1 Lucky Texan

I have zero experience with an XT but, the 'stub axle' is probably held in with a roll pin (spring pin really) just move the stub over.

user @GeneralDisorder has a brand of aftermarket ECU he likes (forget the name) but, may be as easy to learn to use that as adapting a physical disty.

in a perfect world, fuel trims would be zero. I've read that single digit +/- corrections are OK. Max I think is +/-35 (not sure if this applies back to 96) and would indicate a big problem. massive vacuum leak or maybe leaking injector or bad diaphragm in the fuel pressure regulator or ????

wow, getting close to 50 years of the green lol.

I always wondered how far back the green inner joint paint was used. 80s? 70s?

next time you feel certain it will fail, squirt some starting fluid or brake cleaner in the intake. If it starts immediately, probably a fueling problem (losing pressure in the rails???) if it doesn't help, maybe a high voltage issue (arcing?)

in this case, I think the 'devil you know' is the best choice. re-do the heads.

you mean split CVJ boot? yeah, when that grease is slung onto hot exhaust, it stinks. If it happened very recently, you can grease and re-boot the joint.

well, it was no chick magnet - but neither was I !

just a similar image from the net. Mine was painted lane-stripe yellow, at the time, all retired postal vehicles got ugly yellow paint. the rear door was a segmented unit like semi trailers and garage doors are made. Collected a few bucks now and then hauling furniture for people. The throttle 'pedal' was an L shaped arm at floor level, you pushed it sideways with the inside ball of the right foot. The bake pedal was straight up-down. Has a 3 spd slush box (Ford?) in it. Under the windshield was a huge vent you could drop open so, even in summer, plenty of air if you were moving. The door slid backwards and would stay there. Had a 'safety' strap at about hip level so, you could drive around almost fully exposed on that side. left-hand thread lugnuts on the left side IIRC. I MAY have a pic that shows mine in the background. I'll look for it.

when it fails to crank, do you hear the 'click' of the solenoid?

I drove a right-hand drive vehicle thru much of highschool - a Willys Fleetvan. Retired postal delivery vehicle. Someone had mounted a seat in it, but it was easier to drive standing. talk about freaking some folks out at larger intersections....

although I slightly prefer TGMBC part 2 (that Honey Badger steals the show), the LR stuff is in the first movie I think.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a42381041/ken-block-dead/

maybe crank sprocket? becareful not to damage the tabs in the back - they are needed for the position sensor. I bet @GeneralDisorder or others can better advise you how to proceed.

when I was a kid, we had a Chevy Impala that did that. It was the relay.

seems weird but I know little about the newer cars - probably check brake fluid too I guess. You could try a battery disconnect reset......

I've read that about 9v during cranking is not uncommon which make me think there;s still some resistance somewhere - bad cable or the ground connection from the neg cable to the body needs refreshing? after a failed start - feel of the batt cables. The warm one may be bad. (too much resistance) maybe you could use 1 side of jumper cables to parallel a battery cable. clamp to something beefy on the engine, then clamp to the neg. battery terminal. If no improvemnet. remove it and run from the pos terminal of the solenoid to battery pos clamp. Might show you which side needs a new cable.

def. worth investigating cables. Decades of corrosion 'wicking' down under the insulation can really compromise them.

what is the voltage across the battery while cranking?

maybe the hose from the IACV is trying to come loose. at that mileage, throttle position sensor could have a 'dead spot' I guess.

what brand was the replacement? any warranty ?

told ya it was a broken axle.

might could use a front diff fluid change after you get the axle situated.

look for a broken axle/cv joint.