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

[Rick W]

Took a drive to whiskeytown to learn about the history, and saw the lake. This is an absolute wonderful area. Recently found a good clean headliner and basic pair of door panels from a 97. Needed these for my 94. Found an old cemetery, went for a walk in it, and little creepy.

All good, great stuff!

I’m glad someone else likes the OEM bullet hole wheels…

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Don't use threaded rod to try to make a U–bolt. That's asking for trouble. Threaded rod is made of cheap soft steel. It's good for such things as hanging lighting in offices, but not much more than that.

Yes, each valley is a crack waiting to happen.
They do make grade 8 threaded rod, but that wouldn't be any better.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Finished fabbing the new exhaust pipe and got that installed. Checked for fuel leaks and tried to start it.

No spark for some reason...

 

[Rick W]

Finished fabbing the new exhaust pipe and got that installed. Checked for fuel leaks and tried to start it.

No spark for some reason...

Be safe. Don’t ever try to start your exhaust pipe if it’s leaking gas. And where exactly are the spark plugs on your exhaust pipe?

 

[Rick W]

Soooo, when I was at the 40th I asked if anybody knew where I could get a belt for the drive in the OEM cassette player in the missing Linc. The TRS folks seemed like nice guys, but they ganged up and pressured me to get a universal repair kit, and just do it.

So when I was at Harbor freight, I picked up this universal belt kit. I didn’t want to spend all the money at retail, but I was afraid of the blowback from the other guys at the 40th.

 

[Roert42]

Soooo, when I was at the 40th I asked if anybody knew where I could get a belt for the drive in the OEM cassette player in the missing Linc. The TRS folks seemed like nice guys, but they ganged up and pressured me to get a universal repair kit, and just do it.

So when I was at Harbor freight, I picked up this universal belt kit. I didn’t want to spend all the money at retail, but I was afraid of the blowback from the other guys at the 40th.

View attachment 96964

I’m still willing to pop open one of my old radios if your rubber bands don’t work out.

 

[Rick W]

I’m still willing to pop open one of my old radios if your rubber bands don’t work out.

Thanks, I appreciate that, and I’ll file it away for the moment.

I figured this was a pretty cheap way to get it to spin and see if it works at all. Then I actually liked the idea of getting the right size O-rings. It’s not a top priority, but I got the rubber bands while I was there.

 

[sgtsandman]

Thanks, I appreciate that, and I’ll file it away for the moment.

I figured this was a pretty cheap way to get it to spin and see if it works at all. Then I actually liked the idea of getting the right size O-rings. It’s not a top priority, but I got the rubber bands while I was there.

An o-ring might work. I have no idea what those original bands are made of but considering the heat and cold they are subjected to and as long as they last, it’s pretty impressive.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So you have a mower deck for your chop top? Cool

Hmm… well, I didn’t really think of that… that would be kinda cool…

But no, the mower deck was for my Craftsman GT tractor. Which like my trucks isn’t stock, I have AG tires on the back with 5-6 gallons of RV antifreeze in the back tires and 55# wheel weights. 54” mower deck off a different tractor. Straight beast mode.

 

[Rick W]

I’m confused. So how do you cut grass with your Ranger?

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

May be a dumb question, but can you just use a length of threaded rod and bend around the axle to make the U bolt?

What are the thoughts on heating a threaded rod of a larger diameter to bend it around the axle to make a U bolt?

I don’t think I do it on the driveline, but I’ve got a lot of threaded rod and I’ve got a few trailer projects I’m working on.

All information always appreciated.

Most threaded rod is ungraded, meaning low strength. Which is not good for the U-bolts that hold everything together. I’m not sure what grade gets used for it, but I’m guessing probably grade 5 or 8

 

[Rick W]

Has anyone attended any of these “rigs and coffee“ events? It looks like a bunch of crazies who ride through the woods and mud and stuff like that.

It looks like they’re all over the country. There’s one in Atlanta coming up. Has anyone gone to the one in Atlanta?

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Add some candle wax. Experiment so that when the hot mix cools, it’s more solid than pasty. And then apply it hot. I use an old fashioned pump oil can.

Do I have to talk about how careful you have to be heating up such a mess?

Interesting. I may experiment with that, but for now the grease and oil

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

You can use propane or butane from Home Depot, but be careful not to blow your head off. Freon “R12A” is actually propane, and it could be used to top off either R 12 or R134 to get it colder.

Interesting. I knew propane could be used, but I don’t have any easy way to fill the system with it right now. Plus I’m not trying to make a potential bomb right now, lol

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

@snoranger took a look at the AC system on the road ranger which had been patched with some epoxy, and showed me which line to change out (thanks again).

All I have ever done is top off systems. When they were completely out, I always took it to a shop. So this may be a dumb question or request, but can somebody tell me exactly what I put into the system to charge it up after the vacuum pump? Doesn’t have to be a combination of oil, and dye, and leak detector, and Freon?

All help appreciated.

And I posted a question in my 97 in Ranger semi build thread about shock absorbers. Any help there is also appreciated!

My shop in my driveway are a disaster area from all the rushing I did to get the trailer done for the 40th. So “what have you done with the Ranger today” for me is more on doing all the stuff I did, the mess I made, doing the Ranger before I left…

So, more recently I’ve started playing with AC stuff. I’m by no means an expert. But I’m learning. My last experience with a shop was dumb. Like $200 to vac a system and charge it.

I was successful with my 92. My Choptop has a leak somewhere. The ideal way is to strip everything apart and clean all the old oil out of everything and add the required oil charge. I believe the older RBV systems use about 8oz of oil. Most of it should go in the pump. I just put an ounce or two here and there in the system (there’s charts that recommend how much to add when you replace certain components online). I’ll also add a shot of leak detector dye before I close everything up.

So far my procedure has been to vac down for an hour or two, then close everything off and leave it sit overnight. If it’s still holding in the morning, then I call it good to go and fill. If it’s not, there’s a leak somewhere. Problem is, the leak detector dye doesn’t help without the system filled and working, so you have to find your leak another way.