[3SheetsDiesel]

Since the belt broke, make sure that you don’t have a piece of the old belt stuck behind a pulley somewhere, also make sure that all the fasteners dealing with the belts are tight, and that the belts are tensioned properly.

[3SheetsDiesel]

According to all the information I can find about engine disassembly for your truck, which for anyone else reading this thread is a 1997 Nissan pickup with the 2.4 engine, all you have to do is remove the big bolt from the middle of the crank pulley and t

[3SheetsDiesel]

I’m partial to Permatex synthetic caliper lube myself.

[3SheetsDiesel]

Found what I was looking for._x000D_
_x000D_
I found the magazine article with the carburetor sizing formula in it.

[3SheetsDiesel]

You’re going to need a 14mm socket, a 12mm socket and some extensions.

[3SheetsDiesel]

If you look at the threaded part of the link, where it goes into the rubber part, there should be an opening for an Allen key.

[3SheetsDiesel]

Whenever I come across a drum brake that’s being ornery and not wanting to come off, I bash it with my 32oz dead-blow hammer.

[3SheetsDiesel]

The only thing you may notice is that it’s going to be louder.

[3SheetsDiesel]

Depends on the engine and how far over-filled it is.

[3SheetsDiesel]

Let me preface this post by saying that I’m in kind of a bad mood and I’m also more than a little drunk, so if I come across as an asshole, I apologize in advance._x000D_
_x000D_
If you don’t like the price of a given service, or don’t like how long it took, do the s

[3SheetsDiesel]

We use a company called Keystone at my shop whenever we need new headlight and/or tail light assemblies. They seem to be good quality lights, but beyond that I don’t really have much experience with replacement things of that nature. The one time I needed to replace a headlight on something I owned, I just went to a junkyard and got one that hadn’t been hit by a deer.

[3SheetsDiesel]

Here’s the same advice I give to everyone just getting into this line of work. Stay off of the tool trucks until you’re absolutely certain that this is what you want to do for a living. I’ve seen lots of people come into this field, drop thousands of dollars right out of the gate on a big tool box and some tools to put in it, only to discover, 6 or 7 months down the road, that they can’t stand turning a wrench for a living and now they’re stuck with a huge tool bill for tools that they don’t want anymore.

Get tools from Sears or Harbor Freight when you’re starting out, that way if you discover that you don’t like this sort of thing, you’ve only got a couple hundred tied up in tools rather than a few grand. Just know that tools from Harbor Freight are cheaper for a reason, they’re not going to hold up to constant, daily use the way that professional grade tools will, but you’re going to pay for the quality.

[3SheetsDiesel]

Short trip driving like that is hard on oil and exhaust parts, since they never really get hot enough to boil out the moisture that builds up internally. If it was mine, I’d replace the exhaust from the cylinder head back with stainless steel and then forget about it entirely. Just be aware, that about the only sort of stainless steel exhaust you’re likely to find would be a performance system, which may or may not get you the “evil eye” from the local police, so check your local laws before you go changing parts.

As far as the oil goes, back when I was doing the daily super-short trip driving thing I changed my oil every 5 months, regardless of mileage, and my car’s been getting fully synthetic oil since it was new. I’d also make it a point to go for a long drive at least once every other week to let everything get to operating temperature. I’d recommend that you do the same, but that’s just me.

[3SheetsDiesel]

Personally speaking, I always recommend replacing struts on both axles at the same time, to keep the ride quality even. I’ve had customers come back complaining of a weird ride after only replacing struts on one axle, so I always recommend that all of them get replaced at the same time.

[3SheetsDiesel]

When I was a GS, way back in 2002, I was going to an automotive tech school at the same time. When I graduated, I got moved up to a technician. Usually it takes roughly a year before a GS gets promoted, but that’s really only if the aforementioned GS shows an interest in being a tech, and preferably shows some mechanical aptitude. Talk with your boss after you’ve been there a while and tell him (or her as the case may be), that you’d like to try being a tech and see if they’ll let you do some basic stuff, and/or make you someone’s apprentice.

I know being someone apprentice would have helped me way back in the day, but it didn’t happen.

[Author]

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