It followed me home I swear/ aka the sickness deepens/TONS of questions

[Trailrated92]

As the title says. My Ranger sickness has gotten worse. I have my other build thread for my 92 Supercab 2 wd, but I've been fighting a bad head gasket problem in the 3.0 for months, hoping it would hold together until this Spring when I would be much closer to being ready to put the long awaited 302 in her.

Well, it didnt work out that way. The headgasket finally failed catastrophically on Christmas Eve while I was out doing toy shopping for my kids. It was so bad I went through 4 gals of water to drive ten miles and there was so much steam coming out the exhaust it looked like an 1880's Steam Locomotive going down the road !

Things have been really slow at work for over a month now, so I wound up selling my jet ski a couple days before Christmas so I could make sure my kids had Christmas at all. I was out with a friend this past Monday and went past a used car lot that had a 1994 Ext Cab 4x4 on the lot for 1250.00. I checked it over the next day and weighed my options.

Sink a good chunk of change into my 92 engine to fix the head gasket, deal with the broken bolts and all the other crap I knew for sure would break or need to be replaced as a result of trying to tear the top half of the motor down, in an engine with 300,000 miles on it, or just park it until Im ready to do the 302 conversion the right way and buy the 1994.

Soooooooooooooo...............................................






















I bought the 94 and picked it up after work last night.


First thing this morning I went to the carwash and used some spray on carpet shampoo and their industrial strength vacuum to clean the inside. With the exception of some really minor issue's the interior is actually in pretty good shape except for the carpet. I dont think its been cleaned in years. But based on my results today Im pretty sure with several more shampoo/steam clean/vacuum cycles I can get it looking pretty good, or at least good enough that I can live with it until I can replace it later.


Went to the local U Pull it Yard today to see what was available. Nothing I ever get stays the way I got it for long. Found an Expedition with the full length center console, over head console, 3 light dome/map light, 6 way power buckets, etc. Im going back on Monday to grab it all. After putting six way buckets in my 92 Im spoiled and truly despise the 60/40 bench.

Here's some pics.

I dont know what it is with me finding green pickups. Thats my Dodge Fullsize 4x4 in the backround in the pics and that one is green also. And green is hardly my favorite color. The Dodge just gets way to piss poor mileage for me to drive it regularly, its strictly an emergency backup vehicle and tow rig.

Apparently I also keep winding up with Rangers with 3.0's. From what I understand, the Third Gen Rangers with 5 speeds ( my new one ) are much more common to have the 4.0. Just my luck


Anyway, this one has 145,000 on the clock, and is in much better overall shape as compared to my 92 when I got that several years ago. I will need to do a good tuneup on it soon, I can tell just by looking at the plug wires and how it feels when driving that it hasnt been done in a while.

The one big issue is that the 4wd is out. The people at the lot told me about it ahead of time so........ I think I might have accidentally found out why earlier today. I dropped something and bent down to pick it up and noticed two fat connectors under the drivers side rocker that are unplugged and hanging, looks like one of them leads up to the transfer case. I wasnt dressed for it and didnt have the time to crawl under there today and see whats what, maybe tomorrow.

So, now come the questions. I had a pretty steep learning curve with my 92 and now I have to start all over again.

What stuff will swap over as a direct bolt in from Explorers like they did with my grill, bumper, seats on my 92 ? From what years ? Is the Explorer 8.8 a direct swap or do I have to change the purch's like I did for my 92 ?

Will Explorer door panels work ? I want to pick up power windows and door locks at some point.

Can I use the full length Expedition Center Console with my stick shift ? Is the hole in the right place for the shifter to come up or does the console have to be hacked up to make it work ?

I really want to add a tilt column, but all the ones I found today were for auto's. Can I use an auto tilt column in a manual trans truck ?

Eventually I'll do a lift and tires. I'd like to run 33's, maybe 35's. From looking at the forums and tech library, I'll probably go with James Duff. How much abuse/tire size can the factory front 4wd system handle before breakage becomes a repeat issue ?? My plans are for this to be a 70/30 street/snow/ Off Road machine. But I'd rather overbuild it for whatever I might encounter. I have NO plans on taking this thing to Tellico or Moab or making it a crawler. Most of my wheeling will be on sandy fire roads, abandoned gravel/coal pits, mudding, etc.

The last 4wd drive I had was my Jeep Wrangler. 4 link setups in the rear were the hot ticket for them for max flex and articulation. Does that hold true for Rangers as well ?

WAY down the line, after I get the 92 completely finished I'll do a re power/trans change on this one. Will a Mustang T5 5 speed work ? Whats involved ? Im really on the fence about doing a Supercharged 4.0 or another 302 when Im ready, what do you guys think ?

Any other year Rangers that parts will fit this besides 93 to 97 ????

Sorry for all the questions guys, I tried to find as much as I could before I wrote the post, but Im coming down with a cold and feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to learn all this stuff. I've never had a Gen 3 Ranger, or ANY 4x4 Ranger for that matter, so Im really starting my learning curve from scratch here again. Any help is greatly appreciated !

OASN, I got an email the other day that my source with a machine shop up in Canada is ready to start producing the billet spindle adapters so I can run Cobra front rotors and calipers on my 92, and thats something I've been waiting over a year to get.

Anyone in South Jersey, South Eastern PA that knows all about this thing and has worked on them before, contact from you would be a HUGE plus. I live in Jersey right now, about ten minutes from Rowan University, but I'll be moving over to Eastern/South Eastern PA sometime in February or March.

 

[bobbywalter]

1250......



you suk

where the hell do you live where carpet can last that long?

cant help with the body/interior desires you have...not something i like to do...



but mechanically..


i wouldnt lift it conventionally....if at all.


get some longer arms and maybe go 2 inches...1.5 body lift and call it good.


its a 3.0....drive it like it is.

 

[gjm4l]

I hate you..... Nice find! I know what you mean about the green thing. Everything I find is dark red..... Just picked up an '07 Focus cause it was a steal of a deal and naturally it's dark red.....

 

[snoranger]

How he rust under there? Living in Jersey and having parted out a few RBV, I've found them to be hit or miss. Some are rusted really bad, some have next to no rust at all.

OH, and they never just "follow you home". I've got 9 cars and not one of them ever followed me home!

 

[shane96ranger]

Nice ride man! I love the fact it's a manual trans!

 

[Oregon Inlet Ranger]

You'll love the 94 ranger i've got the same year with 187000 miles now

 

[doorgunner]

It followed me home I swear/



(I believe ya!)

 

[Trailrated92]

How he rust under there? Living in Jersey and having parted out a few RBV, I've found them to be hit or miss. Some are rusted really bad, some have next to no rust at all.

OH, and they never just "follow you home". I've got 9 cars and not one of them ever followed me home!

I havent crawled under it to check yet. I will give it a good once over when I get under there to change the oil and see whats going on with the 4wd, but from what I can see so far it isnt that bad at all. Funny you mention the " hit or miss " thing with the rust. One amazing thing about my Dodge full size is that thing is so clean and rust free on the underside it looks almost showroom clean. They must have one hell of a rust proofing spray they apply to the undercarriage.

 

[Trailrated92]

You'll love the 94 ranger i've got the same year with 187000 miles now

So far I do. Im sure I'll love it even more as I mod it and fix things. Funny you mention the mileage. My Dad thought I was nuts buying this for the price I paid and the amount of miles on it. I had to explain to him that the 3.0 is nearly indestructible as long as you maintain them, and point out to him that the same engine in my 92 had 300,000 on it and the head gasket failure was the first major problem I had with it.

 

[exbass94]

What stuff will swap over as a direct bolt in from Explorers like they did with my grill, bumper, seats on my 92 ? From what years ? Is the Explorer 8.8 a direct swap or do I have to change the purch's like I did for my 92 ?

No body parts from Explorers will work. All Explorers have spring under axles so yes you would have to change the perches.

Will Explorer door panels work ? I want to pick up power windows and door locks at some point.

No, door panels won't work.

I really want to add a tilt column, but all the ones I found today were for auto's. Can I use an auto tilt column in a manual trans truck ?

I don't really see why not, except you'll have a big hole where the auto shifter used to be.

Any other year Rangers that parts will fit this besides 93 to 97 ????

Depends on what parts you're looking for. Grille and headlights only 93-97 will work. Interiors are the same 89-94. Body parts are same 93-2011.

 

[Trailrated92]

No body parts from Explorers will work. All Explorers have spring under axles so yes you would have to change the perches.

Damn but ok. I was hoping upgrading to an 8.8 would be a direct swap but so be it.

No, door panels won't work.

Double damn , guess I have to find 93 and up Rangers with pwr windows and door locks.




I don't really see why not, except you'll have a big hole where the auto shifter used to be.

Well that was my main concern, but unless Im mistaken I should be able to drive out the pin that holds the U shaped bracket the column shifter slots into and remove that, then my regular top cover for the column should cover it. At least I hope. My biggest question was what effect, if any, it would have since switching to an auto column would eliminate the button you have to press on top of the column to turn the key back to the off position.

Depends on what parts you're looking for. Grille and headlights only 93-97 will work. Interiors are the same 89-94. Body parts are same 93-2011.

Ok, Im confused. If the body parts are the same from 93 to 2011, which would include front fenders, hood, etc, then why couldnt the 98 and up headlights and grill fit also ? Does it have something to do with the cutouts in the radiator support for the rear of the headlights/bulb access or something ?

 

[exbass94]

I *think* the only differences are the front fenders, grille, headlights, and hood.

 

[RavoHimself]

also. the 3.0 is a hit or miss motor. they had a lot of problems and some of them had catastrophic failure. it was like a 50/50 chance of getting a bad motor. if at 150k and it still hasnt blown up though i wouldnt worry about it. just maintain it and you shouldbe good. but to lift it to 33's youre going to have to re gear the axles to like 4.56's or 4.88's with 33's to keep the motor happy

 

[Trailrated92]

also. the 3.0 is a hit or miss motor. they had a lot of problems and some of them had catastrophic failure. it was like a 50/50 chance of getting a bad motor. if at 150k and it still hasnt blown up though i wouldnt worry about it. just maintain it and you shouldbe good. but to lift it to 33's youre going to have to re gear the axles to like 4.56's or 4.88's with 33's to keep the motor happy

Yea, I was already checking out the chart in the tech library. Looks like 456's will let me run 33's or 35's with the engine still being " in the green" between economy and performance.