Little updates, here are some.
Gerry's been experiencing this roughness/ vibration for a while. It's not so bad that I think anything is being hurt by it, but it's ****ing irritating and I am Captain Obsessive when it comes to this stuff. So as mentioned, I pulled the front shaft and we drove to Galveston (ew) and back with no big issue. The roughness was decreased, but not gone. OK, we'll touch on that more. Trip was great and Edgar loves the beach.
So we've been driving in RWD for a few weeks now. I don't love it. Due to the roughness I'm avoiding, the idea of a part-time kit makes sense, but honestly, the trucks just don't drive as well in RWD. I miss my front end.
The other day I decided to isolate the diff by pulling off the front hub flanges.
@LJE whipped me up a set of hub covers so I could run around like this for a little bit and feel it out.
I'm happy (happy? Am I?) to report that the truck feels much smoother with the diff isolated. This tells me there's something between the flanges that is causing this roughness, and it's something that spins while the flanges are attached, but not while they're removed. OK, so bearings and the actual gears inside. Cool, other than those being the pricey parts. CVs are relatively new OEM and have pretty much only road mileage on them. Wheel bearings feel very smooth. What does the hivemind think?
While all of my friends are in Colorado at the Cruisers on the Rockies event (which I'm sponsoring this year!) I finally got around to knocking out some little projects that I've been sitting on.
First up, the center console organizer from Alex
@LJE . I may have bought the first one, but it's been tucked in a map pocket for a while. Decided to grab a few EDC items that I knew would be handy. Little multi-tool with some drive bits, torch lighter, sharpie, pen, and a flashlight (not pictured). This is a great accessory and if you don't have one, you should.
Then I did my battery terminals. I've had this on 'the list' for years but was inspired by
@LJE's printed terminal cover. The material is soft like rubber, works great here. Terminal is Moreoso brand, #74098.
What's next? I think a speed sensor is going out. Over harsh bumps at highway speed, it'll make the speedo jump around. My fuel gauge is also starting to slow to react when refueling. Likely the sending unit, easy job. I also need to pull the front diff out and figure out what's not right inside.
Mileage is 359k. She's getting old, but she's still amazing. My Ms drives Gerry almost exclusively, and is just as attached to the truck as I am. Her own car never goes anywhere and takes up my garage space. So, we're selling the 560SEL and the Camino, I'm getting a 570 and she's getting an LS460. Gerry becomes extra car/ camping truck, but not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.