would like advice on paint dullness, flaking, rust (pictures)

[BadDog]

[EScanlon]

1) There saved yourself a couple bucks!

2 & 3) The fact that you have ALL your spacers is something to look at. The owner's manual for the car identifies those spacers as seat spacers, and it says to apply the same number of spacers to each seat raiser (bolt). I have seen some people apply one or two to the front and one or two less to the back in order to get a lower rear edge than the front, and hence some "recline" to the seat.

If you have the 71 or earlier seat, it should have a round knob on the inside pillar that adjusts the angle at which the seat back is to the seat bottom. It will allow you to tilt the back to the seat by a few degrees, but not a true recline as you may have in your late year vehicle.

The 72 and up seats did in fact recline. They are distinguishable by the lever on the outside seat back support (by outside towards the door). The lever when lifted will both allow the seat to tilt forward for easier access to the tailgate area as well as allow you to tilt the seat back when you are seated in it.

4) A continuity checker is simply a battery, wires and a light or buzzer. What you are checking for is that there is a "connection" between two points. In the case of a wire, you use the wire to "complete the circuit" between a battery and a light bulb. If the light lights up, the wire is making a connection and therefore there is "continuity" in the circuit. This does not gage the quality of the connection, just that there IS one.

Resistance allows you to check for the amount of current that can flow through that circuit. A perfect wire has Zero Resistance for unlimited current, but ALL wires have SOME resistance. The more resistance you have, the less current you have. So if you check a fuse for resistance, you will find that it has some, if you divide the voltage by that value you should get a figure for the current it will allow. Higher current will cause it to blow. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong, this goes back over 20 years)

In reference to my original post, the reason I stated that you should do a continuity check on the fuses is simple. You can SEE the filament of the fuse, therefore it should be good, right? WRONG!

The problem with those little glass tube fuses is that the connection for the filament at the end cap may in fact be a cold solder joint, and although it appears to be a good fuse, it in fact is not.

This has tripped up many a Z fan. I can't tell you the number of posts I and others have seen where the person reporting the problem insists that he has checked the fuses, and we keep insisting on a continuity check. Then he finally gives in and does it the way we TELL him to do it, and VOILA! he changes the offending fuse and the problem is fixed.

I know it's a PITA to remove the fuse from the holder and then figure out a way to hold it while you get the leads from your tester on each end, but until you do, you are NOT checking that fuse properly. If you try to check the fuse while it is still IN the fuse box, you may in fact be checking some other part of the circuit and not that specific fuse. Remember, electricity like water WILL find a path, the path of least resistance, but it may not be the path YOU think it should have taken.

5) When you check the HL connections for corrosion, don't forget to check the contacts, connections and even the solder points on your headlight switch at the steering column. Yes this one is a MAJOR PITA but it is also a KNOWN problem site.

Good Luck, and keep us posted.

OH! One other note. If you choose to change your headlights to a newer style bulb, make sure you take the time to double check your wiring. Too many guys have literally melted their wiring by changing to a higher current bulb.