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1987 Ranger 4x4 - My 1st Truck


87RangerJake

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Location
North Carolina
Vehicle Year
1987
Make / Model
Ford Ranger
Engine Type
2.9 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Tire Size
235 75r15
Decided to make a thread on my 87 Ford Ranger 2.9L 4x4 to keep track of what I've done to it and to get help fixing it up. Bought this truck back on Halloween of 2016 as my 1st car for high school and daily drove it until August 2017 when I replaced it with an 03 VW Passat for the better MPG. I continued to use the truck as a fun truck and around town truck. In January 2018 I had a slight fender bender in the snow (bald tires + snow = bad idea) and parked it that summer. It sat until September 2019 when I decided to put it back on the road. Fuel pump no longer worked and I was in the middle of swapping in a Kemso fuel pump when the truck was put back on the back burner until recently when I finally got back into it.

54705

54714

How it looked in 2016 when I drove it home. Had no prior experience to driving a stick and only stalled it once pulling into the driveway.
54712

The interior back in 2016

In 2017 I replaced the:
Engine Air Filter
Starter (funny story)
Clutch
Flywheel
Tire Rod ends
Headlights
Brake lights
Alternator
Battery
Battery cables
Valve cover gaskets
Both belts
Heater core

In 2018 I bought:
Fenders
Hood
Grille
Traded the black wheels for OEM wheels
Used tires with decent tread

In 2019 I bought
Kemso 340 LPH fuel pump
Fuel filter

It sat untouched all 2020 except getting towed to my new house
And so far this year Ive bought:
Full blue interior with bucket seats and head liner

54706
54710

How it looks now (2021) Removed the bed to help get the gas tank back in.
54713

The interior now. I removed the bench and test fitted a blue bucket seat.


My goal is to restore the truck on a budget. I plan on getting the truck painted blue and restoring the blue interior I picked up for it. So far I just finished putting the fuel tank back in over the weekend and I'm getting a new battery tomorrow so hopefully it'll start right up with that new fuel pump. Then I'll focus on new tires, cleaning it up, changing all the fluids, and then starting on body work.
 


Primosboy

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Location
Sacramento Ca.
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
ford
Engine Size
2.9 efi v6
Transmission
Automatic
87 was my first truck too and also my current. I love the rust to riches trucks. Check out some of my posts from I've 2009 to see the interior. Might give you some ideas. I'll be watching this build.
 

mnewman

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Location
Ohio
Vehicle Year
1986,1992,2003
Make / Model
BII, Rangers
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
I love seeing these brought back to life. My first truck was a '90 2wd.
 

87RangerJake

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Location
North Carolina
Vehicle Year
1987
Make / Model
Ford Ranger
Engine Type
2.9 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Tire Size
235 75r15
87 was my first truck too and also my current. I love the rust to riches trucks. Check out some of my posts from I've 2009 to see the interior. Might give you some ideas. I'll be watching this build.
I really like the headliner you done. Did you reuse the original cardboard or create a whole new piece?


Update for today. I got the new battery and installed it after work. Put a few gallons of gas in the tank and went to start. New fuel pump wasn't whirring and wouldn't start. It did run for a few seconds on starter fluid though so definitely not getting fuel. Not sure what I've done wrong. I read on here a while ago that this specific pump would be strong enough to no longer need the in line pump on the rail so I removed that one and replaced with a fuel filter. Is there maybe a wiring issue going on preventing the new pump from working? I'll go over the wiring on the pump in the next couple of days when it's not raining to make sure nothing is wrong there. Any help is appreciated.
 

Primosboy

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1988
Make / Model
ford
Engine Size
2.9 efi v6
Transmission
Automatic
I really like the headliner you done. Did you reuse the original cardboard or create a whole new piece?


Update for today. I got the new battery and installed it after work. Put a few gallons of gas in the tank and went to start. New fuel pump wasn't whirring and wouldn't start. It did run for a few seconds on starter fluid though so definitely not getting fuel. Not sure what I've done wrong. I read on here a while ago that this specific pump would be strong enough to no longer need the in line pump on the rail so I removed that one and replaced with a fuel filter. Is there maybe a wiring issue going on preventing the new pump from working? I'll go over the wiring on the pump in the next couple of days when it's not raining to make sure nothing is wrong there. Any help is appreciated.
Definitely need that pump on the rail. It's a high pressure pump like 75psi I think. The pump in the tank is just a pickup pump to get the fuel out if the tank and prime the lines.
And I reused the original cardboard for headliner. For the door panels I used old ones as template for new ones.
 

Shran

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You should be fine with just that one Kemso pump in the tank and eliminating the one on the frame. That's what I did, worked fine. I'd check your grounds at the battery (little wire that connects to the negative post) and your fuel pump relay... Sounds like you don't have power.

Hope you used EFI rated hose or metal line when you eliminated the factory high pressure pump! Normal fuel hose is not rated for high pressure and will rupture.
 

Primosboy

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1988
Make / Model
ford
Engine Size
2.9 efi v6
Transmission
Automatic
You should be fine with just that one Kemso pump in the tank and eliminating the one on the frame. That's what I did, worked fine. I'd check your grounds at the battery (little wire that connects to the negative post) and your fuel pump relay... Sounds like you don't have power.

Hope you used EFI rated hose or metal line when you eliminated the factory high pressure pump! Normal fuel hose is not rated for high pressure and will rupture.
That's so weird, why would you get rid of the high pressure pump? Also why would you need to upgrade the fuel line when take out the high pressure pump? Do I have that backwards?
 

Shran

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That's so weird, why would you get rid of the high pressure pump? Also why would you need to upgrade the fuel line when take out the high pressure pump? Do I have that backwards?
Single point of failure instead of two. I was having other issues that appeared to be pump related so I removed the high pressure pump and replaced it with a filter, and also removed the fuel reservoir that is further back in the system. That wasn't necessary but I no longer needed it, so why keep it, and that's why I had to redo the fuel lines. Some of those fuel reservoirs have a filter inside them and it is often neglected because it's kinda hard to get at and often broken when taken apart.

89 up uses only one fuel pump, similar to the Kemso part, and only one filter. The dual pump setup works fine but it's needlessly complicated, like most mid 80's Ford technology.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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89 up uses only one fuel pump, similar to the Kemso part, and only one filter. The dual pump setup works fine but it's needlessly complicated, like most mid 80's Ford technology.
It works out nice for us carb guys, I just have the low pressure in tank pump from an '86 feeding my carb. Like 4psi, it works great.
 

Primosboy

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ford
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Transmission
Automatic
Single point of failure instead of two. I was having other issues that appeared to be pump related so I removed the high pressure pump and replaced it with a filter, and also removed the fuel reservoir that is further back in the system. That wasn't necessary but I no longer needed it, so why keep it, and that's why I had to redo the fuel lines. Some of those fuel reservoirs have a filter inside them and it is often neglected because it's kinda hard to get at and often broken when taken apart.

89 up uses only one fuel pump, similar to the Kemso part, and only one filter. The dual pump setup works fine but it's needlessly complicated, like most mid 80's Ford technology.
That's interesting. I can see why getting rid of the reservoir makes sense. I've had issues with those in the past. I'll have to look into that kemso thing. So in my experience it's the in tank pump that goes out first. You're saying the inline one goes out commonly too? Hmm
 

Shran

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FYI the Kemso pump is a high pressure one so you would want to keep the 86-88 style pump for a carbureted application or use a regulator.

I have had a couple inline pumps fail. I would concur that the in-tank pumps are FAR more likely to fail...lost count how many of those I have burned up.
 

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