What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Didn’t do anything for my Fords, but we got fireworks and will probably launch tomorrow night, lol. @racsan , want to stop b tomorrow night? Lol, we in Ohio

 

[pjtoledo]

first startup after the engine swap.
2005 2.3 with 367,500 miles out, 2002 2.3 in.
had to swap a few external parts to match the truck, replaced clutch & slave. all new hoses. pan gasket, rear seal, water pump, starter, and a few other things.
and of course I put on a different intake manifold after that bad case of "oh shit "
primed the pump several times, bleed air from the fuel rail each time, started right up. no funny noises (yet)

 

[pjtoledo]

Got mine ready to DD again, I noticed this noise the other day on the hhr, thought it was exhaust related, but after putting it up on ramps and rolling underneath it seems the tapping noise is internal to either engine or transmission. So it’s getting parked. Figures, after all the $ and effort Ive put in to it over the last 6 months. Im guessing its the timing chain from what Ive been reading online, funny how these newer 4-valve /cyl -4cyl engines from both ford & gm dont have near the service life of the older 2 valve/cyl-4 cyl engines.

according to the rumor mill Duratec engines last quite a while.
did you make it to Good Guys? I should have, stayed home to work on the Ranger.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I did a bunch of mowing and rearranging my junk around the yard the last couple weekends, moved the '90 a couple times, moved some firewood with the '97 and towed the boat to the river (4 miles away...) with the '00 Explorer today which was successful, it'd be nice if the boat had a marine carburetor instead of whatever Edelbrock carb it has now but once it figured life out (been sitting since I think September...) it ran just fine, first time I've ran it with the Kodiak jet nozzle instead of whatever random old deflector nozzle it had before and it's much better... it no longer noticeably slows down when turning...

 

[racsan]

according to the rumor mill Duratec engines last quite a while.
did you make it to Good Guys? I should have, stayed home to work on the Ranger.

No, had quite a bit going on here, local fair & all. With Bren on a layoff things have been a bit tight lately. I have been to that show in the past, it is awesome!

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Doing final preparations on the ranger as I get my U-Haul trailer Monday morning to start loading for my move to shasta county.

Be sure to let us know how it goes and we love pics, lol

 

[holyford86]

Ordered cab corners for both of my trucks, rust repair to start while I'm on vacation

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Nothing to the Ranger today but I did get the thrill of replacing a frozen like 2 month old caliper, 2 month old trashed brake pads, rotor and brake hose on the GFs car this morning so she could get to work…

 

[broncc]

I got a new tool today! Its a ball joint reamer.

 

[superj]

used the ranger to go buy a 32mm socket so we could remove the cv axle nut on the focus to let us change the steering knuckle and hub bearing assembly.

 

[broncc]

Package from @RumPunch !

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Mom has been chirping about her Explorer, so yesterday I took time away from my projects to change the rear tie rod (warranty) and rear lower bushing/balljoint. 2002 Explorer. Actually manufactured 2/02 and factory 16” wheels (these specs will be important in a minute).

Jacked it up, pulled the old tie rod in the rear (I replaced these before and it came out easily). Took it up to the parts store to replace it under warranty with the one they ordered in. Looked right, swapped it out, took it back, put a dab of grease on it and went to put it in and… it doesn’t fit. I may or may not be able to hammer it in, but knowing that there was different ones from my previous experience where I got ones that didn’t specify when I bought them but when I tried to complain about them punching holes in the rims they were suddenly listed with a note that said 17” or larger rims only. So I took a step back and looked it up to find that this one I had just got said it was only for manufacture date of 3/02 and newer. Crap. So now I have to track down the correct part AGAIN.

At least I can punch out the bushing, right? Well, the pesky ball joint center came out but the outer sleeve is seized tight as can be. Ball joint press wasn’t moving it and a large drift and 4# sledge didn’t either. I was about ready to pull out the torch when my buddy told me to sit down and drink a beer and we’ll deal with it today, so I’ll try running a couple beads of weld in the sleeve to shrink it and see if it will come out.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So after a lot of searching, I think the correct part for the tie rod for the Explorer is Dorman 523-009, it’s for to 3/02 Explorers and 15mm end. Comes up as a control arm in Autozone’s system. The other one that I had got has a 17mm end, which is why it didn’t fit.

 

[Vindictus]

Today I changed the thermostat. being laid up with sciatic nerve really sucks
Took truck for a little drive to make sure thermstat was working and put a few miles on this motor 350 miles so far

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Finally got mom’s Explorer together. Tracked down and got the correct rear tie rod, welded the inside of the bushing sleeve and drove it out with my big “drift punch” (a large grade 5 bolt) and a 4# sledge. Got it all back together and a better tire on it. So it should be good for inspection now.

Then I gave my newly used tailgate a once over (removed as much loose rust as I could, oiled the seam and handle/latch workings, welded the broken hinge back on and put it on my F-150. Kinda feels weird having a tailgate that works easily and doesn’t feel like it’s going to fold like a soft taco if you step wrong.