Grit

The weather wasn't nearly as bad today but I disconnected the snorkle and got back to Cleveland alright. Can't thank you enough Mike. You really helped me get through one of the worst ever of "those days" For future reference to anyone that permanantly loses the keys to their 720. If you take the plastic cover off from around the steering column and wiper/signal controls (Requires removal of a couple phillips head screws) you can remove the ignition switch assembly from the steering column by removing 4 bolts. Two of the bolts are phillips head and the other two lack slots for a driver; for security purposes I'd imagine. These two bolts are soft enough that you can dig a flathead screwdriver into the side of them and force them to unscrew little by little. Once you get these off the ignition switch assembly will fall away from the steering column and free the steering wheel. At this point you can remove a phillips head screw from the back of the ignition switch to remove the switch from the locking mechanism. Then just turn the switch with a screwdriver to start. The whole process takes a lot more time and effort than just brute forcing the steering lock and hot-wiring but shouldn't cause any permanant damage.

Didn't have to splice wires since I got the whole ignition switch off. Just unscrewed the switch from the column lock and turned with a flathead. Started right up. Guess my brother will have to keep and eye out for my key's once all this snow melts. The engine is now behaving normally. I'm pretty sure you were right on point number 2/ Mike. Especially since the only two times the issue started were on the interstate when cold wet snowy air was being forced fed into the snorkel. My metalized hose to the exhaust manifold was still intact and reasonably secured. I should still get hose clamps for it though since as of right now it's only held on by the plastic flex ring things.

Still haven't found my keys... Good thing my brother still had an old style wire coat hanger. Really glad I used a free harbor freight screwdriver coupon and left the screwdriver in the truck as well. Also glad the steering column lock has soft metal security screws. They didn't have a slot for a screw driver so I unscrewed them from the side with a flat-head and brute force. Unfortunately I don't have my service manual with me to find the ignition wiring diagram. I guess it should be laying around google somewhere...

#1 would make a lot of sense by the way. I have had slight stalling issues in the past during high humidity conditions and I know for a fact that the "hose" is poorly secured on my vehicle.

Thanks mike. I am familiar with Items you mentioned; I will check them all out when I find my key's... I wish there was a face palm emoticon, I may have dropped my keys in the snow...

I have a 1985 2WD King Cab with auto trans, stock carb, and maybe 2 year old vacuum lines. Dunno when the fuel filter was last replaced. So Erie just got hit with like a foot and a half of snow. Oh god the rust... Anyways I'm trapped and am trying to get back to Cleveland. I was driving down the interstate, couldn't' see more than 20 ft.. in front of me in a blizzard and next thing you know I can't accelerate. I pulled off at the next exit and did some very light troubleshooting. When in drive I can get to probably about 20 miles an hour, sometimes more sometimes less. If I give it any significant amount of gas it starts to sputter and all power is lost. With my window open I could hear it sputter and sound almost like a backfire but not nearly as loud. In neutral I can rev it and it sounds and feels pretty normal. So I shut it down started it back up, same deal. So I shut it down jiggled the plug wires, took off my air filter cap looked at the carb for about a second, jiggled the plug wires a little more, put the airfilter cap back on, and started it up. The truck was now behaving normally. I decided that I shouldn't be driving in this storm with a sick truck so I turned around and went back Erie. Within 15 minutes the problem returned. I made it back to safety, but I'm now snowed into a parking lot with over a foot of snow surrounding my 2 wheel rear wheel drive truck. (No sand in the back) Based on everything I told you above I've determined the problem could be anything, but if anybody sees something obvious I'll go try and check it out. Of course since basically all the surviving 720's are out west I'll probably not get an answer for another 3 hours.

I'll ask again, Can anybody identify the missing filter in this picture? It's dome shaped and goes over what I believe to be the air temperature sensor. It goes along with a rubber o-ring and a plastic retaining thing.

I bought a "rear skirt" from them without any troubles. Sometimes it's hard to tell what part you are buying though since the only images you get are exploded drawings. I ended up ordering the wrong part once when trying to replace a fusible link and related plastic connecters

About time for inspection again... Heres whats under the hood as I promised nearly a year ago. (also taken nearly a year ago) My photo albums with an excessive ammount of photos are now public General unsorted truck photos http://s1118.photobucket.com/albums/k614/FortyGR1T/Truck/ Because I enjoy taking things apart for no particular reason heres a mostly dissasembled 1985 KC Nissan 720 interior http://s1118.photobucket.com/albums/k614/FortyGR1T/Truck/Interior/ Engine Compartment Summer 2012 (taken day of this post) http://s1118.photobucket.com/albums/k614/FortyGR1T/Truck/Engine%20Compartment/ Todo list: Water pump: its locked up and screaming like a banshee Radiator Support: A leaking battery ate it up pretty good Paint: Original paint is starting to bubble up in some small spots Power Steering: Theres a leak somewhere in the reservoir or pump AC Pulley: pulley is squeeking Tune up: MPG is sub 20, rides rough at idle, stalls at red lights occaisonally

Hoy, Does anybody know where I can get the dome shaped filter that goes over the temperature sensor, in the air cleaner? I can't seem to find it anywhere. Also any suggestions/options when it comes to a radiator replacement?

Been on vacation. It runs okay, but I've been getting sub 20 gas mileage. I want to figure that all out, but first I have a couple brake/steering parts to replace for inspection. Needs: -Rotors -Pads -Calipers -Center Steering Link I've got pretty basic automotive skills at the moment, so I don't have a feel for replacement part quality/price. Does anybody have any suggestions on brands, "features", and pricing? On the driver side of the hood you can see where it was buffed out about a year ago. It looked pretty good for a while but it's now fading. I'm hoping to find a more permanent solution. You can also see where I did a little test on the bed. I sanded down a small square and sprayed it with some clear coat enamel I had laying around and it brought the color back pretty nicely. Based on that I'm hoping it would look close to original if I just redid the entire clear coat in a more professional manner. Undercarriage and engine pic's still coming once I get back working on the truck.

^op It's Friday.

Hoy, Here is my 1985 King Cab 2WD 720. It's story begins after my, at the time, 84 year old Great Grampa flipped his Barracuda. He broke out the Barracuda's driver side window with a crowbar, crawled out, and then promptly decided he needed a truck. (No exaggerations, the man was legendary) He died in 1995 and it sat in Florida for a while. A couple things of interest happened to it between 95 and now, but we'll just say it's been passed down 4 generations, made a pilgrimage to Pittsburgh, and call it mine. It's got 66.5k miles and runs okay. I'd like it to be better. I was going to post a huge list of all it's current problems and take suggestions, but that would be pretty overwhelming. So I'm just gonna let you guys get off to some more pics. (Make sure you put a figurative paper bag over the passenger mirror's head) (Duplicolor BedArmor on the door jambs, might do the bed with it) ^(I'm not quite sure what my words would be if I ever met the deadbeat second cousin that used to use the truck. He put probably 25k of mistreated miles on it.) ^ It's out for inspection at the moment so I don't have any pics underneath or under the hood. Don't worry I'll get them.

Just curious, Whats wrong with the stock grounds, and what problems do they cause?

I've referenced your documentation and how to's over there many times already, can't thank you enough. The internet would be a much more informative place if everyone documented their projects with this much detail and dedication.