I have taken such good care of it for years, but a year of sitting, has taken its toll.

I had no rust, at least that I had not addressed, until now. When I pressure washed it today, I had as much paint and rust coming off as I did mud. If I get ambitious, I need to start doing some (a lot of) body work.

I pulled the battery, since it won't hold a charge. Don't buy Optima! My stock Nissan battery lasted five years. This will be my fourth Optima in as many years and this one is only a little over a year old...when the truck sits, I always keep it on a trickle charger. I have had the Optima's replaced on a pro-rated warranty, but it still costs money.

The only Optima I have been happy with is the Yellow Top in my tractor.

How much rust are we talking?

A year of sitting can take a toll on any vehicle. But, even after a year, that truck still kicked butt on the trails.

While I can appreciate that it might be a fair amount of work, you could always look at this as an opportunity to maybe do some creative body updates (or selective modifications) that could make it more of a trail rig.

Almost every body panel.



Let's see how much ambition (time) I have.

I feel for you Scott
I started cutting away at the 4runner and when I was done half the truck was missing.

I could cut it up like this:



About the only thing Jeep on this are the grill and the hood. The rest, including drivetrain and engine, are GM and Chevy.

That's what I was thinking.
I may end up doing the very same thing

Well, back to the topic of the Optima Battery. I took it back to Auto Zone and they will give me full-replacement for a new battery. I ask if I can upgrade to a Yellow Top and they say $40 more.

They load test the battery. 5 amps and I had just charged it on the truck yesterday. So, no questions asked, I get a brand new Yellow Top Optima.

Yeah, the warranty is great, not sure about the battery yet. We'll see how this one lasts.

I can say that, while I have not had good luck with the Optima in my trucks, the Yellow Top in the tractor has lasted three years. Previously, I had replaced a stock-type battery from TSB every two years. So far, it's still going strong. If it lasts five years, it will be worth the extra cost.

As far as the red tops in my trucks, I have never had to pay a cent for replacements, but it's still a PITA to get a new one every year...this is based on two different trucks.

I will not buy another Red Top starter Optima, the jury is still out out on the Yellow Top.

Now, back to tearing apart the sled.