As another Lame cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
Ok this post is......good news and frowner news.
We pulled the F 250 Two Chiefs away from the road and out of the cow fodder pile, and that went pretty good, as I was tired of walking another 50 yards to get shit to fix this old girl.
As I was low on batteries, I got one out of the Farmall Super MTA. Ok, charged it up, after I had to change the plug in which was not working, which is always fun in wasting more time on shit that needs to be done, and I got the pick up to go "WOOOOW", one time, and then click.
I figured the battery was shot as it got cold over winter the winter before and I had to use the charger to get the M started to boost it, so went to work on the GMC to start that after the HAARP winter......nothing, would not even start charging. It did leak though.
So took both batteries out. Went to put chicken in Grandpa's oven as ours is on the fritz, and to town we went. First store was an auto store........batteries should have both been under warranty. The little dude took it to the back, then after 5 minutes came back and said something about having test it to put a charge in it, and we could come back........I was like, "What the hell is this". The other guy in there said to just give us a battery, so that is what the little fellar did, and one battery replaced that needed it.
So we go to the farm store. That battery was under warranty for 2 years. The gal says, "Oh no, that is our store number on it. You got it in 2021 so it is not under warranty. I was like, "2021 to 2023 is two years, but I didn't say anything.
So went back, found a guy, he found a battery, and I asked him. He said, "Oh no, you see the year is 2021, that is one year and 2022 is two years, and this is 2023 so that is 3 years".
I thanked him and TL and I thought what kind of fucked up math this all was.
So back at the counter I started asking questions with TL again about the numbers and they called the old battery guy up front. He looked at it, studied it. Could not figure out the numbers either, and then said, "2021 to 2023 is two years, replace the battery with any battery they want".
I was most thankful as this battery stuff was like trying to redeem a royal slave child it seems. Orders must be out to screw people over.
So home we went, put the battery in the GMC. Fired right up.
Put the battery into the Ford........CLICK. So as I was clicking away, it finally made connection. I did take the nuts loose on the solenoid, and that as not it, so I think maybe the ground or on the starter is dirty. It did wing it over. Sounded proper and then she fired.
Do not celebrate yet, as the reason she fired is I put gas into the carb. It ran for about 10 seconds, cloud of smoke as shit from the reservation went into the atmosphere, and then it quit. Poured in some more gas an voila, she fired up again and then quit.
If information is success, I now knew it was not getting gas from the fuel pump, lines or tank as there is old gas in the tank.
The wonderful part is, the engine was not stuck which was another chore now that I do not have to deal with.
It either has a loud muffler or needs a muffler. The engine though sounds really good.
So I poured in some anti freeze. My 12 dollar lesson follows. TL says that TL can hear something running out. The wind is blowing and I tell TL that is just coolant trickling into the engine as I can not see anything. I pour some more and TL finds the leak.
Frown time as I'm thinking a cracked engine block, without thinking it through, a split hose or a soft plug is out.
So I crawl under the pick up and reach my hand up behind the engine frame brace mount and am feeling for a split or crack in the block. I instead find a round hole, a soft plug hole without the soft plug in it.
TL spots the other soft plug looks like it has some liquid seep too. Is more for the future tense.
It now makes a bit more sense as the Squaw Man had left inside the pick up an engine block heater. I thought it was to my advantage, until I discovered the oldster or one of the papoose had knocked the soft plug out and had not put the block heater in. That is the theory, or there was not coolant in it, and the water froze and pushed the soft plug out.
Hell of a place to have one go out as it is in a hard spot.
Oh well, we gain knowledge in this. We now know the 360 V8 engine is in good shape. No cracked block, no water in the oil and it is good did not start as it would have gotten hot in the soft plug out and I would have been poring anti freeze down the soft plug hole.
I think the wiper hoses which are vacuum are gone. The choke cable does not seem hooked up either. The brakes seem to have a master cylinder which is new, which I opened and it is full. TL though noted there are not brakes in this pick up, so the Squaw Man put a new master on, because it had no brakes and it still does not have any brakes. There is not even resistance there, so who knows if something got unhooked or there is air in the lines, which should feel spongy, but this is another to do list.
I think the fix for the soft plug is putting in the engine block heater. For all I know Squaw Man got some wrong size, I will know more later in trying to remedy that. I will ask JYG about the soft plugs as he will know as he blows them out of engines.
I had hoped to be able to start this thing and use it to haul cattle and trailers from JYG, but this is now my non priority item. Will work in it when I have some spare time. I may jack it up and put it on blocks to get it up so I can see what is going on and stabilize it so it does not fall on me. Easier to work on things too.
Now the drama is fuel line clean up. As I put the tractor battery back in the tractor as I have to use that, I will just have to do the fuel thing or invest in another battery. Maybe JYG has one I can get. He is usually short on them too.
Anyway the good news is, the engine runs, will start and it is the auxiliary stuff which is in the fuel and cooling system. which is plugging the holes in one and opening up what is blocked in the other.
We will get Two Chiefs running and driving around. Just is a bit more to getting to that point as with non donors, I have to do the work myself, and this is stuff I never have done before. Time for Gaytube and an education in new things I'm going to have to know.
agtG
