I call it the Monolith. I have plans for it.

[ootdega]

Voc Rehab. programs are pretty good in some states. Wishing you the best.
I used to deal with a big company in Jerome Id. It has a big fleet of trucks. What company would it be ? I don't remember.

There are several around here. Glanbia, Transystems, Blick, and those are just the ones my stepdad's worked for.

And thank you.

[Mainemantom]

Voc Rehab. programs are pretty good in some states. Wishing you the best.
I used to deal with a big company in Jerome Id. It has a big fleet of trucks. What company would it be ? I don't remember.

[ootdega]

I met with Vocational Rehabilitation today and they said they can help me find on-the-job training somewhere and possibly help me get tools. I'll be starting off really slowly and going from there to see what I can and can't do. I have a bunch of knowledge, just not a lot of experience.

I'll be installing the shocks some time in the next few days, and I'll see about doing the fender while I'm at it. I should have the money for a rolling pin and a rubber mallet.

If I had the tools, I could do a lot of the stuff I plan to do myself rather easily if I had a shop manual to consult. I'll see about getting one of those sometime soon.

[ootdega]

After looking at my budget for this month, I've decided to actually go and GET a rolling pin and a rubber mallet, and try to take care of the rear fender myself.

Spring is coming up and it should be getting warmer soon, so my bipolar disorder will be cycling up again and I'll both be able to motivate myself and have the weather to act on it.

So, in order, this is what I'm gonna try to accomplish this season:
1. Repair fender
2. Install front shocks
3. Replace vacuum lines
4. Alternator conversion
5. Cornering lights
6. Paint/polish trim (which will involve kicking out the driver's side of the front bumper a bit, and possibly fabricating a new front air splitter)
7. Trim and install fender flares

It's a long list, but they're not huge or expensive projects.

I'm going to be trying to get a set of tools and an Explorer V8 to tinker with by the end of the year. I'll be working on the brush guard and stuff on the side, of course, but I haven't placed when I'm going to install it yet because I don't know when it'll be ready.

[sly]

yeah... I'd drill a smaller hole in the center of the bolt and use an "easy-out" to try and get it out.

[ootdega]

Thats bs. Marketed towards that car and then clearly come into contact with the existing trim. Nothing a little cut off wheel on a dremel can't handle.

I'll have to be really, REALLY careful, but yeah, that's doable.

For the broken bolt, is there enough room for you to fish it out if you drill it and the remaining chunk falls inside? If so, drill it out with a bit just large enough for the core of the bolt, but not the threads and then just chase the threads to clean ot the rest of the old bolt. You can take what remains to a hardware store for some grade 8 bolt that matches.

Nope, if it falls in there, it isn't coming out unless I cut the end of it off.





But I won't need to save the bolt, since I've got the other three just like it.

If I can get the head of it off, I can do the rest with vicegrips. The main problem is THIS is what I'm working with.







You can probably see why I'm running out of ideas.

If you look closely, you'll see that the other three bolts are also somewhat stripped. This is the problem with recessed heads.

[sly]

For the broken bolt, is there enough room for you to fish it out if you drill it and the remaining chunk falls inside? If so, drill it out with a bit just large enough for the core of the bolt, but not the threads and then just chase the threads to clean ot the rest of the old bolt. You can take what remains to a hardware store for some grade 8 bolt that matches.

[87gtVIC]

Thats bs. Marketed towards that car and then clearly come into contact with the existing trim. Nothing a little cut off wheel on a dremel can't handle.

[ootdega]

Any chance you can hold up one of the new fender flares onto the front fender of your car and snap a picture? I am curious how they look.

Well, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is they do, in fact, perfectly fit the curvature of the wheel wells.

The bad news is the holes are not drilled in the right places. That's easily solved, not a big deal.

The OTHER bad news is...we have a bit of a problem.









...Now I don't doubt that these could be shaven down to look and fit right here, but...seriously?




...In other news, the brush guard. I also have good news and bad news.

The good news: I took one of the wraparounds out with me while I was at it, and made a pleasant discovery. Normally, these are supposed to be mounted pointing upward, but if you turn them upside-down...





BINGO. LOOK AT THAT. PERFECT.

The bad news:

And I think you need heat to extract that bolt you are fighting with.

At this point the thing is stripped beyond hope. In one direction, anyway. For some reason there's still grip just fine in the other direction. The only way this thing is coming out is drilling it out, and if I did that I would need to get a new bolt.

That would be fine if I could actually get a new bolt. Does anyone know any way to get a bolt duplicated?



And finally, the last bit of news I have:

I am 90% sure I've got a vacuum leak. The car struggles to find an idle and idles higher than it should, but it finds the right idle for a few seconds after I press the gas sometimes. That, coupled with the squeaky noises the blender doors are still making when I turn the heater off, means I almost certainly have a vacuum leak. I should probably get all of the vacuum lines replaced anyway.

Anyone know what it might cost to do that? I don't think it's hurting anything right now, but I should get it fixed soon-ish.

[87gtVIC]

Any chance you can hold up one of the new fender flares onto the front fender of your car and snap a picture? I am curious how they look.

And I think you need heat to extract that bolt you are fighting with.

[ootdega]

Well I tried the JB Weld and it ended up just breaking right off, so I think it's safe to say that bolt isn't coming off. If I'm gonna put a rubber gasket on the end of it I'll have to do it the same way I did the rubber bands.

Next I'll be clearing the rust out of the thing, getting the dent out, and polishing out the scratches. I'll see about rust-proofing the inside of it for good measure. The WD-40 that came out of the thing was pitch black.

[sly]

Figures

[ootdega]

This one's flush with the plate, so vicegrips won't be helpful...

I've put a rubber band pseudo-gasket around the end of the tube and fed a shitload of WD-40 through the other end, it's on the floor upside down right now. I'm gonna put some JB Weld on the head of the bolt around the hex key later and let it dry.

Of course it has to be the LAST one that gives me this problem.

[sly]

more PB Blaster/WD-40 penetrant... heat... and vice grips.

[ootdega]

I forgot the link, haha. That's what I get for trying to reply to more than one thread at a time!

Potentially helpful thread: http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...my-car-(Grrrr)

Hm...that's not really the kind of problem I have, and there doesn't seem to be a solution in the thread. Thanks though.



This last bolt is being insanely stubborn. It's really, REALLY rusted in there to the point where I've stripped the hex bolt trying to break it loose. Does anyone have a solution?