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

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Worked on the wiring some more on my green Ranger with a few interruptions. At any rate, it’s almost ready to be plugged all together so I’m pretty much ready for the bumper which means finishing that is probably tomorrow’s project.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Swapped the battery out with one that came in another one of my sh!tboxes, and tested for a parasitic draw again.. pretty sure I had my meter on the right setting...

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This is right.. right? The 00.0 is throwing me off though..shouldn't there be SOME draw at least from the computer or something?

Also prettied up my Swiss cheese front bumper..

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MUCH better!

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Somehow managed this though -__- and Isopropyl does NOTHING to help remove it. Don't feel like abusing my kidneys/liver or else I'd whip out the bottle of thinner.. really not suped about this lol.

I agree with the others, how are you hooking up the leads? The correct way would be to unhook one of the battery cables and put the leads in line appropriately to test the amperage which is really annoying and you would have to sit for a little bit to let the computer do it's thing... The much easier way is to get an amp clamp meter but they're not common for DC as you have to get a "true RMS" meter usually and they pretty much start at $55...

 

[Bgunner]

bguis this what your idler looks like?

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If it does, the one like Eric posted will work fine. Mine has been in for over 6 years without issues

AJ

No the pulley that was on there was a plastic one that looks different. Here is a pic of what was on there:

As you can see from the second pic the belt was not riding exactly in the center of the pulley. I don't think that where it was riding was the cause but the fact that for some reason the pulley would rock at an angle to the motor allowing the belt to slip on it.

Here is a pic of the style I put on there and what I believe is the factory style from my experience and what @ericbphoto says is on his:

After running a motor flush for 10 minutes, I drained the oil and replaced the filter. Then I pulled the 4 intake side spark plugs from the 2.3L and put 3 oz of Berryman B-12 fuel cleaner in each cylinder. I am going to soak the pistons from this evening until Sunday to see if I can cure the horrendous oil consumption. I will be using a total of 3 cans of B-12. I will also be replacing the PCV valve, installing new plugs, and doing a super short (50-60 miles) oil change after the piston soak. I will then give the Valvoline Restore and Protect a try for the next regular length oil change. If this doesn't help the oil consumption, then I will be swapping in a fresh engine.

@MT_PLS Have you possibly had the valve covers off on that motor to see how much sludge is in there? If it is just varnish your plan is fine but using the Valvoline Restore and Protect with a bunch of sludge it still can plug a filter. I only mention this so you can get extra filters for when you run the Valvoline oil to prevent any oil starvation. 300-500 mile oil filter changes, recommended the lower end of that as a start, to start with with the Valvoline Restore and Protect. It is supposed to do it slower than their old cleaning formula but it has been proven to be problematic if there is any build up of sludge in the motor.

Have a watch of this vid:

 

[Blmpkn]

it appears your leads are correct...

how did you connect them to the vehicle?

I'm thinking you should see a little draw. Likely around 50mA...

I agree with the others, how are you hooking up the leads? The correct way would be to unhook one of the battery cables and put the leads in line appropriately to test the amperage which is really annoying and you would have to sit for a little bit to let the computer do it's thing... The much easier way is to get an amp clamp meter but they're not common for DC as you have to get a "true RMS" meter usually and they pretty much start at $55...

Twice I just put black to black and red to red with both terminals connected, third time I popped off the negative terminal and held black to the terminal.. same results each time. My 2010 had a draw and that's how I seem to remember testing it.. but that was years ago.. my rememberer could be wrong.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Twice I just put black to black and red to red with both terminals connected, third time I popped off the negative terminal and held black to the terminal.. same results each time. My 2010 had a draw and that's how I seem to remember testing it.. but that was years ago.. my rememberer could be wrong.

Ammeter must be connected in series.

Disconnect the negative battery cable. Red lead to the negative battery post... black lead to the disconnected negative battery cable.

The meter just completes the circuit and allows any current to flow through the meter.

 

[Blmpkn]

Ammeter must be connected in series.

Disconnect the negative battery cable. Red lead to the negative battery post... black lead to the disconnected negative battery cable.

The meter just completes the circuit and allows any current to flow through the meter.

Thanks!

Just tried it.. still getting 00.0 mabey my meters junk.

Voltage reads 12.57 though... well see what it's at when I get back to it at the end of the day. That battery has been holding steady sitting on the kitchen floor for like 2 years.. if it's any lower when I get back I'll have my answer on whether or not I have a draw.. and a crappy meter lol.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Thanks!

Just tried it.. still getting 00.0 mabey my meters junk.

Voltage reads 12.57 though... well see what it's at when I get back to it at the end of the day. That battery has been holding steady sitting on the kitchen floor for like 2 years.. if it's any lower when I get back I'll have my answer on whether or not I have a draw.. and a crappy meter lol.

Try switching the red lead to the 10amp port on the meter... then open a door so the dome lamp comes on.

Everything with an ECM is going to have a bit of draw. Maybe try borrowing another meter and checking it with a different meter.

 

[Bgunner]

Try switching the red lead to the 10amp port on the meter... then open a door so the dome lamp comes on.

Everything with an ECM is going to have a bit of draw. Maybe try borrowing another meter and checking it with a different meter.

Just to add to this anything with a clock in it will also draw something. This means even your factory radio will put a small draw on it to keep the clock and settings from resetting. I second trying a different meter as there should be some draw, although very small.

 

[Curious Hound]

If hooked up correctly, you should be reading at least 30 on the milliamps range. Something wrong here. Make sure you have it connected in series the way Uncle Gump described up above.

 

[Curious Hound]

No the pulley that was on there was a plastic one that looks different. Here is a pic of what was on there:

As you can see from the second pic the belt was not riding exactly in the center of the pulley. I don't think that where it was riding was the cause but the fact that for some reason the pulley would rock at an angle to the motor allowing the belt to slip on it.

Here is a pic of the style I put on there and what I believe is the factory style from my experience and what @ericbphoto says is on his:

@MT_PLS Have you possibly had the valve covers off on that motor to see how much sludge is in there? If it is just varnish your plan is fine but using the Valvoline Restore and Protect with a bunch of sludge it still can plug a filter. I only mention this so you can get extra filters for when you run the Valvoline oil to prevent any oil starvation. 300-500 mile oil filter changes, recommended the lower end of that as a start, to start with with the Valvoline Restore and Protect. It is supposed to do it slower than their old cleaning formula but it has been proven to be problematic if there is any build up of sludge in the motor.

Have a watch of this vid:

The belt does not have to ride in the center of the pulley. Ot just needs to be completely on the pulley. If you replaced the pulley with one of the same diameter, with or without guides on the edges, you will be fine.

 

[Bgunner]

The belt does not have to ride in the center of the pulley. Ot just needs to be completely on the pulley. If you replaced the pulley with one of the same diameter, with or without guides on the edges, you will be fine.

Yes I replaced it with a Murray branded one with the same diameter and very close to the same offset without ridges. It looks like yours now and the bonus of no squeak yet. Oh and no rocking. The rocking was weird because it would only rock to one side but when brought back it would be perfectly strait and not rock the opposite direction. The bearing in the old one feels fine I can not feel any play in it at all. I have no idea what was causing the rocking.

 

[Curious Hound]

Yes I replaced it with a Murray branded one with the same diameter and very close to the same offset without ridges. It looks like yours now and the bonus of no squeak yet. Oh and no rocking. The rocking was weird because it would only rock to one side but when brought back it would be perfectly strait and not rock the opposite direction. The bearing in the old one feels fine I can not feel any play in it at all. I have no idea what was causing the rocking.

If it rocked, it has play. You caught it early. Bearings are precision parts with extremely close precision clearances inside and it doesn't take much for them to be bad.

 

[Bgunner]

If it rocked, it has play. You caught it early. Bearings are precision parts with extremely close precision clearances inside and it doesn't take much for them to be bad.

I'm thinking maybe one or two of the balls may have flat spots on them and they need to line up just right to get the play. If I had a press I'd press the old bearing out and cut the outer cage and have a good look. But alas no press without digging deep into a friends shed and it's not worth that much effort since it's fine now. lol

 

[Curious Hound]

I'm thinking maybe one or two of the balls may have flat spots on them and they need to line up just right to get the play. If I had a press I'd press the old bearing out and cut the outer cage and have a good look. But alas no press without digging deep into a friends shed and it's not worth that much effort since it's fine now. lol

It doesn't usually happen that way and it's definitely not worth the effort unless you're just bored.

The grease eventually breaks down and what you would probably see inside at this point is some scoring g on the races and pitting or roughness beginning on the rolling elements. But, like I said, you caught it pretty early and it may not "look" extremely bad to the untrained naked eye.

 

[CamTheHedgehog]

It’s raining today, for the first time in 2-3 weeks now.
I’m driving around the work vehicle I use, a 2001 Ranger 2.3L 5sp, and realize there is a not insignificant leak from the back…. Dangit. Thought it was the window at first but it’s smack in the middle above the window. So now I’m thinking third brake light gasket. Can you buy just the gasket or is it a whole new assembly?