AgPete139's Green Ranger Thread

[AgPete139]

((Will add more pictures when I find them and when I first bought it)


Howdy,

So, I've been here for the last freakin' decade and I've finally decided to make a thread for the RBV (to catalog it, instead of having pictures all on my phone or roaming around the depths of my PC). It's mainly been my DD, and a 5% offroad toy.


BACKSTORY:

I bought a white '97 4.0L 2WD Xcab 82K miles when I was 16, since I hadn't enough money for a low mileage fullsize. I grew to love the compact size and utility, and I eventually did a 2" washer lift, 3" PA body, and threw some 33x12.50x15 ProComp A/T on there along with a K&N, muffler, and explorer seats. I beat it to Hell and back at 200K miles, until 3 years ago when I got T-boned by another driver that wasn't paying attention to her stoplight. It got totalled, bought a nicely used BMW for Dad, and got myself a '92 GT Foxbody convertible.

I longed for another Ranger, and finally found one on Craigslist. I picked this exact one for several reasons...



GOOD:

• Extended cab
• '97 had the 2 piston brakes
• '97 had the revised 4.0L design
• '97 last year of the TTB
• 4.0L had the 8.8" rear, larger discs, and larger drums
• Familiar to me, and like the body style better than the Gen I/II
• M5OD-R1
• Already had a lift and the rivets drilled out!! lol
• Gauge cluster has the tachometer installed
• Body is straight, save for a few offroading dings
• Good head unit (not the best out there, but acceptable)

BAD:

• Leaking windshield & rear sliding window
• Disgusting broken headliner
• Awful smell
• Torn seat
• Missing interior pieces
• Odometer is obviously wrong from the cluster swap since the body shows way more wear (it says 107K, I'd put it way over closer to 200K)
• Speedometer is off
• Body mounts are totally shot
• Radius arm bushings are totally shot
• The stock gearing on 35's (difficult to take out in 1st gear) due to the gearing
• Air conditioning is leaking, doesn't hold a charge for long
• Peeling tint
• Alignment
• Sputtering at idle
• Brakes don't stop vehicle, pumping the pedal is necessary
• Transmission sounds
• Hubs don't always disengage
• Dented tailgate with malfunctioning locking
• Broken driver mirror
• Clutch was on it's last leg (from the short-tall gearing)
• Shudder upon takeoff in first (don't suspect u-joints, since it only happens for 400 rpms in first gear)

FRESH PARTS / REPAIRS:

• New black carpet & insulation
• New tailgate bushings (tailgate was slipping out)
• Banged out (as best as possible) tailgate // fixed mechanism
• New Hayes HD clutch, throwout bearing, pressure plate
• New Timken carrier center bearing
• Fixed so much of the suspension, it's not funny
• Fixed A/C
• Newer softer Skyjacker coils
• New fog lights (tractor lights from Harbor Freight)
• Thoroughly cleaned the inside cab (if you smelled it, you'd understand it was its own mission, months to get rid of)
• Tires
• Fixed popping suspension via balljoints, fixed lifted suspension quirks
• Shifter (old one was seized + rusted, new stock shifter used...not the temporary 19mm box wrench)
• New Bearings
• Used manual hubs / repaired 4WD
• New drilled & slotted rotors
• New premium disc pads
• New premium drum shoes
• New drum hardware
• Flushed entire brake system w/ DOT 3
• Used 15x10" steel wheels
• New "cold air" filter & intake
• Alignment & bushings
• Fixed idle issue / (cleaned MAF, IACV, Seafoam brake booster & intake)
• Marvel Mystery oiled crankcase / removed sludge
• New wheel studs
• New & used lug nuts
• New wipers
• Steering wheel grip (old was faded and crumbling)
• New Pioneer 5"x7" speakers
• Barely-Used bed cover & bedliner (to lock my tools and floor jack)
• Fuel filter / motor oil
• 12" Rockford Fosgate woofer, amp, new 8 gauge wiring
• Painted & installed fender flares
• Fixed floppy clutch pedal, installed new pedal covers
• Made 40/40 buckets + seat covers
• Zip-tie throttle mod
• Cool blue interior mood lights
• Aluminum side steps for passengers
• Installed used driver's side power mirror
• TRS Banner mod

Bucket seat mod:




"TRS Banner Mod"




Got rid of that nasty, smoked, stained carpet ($119.00 shipped):



Replaced broken, unpowered driver side mirror:






INTERESTING STORIES // LESSON LEARNED:

Story:
Once, I was driving through a parking lot, and my wheel fell off and rolled past me. I band-aided the problem, and ran on 3 studs for quite some time. I thought it was my mistake that after the drum brake rebuild, I didnt tighten the lugs to spec.
A few months later, it ALMOST happened again on the highway @ 70 mph. The wheel was chewed up, and I realized that this wasn't my fault...twice.

Lesson:
The guy that sold me the truck used the wrong lug nuts, and they were bottoming out on the studs. I was so pissed.




Story:
I initially thought my brakes just couldn't stop the 35's, and then I realized I was actually getting major brake fade from all the heat that was being built up. I installed new wheels bearings, drilled & slotted rotors, and new premium pads up front.

Lesson:
Brake fade occurs when parts are worn and out of alignment / warped. Bad wheel bearings create axial forces on the rotor, generating more heat.
Bad wheel bearings can also come from bad radius arm bushing support.


You can see where the rear tire rolled off and hit the door. Fullsize spare was mounted, since the wheel was FUBAR.












PARTS BOUGHT, BUT YET TO INSTALL:

• 4.0L Pacesetter headers & Y-pipe
• James Duff radius arm bushings
• James Duff body mount bushings
• 8.8 disc open Explorer axle (completely rebuilt, I installed 4.88 gears), Solid diff cover
• Dana 35 assembly (I installed 4.88 gears)
• Clear corner marker lights
• (4) ProComp ES9000 twin-tube nitrogen shocks (23" extended, 30" extended)
• Finish fiberglassing custom center console
• Explorer OHC
• Superlift Superrunner Steering (K-link)
• Skyjacker extended radius arms, trans x-member, raised coil buckets
• Explorer leaves

This is at the Texas State Capitol, in Austin, TX:



















Here, you can see the most recent photo. Ill try to dig up where I put the rest of the photos (from in progress).

[country0001]

Very nice documentation. Now bring it to Okieland so we can inspect it better! lol. We're getting ready in a couple of weeks!

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

Nice!!

[mp3deviant721]

That is a good looking truck. Nice find.

[AgPete139]

(This mini section added 11/15/2011.)

I forgot to include the center support / carrier bearing for my 2 piece driveshaft. I tried to find a 98+ 4WD replacement, but couldn't find one nearby in a crunch. So, I did two things:

1.) Took my old one off, and warrantied this stock one out for a bearing I replaced on my other Ranger 5 years ago at Autozone. Turns out it was gonna take 5 days to arrive, but I ordered it and picked it up later anyways as a new spare.

2.) Went to my favorite O'Reilly's and they had it in stock. Better guys overall, anyways. Used this $20 Timken for the actual replacement that day.

(INSERT OLD PIC OF CARRIER BEARING)



************************************************** *****************


ES9000's work great.

Very pleased on the 35's BFG M/T. I have different Skyjacker coils, and I'm going to try and see if those yield a better street ride as a DD. As soon as the new James Duff body mounts arrive and radius arm bushings, hopefully everything will come back into spec and eliminate the shaking.

Smooth ride, and takes the little bumps easily. The bigger ones I'm still getting bumpsteer, but that's because of my drag & TRE angles relative to the pitman.

I'm curious if an additional shock on the front tower will help as well, and used in place of the front swaybar mount.

Here's a pic of when the wheel almost fell off at 70mph on the highways, due to the previous owners choice of wheel studs. I guess I have always been been lucky for the last 1.25 years (8 months of it was spent on jackstands). The lugnut/wheel interface is so close, that it seemed to be right. I guess I was too trusting that that hardware was right when I picked it up that way.


I had to cut my wheel off, and found this:








Rebuilt with new guts & upgraded pads & rotors:



New internal 4WD guts, and used hub lockouts form a fellow TRS-er:




New shocks, nothing special:




Worn body bushing:



When I got the tonneau cover, ~ 1 month ago for $100. The lock still requires adjustment, and it still needs to be painted black:



This is only the plug for the new center console that I am building. I have since cut holes and shaved it down to fit, and am currently running that as a console to see if I like it. It is going to be glassed, house switches, cup holders, a storage compartment, and a place for my wallet & phone with a built in charger. I will also add an additional keyed-on 12V source. I am contemplating a 300W power inverter.



Also, had a get together with Northern & PHDPrerunner.

[06RangerXLT]

sweet truck! id take on something like that if i had some spare cahs, but for now, my dirty money pit i call my truck, will soak it up like a never ending sponge.

[AgPete139]

Welps, apparently I'm getting old...





But, here are pictures from a few days ago. Turns out even less money is going towards the truck:

I pretended I had car trouble, and told my gf that either the tire was flat or something is wrong with the rear brakes. We got out, and inspected the tire.

"I found what was causing the noise...it was this stupid rock." I was already down on one knee...











And, got a pic of the truck in the moonlight in a random ass parking lot:

[AgPete139]

Did a little bit on the Ranger. Interior wiring, painted the grill with a quick black over, removed the sidesteps, de-hazed headlights & sanded down + clear-coated, drilled 3 holes in each lens to allow water to drain, aligned headlights, & replaced the corners.

[AgPete139]

I didn't drive my truck for 5 days, and the weather dropped about 10 degrees this weekend from a cold front. I come out to the Green Machine to see my tires leaning outwards. It was never like that before. I am wondering if the new ES9000 shocks, cooler weather, and sitting for 5 days raised the vehicle up? It's weird, and I've never seen this happen before. I'm not .

Positive camber:




Passenger Radius Arm:


Metal Radius Arm against Metal Bracket & Cycling Causes:




James Duff Bushings / Stock Rubber Bushings with torn/worn hole:



Replaced:




While I was down there, I switched out my coils.

Trailmaster Coil vs. Skyjacker Coil:



This morning:







THE VERDICT:

The Skyjacker coils are a significantly smoother ride on road, sucking up bumps and dips better. I am going to flex it later this week to see how it performs as well. Also, my tire wear is mostly on the outer shoulder of my tires, and are warm to touch as opposed to the inner being completely cold. When I turn a corner at 10 mph, it sounds like I'm doing a powerslide.

I noticed ~1.25"+ height increase, and slightly more positive camber (even though the picture doesn't look like it). The springs have settled a little bit from the 10 miles I've driven since last night (camber was really bad). My camber bolts cannot be adjusted any more, so it's time for new ones. I am taking it to get a full alignment today by a reputable performance shop with TTB knowledge.

The polyurethane James Duff bushing replacement has proved to be a more solid feel as well. The steering doesn't vibrate as much, and it's not a jarring ride anymore (from the combination of bushings & different coils). When the axle cycles, I can feel the difference in my steering wheel & seat being smoother. I have no experience using polypropylene material, but I'd strongly suggest using these polyurethane pieces. You'll like the solid feel better than the stock rubber (my last Ranger had good OEM rubber).

I will also retorque my nuts/connections later today.

Apparently, I lost a caliper bolt that attaches the bracket to the spindle. It's okay after a quick trip to Ford the following morning.


Penetrating oil was vital to removing/loosening the spring nuts & bolts to pull out the radius arm from the bracket. From all the mud and water, it has really rusted this stuff on.

I can't wait until I do the body mount bushings...

[AgPete139]

Found pictures of the Hushmat that I threw on the interior. No post installation pics, but just one the day it got delivered. It iis MUCH quieter, and considerably cooler form the transmission and exhaust coming through the bottom.




Also, found a picture of the clutch before I installed that as well.


15x10 & 15x8 steelies, side by side for comparison:


Clear corners the day they were shipped to me by another TRS-er:


Sadly, also found some stupid poser pics at the warehouse.

This is what happens when you wait for you buddy at the warehouse with the keys. We were swapping over a K20Z1 into an old DC2 Teg. (Got pics of that, too, if anyone cares.)








Didn't max out the suspension, just a little bit. Gotta get rid of the 3" blocks and throw on the shackles. The SJ coils have since settled a little bit, and I adjusted the toe. It articulates smoother off the street (feel-wise), though I haven't noticed a change in actual performance. It's probably just me and not wheeling it as hard as some other TRS-ers on here do.

Damn, I gotta get real pics next time I'm on the trail.

Also, I've gotta change out all of my balljoints. I inspected them last week, and they are horrible. I actually couldnt align the camber at the alignment shop since it was so out of whack.

Pete

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

nice pichures pete

[AgPete139]

Well, finally got around to swapping out the rear. 31 splines, larger axle tube housing, disc brakes, and 4.88 Nitro gears I bought from a fellow TRSer. The front D35 with a 4.88 gear set will be replaced another weekend.


4.88 gears:





Ass up in the air:



OLD 8.8 w/ drums:


NEW 8.8 w/ discs, SOLID diff cover w/ extra oil capacity:


Belltech shackles:


Got the Explorer ubolt/shock plate, and chopped off the shock tabs for my axle.
Yes, I didn't cut off the old leaf perches. Why? Didn't get around to doing it.








Final w/ working e-brake (don't like my brake lines):


Side driveline angle (didn't expect that the springs would "settle"). It was positioned with full weight on the axle when they were getting burned in:



My goal is to eventually get rid of the blocks, since they are good enough for me and I haven't experienced anything bad from it, especially since it's my DD and the last time I went wheeling was a year ago.

It has performance pads, and new Brakebest rotors. I also have new drum e-brake pads and new spring and hardware, but that'll get done when I replace the gear fluid in 200 miles from now after the break-in period.

First off, I'm happy. The brakes feel really spongy, and I'm going to try and bleed them again. If they still feel spongy after a week, I will switch it out with the Explorer master cylinder that I got at the same time I bought the axle. I also have the Explorer springs which should yield 1" of lift, but I'm guessing that they will be stiffer and uncomfy for street use. I may axle switch this out later.

It's really tempting to romp on the gas pedal with the new gears, but I'm restraining my self from going over 2,500 RPM.

I'm also glad my clutch won't crap out on me from engaging too high.