Death Trap build

Jericho0311 · Apr 6, 2017

Let me start with this, I've loved Rangers for as long as I've been around. In high school, I drove a 1992 2.3L Ford Ranger... But, young dumb and full of cum, I ran it up a tree. Now, 8 years later I own a 1994 4.0l V6 OHV Ranger. The previous owners were very abusive and I already had to do quite a bit to get it running again. They cut the exhaust about 8 inches behind the Cat and so now it screams. Due to it having zero interior and a finicky shift, my wife has decided to call it "The Death Trap". Given that one of my favorite video games is Borderlands, I've decided this is gonna be the name of the build. I'm not doing much to it, except making it a little more reliable, and fix the interior. So far, I've given it a good tune up, swapped out the water pump, fixed the master cylinder, drained and refilled the tranny. I've got an oil cooler from an old mustang, a new 195 T-Stat, front side winch that all need to be installed. I'll post pictures as I go here. Should be roughly weekly updates.

Brandan

P93suafilo · Apr 6, 2017

Good looking truck I hope to make my dd ranger look like yours one day!!

swynx · Apr 7, 2017

those are 35" tires? they look big in that picture. good looking pickup none the less.

Jericho0311 · Apr 7, 2017

swynx said:
those are 35" tires? they look big in that picture. good looking pickup none the less.

Yeah man, 35x12.5x15 General Grabbers. Seriously need to downsize to the street friendly little brother General Grabber AT2.
The tire whine when over 35 mph is awful. Considering I drive it to class and the VA clinic, I need to invest in some friendlier tires. Also, if you have any recommendations other than the AT2 let me know. Always shopping.

swynx · Apr 8, 2017

Jericho0311 said:
Yeah man, 35x12.5x15 General Grabbers. Seriously need to downsize to the street friendly little brother General Grabber AT2.
The tire whine when over 35 mph is awful. Considering I drive it to class and the VA clinic, I need to invest in some friendlier tires. Also, if you have any recommendations other than the AT2 let me know. Always shopping.

sounds like your after an all terrain then, in that case ive had good experience with the yokohama geolander's, im not sure how much ice and snow you drive in, but these are fantastic on the ice. a guy in our offroad club runs these in a 31" on his xj with open diffs. for the most part he follows around locked 35's if he uses the skinny pedal.

i had mastercraft courser a/t they suck.

i have not tried any of the more aggressive a/t tires but i hear good things about them as well.

for a mud terrain, my favorite tire is currently the hankook dynapro m/t, but im going to try the cooper discoverer stt pro i think. with my hankooks i can still have a conversation at 80 mph with the radio going, and thats without sound deadening material or carpet, and my shifter boot fawked up...

any idea on the amount of lift on that pickup?

Jericho0311 · Apr 9, 2017

swynx said:
sounds like your after an all terrain then, in that case ive had good experience with the yokohama geolander's, im not sure how much ice and snow you drive in, but these are fantastic on the ice. a guy in our offroad club runs these in a 31" on his xj with open diffs. for the most part he follows around locked 35's if he uses the skinny pedal.

i had mastercraft courser a/t they suck.

i have not tried any of the more aggressive a/t tires but i hear good things about them as well.

for a mud terrain, my favorite tire is currently the hankook dynapro m/t, but im going to try the cooper discoverer stt pro i think. with my hankooks i can still have a conversation at 80 mph with the radio going, and thats without sound deadening material or carpet, and my shifter boot fawked up...

any idea on the amount of lift on that pickup?

I've heard great things about the geolander's. Always have. But bang for buck the General Grabbers AT2 seem really worth it. I live in Florida so no snow or ice but plenty of rain.

As far as lift is concerned I'm still fleshing that out. So far I found about 2 inches worth of lift blocks and it definitely looks like the gentleman who owned it previous was looking to SAS the front axel. Without the tires its roughly 4 inches over stock but I'm not sure if its Body or Suspension lift.

Jericho0311 · Apr 9, 2017

So today, I found myself with a little extra time and some spare parts. Gonna go ahead and throw in the new T-Stat and water pump, then do a nice rad flush and see if I can't get this engine temp issue in check. In the works as of now (pricing and shopping stage) is a new clutch kit and a good tranny check. Additionally, as always, thinking of creative ways to fix this interior. I'll post updated pictures here once I'm done with todays repairs/matn.

Cheers.

Jericho0311 · Apr 9, 2017

Just an update.
After fiddling around with the truck, getting the new t-stat in... I found that I have a really nice rattle whenever I depress the clutch which means either my bearing are misaligned or just not working anymore. Either way the aforementioned clutch job is happening a lot sooner than I wanted. Super.

hoosier1104 · Apr 10, 2017

Sounds like you have a good plan of attack. I was actually down in Plantation a few weeks ago. PM me when you get a chance. We are looking to move to FL and have a few questions about the area you live in.

swynx · Apr 10, 2017

Jericho0311 said:
So today, I found myself with a little extra time and some spare parts. Gonna go ahead and throw in the new T-Stat and water pump, then do a nice rad flush and see if I can't get this engine temp issue in check. In the works as of now (pricing and shopping stage) is a new clutch kit and a good tranny check. Additionally, as always, thinking of creative ways to fix this interior. I'll post updated pictures here once I'm done with todays repairs/matn.

Cheers.

try changing the engine coolant temperature sensor as well. if bad this will tell the computer the engine isnt heated up to operating temp and give you bad gas mileage and a high idle, plus overheating issues.

Jericho0311 · Apr 10, 2017

swynx said:
try changing the engine coolant temperature sensor as well. if bad this will tell the computer the engine isnt heated up to operating temp and give you bad gas mileage and a high idle, plus overheating issues.

I'm getting that my engine is too hot. The T-Stat seems to have fixed it. But I bought a water pump for it, just due to the age of the vehicle. When the clutch kit comes in, I'm dedicating an entire weekend to swapping the clutch and putting the water pump in and replacing a portion of the fuel line (probably leaks but generally smells like gasoline.) Luckily I have a couple of friends willing to lend a hand. Is there a gasket on the clutch housing that I should be prepared to replace?

bobbywalter · Apr 10, 2017

swynx said:
sounds like your after an all terrain then, in that case ive had good experience with the yokohama geolander's, im not sure how much ice and snow you drive in, but these are fantastic on the ice. a guy in our offroad club runs these in a 31" on his xj with open diffs. for the most part he follows around locked 35's if he uses the skinny pedal.

i had mastercraft courser a/t they suck.

i have not tried any of the more aggressive a/t tires but i hear good things about them as well.

for a mud terrain, my favorite tire is currently the hankook dynapro m/t, but im going to try the cooper discoverer stt pro i think. with my hankooks i can still have a conversation at 80 mph with the radio going, and thats without sound deadening material or carpet, and my shifter boot fawked up...

any idea on the amount of lift on that pickup?

nice truck! yeah for street duty a nice 31-33 inch all terrain would be ideal imo.

i tried the geolander I-T tire this year for winter only use and they are very nice, only ones with a wintermaster style tread and 35 inch size with 16 in wheel. of course you dont need that, but the at they have is priced in range of the grabber and coopers...

i was hoping to be down there right in your area drilling some wells this winter but it still has not worked out.

be prepared that the noise your hearing could be bearings....might need to freshen the trans a bit....the 4.0 puts a beat down on them.

Jericho0311 · Apr 10, 2017

bobbywalter said:
nice truck! yeah for street duty a nice 31-33 inch all terrain would be ideal imo.

i tried the geolander I-T tire this year for winter only use and they are very nice, only ones with a wintermaster style tread and 35 inch size with 16 in wheel. of course you dont need that, but the at they have is priced in range of the grabber and coopers...

i was hoping to be down there right in your area drilling some wells this winter but it still has not worked out.

be prepared that the noise your hearing could be bearings....might need to freshen the trans a bit....the 4.0 puts a beat down on them.

Tires: Thats the plan. Grab some all-terrain tries with less aggressive treads, maybe knock a couple inches of the rubber as well just to keep from being "that guy".

Location: Yeah, it's a different kind of beautiful down here. I got lucky enough to get accepted to a school down here and the VA is REALLY the better end in Southern Florida. Granted only ran into them once or twice elsewhere but running off opinions of other Vets...

Noise: I'm pretty certain its the bearings. Like I mentioned before, the previous owner was abusive. Not to mention it has the throwout bearing trademarks of the noise only happening at neutral while moving and the additional scariness of the tapping noise when pulling to a stop. I smashed some gears earlier hoping I could tap it back, but alas, no cigar. Ordered a severe duty clutch kit from Apex Clutch, should be here by weeks end. $245.00 for a Flywheel, Slave Cylinder, clutch and pressure plates and both bearings. I already have an alignment tool from a previous ride. I'm ready to pull the trans and see what I'm dealing with. Gonna seal up the shifter rod caps while I'm underneath.

Brandan.

Jericho0311 · Apr 22, 2017

Okay, so, the parts are in. The entire clutch assembly is here. Need to buy the seals and the fluid then I'll be in business. I'll keep you all posted.

Rangerx2 · Apr 23, 2017

First let me say thanks for your service!
A tip on tires: I'm currently running Cooper Discoverer A/T3's on my F-150 in a stock size. Those things are awesome! :headbang:

They have been very good in the snow up here in PA this year; and the few times I've taken it off the beaten path, this truck goes anywhere I point it!
Otherwise it looks like you got yourself a nice looking truck!

Death Trap build

New Member

Member

Active Member

New Member

Active Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

I'm Awesome!

Active Member

New Member

TRS Technical Staff

New Member

New Member

Member

Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad

Today's birthdays

Member & Vendor Upgrades

Truck of The Month

Recently Featured

Follow TRS On Instagram

TRS Events

25th Anniversary Sponsors

Check Out The TRS Store

Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad

Amazon Deals