adsm08's Ranger build up

[jhammel85]

Cool build! Keep up the good work.

 

[adsm08]

Ok, so I got a slight change of plans for the engine. My foreman has a 2.9 that he built, cammed, and tuned out pretty good. Sounds like it will hold it's own against a stock 4.0. Buying that instead and putting it in. Will revisit the question of a 4.0 in 20 years.

 

[88_Eddie]

i've been meaning to ask you, was the euro light upgrade worth it? i've been looking into it, but i wanna know if you notice a difference

 

[jhammel85]

Ok, so I got a slight change of plans for the engine. My foreman has a 2.9 that he built, cammed, and tuned out pretty good. Sounds like it will hold it's own against a stock 4.0. Buying that instead and putting it in. Will revisit the question of a 4.0 in 20 years.

Nice! I'd go the same route if I had the chance.

I guess I missed it but you were looking to swap to a 4.0? Whats wrong with your current 2.9? Just getting tired?

 

[adsm08]

i've been meaning to ask you, was the euro light upgrade worth it? i've been looking into it, but i wanna know if you notice a difference

Yes I did. I love them. 100% plug and play, clearer brighter light, and easier bulb replacement. Worth every cent.

Nice! I'd go the same route if I had the chance.

I guess I missed it but you were looking to swap to a 4.0? Whats wrong with your current 2.9? Just getting tired?

I was looking for a 4.0 for a while. My engine is tired, it's been thrashed, and its done full-size duty for most of it's life. The opportunity to buy an engine like this isn't gonna come along again any time soon either. I know the guy that built it, I know what all he did, and I know what he has in it. $900 is a steal.

 

[adsm08]

The Build Continues...

OK, so maybe I didn't do any building of the truck today, but I did do building for building the truck today.

Got the scrap heap out of the garage. Poor little S-10, looks like she is about to bust a spring with all the scrap iron I have in the bed. I think the back of the truck has dropped at least 3 inches.

Then I moved my axles

and Kip's (newer) truck out of the way,

so now I have this:

Room to do a heart transplant. BTW, does ANYBODY want my old trans or transfer case. The trans needs a bearing and seal kit. The t-case is PERFECT, come take them away. Both are manual.


Then I set to work on putting together my new toy...

What could it be? I already have a tool box. I already have a cherry picker.

Anyone guess what it is yet?

Still can't guess?

If you haven't figured it out yet, you may need a new hobby.

Here it is complete.

If you haven't figured it by now, you won't.




Gots me an engine stand.

And now I have a garage to work it. It's just about perfectly Ranger sized. Now to build a bigger one with a lift or two.

 

[jhammel85]

Very nice! I'd love to have that kind of engine stand. What engine's getting rebuilt? Or is this for the 2.9 transplant?

 

[adsm08]

Very nice! I'd love to have that kind of engine stand. What engine's getting rebuilt? Or is this for the 2.9 transplant?

Little of each. The donor is coming in Monday. It will be brought home and put on the stand until Saturday when, if all goes as planned, it will go in.

Then my engine will go from the tire that I'm going to throw it on for the moment to the stand and get re-built.

 

[adsm08]

Brought the engine home today. Little annoyed with myself though. Didn't strap is down tight enough and it tipped when I went over the bump from the lot to the road, engine tipped over just a bit, but it split the seam on an almost brand new fan.

It will be ok for a while, heck my current one has looked like it's about to fly apart for years, but I will need to do something with it. Preferably sooner rather than later.

 

[adsm08]

Got the new engine sitting in the truck. Pics of pull and place to come.

 

[Bennybooster]

Right On!!

 

[adsm08]

New engine on the floor:

Hood off:

Pulling the engine wiring out off the body:

I'm swapping harnesses to an 88 since this engine is out of an 89. That way I don't have to screw with EGR stuff and have a bunch of random wires hanging around.

Ranger Kip next to the truck before engine removal:

He and his buddy Jason came down for the weekend to help me out.

The "Master Mechanic" at work:

Old engine hanging over the truck, about to come out:

Me in the engine bay. Decided it wasn't worth the risk of re-using the slave:

New engine going in:

My wife and Kip trying to figure out the angle of the dangle:

We had some clearance issues. The truck this came out of has the front end off forward of the fire wall and it's old TFI still got hit and broken. I finally had to break down and remove the dizzy cap, the upper intake, and the headers to get it to go in.

The new engine set in the truck:

And finally the old girl's original heart on the stand, ready to be torn down and given a good going through:

I had some pics of the old coolant which was disturbingly dark for only being about 3 months old. It is still almost black. I think the old girl cracked a head a year ago and I have just been running her as she is ever since. Now she has a new, 3000 mile heart.

The only really sad part for me is that due to my schedule for the next few weeks it may be a month or more until I have her all back together. I am also doing some other work to it, but nothing that would keep it off the road. Maybe I'll have her back on the road for my 25th B-day.

Be driving my 3/4 ton 4-cyl S-10 until then I 'spose.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

nice work man!

 

[jhammel85]

Very nice work!

 

[adsm08]

Thanks guys.


Anyone know how to put a B2 tire carrier on a Ranger?