My other truck has been in my possession for 7 years with no problems and is wll taken care of. the new (to me) truck has 140K miles on it and has been a problem since I picked it up.
I have heard the Nssens run around $330, the one off my other truck is free since I already own it...

 

Today I pulled on the front grille guard on the older truck (97) and it just about fell to the ground. the rust finally accomplished it's goal. That is the main reason I got the new (99) truck. tired of battling the rust. Gotta love Minnesota!!
This weekend I'm going after the radiator! and probably the fan clutch just for good measure. I did put a new one on the '99 but not sure that it is working correctly. I know the '97 was working as it ran even in hot 90 plus days at right around 197 degrees, and on cooler days at 193.

 

Been a bit but here is the latest..Cooling system: found out there was an air bubble in the heater core and when I drove for a few days, it worked it's way out but I had to keep the heater control set to ht. Not much fun when it is in the 90's outside. That seems to have taken care of the crazy temps I was seeing. Still get the occasional CEL for catalytic converter but resetting it makes it go away for a few days. I am guessing it is a miss when I first start up.

 

It is always something.....
Today driving to work, temp outside was upper 40's, engine temp is 196 so that is good.. I touched the window switch and the window rolled all the way down, not just a crack like usual... then it wouldn't roll back up!! A cool drive to work and I tried swapping the switches (easy to get to) and no change. Since it looked like rain, I wrapped the opening in plastic and went to work. After 3 hours, I stepped outside (in the rain) and tried the window, Rolled right up!! my guess is that I ran the heater and it got the circuit board warm enough to malfunction and once it cooled down, it started working again.
Guess I won't be touching those window switches until I swap out the board.

At least the plastic kept my interior dry...

 

so for the last month I have been messing with a brake light that hasn't been working. I replaced the complete assembly, and it came with the brake light socket missing. The old one was badly melted and I thought I had it working, but it quit. I located a replacement and it sat at the post office for 3 weeks lost in the Christmas mess. It arrived yesterday and I went to put it in, only to find it still doesn't work.... I then found it had a burned out bulb! chances are the old socket may have caused enough resistance to overheat it but I still wonder if a new bulb would have fixed it...
as the saying goes.. try the easy stuff first!!

 

Latest update:

Been working well for the last few months other than the touchy steering which I assume is the ancient tires, and the non-functioning windshield washers.. Gotta get to those.. with the mild winter this year I have been putting it off. Did get a nice chunk out of the windshield from a rock the other day, but I need a new windshield anyhow. other than that it has been running OK, still get a CEL occasionally but it resets without returning for a day or two (cat converter)

 

 

Ha Ha!! this truck got me the other day!! I replaced the ignition switch with one for a manual trans as it was much less expensive. The other night I climbed in after work (about midnight) and turned the key,... No start. not even turning over. so I started looking around. I then noticed it was not completely in Park! I must explain that the park does not always hold the trans from turning so I always use the parking brake so the truck did not move...Anyhow a simple reapply into park and it fired right up. Got Me!!

 

OK, so the Son's Jeep Patriot does in fact have a broken cam shaft (83K miles) and since the extended service contract has decided NOT t cover it, it ill be parked until funds for a new motor are acquired. He will be putting my old 1997 Disco back on the road... Has a few "special instructions" but it is quite a reliable machine. Hopefully it will survive with a 2016 battery in it..but beggars can't be choosers!!

 

Well I FINALLY got the customized alarm and ECU installed and it started up just fine. Monday I'll drive it to work and see if it made any difference with the temps.. Glad the alarm is disabled so there is one less thing to worry about. Thanks Logan!!