Looking at getting another truck...

[lil_Blue_Ford]

My rear shackle hangers got replaced on my 96 before i bought it. It seems common with this generation of trucks. I put 3/4ton springs in mine because 3 of the leafs were broke anyways. Gave the truck a much more aggressive stance and it will carry alot more of a load.

Is that truck a 5sp or automatic? If its an automatic make sure you change the fluid and filter in it soon.

These trucks really seem to have no weak links in the drivetrain. If i had to guess at something to go out 1st under hard use it would probley be the rear end. But if the wimpy lil 8.8 does go out a 9inch from a 80-84 F series will bolt right in.

later,
Dustin

5-speed or auto... how dare you ask that question of me. Pfft, run along now, you know darn well that I love the manual transmissions.

Yea, I was thinking 3/4 ton springs, just not sure if I should try tackling the task of taking both spring packs completely out or just pop the centering pin and build a pack under the main.

On another note, I just filled up all of the tires on the truck... two front tires had ~28 psi, two back tires had ~17 psi and the spare had ~10. Is it really that hard to check your tire pressure and fill it when needed??

 

[rusty ol ranger]

On the mazda trans in that truck watch the shift rail plugs. They'll leak and you lose the tranny in short order.

Theres two different leaf spring widths on these trucks, a 2 1/4inch and a 2 1/2 inch, mine had the 2 1/2 inch springs and they are an absoulute bitch to find in 1/2ton form, but about every light duty F250 from 80-96 had them. When i dd mine i left the main in and just popped off the u bolts and center bolt, and built them up that way, ALOT eaiser then dropping the whole pack.

Yeah you'd be suprised how many people neglect tires, lol, im one to talk though the 2 BF A/T's on my drivers side leak like crazy. I fill them to 50psi and 2 days later there down to 10, hopefully i get my income tax back and ill get a new set for it.

Out of curiosity, what gears you have in that? Prolly 3.08's being a stick shift. Most the autos had 3.55's.

I think you'll be happy with it for a work truck...and the engine will pry outlast the rest of the truck twofold.

later,
Dustin

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

On the mazda trans in that truck watch the shift rail plugs. They'll leak and you lose the tranny in short order.

Theres two different leaf spring widths on these trucks, a 2 1/4inch and a 2 1/2 inch, mine had the 2 1/2 inch springs and they are an absoulute bitch to find in 1/2ton form, but about every light duty F250 from 80-96 had them. When i dd mine i left the main in and just popped off the u bolts and center bolt, and built them up that way, ALOT eaiser then dropping the whole pack.

Yeah you'd be suprised how many people neglect tires, lol, im one to talk though the 2 BF A/T's on my drivers side leak like crazy. I fill them to 50psi and 2 days later there down to 10, hopefully i get my income tax back and ill get a new set for it.

Out of curiosity, what gears you have in that? Prolly 3.08's being a stick shift. Most the autos had 3.55's.

I think you'll be happy with it for a work truck...and the engine will pry outlast the rest of the truck twofold.

later,
Dustin

Funny you should mention... I checked the gear ratio today and it's 3.08s

I'm working through checking the truck over an doing things to fix it up. Washed it today (despite my dad telling me I was nuts) and degreased the engine compartment. Hey, it's easier to work on an engine and to find leaks if you start with something clean. I'm gonna wait on doing my tune-up though, I went an picked up all of the stuff to do it at the local parts store, then discovered that I could order a whole tune-up package for the same price with better parts for about the same money... so I'm ordering it up and returning the parts I already got, lol.

BTW, can anyone tell me what sort of lug nuts I should get for this, bunch of the nuts on the truck are those crappy chrome capped jobs that fall apart after about the third time you take them off, so I was gonna get a new set, but I'm not sure what threads to get.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Hey Dustin...

I thought about it today and yanked out my tape measure to measure the leaf spring width... and that left me kinda confused... they measure 3" wide... :wtf:



Aside from that, my tune up parts arrived today, a day sooner than expected. So I spent some time this afternoon, did plugs, wires, cap and rotor. All of the stuff I took off was Motorcraft... and man was it UGLY! Plugs were fried to a crisp... nearly a .060 gap! Cap and rotor had so much carbon stuck to them it wasn't funny. I swear I wonder how the thing even ran like that! Well, it's got a LOT more power now although I'm having mixed feelings about doing it cuz it ran sooo quiet before an now it's not so quiet. I also picked up a funny noise that's not so funny... not sure what it is, I was concerned that I might not have actually got all the plugs fully tightened down, but it doesn't sound like that, it almost sounds like my new cap an rotor are making noise...

 

[Sevensecondsuv]

I swear I wonder how the thing even ran like that!

300's are known for that. Even running on 3 cylinders upside down without oil or coolant they'll still pull a locomotive up a hill, albeit at 5 mph..... OK so maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but you get the idea....

Sounds like a nice truck you got. The only thing I would have done differently it get a F-250 with the straight six. They come with the much tougher ZF manual trans with about double the 1st gear of the mazda, which makes them awesome for starting out from a stop with a huge trailer.

That being said, if you can get past the not-so-truckish 1st gear of the mazdas they are a decent trans and will last a long time if you keep plenty of fresh fluid in them. As was already stated, there are 3 plugs on the shift rail that crack and leak. This is the same problem the ranger mazda's have, which makes sense given that the M5OD-R2 (F-150) is the same as a M5OD-R1 (ranger) with the size increased by a factor of about 1.125.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Hey Dustin...

I thought about it today and yanked out my tape measure to measure the leaf spring width... and that left me kinda confused... they measure 3" wide... :wtf:



Aside from that, my tune up parts arrived today, a day sooner than expected. So I spent some time this afternoon, did plugs, wires, cap and rotor. All of the stuff I took off was Motorcraft... and man was it UGLY! Plugs were fried to a crisp... nearly a .060 gap! Cap and rotor had so much carbon stuck to them it wasn't funny. I swear I wonder how the thing even ran like that! Well, it's got a LOT more power now although I'm having mixed feelings about doing it cuz it ran sooo quiet before an now it's not so quiet. I also picked up a funny noise that's not so funny... not sure what it is, I was concerned that I might not have actually got all the plugs fully tightened down, but it doesn't sound like that, it almost sounds like my new cap an rotor are making noise...

I had a brain fart.

its 21/2 inch or 3 inch wide. Sorry about that. Ater i typed it i didnt think it sounded right but i was to lazy to change it. lol...sorry bud.

Yeah the 300 will run even when most odds are against it. Ive seen them run litrally 30 miles at 60MPH with 1 qt of oil in the crank case, and still be running to this day with 300,000 miles.

The 300 makes alot of funny noises, The lifters make alot of noise on cold start ups, espically when the oil needs to be changed.

There impossible to kill, they make the 3.0 (that everyone thinks is the most reliable RBV engine...i say 2.9 but whatever) look like a snowball taking a cruise through hell.

If i was going to take a trip across the united states, and i could pick any vehicle i wanted with over 200,000 to make the journey, it would be a 300 I6 powered truck.

As far as the trans goes, i think the ZF is almost a direct bolt in.

later,
Dustin

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Sevensecondsuv, I would have bought a F-250 with a 300 if it would have been possible to find one around here. Every F-250 I saw for sale (with the exception of the one diesel I found) had a 351, and I didn't want the gas mileage you get out of a 351. I will keep my eyes peeled for one for the heavier trans though.


Heh, I guess I woln't worry too much about the noise then. I plan to change the oil, I just want to wait another hundred miles or so to get it a lil closer to a round number

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So yesterday I went to pick up a couple things... got a 01+ fiberglass hood for $50 and a set of rims from a 95 Eddie Bauer F-150... if I didn't know any better I'd say they were Alcoa rims... clear coat is in great shape on 'em, paid $60. I'll have to get some pics... now I just need to decide if I'm gonna swap my tires over onto these rims or get another set of tires an use the alloys in the summer an the crappy looking steels in the winter.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Probely wheels like i got on my F150? Look like semi style almost? Why you get a hood for an 01?

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Probely wheels like i got on my F150? Look like semi style almost? Why you get a hood for an 01?

Because I wasn't thinking when I typed that out... hood is for an 01+ Ranger... so it's going on my Ranger if/when I rebuild it. The rims were the only thing I got for my F-150. I'll have to get a pic of the rims, 15x8's and they look sorta similar to the Outlaw II style rims that RBV's had, except without the simulated bolts. They look just like the new Alcoa rims for the FX4's.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Yeah....they look like these...

Mines only an XL to, but it has the best of both worlds, the nice rims, cloth seat ,A/C, rubber floors, automatic, manual t case, auto hubs (that actually WORK), no cruise or tilt though.

later,
Dustin

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Yep, those would be the rims. Mine sounds a lot like yours except I got the vinyl seat and manual transmission. I'd like to get a set of manual hubs for mine even though I think the auto hubs are still working.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Why fix what aint broke?

Just remember, do NOT shift into 4x4 while moving, and make sure you back up a few feet after you shift back into 2wd to unlock them before going on dry pavement.

Personally i like my auto hubs, its nice not having to get out in mud/snow/water/sand and lock shit in.

But on that note when and if mine blow it'll have manuals.

later,
Dustin

 

[holyford86]

in that picture I think I see 4 trucks:
The half ranger
the BII
the f150
and the f350.

had to, sorry...

 

[rusty ol ranger]

lol...wtf you talking about?

later,
Duistin