What ya working on?

[yellowrosefarm]

This is the lx186 John Deere I had at my other place. The part of the frame that the transaxle bolts to broke out on both sides. If you have an lx series mower please look at this area for cracks. JD makes a bolt on kit to reinforce for $240. I didn’t go that route.

 

[IHKeith]

The new shop is coming along, I have two operational hoists so far, the third hoist is half installed.  
 

[MT Matt]

Dropped the loader mounts today.

She is free after 35 years of bulldozing service!  Dad wore that Dual loader out.  I changed the oil but thought I had a filter for it. Headed to Napa in the morning for that. Needs a good bath also. 

[hardtail]

Turning into Red Lodge IH down there 😁

[IH OAK]

On 6/21/2025 at 8:52 PM, yellowrosefarm said:

I like that truck with the rollback and crane. I'm not sure I've ever seen that combination before. 

It's interesting to drive. It likes to roll around, and it's overweight if you put much on it

[Gearclash]

NV4500 going back together. 
 

And the NP241 transfer case all apart.

Noticed the input shaft felt loose; upon disassembly found that the input shaft bearing was severely worn. Oil pump has more scoring on its parts than I like so time for new seals, bearings, and an oil pump. 

[Gearclash]

Clutch is junk. Stock replacement with 100k miles on it. Flywheel housing will have to come off so I can dig out the broken bolts. I suspect they seized from galvanic corrosion. Should have greased them generously when I had the clutch out in 2008. 

[IHKeith]

I was doing an alignment on a 2004 Ram 3500 today, it kept throwing off the steering wheel lock I had on the steering wheel.  I haven’t ran into such a thing before but figured something was stiff/seizing in the steering.

I isolated it to the LF spindle, I figured it was the axle u joint, but upon taking the axle out the u joint was a little stiff but not enough to cause the issue.  It seems to be the lower ball joint is stiff. I haven’t ran into that before but it makes sense that it isn’t the u joint because it didn’t wonky like a seized u joint usually does.

The truck drove pretty good except for the steering wheel being off.  It just had a used front differential installed, who knows how long it was sitting so the stiff ball joint makes sense.  The stiff ball joint probably helped it to not wander like they can.

[IHKeith]

It’s supposed to rain tomorrow so I have the shop full.  It’s sure nice having the bigger space.  I have another truck in the garage too.  The 12000 pound two post was shipped with the wrong upper cross bar, so it isn’t operational yet.

 I have to replace the rusted off engine oil dipstick tube on the 2002 2500HD 8.1L.  The square body dump truck needs some patching in the box.  A couple round marker light holes filled in and a notch that was cut out probably for clearance on a trailer hitch.  I’m then installing some micronova led marker lights.  It needs a couple lights repaired, wipers and an oil change.  I bought the owner’s first car years ago, a 1980 Buick Electra Park Avenue.  It had a great horn, sounded like a train.  He has been after me to sell the horn back to him for years but while I was driving it I wouldn’t and after I stopped I had no time or desire to fuss about it.  Now that he has the truck pretty mint and I can install it, I gave in and let him have it.

[Gearclash]

1 hour ago, IHKeith said:

I was doing an alignment on a 2004 Ram 3500 today, it kept throwing off the steering wheel lock I had on the steering wheel.  I haven’t ran into such a thing before but figured something was stiff/seizing in the steering.

Some years ago I was getting grinding noises from the front end of my 1999 Ram 2500 (subject of above pictures).  I figured for sure I had front wheel bearings going out.  Popped the first wheel bearing out.  Hum.  Perfectly smooth.  Looked a little further and found that both front axle shaft U joints were seizing up.  

People like to cuss Dodge front axles but mine has been pretty trouble free and decent enough driving for a solid front axle 4x4.  From what I have seen, the Blue Oval products sporting a solid front axle are just as skilled at going into a terrifying death wobble as the Dodge axles. 

[IHKeith]

I agree.  The Dodge axles are not as bad as they sometimes are made out to be.  When a 94-present Dodge coil sprung solid front axle is in disrepair it can drive awful, but when it’s good, it’s nicer riding than an older leaf spring truck.  The leaf spring front super duties were decent riding compared to old trucks and less prone to wander than a Dodge but the rest of the front end was just as prone to wear.  
 

I have seen less track bar issues on coil front super duties than 94-02 Dodge but that doesn’t mean they are trouble free, I think Ford switched to coil in 2005, 11 years after Dodge.  The 94-02 Dodge have much shorter control arms than anything similar made in the last 20 years, the longer control arms do seem to ride better.  

In 90s trucks I think the best driving and longest lasting front end is a GM.  I remember my Dad saying that the IFS GMs were weak, car suspension to a young me in the early 90s.  20 years later I was changing the original upper ball joint on a 545000km 92 K1500.  I doubt a 92 W150 or F150 would keep a joint that long.  
 

If I had my pick of 1990-2000 diesel pickups, it would be a Dodge hands down.  Any criticism of the front end is negligible compared to 6.5 diesels and twin I beam style front ends.  That being said, if I needed a truck and the condition and price was right I’d buy anything from that period.

In my experience, working on all types and ages of vehicles for just over 20 years professionally, there aren’t that many lemons.  Some have issues early on whether it’s a perceived or actual design flaw, unfamiliar territory, expensive/unavailable parts, but for the most part once they have been around a while it isn’t as hard or all that bad.  
 

When I started working at Bennett Chev in May 2005 I thought the new cars were too complicated.  I was driving a 1981 Parisienne, carb all the way!!  Now I don’t find 2005 and down GMs too complicated.  They are relatively simple and as far as it needed to go for me.  Getting into 2007 up GM, they have serial data communication, Dodge and Ford jumped in soon after.  If one module goes bad it can cause havoc on unrelated systems.  A 2014 Ram’s ABS module went bad, couldn’t shift from park(8  speed dial shift) the brake pedal switch is a travel sensor, 3 wires and a circuit board inside, it’s signal is monitored by the ABS module, and transmitted through serial data to the PCM.  So no brake lights or brake signal to let you shift from park, and impossible to duplicate that computer signal to bypass.  
 

Problems like that are bigger than a death wobble I think.  I’m definitely old fashioned but I can compensate for a death wobble and drive across the country, maybe spend a 1000 bucks on parts and change them with a decently loaded 6 drawer toolbox, jack and jackstands.  No fancy scanner or dealership programming required.
 

 I admit, newer stuff performs when they work, and they have some nice features, even beyond creature comforts, seamless AWD, foolproof ABS and stability, wicked power and economy.  But at a significant cost and complexity, maybe at the mercy of an unavailable proprietary part.  
 

As awesome as a Cummins was in the first decade they don’t keep up to the expectations of most people today.  I’d say that my Dad’s 2023 Ram 1500 Hemi has more brake and speed pulling home a 75 Fleetwood than his 96 Ram 3500 Cummins.  The 96 is all you need, and it did it for 300000 miles, the 2023 wouldn’t lug it out as long with as few repairs.  If your old Cummins is getting tired but still solid, and you went all out, rebuild engine, transmission, diffs, suspension, door pins and seats, it would be expensive but other than ball joints and brakes what would you touch in 10 years? 
 

Other than when track bars were ridiculously expensive for 94-02s up until the mid 2000s there isn’t any problem you can’t solve with them.
 

 

[IH OAK]

I got the new F350 running and driving Thursday night. It still needs a ton of work but I have to say, it drives really nice. It's got about the nicest power steering of any older truck I've been around 

https://youtube.com/shorts/XBHHsf9wKuQ?si=cJrVceqQ4LQLFEUT

[farmallcubkid]

 

Went to the junkyard yesterday and stole a door off of a Silverado to steal the window and mirror out of to put on my yellow square body. Got them both on without breaking any thing thankfully.

[Gearclash]

Wonderful stuff, galvanic corrosion. Bonds aluminum to steel better than the most cunning engineer at NASA could ever hope to accomplish. Turns a 2 minute job into a 2 hour ordeal. If you look carefully at the ends of some of the fasteners you can see the aluminum smeared in the threads. Welding nuts on the end of the broken bolts is a waste of time on these until the end of the bolt is drilled out. Since the original bolt hole was a partially tapped through hole I was able to drill out about a 1/4 inch of the bolt end and let the rest of the broken piece turn out. Then run a tap through all the holes to clean them up and peel out the leftover bolt thread from drilling. 

[PJW360]

In between hay and juggling a heavy  workload I’ve managed to get back to the workshop forklift with a Perkins 4.203 I shall try and get wrapped up today so then I can get back to my Magnum 7220 Eng overhaul as parts are now sat here waiting for me to find time 

[IHKeith]

A friend of mine has a 2005 Chev 2500 that had rotten rockers and floors.  I had a 2000 Chev 1500 cab that is in good shape, so it was decided to put it on Ian’s truck.  Ian (not mechanically inclined) helped our friend Dan do most of the work today while I did customer jobs and I helped a little.  We need to remove everything from the old cab yet and the new one, to install the complete wiring harness, steering column and pedals from the old cab.  I look forward to seeing how compatible the 2000 4.8L 2wd, vacuum boosted brakes, cable throttle cab is with an electric 4wd, electric throttle, hydro boosted brake cab.  
 

 

[billonthefarm]

Tore up one of the pulling tractors.  Starting back together tomorrow.

[Alan Dinan]

Ouch!!

[td9inidaho]

Weather looks good for a week or so, the cut is on 

[Sledgehammer]

Started early and took a while. His is for someone who likes lanterns so I made it a little more pretty than normal. 

[dale560]

On 6/25/2025 at 8:20 PM, IHKeith said:

The new shop is coming along, I have two operational hoists so far, the third hoist is half installed.  
 

Did you move out of the smaller one? Looks good.

[iowaboy1965]

Put some more pieces back on the 560 tonight. 

[IHKeith]

4 hours ago, dale560 said:

Did you move out of the smaller one? Looks good.

Thanks!!  I am working out of both shops, the new one is just across the yard from the old one.  I need to do a ton of organizing and little setup stuff in the new one before I can move all my stuff over.  Sometime this week I hope to have made enough room for my big toolbox to come over.  I have been using my truck toolbox in the new shop so far.  
 

 

[int 504]

Working on MCVs and new front tires for the 504. using parts off the parts tractor when possible. One good wheel out of four. Did IH use the same metal for wheels that they made Scout bodies out of?

[billonthefarm]

Back together and ready to roll.