I spent some time going over the scabby tractor in preparation for a long trip next week. I was going to start by replacing the inconveniently located fuel filter. That's when I noticed that I'm an idiot.
About 2000 miles ago I replaced the badly corroded battery terminals. While everything was disconnected and I was cleaning all the connections, I had flopped the battery crossover cable on top of the engine. We'll, apparently I got sidetracked and didn't reattach it.
As you can see in the last photo, it arched the #3 injector line at some point. The black intake elbow is aluminum. A 12V Cummins isn't exactly famous for being a silky-smooth runner. I'm sooo lucky my dumb *ss didn't burn this thing to the ground.
Anyway, after I fixed that. I replaced the fuel filter. Not super complicated, but hard to reach. It's buried under there somewhere. Just take my word for it.
I serviced the rear differential, since I had no history on it. The fluid that came out was actually pretty clean. It got a finned Yukon cover because...well, I just wanted it. 3.54 highway flyers and limited slip inside the Dana 80.
The transmission was reportedly serviced a few months before I got it and the ATF is still red, so I'll leave it alone. I'll replace the coolant and thermostat next. Then, it needs front springs and shocks. I need to pull the timing cover to verify that the KDP has been done too.
In other news, I put taller bars on the white bike. I stand on the pegs a lot and on the longer multi-day rides, that equates to really knotted up shoulders. Believe it or not, the extra inch or so makes all the difference (gigity).
I also swapped out the rear spring for a slightly higher rate to compensate for camping gear.
Tomorrow I'll pull my daytrip bags and load up my GiantLoop and dry bag, then load it in the back of the Dodge. Ride report to follow.