Dans 94, RCSB, 4.0, 4x4, 5spd

[Dantheman1540]

Freaking windshield dude said the glue was harder than a ministers cack and he wasn’t able to do it in my yard like planned. So I had to haul it to their main shop, and they knocked it out right before close today. It looks so much better and now it shouldn’t leak.

 

[mtnrgr]

Looks good. A manual trans in a Tahoe, that would be fun to drive. Don't have much against the 4.0..I am more of a higher rpm engine guy where the torque is higher up there, and they can go further up when needed..2.3, 3.0, 5.0 are all like that..the older 5.0 is my all time favorite ford v8, have worked and drove dozens of those. The 4.0 is a lower rpm torque engine..yeah thier quick off the line, they can't handle the higher rpms like the 3.0 can...they tend to choke out above 4-4500. I have driven lots of 4.0 explorers and rangers. It's a good engine, not a favorite of mine.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Looks good. A manual trans in a Tahoe, that would be fun to drive. Don't have much against the 4.0..I am more of a higher rpm engine guy where the torque is higher up there, and they can go further up when needed..2.3, 3.0, 5.0 are all like that..the older 5.0 is my all time favorite ford v8, have worked and drove dozens of those. The 4.0 is a lower rpm torque engine..yeah thier quick off the line, they can't handle the higher rpms like the 3.0 can...they tend to choke out above 4-4500. I have driven lots of 4.0 explorers and rangers. It's a good engine, not a favorite of mine.

I agree 100% with the fact the 4.0ohv doesn’t like rpm. I guess that’s actually why I like it in this truck, my other stuff is more higher rpm power which is fun, I just want this to be a little ford mini tractor and putt along the trails.

The 3.0 I had was a 2wd 96 splash, one of the pulleys would squeal like a pig if you got it over 3k. Since I never fixed it I kept that truck under 3k the year or so I owned it. It had some other issues and was a 2wd which is why I ended up not keeping it long. Was a good commuter for the long highway drive I had everyday back then.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Here are some pictures, engine looks stock outside, inside is a true vulcan ..I removed the whole harness from the donor and ecm, etc to install in mine when the engine was installed. Everything is matched as it was. Have ran a 2 row radiator for 20+ years..using a 130 Amp alternator, some extras I have added thru the years. Some suspension pictures.

Dang that thing is beyond clean! Those radius arms and traction bars look awesome. Having the trac bars come all the way up to the radius arm mounts allows for a ton of travel without binding. Gonna have to keep those pics for when I decide to make some.

 

[mtnrgr]

Please refer to this when you build yours, this setup has inspired a few thru the years. Yes the bars are mounted right above the arms on the frame. Using the stock arm brackets, most arms are mounted at the trans crossmember..these are mounted around 6-8 inches past the trans crossmember. Don't let the cleanliness fool you, this truck has gone the mountain trails in mud, dirt, gone to the desert dozens of times, drove on the beaches, etc. Don't do much of that anymore with it as I am older and wanna preserve it now, I still take it a mountain trail here and there as I now live in Northern California.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Ladder bar type traction bars are fine, but can limit suspension travel. I thought about building that type but went the other way with no regrets... I have under $100 in parts in it, just Rough Stuff bushings and some tube from the scrap yard.

Longer radius arms are next on the list for the '90 but I was getting tired of changing radiators due to axle wrap so traction bar was far more important...

 

[Dantheman1540]

Please refer to this when you build yours, this setup has inspired a few thru the years. Yes the bars are mounted right above the arms on the frame. Using the stock arm brackets, most arms are mounted at the trans crossmember..these are mounted around 6-8 inches past the trans crossmember. Don't let the cleanliness fool you, this truck has gone the mountain trails in mud, dirt, gone to the desert dozens of times, drove on the beaches, etc. Don't do much of that anymore with it as I am older and wanna preserve it now, I still take it a mountain trail here and there as I now live in Northern California.

NorCal is somewhere I’ve wanted to visit for awhile but haven’t made it west of Colorado yet. You sure do keep it clean and rust free!

Ladder bar type traction bars are fine, but can limit suspension travel. I thought about building that type but went the other way with no regrets... I have under $100 in parts in it, just Rough Stuff bushings and some tube from the scrap yard.

View attachment 82740View attachment 82741

Longer radius arms are next on the list for the '90 but I was getting tired of changing radiators due to axle wrap so traction bar was far more important...

That single triangular bar with a shackle is exactly what I ended up putting in my Silverado with the supercharged ls. I went through several rearends due to wheel hop and finally picked up a 55” shackle style bar from Off Road Design. Completely cured the wheel hop and has excellent travel with a custom pack of deaver springs.

I never would have though wheel hop would be so bad in a ranger that it would destroy a radiator! Hopefully I don’t have that problem.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I have the equivalent of 4" of lift blocks in the back and over 200hp (turbo 2.3L...) and under a hard launch in low range it does dumb things, I did a tractor pull once and twisted the axle tube (broke a plug weld, hadn't welded the tubes to the pumpkin yet), bent a leaf spring, twisted and bent the driveshaft, broke the U joint, broke the transfer case output bearing snap ring groove and pierced the radiator all because of axle wrap

 

[Dantheman1540]

I have the equivalent of 4" of lift blocks in the back and over 200hp (turbo 2.3L...) and under a hard launch in low range it does dumb things, I did a tractor pull once and twisted the axle tube (broke a plug weld, hadn't welded the tubes to the pumpkin yet), bent a leaf spring, twisted and bent the driveshaft, broke the U joint, broke the transfer case output bearing snap ring groove and pierced the radiator all because of axle wrap

Oafff! Those blocks are killing you, they add so much leverage to the poor springs. Im going to try and keep from using blocks on this truck, I’d actually like to get a high arch pack and go spring under.

Turbo 2.3 sounds like a ton of fun! That’s what I wanted to build but I’ll be happy with this 4.0. Less stuff to worry about.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Didn’t get a whole lot done today, finished wiring the efan so it looks nice and won’t chaffe. Then found my lower radiator hose sprung a leak. I replaced that with another junk hose I had laying around. I think I need to order some explorer hoses since this radiator has a different angle on its lower port. I would love to find some silicon hoses that would fit.

I pulled the gauge cluster out to replace the bulbs with LEDs and found that I ordered the wrong bulbs. Then, somehow I lost the battery light when I put it back together and the alternator wasn’t charging. Pulled it back apart and swapped bulbs around until the alternator would charge again. New bulbs should be in tomorrow and I’ll put the dash back together. I also found the big fuse for “elec shift” is blown so that might be my 4x4 problem.

Oh I also finished the exhaust and it’s fairly quiet for what it is.

Lastly I’m not sure what this irritating sound is that happens on start up. It sounds like the flywheel is catching/rubbing something thin and metallic. It only makes the noise for a second or two and then is gone and stays gone while driving. I can tell my first gear synchro is kinda crap I’m hoping it’s not the input shaft bearing or something. Maybe I’ll get a video of it tomorrow.

I have close to 40 miles on it driving back and forth from my house to shop which is about 2 miles.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Some days I'm happy with the 2.3 turbo, others like when doing slow stuff I wish I'd done a 4.0 swap... sure I have more top end but I have to shift all the dang time...

I would rather stay away from blocks but it's there and it works... when I put the lift in I got it used and it had the wrong springs with it so we made a pack from what was handy but had to add blocks to sit level... and I was kinda broke at the time . When I do the sploder I'll probably just switch it to spring over and maybe add a couple leaves (the ones with air shocks have soft springs).

Looking good so far

 

[Dantheman1540]

Some days I'm happy with the 2.3 turbo, others like when doing slow stuff I wish I'd done a 4.0 swap... sure I have more top end but I have to shift all the dang time...

I would rather stay away from blocks but it's there and it works... when I put the lift in I got it used and it had the wrong springs with it so we made a pack from what was handy but had to add blocks to sit level... and I was kinda broke at the time . When I do the sploder I'll probably just switch it to spring over and maybe add a couple leaves (the ones with air shocks have soft springs).

Looking good so far

What engine management are you using with the turbo motor?

I totally get the budget factor, all my stuff is based on budget especially this truck! Trying to build it all for the cost of what a decent golf cart would cost me around here which is $6kish.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Okay everybody let’s play, guess this sound!

Ranger noise on startup

youtube.com

 

[Uncle Gump]

Sounds like the starter is hanging up.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Sounds like the starter is hanging up.

Kinda what I thought, but I’ve never had that issue before. Guess I’ll just pull it out and see what’s up.