Thanks all you guys - Kim, Chuckdriver, & Fredo (you broke my heart!
Sorry, a little "Godfather" humor. I couldn't help myself)
Today I got home a bit early and put the vlecro insulating blanket on my starter. Drove to a buddy's house, let it sit for 5 minutes then went out and it started right up - excellent, I thought. After an hour or so, I left. Stopped off at Pep Boys to return something...it wouldn't start. Took well over an hour for it to cool enough. This is well after the headers were cool enough I could touch them...FRUSTRATING!
I guess a mini high torque starter is in my future afterall...AND I'll reinstall that insulating blanket since I kind effed it up!
I also pulled the differential cover off my 10 bolt. Here's what I saw:
I don't know Jack about differentials but I don't THINK this is a posi, is it? My truck is so damn tall I didn't lift it to drain it so I couldn't rotate the wheels to count the teeth. What I could reach I counted so 18 teeth on the pinion and about 37 teeth on the ring gear. I know that's not accurate but I'm hoping one of you more experience guys can tell me what my final drive ratio is likely? PO told me he thought it was 3.37:1. Does that sound right to you?
Anyway, cleaned her out and found no mettallic bits at all. Fluid was brownish...kinda dirty but didn't smell. Buttoned her back up with new gasket, a bit of RTV and put new synthetic fluid in it - 32oz. bottle, is that enough?
Tomorrow? Replace a broken wheel stud, cut out the remaining wood in the bed, clean up/paint bed strips (& set aside, start wire wheeling/sanding the bed interior for primer. Let's see how much of all that I get done!