I recently bought a 22-year old pickup truck. It is diesel fueled with 174k kms in the odometer. But since the previous owner didn't bother to replace the speedometer cable, the actual number will forever be a mystery. I have installed the replacement part therefore km counting can now continue.
What I've done so far
1.) As mentioned above, I've replaced the broken speedo cable. I had to crawl underneath the pickup. Though the label says it is for Strada which is of course the newer version of the truck, I had no issues installing the replacement.
2.) Revived the backing light circuit which was another crawling activity. The switch was still there but there were no wires. I had to clean the switch first with WD40 because it didn't work at first. The next part is tracing the wiring of the bulbs. Fortunately, the male connector is still there near the firewall so I just needed to attach the female at the end of the wires I added (from the switch).
3.) The truck has a lot of lighting issues, from brake lights to signal lights. Some of the sockets are actually corroded and there were errors in the wiring connections. My assumption is that previous owner must be trying to fix it but messed up so he just left it as it is out of frustration. I've fixed them because as a personal policy, all my vehicles should have a properly working lights system.
4.) I used to have problems starting the engine specially on mornings. I thought it was just because the glow plugs are old and needs to be replaced. It turned out that the wire going to the plugs is burned out. Based on what I've read, there is supposed to be smart circuit that should automate the process of preheating the cylinder. For some reason, someone added a manual switch to energize the plugs. Quite unfortunate that the wires are too thin for the application which lead to its demise. At least the relay still works and there was a fuse so I just had to replace the burned wire with a thicker gauge.
5.) I was heading home one night and noticed that the headlights were not as bright as the previous night. As I was nearing home, all dashboard lights went out and even the hazard light didn't work. Fortunately, the battery has enough juice to power the fuel cut solenoid and I was able to go home. Yes it was a battery problem because the alternator quit working. Brought it to a shop and the guy replace/rewind something in the alternator assembly. Three months since and no issues so far.
6.) There was a noticeable change in idling and acceleration whenever the temperature gauge reaches the halfway mark. Under the hood, the engine seems to running hotter than normal or when the gauge is at 1/4 mark for example. The needle also moves faster towards the red zone if I do a consistent 100kph on the expressway. I was thinking about the worst case because 4D56 is quite notoriously known for warped cylinder heads. Brought the pickup to a radiator shop one Saturday and personally saw how much gunk has accumulated inside the radiator. Added calibration of the gauge in the todo list.
7.) I was driving one day and for some reason the truck has this tendency to veer right. Checked the tires for uneven wear and yes there was on the front tire driver side. Brought it to a shop that specializes on underchassis. They replaced the lower bushing and machine press a component of the front suspension which I can't remember. Afterwards, they aligned the wheels. Now I have to visit them each month to have it checked as part of the 6-month warranty.
8.) Of course, there are other minor things which is to be expected for old vehicles like this one. Things such as tidying up the wirings, tightening the screws, checking the spare tire among other things.
This is my first time to own a diesel vehicle, also the first time to own a pickup and I'm enjoying it so far. To date, I've added more than 5k kms to its resurrected odometer.
