Tractor

Oh yeah. Marietta, Ohio. I'm actually from Fleming, but close enough. I still ride there 1 or 2 times a year. Evan

Hmm, to bad they broke there little trucks. That makes me wanna move back to marietta since that is pretty much what the kids do after and/or during school down there. Evan

Haspen is an offroad ATV and 4x4 park. Some of the guys in my club go there. I'm planning on taking my trail rig there sometime in the next few years. Evan

Oh sorry. just noticed you replied to my post. Star trek online is in the works now by CBS co, and Perpetual Entertainment. You can get more information at http://www.startrekonline.com http://www.startrek-online.net/ and probably a crap load of other star trek fan sites around the internet. Its going to be the first real Star Trek MMORG but its still at least a year from release. I seems CBS purchased all rights to everything related to startrek from Paramount and are going to try to keep the legacy going. I've heard of another movie and another attempt at a series in the works. I hope they don't mess it up like they did with Enterprise. When star trek online comes out I'll be nerded out for months and no one will be able to find me. Evan

I want more. I love snow it keeps the dumb people off the road so I can get some work done. Evan

Cool, how about a little place we call Quarry. I won't even go above 1,000 RPMs and anyone you chose can ride along to make sure I don't. Evan

Oh wow the snow brought in alot of winter racers. Hehe glad you guys are enjoying the snow, but don't talk to much crap about how good your pavement pounders go in it. Might have to back it and we don't want that. I race no one until we get 2 feet:-) Evan

SeaQuest was cool. It got kinda silly when they started messing with aliens and another planet and crap, but I like the idea of the show. I'm mostly into startrek TNG, DS9, the movies. Never got into voyager, and loved the idea of Enterprise, but paramount (or someone else) ruined that whole show and it could have been the best star trek series to date IMO. Oh well I"m holding out for Startrek Online in a year or two. I'm gonna be the biggest nerd:-) Evan

Basements are pretty expensive to fix to the point that they dry out nicely unless it was designed that way from the beginning. I'm not and expert, but If your roof downspots are attached to your foundation drain it would help to unhook them and let them simply run out into the yard and away from the house. I did that at my place here in westerville and it dried up real nice here. Damn these flat neighborhoods and there pathetic drainage. Evan

I've been to Trails to watch a few races, but haven't competed since I don't really have a race car. I'm into 4x4 trail riding and have been since around 1999. I've been on this board since probably 1997 or so and would definately race and like talking/learning about it and hanging out in some of the guys garages on here. Maybe someday I'll get bitten by that particular bug, but not yet. Evan

I know alot of people who have been selected from the random pick to be on a jury, but very few who have actually be kept on by the lawyers. The above post was right if you present yourself and not the person they are looking for then you get off free. You can always pull the religon or race card on them:-) Evan

OMG I think I"m gonna go to hell for thinking that is the funniest thing I"ve heard in awhile. Evan

There are plenty of calculators out there for gears. Tire size and main function of the truck are also important in figuring gears. If your wanting to keep the RPMs stock then just follow the charts. As for the ford 9" rear end, in the 4x4 offroad world its not a very strong rear end and the bigger one is much better. especially once you start getting really low gear sets in them. For your application the rear end should be fine since your not putting 400HP to use trying to turn over 40" tires. Not sure on the tranny since I"m not really a ford kinda guy, but I know the AOD seems to be popular. As for the disk brakes I don't know if I'd try to get anti lock set up on the rear on my own. I'd have to do alot of research on that one because you could do something that would cause a weird condition in your brakes and could be potentially dangerous. In the offroad world we usually disconnect abs systems as one of the first mods we do to our rigs. Evan

I tow my lifted truck with my stock 05 Tacoma, but that's different. My mudder has 10" of lift and 38.5" swamper boggers on it and its sole purpose is offroad driving. Its almost impossible to keep it going in a straight line on the road, but offroad its nearly unstoppable (and no thats not my opinion ask the partsmonkey.) I'd never consider towing anything with a highly lifted truck. I've heard it causes some really nasty loads on the hitch points. Evan

I checked the factory manual on the toyota auto 6sp trans and it looks like the programming stuff is actually just a couple pins that get jumpered to set the transmission into "trans fluid temp check mode" which is then displays on the dash indicator lights and basically lets you know when its at the proper temp to check the fluid levels. I could probably do it myself, but if I can have it totally flushed by a shop that won't rip me off I'd do it. I trust the people that responded so far 500% more than I'd trust any dealer or unknown shop to actually do what they say they did. How would I know they did it? I get to sit in a waiting room or go for a walk in the mall while they charge me for something. I just don't like that idea very well. I've had service guys more than once try to sell me a new battery claiming my car wouldn't start very well when they tried to pull into the bay and then when I said I wasn't interested I went to my car, tried to start it and sure enough it wouldn't start. Well since I"m a technical person I usually go back in and tell them my car won't start, ask them what they did to it and then we go back out together and I pop the hood and show them that they loosened my batter cable. Very cute trick and then I usually get back in and go home. That happened to my wife twice and me once over the years. Each time it was the loose battery cable trick. Evan

I am going to get my transmission fluid changed soon in my 2005 Tacoma and since on that model vehicle I can't actually do it correctly myself I want to take it somewhere that will actually do it. I do about all work on my cars myself and don't really trust anyone else to do an honest job or do a correct job. Anyone know anywhere that would do it right? Its a sealed transmission and from what they say on the tacoma web sites there is an actual program mode that the computer needs to run through during a fluid change. Evan

I really hate the ones that do the 48" tires with 0 suspension flex and think they can roll up to a 4x4 meet and get on our ramp to measure there flex. Most stock rigs score in the 300's, nice trail rigs score 500 to 1000 and those big piles usually get less than 100. Evan

I agree if your gonna own it. Use it for something other than Mall cruising and if you only do that with it please realise you gotta think a little. What I really like is the people that drive them and try to pull head in into parking spaces. That just doesn't work well. Trucks are designed with those nice side mirrors for a reason. They can back you up on a dime if you know how to use them. Evan

+1 and thats the only reason I don't like OSU. You bucks ever show some class and I'll come join your side. Evan

Hmm the all the Rednecks I know hate the duramax and want there early 90's Cummins engines back. I don't know alot about Dodge trucks except that if you want to tow something a dodge 1-ton desiel will out tow the others and you can probably put the others + there loads on its trailer and it will take them all to the bank. I've also heard there automatics are crap though. I personally know one guy who had a brand new one come apart and total his cab. This was around 2000 or so though so not sure if they fixed there problems or not. Chevy probably makes the smoothest nicest fullsize for a family hauler though I've never been inside a dodge with a big cab and I already know I wouldn't bother getting in a ford. Evan

Hehe yeah and to think today I got to eat all the free food around town from banks holding tailgate parties and stuff. Go Florida Evan

Sorry I suck at names so don't know who that is. I've heard people mention that guys have been bumed because of there snap on breaking and then the truck comming once and week and not having there tool so they get to wait another week. That would suck. I say if its gonna break just get craftsman and save some time since time is money. I've only broken 1 craftsman tool in the time I've been working on stuff and that was there 3/8" socket wrenches over and over. Of course I usually break them when I have my BFH hitting them as hard as I can and then sometimes I got a breaker bar on them, but anythings gonna break under those conditions. Well unless it costs to much I guess:-) Evan

Didn't wanna thread hijack so here goes and if its in the wrong place move it wasn't really sure on this one. Where do people get $10,000 or even $6,000 in tools. Now I know I'm not an auto mechanic for a living, but even still I've done jobs on countless cars and I don't even have $1,000 in tools to work with. I've always wondered about it and I guess I'm about to find out. Evan

Exactly Dr Rick, Nothing was done by the local or state government to even attempt to move people out of there. They probably could have easily done it but then again the hurricane could have easily turned and missed the area. I don't like all the looking back and bitching about what should have been done because last I checked we weren't the people in charge. Sure the ones in charge didn't do anything and FEMA's job was done perfectly after there was an emergency to attend to (Federal Emergency Management Agency.) I am part of the OEMA and at meetings we do not discuss how we are going to get everyone out of town when the terrorists are about to set off a nuke. We discuss how we can better handle the situations that arise in the aftermath ie getting first responders in position, getting emergency communication up with those first responders, casualty assement and treatment, and infatructor damage assement for the saftey of the affected zones. No where in that list is get the buses gased up for a mass exidous the day before an event and OEMA and FEMA are not the agencies to plan that type of event. Sure they could probably set up field communications and activate the emergency broadcast network, but everyone knows that system can be activated on a moments noticed and is tested all the time. Basically the comm room for OEMA consists of one man running radios to listen to what the field posts are requesting and then dispatch the correct services. Evan

Well just to defend the american oil companies a little I will at least explain how they could get record profits from these "high" prices without lifting a finger. Lets say OPEC is charging $50 per barrel and after all overhead and taxes Chevron makes 10% profit. Thats 5 bucks profit per barrel. Now lets say OPEC cuts production or for some reason the price ends up being $70 per barrel. Well now Chevron without moving there profit margin of 10% ends up getting $7 per barrel profit. You see even without doing anything since profit is percentage based they are going to make more money. Are we really expecting them to drop there profit margin to 0.0715% or so just to keep from getting the money the earned. Sure that wouldn't be a bad idea from a PR stand point. It would keep our attention off of them and shifted towards OPEC where it really should be focused anyway. We should just invade the middle east and steal there oil fair and square. Then they can work in factories and stuff making us nice toys to buy with all our money. Evan