Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Dragging the Green Monster from the Grave...

[David_VT]

Hello,
I made the decision to invest in my rusty junk yard bound 99 so to make it operational and safe as my rural VT winter alternative to the comfortable quiet state surplus Crown Vic (cheap old cruiser). We often find ourselves with unplowed roads which the responder gear freighted Vic simply can't navigate despite top shelf snows.

I have been posting here since I joined in mid 99 after purchasing the mighty green monster that May. I have been very inactive of recent while the truck sat without brake lines for well over a year.

I thought I would try to roll my experiences of late and in the near future into one thread in this forum and perhaps one in the non drivetrain forum... . Perhaps it will help others make informed decisions about investing in life support for their failing rigs (or not investing).

---- some history up to now ---
Past- I drove the truck hard and 'put it away wet', I expected quick cold weather operations as a fire and EMS responder, exposed it to salty rural dirt roads, floated through our '5th season' mud, never garaged, rarely fully washed, amsoil engine oil from the first change, grease applied regularly, mild horsepower upgrades enough to destroy the OEM clutch pretty quick, never really towed much as it was honestly bought as a bad weather new england area commuting vehicle with highway gears.....

Recent- replaced one brake line and drove rarely for about a year, lost all brakes and limped it home on the parking brake only to leave it for over a year in the driveway. I started and moved it frequently but that was it. Finally as we headed towards this winter I had a flat bed haul it to a shop...

On the road- it now has a real legit inspection sticker, my wallet is light a few K, the brakes all work, new shocks, and the front end is full of new parts for the third time... .

Now- (drivetrain only)
4WD CAD VACUUM CANISTER NIPPLES ROTTED OFF - driving back from the shop was a great feeling until I hit the first grade with the first sticking snow of the season... Posi rear end had the truck fish tailing immediately... Same old empty dodge snow performance so I flipped in 4wd only to find it wanted to pop out and flash the dash light. . Yesterday I crawled under to find the twin CAD vacuum hose connector fall off in my hands. I hit the rusted bolts with pb blaster last night and will try to rip the CAD drive off today. . I am thinking pseudo posi-lok by moving the fork to full time position.

BLOWBY SIGNS - I don't think I will see much rust down the center of the truck. There is a nice black cone of oil that starts at the bottom of the blowby hose and continues rearward. Perhaps I should Y that to outside the frame so to catch the rotten metal cab flooring. . . Seriously I don't use much oil at all, so this must be the collection of a very fine long term mist?? Perhaps I should try to capture the oil to a bottle as I have seen others do?

NV4500 3rd SYNCRO - this was likely self inflicted by my mid life crisis hp toys and showing off. I guess I have to live with it. "I am my own warranty... . "

SEAL LEAK AT FRONT OF REAR DRIVESHAFT- this one concerns me. I saw a nice spread of redish oil under the truck that clearly is coming from the seal at the front of the driveshaft. I don' want to run anything dry. What is involved in replacing that seal? Would it be a driveway fix?

--- thus is the fate of a nice new truck dropped into a salt loving part of the world ---

(I will not buy another expensive new vehicle as long as I live in this part of the country)

 

[Bob4x4]

your transfer case out put seal is an easy one,pull the driveshaft,inspect the yoke for wear and that the plug in the yoke is not leaking. Pop the old seal out and drive the new seal in

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Glad to hear the Green Monster is being driven again! Seems reading the boards over the years 3rd Gear syncro is fairly common issue, most common gear to have a problem.



Rear pinon seal shouldn't be too bad, mainly cracking the nut loose after you drop the driveshaft. I think it's on there at around 250 ft/lbs if memory serves and that's before adding rust into the equation.



I sometimes wonder how well a fine coating of motor oil would work as rust prevention, if people actually use it that way or not. Reading stories like this makes me glad to be here in the northwest where 20yr old pickups are still pretty rust free. My '96 at 473,000 miles is finally showing a couple bubble spots behind the right front wheelwell.

 

[David_VT]

Help...
I did the 4WD CAD manual lock by moving the fork past the c-clip and reinstalling the c-clip to keep the fork in the locked position. It seemed to work well for two test drives with zero 'pops' as was the norm before the 'fix'. However today in snow I drove about one mile and then as I started up a hill the 'pop' returned.
When I had the CAD box open, the axle splines looked good and free of defects. I can't see inside the sliding coupler.

QUESTION, where should I look now? The truck is in rough shape so spending too much on this does not make sense. If I pull the shafts, should I replace the right side shaft with the late gen2 shaft that does not have a CAD?

QUESTION, how do I know that this is the CAD slipping and not the transfer case?

Thx

 

[David_VT]

Hello,
This is an update on the rusty Green Monster. Is was sidelined for a bit due to the front axle disconnect still not working despite many attempts to fix it!
My friend managed to weld enough to the splines on each side of the slide to force the disconnect slide to stay in place.
FINALLY I have 4wd and after a week of driving in the snow, I feel confident enough to post the success to you all!

Rough starting was cured with a set of some reasonably priced Walmart batteries. The last set from there lasted a long time. It warms my heart to hear that 3 cylinder idle

I have driven highway, my horrid back road and even backed a car hauler loaded with wood up a snow covered and unplowed hill.

Now to dive into that heater blower that only works on high anymore... .
And to rip out 13 years of add on wiring that no longer is needed (strobes,siren, rusted espar, etc).
(The fueling box stays of course)

Now it is again the beast I fell in love with!
(Ok maybe not the part with body patches, rotted off rear bumper, and less than perfect brakes)