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

[Curious Hound]

Thanks. I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know my way around the tech articles, TRS. But I did look before I got lazy and just asked.

I wasn't trting to imply laziness. I linked one article. But there are at least 3 or 4 others there that are very informative. I was too lazy to link the others.

I upgraded my truck to a 130amp alternator from the junk yard. It was an incredibly easy bolt-in swap. If you upgrade the alternator, I would encourage upgrading the wiring to handle increased current also.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I wasn't trting to imply laziness. I linked one article. But there are at least 3 or 4 others there that are very informative. I was too lazy to link the others.

I upgraded my truck to a 130amp alternator from the junk yard. It was an incredibly easy bolt-in swap. If you upgrade the alternator, I would encourage upgrading the wiring to handle increased current also.

Yeah, but that was a 3.0 with a serpentine belt. The 2.9 used V-belts and if I mind right, the options were a 65 amp or 95 amp.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Good luck. Wear hearing protection when firing the parts cannon. That thing gets loud.

That's not the parts Cannon, that is your bank account screaming right after you click submit for the order

 

[Rick W]

Yeah, but that was a 3.0 with a serpentine belt. The 2.9 used V-belts and if I mind right, the options were a 65 amp or 95 amp.

Thank you thank you everybody

How can you tell the difference between the 65 and the 90? Would the voltage regulator be the same for both of them? I think I have a couple of alternators that fit the 87 and the 88 Lincoln town cars, and I’ll bet you they’re the same thing.

It rained which cooled everything down about 4 o’clock, so I did go out there and pop the hood and just look around a little. I bought a good battery and it’s only a couple years old, and the water was just a little bit low, but not enough to affect anything. I’ll top it off. All the plugs and connections looked OK. When I put my smart battery charger on it, it said it had a charge of about 65%, and the last time I went out it was about 10PM and it had gone up to 95%, so I know I was pretty much running on the battery last night and this morning, about 50-60miles round-trip. should have been 100%.

I’ve been planning on adding a second battery like I did to the Road Ranger for when I start pulling the ‘Raith Kasket Kitchen, so I would like to upgrade to the 95, but for all I know that’s what I’ve got in there already. I can’t remember if the rebuilt engine I put in came with all the parts or if it was just the block. First thing in the morning I’m going to dig in the shed of miracles and see what I’ve got for alternators and parts.

So how do you tell them apart?

 

[Curious Hound]

Google the part number if you can find it or read it.

 

[Jeff_Birt]

Banished the poltergeist who was locking my driver's door every time I tried to open it.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Thank you thank you everybody

How can you tell the difference between the 65 and the 90? Would the voltage regulator be the same for both of them? I think I have a couple of alternators that fit the 87 and the 88 Lincoln town cars, and I’ll bet you they’re the same thing.

It rained which cooled everything down about 4 o’clock, so I did go out there and pop the hood and just look around a little. I bought a good battery and it’s only a couple years old, and the water was just a little bit low, but not enough to affect anything. I’ll top it off. All the plugs and connections looked OK. When I put my smart battery charger on it, it said it had a charge of about 65%, and the last time I went out it was about 10PM and it had gone up to 95%, so I know I was pretty much running on the battery last night and this morning, about 50-60miles round-trip. should have been 100%.

I’ve been planning on adding a second battery like I did to the Road Ranger for when I start pulling the ‘Raith Kasket Kitchen, so I would like to upgrade to the 95, but for all I know that’s what I’ve got in there already. I can’t remember if the rebuilt engine I put in came with all the parts or if it was just the block. First thing in the morning I’m going to dig in the shed of miracles and see what I’ve got for alternators and parts.

So how do you tell them apart?

Offhand, I don’t remember beyond looking up part numbers. Or just picking a donor truck in the junkyard that had power everything because those got the bigger alternator.

I do remember that my one 2.9 alternator was acting up and I pulled the voltage regulator to find the brushes were absolutely gone. I want to say at the time RockAuto had replacement brushes so that’s what I did. Not sure if that’s a viable option anymore. Maybe check with a local place that rebuilds starters and alternators?

 

[Rick W]

Offhand, I don’t remember beyond looking up part numbers. Or just picking a donor truck in the junkyard that had power everything because those got the bigger alternator.

I do remember that my one 2.9 alternator was acting up and I pulled the voltage regulator to find the brushes were absolutely gone. I want to say at the time RockAuto had replacement brushes so that’s what I did. Not sure if that’s a viable option anymore. Maybe check with a local place that rebuilds starters and alternators?

Thank you everybody thank you. I checked the water and topped it off, and checked my connections. A look in the shed of miracles found an alternator from a 1989 Towncar. I grabbed it a few years ago at the pull-a-part without any real need for it, just knowing I had all these Fords. It’s a 65 amp, and it has the voltage regulator on it. It has a serpentine pulley, but that’s no big deal.

I’m gonna pull the old one and take it apart and check the brushes. If the brushes are worn, I have some universal brushes that are larger, and I can just shape them on the belt sander and make them work. If that’s not the issue, I’ll start by trying to swap the voltage regulators. If that’s not the issue, I’ll put the pulley on the 89 and put the voltage regulator back and see if that works.

Also, it’s a big wake up call, that that’s the last alternator I had in the shed of miracles. I need to go get a few…

More to follow

 

[sgtsandman]

That's not the parts Cannon, that is your bank account screaming right after you click submit for the order

The wallet is getting hurt either way. The tow bill the last time it broke down was $200 and hours of my time wasted. I DO NOT want a repeat performance.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Thank you everybody thank you. I checked the water and topped it off, and checked my connections. A look in the shed of miracles found an alternator from a 1989 Towncar. I grabbed it a few years ago at the pull-a-part without any real need for it, just knowing I had all these Fords. It’s a 65 amp, and it has the voltage regulator on it. It has a serpentine pulley, but that’s no big deal.

I’m gonna pull the old one and take it apart and check the brushes. If the brushes are worn, I have some universal brushes that are larger, and I can just shape them on the belt sander and make them work. If that’s not the issue, I’ll start by trying to swap the voltage regulators. If that’s not the issue, I’ll put the pulley on the 89 and put the voltage regulator back and see if that works.

Also, it’s a big wake up call, that that’s the last alternator I had in the shed of miracles. I need to go get a few…

More to follow

On the older ones, the amperage is stamped onto the housing. This one is for my 77 pinto.

 

[Rick W]

So, maybe I got it done. Maybe….

I took the voltage regulator/brushes out of the 89 Towncar alternator, and from the number, it was 65A, remanufactured. The rotor, where the brushes rub, looked almost like new.

I pulled the voltage regulator/brush assembly out of the Missing Linc without taking the alternator out. I couldn’t see anything wrong with it or the brushes, but…

When I took the flashlight and I looked inside, there was a little piece of trash between where the brush runs on the rotor and the Aluminum housing of the alternator. That track was closer to the opening, and was grooved out maybe 1/32 of an inch. So I pulled the whole alternator out. I had to take the wire with it, which ran across the top of the engine all the way over by the firewall, no plug at the alternator.

The brushes from the Ranger were worn down, but from my memory, not completely worn out. The one running in the groove where the trash had cut the rotor was shorter than the other one. Of course, I got the piece of trash out. Other than cutting the little groove, the rotor didn’t look bad. The brushes from the 89 Towncar alternator were a little longer, but I still think they were at least half gone.

The 89 bottom connector was the kind that had too heavy black wires, and one thin white wire. The Ranger just had two big black wires. My gut tells me they’re interchangeable if I could figure out where that white wire goes, but I decided to proceed with the Ranger original.

I went poking around in the shed of miracles, looking for a set of brushes, and I couldn’t find anything that would work, but I found a bad alternator I saved from my 1997 caravel 21’ bow rider I/O runabout. I sold the boat 15 or 20 years ago, so I decided to throw caution and reason to the wind, and risk it, and take that bad alternator apart. Turned out it had pretty good brushes, half again longer. I used the soldering iron to take them out. Just by hand, I rubbed them back-and-forth on a piece of 100 grit sandpaper a few times, and they fit perfectly.

I crimped on couple of eyes on those brushes and put the whole thing back together and put it in the Ranger. So basically, I have the same alternator, a little groove cutting the rotor, but almost brand new brushes. Sitting in the driveway and turning on and off the lights, the highbeams, the heater blower, etc., it seemed to be working fine, running at a higher place on the gauge than it was when I was driving around yesterday.

No test drive yet, but that’ll happen before the end of the day, and I did put a full charge on the battery overnight



Thanks again

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Not today, but yesterday I got things buttoned up under the hood for the most part. Now I have a TON of more reading to do and then I get to plug in the laptop and load the startup tune onto the PimpXS. I might detail under the hood first.

 

[holyford86]

Changed the spark plugs on the supercharged truck, they had about 30k on them (copper plugs) and the gap had worn from .032 to around .040-.043. Got rid of the misfire under boost I was starting to have, which was the goal. I don't think they look terrible for an engine with almost 250k either.

Also finished up a new handle for my auxiliary tool box latch and gave it a coat of paint. The handle that came on the cam latch had never agreed with me and it hooked branches in the woods, this is better.

 

[Rick W]

Not today, but yesterday I got things buttoned up under the hood for the most part. Now I have a TON of more reading to do and then I get to plug in the laptop and load the startup tune onto the PimpXS. I might detail under the hood first.

View attachment 146228

So, maybe I got it done. Maybe….

I took the voltage regulator/brushes out of the 89 Towncar alternator, and from the number, it was 65A, remanufactured. The rotor, where the brushes rub, looked almost like new.

I pulled the voltage regulator/brush assembly out of the Missing Linc without taking the alternator out. I couldn’t see anything wrong with it or the brushes, but…

When I took the flashlight and I looked inside, there was a little piece of trash between where the brush runs on the rotor and the Aluminum housing of the alternator. That track was closer to the opening, and was grooved out maybe 1/32 of an inch. So I pulled the whole alternator out. I had to take the wire with it, which ran across the top of the engine all the way over by the firewall, no plug at the alternator.

The brushes from the Ranger were worn down, but from my memory, not completely worn out. The one running in the groove where the trash had cut the rotor was shorter than the other one. Of course, I got the piece of trash out. Other than cutting the little groove, the rotor didn’t look bad. The brushes from the 89 Towncar alternator were a little longer, but I still think they were at least half gone.

The 89 bottom connector was the kind that had too heavy black wires, and one thin white wire. The Ranger just had two big black wires. My gut tells me they’re interchangeable if I could figure out where that white wire goes, but I decided to proceed with the Ranger original.

I went poking around in the shed of miracles, looking for a set of brushes, and I couldn’t find anything that would work, but I found a bad alternator I saved from my 1997 caravel 21’ bow rider I/O runabout. I sold the boat 15 or 20 years ago, so I decided to throw caution and reason to the wind, and risk it, and take that bad alternator apart. Turned out it had pretty good brushes, half again longer. I used the soldering iron to take them out. Just by hand, I rubbed them back-and-forth on a piece of 100 grit sandpaper a few times, and they fit perfectly.

I crimped on couple of eyes on those brushes and put the whole thing back together and put it in the Ranger. So basically, I have the same alternator, a little groove cutting the rotor, but almost brand new brushes. Sitting in the driveway and turning on and off the lights, the highbeams, the heater blower, etc., it seemed to be working fine, running at a higher place on the gauge than it was when I was driving around yesterday.

No test drive yet, but that’ll happen before the end of the day, and I did put a full charge on the battery overnight



Thanks again

On the older ones, the amperage is stamped onto the housing. This one is for my 77 pinto. View attachment 146218

I never did check with the amperage on the Ranger alternator. I saw your text after I already had it back in. Apparently the only two stock options were 60 A or 65 A, so it wasn’t worth worrying about. But mostly, I didn’t want to fiddle with that extra white wire. But now I’m curious. Where does that white wire go and are those two alternators otherwise interchangeable?

As regards the double black wires coming out of the bottom of the alternator, when I was cleaning up the wire wrap and cover, I found those two wires simply go about seven or 8 inches and then they were soldered together. Except I didn’t see any solder, but they came apart. They were pretty heavy to solder with my little soldering iron, and my big soldering iron is on the sick list right now, so I just crimped them back together.

I didn’t have any crimps that big, so I made one out of an old supply tube for a faucet. 5/16” copper? I’ve done it before, or you can just do it with the right size piece of soft copper tubing. I figured the length, about a half an inch, and I cut the tube about 3/4 of the way through, so the little piece is hanging off but still attached. I bent that at a 90° angle to the main part of the tube. Then I could lay the tube on top of a little piece of wood with the little piece hanging down vertically and slice one side with the bandsaw, and then cut it loose.

I held the two wires in place with a zip tie. I opened up the little piece, and then using some pliers, I wrapped it around the two wires, so it actually overlapped itself by about a third. With the pliers, I could snug it up by working it little by little. Then I have one of those crimpers you use for galvanized cable, like a bolt cutter, and I used that to crimp it down. Copper to copper to copper, and nothing is going to come loose.

I covered the split with friction tape, and then a little vinyl tape, and then more friction tape. Then I started up by the plug, and I wrapped the friction tape around the two legs of the wires and down the main leg far enough so that everything would be protected by the tape right up to where it goes into the plastic wire wrap.

When I took it apart, I was very careful, but the ears on the plug, where it transitions into the firewall, just broke off. I hate when I buy a truck, drive it for 40 years, run up 300,000 miles, and then it just starts falling apart. I took a long zip tie and ran it through the wires on the back of the male plug, and then routed it through the wires on the female plug, so it held the male and female together length wise, and then I just pulled it together enough to keep the plug from sliding out. It doesn’t have to be tight, it just has to snug the two together.

No test drive yet, but I’m pretty confident.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

After two years of it beeping at me I finally changed the batteries in the smoke/CO detector.