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

[Rick W]

Ok, it’s not a chain saw, but you should see me sling it! It’s not the size of the magician’s wand, it’s the magic with which he waves it

Painting day here. I put Forever Black on The Missing Linc’s back bumper pad and the front of Big Red. Working on a trailer I’m selling too, rebuild a Town Car starter

 

[Lefty]

Don’t know, how heavy is the first winch?

The first winch is 5000 lbs in the front...very light. It's not meant pull an overloaded F150 out of the quicksand.

I am a city boy. The ground is level and paved. Still, from time to time, somebody gets stuck, usually when the snow plows plow them in. 5,000 lbs is plenty for that. Sometimes, however, people get stuck in tight spaces. It's good to winch from either the front or the back of my truck.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Went for a drive.

 

[Blmpkn]

Like a boss!

 

[Rick W]

Does the fact that there is no road in front of him have anything to do with his age?

 

[Curious Hound]

Does the fact that there is no road in front of him have anything to do with his age?

Only "out of towners" use the roads in Iowa.

 

[scotts90ranger]

So far today my brother and I took a road trip around the area getting stuff from an online auction that had multiple locations, like 130 mile round trip in the '97 towing my smaller trailer getting a 12' wide drag harrow frame thingy, some 3 phase wire and a couple other things, wasn't bad, ranger did fine other than using a bunch more gas than normal .

Then when I got home I started working on the '90, started with more cleanup, dropped the oil pan as much as I could so I could clean and add some RTV around the rear main cap, found that most of the bolts weren't very tight anymore but whatever... then cleaned the flywheel to prep for the new Centerforce clutch, put it on a bit ago.... next step is putting the transmission back in it's home, should be in tonight, we'll see how far I get tonight... Gotta remember to add oil before I do anything dumb!

 

[JoshT]

I guess you missed the discussions awhile back, what I did today was kinda nothing as far as trees go. I did employ my air cannons though with getting the rope in the one tree, but not my climbing gear. Yes, I built a pair of PVC air cannons and I have a climbing harness, ropes and all. At some point I need to clear a couple dead limbs out of an oak over part of the driveway and I need to finish taking down a shagbark hickory in the front yard, it’s about 60’ to where it splits into 4 trunks for the crown and I’ve already been about 75’ up in it. These trees I knocked down today were probably less than 75’ to the tip-top, not a climbable to 90’

I think he was trying to be funny, but then you actually had to get all macho and shit. Way to showboat and excellent one-upmanship there.

Be careful out there.

Forever Black

First I've heard of this stuff. With those results, I'm going to have to do some investigating. I've tried some other trim restorers and haven't been happy with the results. It says that it is a dye, I wonder if it would work toturn originally gray plastics, like some Rangers had, to black. I also wonder about using it to color change interior plastics in place of a paint like SEM or Colorbond.

Went for a drive.

View attachment 90500

Boy... I say boy, you looking a little young there. I'm gonna need to see some license and registration.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Started putting stuff together and got to the point of running out of parts to put on... transmission is installed, transfer case mounted and linkage adjusted, drivelines installed, almost forgot the starter but it's on now, just have to bleed the clutch tomorrow.

Oh, and over 12? years of use and abuse on the Centerforce clutch the flywheel still had machining marks from when it was faced last (possibly 6ish years ago when I built the last engine, I don't remember anymore) and the new friction disc was a mere 0.007" thicker than the old one... so that clutch will go on the '97 when the time comes...

 

[Rick W]

I think he was trying to be funny, but then you actually had to get all macho and shit. Way to showboat and excellent one-upmanship there.

Be careful out there.



First I've heard of this stuff. With those results, I'm going to have to do some investigating. I've tried some other trim restorers and haven't been happy with the results. It says that it is a dye, I wonder if it would work toturn originally gray plastics, like some Rangers had, to black. I also wonder about using it to color change interior plastics in place of a paint like SEM or Colorbond.

Boy... I say boy, you looking a little young there. I'm gonna need to see some license and registration.

Hey, just for the record, I’m not trying to one up anyone, I’m just a professional smart ass joking around (blush).

If I could climb trees and cut limbs, my place wouldn’t look like a deferred maintenance poster child!

lil blu ford, you kill it! (& when can you come to Hotlanta?)

 

[JoshT]

Hey, just for the record, I’m not trying to one up anyone, I’m just a professional smart ass joking around (blush).

If I could climb trees and cut limbs, my place wouldn’t look like a deferred maintenance poster child!

lil blu ford, you kill it! (& when can you come to Hotlanta?)

I was saying that you (Rick W) were just being funny, and that he (lil_blue_ford) messed it up by getting too serious. I followed it up by tags to show that I was trying to be a funny smart ass as well.

LOL, I'm right there with you on that one. I've got no excuse except for pines aren't good for climbing with the equipment I've got. Even if I had the right stuff, I've got too many tackle and then I'd have to deal with the stuimps and disposal.

Maybe if he can make it to hotlanta to take care of yours, he can keep driving a little further and take care of a few hundred or a thousand planted pines for me. Joking around of course. It's too big of a job for one person to tackle, I need someone with heavy equipment to take them out stump and all. That said if any of you are stopping in the Macon/Warner Robins area, I wouldn't be against a meet and greet.

 

[Rick W]

The first winch is 5000 lbs in the front...very light. It's not meant pull an overloaded F150 out of the quicksand.

I am a city boy. The ground is level and paved. Still, from time to time, somebody gets stuck, usually when the snow plows plow them in. 5,000 lbs is plenty for that. Sometimes, however, people get stuck in tight spaces. It's good to winch from either the front or the back of my truck.

it came to me in a dream last night, but the solution might be as easy as a snatch block or two. One doubles the pulling power, two, that much more.

Also, for a lot of our work projects back when I actually worked for a living, we got away from chains, and used wire rope/cables. Pretty amazing what a small diameter cable can handle. Lighter & easier to handle. But we weren’t pulling trucks out of ditches. The cable cut and crimp tools are pretty cheap too.

Hope it helps.

 

[sgtsandman]

The first winch is 5000 lbs in the front...very light. It's not meant pull an overloaded F150 out of the quicksand.

I am a city boy. The ground is level and paved. Still, from time to time, somebody gets stuck, usually when the snow plows plow them in. 5,000 lbs is plenty for that. Sometimes, however, people get stuck in tight spaces. It's good to winch from either the front or the back of my truck.

5,000 lbs seems to be pretty heavy to me. It must be a pretty big winch to weigh 5,000 lbs. A bit much for a Ranger to be carrying around...

 

[racsan]

After 2 days of rain and yesterday’s heavy winds today was a nice sunny 55 degree day so I got the oil changed in both the ranger and escape. The ranger hadnt quite got to 3,000 miles since its last change and the escape was a little more than 4,000 miles since its last change. Both were changed at the same time, late october before things got cold. Ranger oil was a lot more dirty, one might say blowby but idk. The escape has more miles on it (176K) the ranger is at 169K. Aside from the day I went after the new mower the ranger hasnt towed anything, I mainly use the escape for towing anymore. Both seem to use the same amount between oil changes.

 

[Rick W]

Soooo, today was a honey do day. So I justified working on The Missing Linc and the Road Ranger by installing get ‘er in grab bars for my honey on her side.

Yep, the top one is from a Town Car. The 97 got real Ford handles.

She was not impressed - I’m in the dog house with a much better understanding of what a honey do project is….

Also, the little tongue/latch that hangs off the bottom of the arm rest lid has been gone for decades, supplanted with a bungee. I got some seat covers, so I figured it was a good time to fix that latch. Turns out the lid was actually cracked in half. I just drilled straight through the padded lid and used some pop rivets to secure the loose piece that holds the tongue. I made a tongue out of scrap aluminum from the shed of miracles. It’s L shaped, I slipped it in between the padded top and inside plastic, and then ran a short self tapping screw into the horizontal part through the plastic.

I also did a patch piece on the inside to hold it level. It looks horrible, but after I put the cover on it, you can’t tell, and like usual, it suits the hell out of me!

The orange strap is my doggie restraint/collar seat belt. Long enough he can move around, short enough so he can’t jump out or hit the dash. He wears a harness, not a collar. I pulled the coat hook and installed a ring below/behind it, and put the hook back.

Yeah, my dog is named Lincoln too….