"When I Was Younger, So Much Younger Than Today..."

Maybe some of the rest of you are like me. If you take on a project or task intending to do it yourself, it practically kills you to have an unanticipated need to ask someone else to help. It’s embarrassing, in a way. It kind of feels like, “hey, um, so I really screwed up and bit off more than I could chew, and I need you to come bail me out. kthx.”

But it happens. So it was with the Eagle’s transfer case. It was too heavy and oddly shaped to put in with my merely human strength and inadequate tools. So on Tuesday I enlisted some help, like I mentioned last time, and together we managed to finesse the case onto the adapter housing and line it up just right to slide it into position. 

It’s back where it belongs:

The transmission ran great under no load, and when I tested it with the transfer case attached, I got the same results. One more hurdle cleared. 

The one disconcerting bit that keeps me from saying VICTORY again is that the speedometer doesn’t work. The gear sits in the rear part of the transfer case and should have worked with this test, so I’ll have to take that out and investigate.

• Reinstall starter and brace
• Put in the transfer case
• New transmission fluid cooler line to replace the one I had to break
• Fix speedometer
• New u-joints for the driveshafts
• A new driver’s side CV axle in the front
• Install new exhaust components
• Change oil and brake fluid
• Some new seat belts ($$)
• New (stock) rims and tires ($$)
• New shift indicator cable (which keeps the gearshift from moving accidentally)
• Service the front and rear differentials
• New gas springs for rear hatch
• Insurance, emissions, title, registration
• Flush coolant and repair heater core with some stop-leak and a prayer
• Fix whatever makes the A/C compressor scream when it’s on
• De-grease the engine bay
• New under-hood insulation
• Interior detailing 
• New paint job. Desperately needed. ($$$$)