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Back for a third time

2K views 21 replies 3 participants last post by  stlswagger 
#1 ·
I've found my way back into a Trooper. This time, a 1989 white v6. My last Trooper was clean but blew up badly several years ago and my first, was an 1986 that probably still has pics on here.
Picked her up in Portland Oregon. Gonna need some front end repair from the previous owner accident. I had to have another one. 120,000 miles. Think the body work is beyond me. No frame damage or damage to the drivetrain. Anyways. Glad to be back again.
 

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#2 ·
Hey, that should buff out! :twisted: Saw that one in the classifieds recently.

Looks like a fender or 2, at least they bolt on. Core support maybe you can just pull it out and get it straight again.

A come-along hooked to a telephone pole makes a great substitute pulling stand.

IIRC the core support is held in with spot welds, so if you had to replace it you'd use a special cutter saw chucked in a drill motor to drill out each spot weld. Just a wee bit of work!

I see in your profile you've got a KA24DE in your '76 Datsun Pickup. I had a '77 King Cab long time ago, it was a fun rig. I bet really fun with a lot more horsepower!

I like my current '98 Frontier's KA24DE which has almost as much HP as the '90 King Cab 3.0 V6 that replaced the '77. But the '90 never got 28mpg+ on the hiway, as does the '98!

G'luck with the repairs.......ed
 
#3 ·
Thanks Ed. Body work isn't my thing. I can wrench pretty well but no help this time. I have a big evergreen tree in my back yard. Was gonna do just as you suggested as best I can. May need a body shop.

Yep saw it on CL and was still in love enough to trade him my 2004 Volvo XC70. Wife thinks I'm nuts but I just love these trucks and keep wishing I had one every time I see one on the road. Called uhaul and quickly put the deal together. In hindsight, I should've bought the lifted white one near Silverdale I test drove but the suspension just wasn't feeling safe.

Boy, need to upgrade my profile. I've had a lot of cars since that. Yeah my Datsun was pretty fun. Was a bit tight on space. One day I'll get an extended cab. I'm on long-term disability now and also a disabled vet, but hoping to fix as much as I can before probably going to a body shop. Guess all this free time now I can figure out welding and getting some pull points together. I'd say the 120k miles was unreal but match the carfax on average makes sense.

I may also buy the one north of me with a missing transmission. Have to put it on a credit card and guy wants cash. Trying to make myself sell a few other projects like my clean 1989 vw cabriolet. I have a 2.0 ABA motor in the garage I haven't swapped in yet and a California clean 1981 Mercedes 300SD. It's modded to the point I can roll coal if I want haha.

Looking forward to being a member again. My last Trooper. Timing was bad and had to sell it. Never doing that again!
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
88 trooper.jpg
Got my donor. 1988 with the 2.6 with the transmission pulled. $500. Wife won't be mad but I'll probably replace the transmission and keep it as a daily and/or parts car.
 

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#5 ·
That one sat on Craigslist for quite a while. Probably because they listed it in Parts instead of the Autos for Sale section.

Pretty good deal at $500 for a rig with a running engine! So was the transmission missing entirely, or did the broken carcass come with?
 
#6 ·
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Ed Mc. said:
That one sat on Craigslist for quite a while. Probably because they listed it in Parts instead of the Autos for Sale section.

Pretty good deal at $500 for a rig with a running engine! So was the transmission missing entirely, or did the broken carcass come with?
Ed Mc. said:
That one sat on Craigslist for quite a while. Probably because they listed it in Parts instead of the Autos for Sale section.

Pretty good deal at $500 for a rig with a running engine! So was the transmission missing entirely, or did the broken carcass come with?
The transmission is in the back. He said he pulled it because it stopped going into gear. Really nice guy. Has quite a few cars for sale. I may come back next year for an 1988 f250 Diesel. 85,000 miles. Been parked awhile because he said it wouldn't stay running. Sounds like the same issues I had on my '81 300SD. Once I got all the vacuum lines sorted out it runs like a top.
 
#7 ·
stlswagger said:
The transmission is in the back. He said he pulled it because it stopped going into gear. Really nice guy. Has quite a few cars for sale. I may come back next year for an 1988 f250 Diesel. 85,000 miles. Been parked awhile because he said it wouldn't stay running. Sounds like the same issues I had on my '81 300SD. Once I got all the vacuum lines sorted out it runs like a top.
Have you tried to move the shift lever? If it won't move, possibly the synchronizer keys are sheared. I had an old Datsun transmission that did that years ago. Tore it down and fixed the damaged parts and it shifted like a champ. I'm thinkin' the MUA5 is a bit harder to work on than the Datsun tranny, though!

Or, maybe, as so many have experienced, the clutch hydraulics went soft and wouldn't completely disengage the clutch. You wouldn't be able to move the shift lever when the engine was running in that case, either.

From what I understand the front case with integral bellhousing is not extremely difficult to pull, so if the tranny does have a problem, it might be a repairable thing. Mayhaps some exploratory surgery will be in order!
 
#9 ·
Ed Mc. said:
stlswagger said:
The transmission is in the back. He said he pulled it because it stopped going into gear. Really nice guy. Has quite a few cars for sale. I may come back next year for an 1988 f250 Diesel. 85,000 miles. Been parked awhile because he said it wouldn't stay running. Sounds like the same issues I had on my '81 300SD. Once I got all the vacuum lines sorted out it runs like a top.
Have you tried to move the shift lever? If it won't move, possibly the synchronizer keys are sheared. I had an old Datsun transmission that did that years ago. Tore it down and fixed the damaged parts and it shifted like a champ. I'm thinkin' the MUA5 is a bit harder to work on than the Datsun tranny, though!

Or, maybe, as so many have experienced, the clutch hydraulics went soft and wouldn't completely disengage the clutch. You wouldn't be able to move the shift lever when the engine was running in that case, either.

From what I understand the front case with integral bellhousing is not extremely difficult to pull, so if the tranny does have a problem, it might be a repairable thing. Mayhaps some exploratory surgery will be in order!
To be honest, I have to go back and pick it up so I didn't try playing around with it. By the way he sounded, it may not need a rebuild. I started it and held pressure/temp. Thought it had snowflakes but 6 wide chrome 15's. Actually heading back to his house tomorrow or Wednesday to pick it up. Have to rent a u-haul car transporter.
It would be nice is that Datsun fix would work. All the said is it was grinding trying to get into gear. You could be right. I'm retired now so have more time to figure things out before just paying someone else to do it where I can. The body isn't too bad. My 89 overall is better. I'd enjoy fixing and keeping both either way. I am pretty focused on getting the white one fixed. Told the wife I'd sell the VW. She's not a happy camper lol.
 
#10 ·
On the Sunny Side, since it sounds like you'll be towing 'er home with the front wheels off the ground, you won't have to roll under the rig and disconnect the driveshaft, already done. At least we hope so!!
 
#11 ·
Nah, all four wheels up. It's PNW and I'm about 40 miles from it. Just feel more comfortable on the hard
 
#13 ·
Took the white one to a few body shops. Wife doesn't like hearing it but glad I bought a donor car. Shame to hack it up but can't see another way to make this one right. Tried my tree in the yard yesterday but it just pulls the entire c
Truck. Don't have another stationary object. Considering the damage pushed up and over. I'd just swap the bodies but the white one overall is cleaner. Don't have a lift either so swapped bodies is still a paid item and both shops said it's cheaper to chop and fix.
 
#14 ·
I hate to see a straight body cut up for parts. Mechanical stuff is way easier to fix than body stuff, to me. If the 88 is as straight as it looks, I'd suggest finding one a little rougher as a donor. Guess I won't be in your wife's good graces, huh? :wink:

Mike
 
#15 ·
Is it the radiator core you need? AWCAW (All West Coast Auto Wrecking) in Shelton, WA has one for $100. There are a few more in WA, a couple hits in OR, and a lot more all over the country.

Go to http://www.car-part.com and plug in your year/make/model/part desired/zip code. You can sort the results by distance from your zip. You can find other body parts at this site as well, and it can search in a specific area, all over the country, or even Canada and beyond.

I agree with Mike, IMHO it'd be a shame to cut up a straight, non-rusty rig. Remember the value of these is going up all the time, and if you find a decent transmission you could get that one back on the road. Just a thought, FWIW.........ed

p.s there's a 5-speed out of a '91 4x4 Amigo at B and K Auto Salvage, in La Grande, OR for $200.
 
#16 ·
gruff54 said:
I hate to see a straight body cut up for parts. Mechanical stuff is way easier to fix than body stuff, to me. If the 88 is as straight as it looks, I'd suggest finding one a little rougher as a donor. Guess I won't be in your wife's good graces, huh? :wink:

Mike
Very valid point. Think I was just so anxious to be up and running. Picking the gold one up tomorrow. I'll see what's going on with the transmission. Those are cheap to replace.
 
#17 ·
Ed Mc. said:
Is it the radiator core you need? AWCAW (All West Coast Auto Wrecking) in Shelton, WA has one for $100. There are a few more in WA, a couple hits in OR, and a lot more all over the country.

Go to http://www.car-part.com and plug in your year/make/model/part desired/zip code. You can sort the results by distance from your zip. You can find other body parts at this site as well, and it can search in a specific area, all over the country, or even Canada and beyond.

I agree with Mike, IMHO it'd be a shame to cut up a straight, non-rusty rig. Remember the value of these is going up all the time, and if you find a decent transmission you could get that one back on the road. Just a thought, FWIW.........ed

p.s there's a 5-speed out of a '91 4x4 Amigo at B and K Auto Salvage, in La Grande, OR for $200.
You were both right. Think I was feeling buyers remorse which was set in by my wife going nuts about picking up two broken trucks.
I pulled the fender off this morning a d it looks like I can replace that section and the radiator support. Without pulling off more or have my other one to look at, I can't tell if the the frames twisted or not. I took both bumper supports off but whatever they were attached to are twisted pretty good. If I can pull things enough, I can go to a pick and pull for parts because at least the body damage looks like it could be sectional or cut that way.

Thanks all. I'll have my bearings tomorrow when I get the other truck here. No cutting up one good for another. If I have questions I'll ask with a nee thread and will also start two build threads. I may have my VW sold to someone tomorrow for a little profit which helps.
 
#18 ·
#19 ·
Read through the responses again. You guys both are spot on. I may pick up that transmission this weekend. I also want to deep dive that transmission link. The gold one would be the first of probably over 30 Troopers I've looked at over 20 years that "had a bad transmission." I don't want to hack either on of them. Now that I have parts off the path to fixing this one isn't so scary.
 
#20 ·
The 1988 no matter what you do, only goes into 1st and second. They did remove the entire driveline and transfer case as one. Pretty cool to see cruise control in one of these. Pretty much all the vacuum lines are cracked and since they drained the tank from the top and removed the driveline, I'm still catching mice inside with glue traps. I am going to keep it but still going to remove parts for my white one. 122k miles vs 270k miles means a lot. Have taken the spoiler off and the front end Trying to do as much as I can before heading to a body shop. When summer comes around I should have the ability to replace everything on the '88 and santize the interior. Have asthma and COVID scares me enough. So will strip her out, replace the tranny, and make it the trail rig.
 
#21 ·
Sounds like a good plan!

That cranky transmission may be repairable.

You may have caught a recent thread regarding ozone treatment of interiors, that should kill any pathogens and odors lurking within.
 
#22 ·
I know Ed. I'd like to get my 89 going. It's really clean and low miles. It's gonna take me a while to get the LS going. Any time I see wiring cut I freak out. So I'll just take my time and eventually get there on it.
 
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