff’ and ‘personal stuff’. As it pans out or doesn’t pan out, I’ll pull tarps and let y’all in on things.

LIve

Learn

Laugh

Love

LOAD!

everything mentioned (in posts and comments) needed(and some not mentioned; gaskets n such.) purchased and on their way, along with a lifter extraction tool (another of those things considered a once a year tool that I had let go once upon a time. 😦 )

As I said to Brudda B in a text here,,, “Gonna be a long month as I get this shit done, and a long year as I pay it all off.”

but done will be DONE, and all the upper gaskets will be replaced since I purt much have to pull the upper half apart to do this. (as well as the oil pan to replace that oil pump,,,) Leaks should be a thing of the past, right? Don’t jinx this Dood!!!

Easy does it till then. I will likely swap over J.O.B. tools to Buffalo for the week or so until I can dig in and get this shit over with.

Cool note to the aside here: I was cleaning up the shed, realized I had an almost full can of 134a on hand. what the hell, can’t hurt anything anymore than is already,,,

plugged it in, and opened the valve, and suddenly the compressor started cycling. really wasn’t down all that much, and while not full now, is damned close. AC Works!!! Not a major concern this time of year, but when things start warming up and getting wetter, clearing windows of fog is a huge bonus, and later when HOT,, well, yeah,,, I don’t really like using AC in the hicles, but there are times, (like when leaving work and wanting to cool off a bit) its a bonus. I much prefer to stay acclimated to the weather, and AC messes with my sinuses enough that I am quite frugal with its use. (to be quite frank about it: the only time I have used the AC in Buffalo was when I was driving Da around during the summer. He doesn’t handle the heat like I do.)

so,, AC works, parts a-coming, more debt to deal with, but I’m in a better frame of mind right now. NOW, if the weather holds for a bit longer so I don’t need to use Da’s basement garage for this crap (I actually prefer outside work, if I ain’t freezzing my arse off.)

Live!

Learn

Laugh

LOVE

LOAD!

Just a little break for a bit

lifter noise,,,

Seriously, I have had some misgivings about buying Bloo the last week or so. Not that I think the choice was bad: I knew what I was buying into. Doesn’t mean I don’t have ‘second thoughts’. Part of me (My dad immulations) is saying, ‘Shoulda just put that money into a new engine for Buffalo’.

The shitty part, BOTH sides of my psyche are correct. BLoo is my ticket into a better future where I have more control. Buffalo is a damned fine truck that just needs some TLC to be better. (she still spins wheels, just tired worn engine.)

And I am refusing to let one go over the other since I DO need the option of a backup vehicle in my future. (Caveat to that: if a cheap Honda Civic fell my way, I might let Buff go,, MIGHT,,, Buff has functions beyond ‘back up’, like Kayak hauler,,, A honda would have a harder time with that role, especially as I prefer long boats.

Other than the lifter noise (thank you Brudda B for the use of your ears,,, I can’t hear it in the cab at all.) Bloo did that little trip to Brudda B’s flawlessly. yes, she burned some oil (not seeing blue smoke, but it may be so thin, it would show in profile, but not in the mirrors.) She used roughly 1/2 quart there and back. Was silent before trip (I had the hood up and was checking things before leaving. Not 1000% confident in her yet.) but ticktickticktickticktick on arrival there. Came home last night and popped the hood when I parked (engine running) and its still there (we tossed in some trans fluid at Bs place, hoping the drive home would wash out any gunk gumming up the lifter, if that was the case.)

Yes, I can ‘alleviate’ that issue by running THICK oil for a time. but the Engine was designed to use 5 and 10 weights, not 20+ (EPA restrictions on the manufactureres) Heavy oil really only masks the problem.

OR,

I can do the other ‘solution’ of “let her sit” until such time as I can do a top end refresh and new lifters/cam (tune of about $500 in parts) If a lifter is really bad, it will eat a cam. Is this one such? Dunno,,, better to guess to the extreme.

I don’t like either case. Sitting she is eating copious amounts of cash (that I could shut the flow off to, by dropping her insurance for the time being: not optimal.) Sitting, she has no chance of helping me turn a dime, Running with thick oil is just delaying the inevitable and making it potentially worse.

and Buffalo is TIRED dammit!!! Runs like a scalded cat, but idles like an old man on a walker. Handles in wet weather badly, thanks to that worn out front steering geometry and is wearing tires out for same reason.

‘TIcket to the future‘,,,, I keep saying that as I listen to the noises,,, Can’t buy similar for what I have put in her so far: still ‘cheaper to keep her’,,,,

But I’d like a break for a moment,,,

Gotta ‘grin and bear it’ right? keep pushing and eventually, it will all be right. Because there won’t be a thing untouched on that old truck LOL,,, yeah,,,

I knew what I was buying into: just feeling a little remorse, mostly because I am at wits end in the financial department, and not seeing a solution to that, that isn’t centered around the problem child being operational.

And dammit!!!! she ran SO DAMNED GOOD there,,, Hit 80W at 65-70, she just PURRRRRREEEEDDDDDDD!!!!! Didn’t need to shift gears until I got stuck behind a slow mover in the interchange. up/down hills, just change throttle position and she went up and down those hills with the same SBC rumbling purr of a big cat being content. Highway speed on 75? same!!! No slow creep up, just roar to speed and purred right along

No weird tire noises, or shimmies,,, Like a new truck with an exhaust leak (she is a bit on the loud side under load.)

Even on the way home,,, I didn’t shift gears at all until I was getting off 75S at my exit. Over 40 miles in 5th gear, even when shifting from 80E to 75S was in 5th. Engine rpms were the only change and she transitioned speeds with no lugging or chugging.

more parts to buy, more time under grease and oil, more ‘insurance’ for the future, right?

I’ll shush now. I know what to do, just wanted to vent a bit (and believe me, there is MUCH more to vent about than a tick-tick-ticky Twuck: I don’t unload ‘everything’ on y’all.)

L,L,L,L,L!

(, ‘)

((note: I also know that there are little issues in this truck that are NOT going to rear their heads ‘sitting’. Like that lifter suddenly starting to tick. Might have been gummed up with goop acting normal, then getting washed cleaned and collapsing. Sitting, would never have shown its true colors. That leads to other problems. Yes, I realize, I should have pulled the motor and done a full refresh on things, but the plan didn’t account for that. Now I Pay.))