Status Update
Just posted my three most recent UOA for all to see. Was glad to hear that the contamination was NOT coolant related. I was loosing coolant, but it turned out that the worm clamps I used to splice into the coolant lines at the heater core had gradually loosened up and just needed to be tightened.
Truck is running fine overall, but a few items need attention. Most of them are minor in the overall scheme of things.
Need new mud flaps for rear wheels. Having trouble finding them locally.
Need to fix driver’s seat warmer. Light comes on when you push button, but no heat.
Need to pull the seats and carpet so I can finish installing sound-deadening materials.
Fuel Pressure Gauge still gives me fits from time to time. Just can’t seem to get the air hose to seal up well enough. Gauge will work fine and show correct pressure (~60 psi) for 3-4 weeks, then will gradually loose pressure over 1-2 days until it reads 0 psi. I think the connection at the back of the gauge is solid, but am suspicious of the connection at the fuel-air diaphragm and a union in the air line. I think both need to be replaced. Seems that the small copper rings in the union are not staying perfectly straight/even/aligned when I tighten up the union. Maybe I should use some sealant when I’m putting this together .. or maybe I just need to be more careful.
Transmission Temperature Gauge is suddenly having some sort of electronic issues. Gauge will randomly display anywhere from 0F to 250F and often pegged at 0F or 250F. Problems started within past 4-6 weeks. I bought a pair of these gauge kits for two trucks. Turns out that this same problem is happening on BOTH trucks. Checked connections. Suspecting an issue with either the control boxes (I think this gauge uses one) or the gauges themselves.
Truck is having trouble starting unless I leave it plugged in. Starting temps have been 35F-45F lately. Pretty sure my glow plugs are shot. Going to investigate in the coming weeks.
Transmission Fluid and Filter change is past due.
I purchased a 1998-2005 Ford Auxiliary Input Converter (FRDN-AUX) from LogJamElectronics.com in 09/2010. I thought this would do a better job of playing music from my phone since I seem to have trouble with cassette adapters and I often travel 4+ hours at a time. It seemed like a good idea, but the device seems to shut off after I’ve been using it after a while. At first it worked fine for entire (4+ hour) trips but now it is pretty unreliable. Sometimes it’ll work well for hours. Other times it wil only work for 10-20 minutes. Very frustrating. I sent an email to support a moment ago asking if they had any suggestions.
Update: LogJam Electronics replaced the device under warranty. The replacement arrived in retail packaging. LogJam was great to work with but I was still pretty frustrated with the whole situation, so I listed it for sale as a new item on Amazon.com and it sold right away.