80's Ranger 4x4 for the Trails

[eightynine4x4]

First attempt at unbolting the bed mounts after a couple rounds of PB Blaster sitting 24 hrs each. I have a large breaker bar and so I knew I’d find the weakest link in the chain pretty fast. Took me about 10 seconds to figure out that it’s the 19mm socket, not the bolts.
It’s about 45 degrees outside so maybe that’s a big factor. But if all these in bed are this tough where as the cab ones are almost all undone and loose already, I may be keeping the body lift for a while.

 

[ericbphoto]

Try a cheap impact socket from Northern or Harbor Freight. It will be thicker walled, stronger than regular socket and only 6-pointed, so less likely to round off the bolt head.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Try a cheap impact socket from Northern or Harbor Freight. It will be thicker walled, stronger than regular socket and only 6-pointed, so less likely to round off the bolt head.

ok will do.
On this note, is most of the hardware on the truck metric? I think I keep finding standard sizing in the engine but metric on body stuff.

 

[ericbphoto]

I think you'll keep finding it mixed.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Mostly metric but enough standard sprinkled around to keep it interesting.

 

[eightynine4x4]

I'm possibly grabbing some 1987 1st gen fenders and hood this weekend for a good price. My 89 fenders and hood are already in not the best shape and i had also already wanted to do a nose swap from 1st gen onto 2nd gen.
I've done a little conversing on this matter with a couple people who have body parts trucks and it seems i can go about it in two ways.. a core support weld work/swap and everything mounts up after, or a more diy approach where i improvise mounting the fenders and front assemblies such as grill/etc.
I used to be leaning towards the core support swap in order to get legit mounting, but it's going to require quite a lot of logistics and some hired work and some waiting while i find a good non rotted core support and pull it. So now i'm leaning towards hacking new mount points for things. Anybody have any thoughts? I'm comfortable with developing strong points with cutting/drilling/tapping where needed. Hey, maybe some clip nuts will go in. Anyways the only true hangup i can foresee is that there's somehow not space for something to even go in at all, but from poking around people's projects it doesn't seem like that's an issue.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

A new radiator support at LMC is $90, and then you only have 1 million spotwelds to drill out instead of 2 million...

Probably could find one cheaper somewhere else without not much effort.

 

[eightynine4x4]

A new radiator support at LMC is $90, and then you only have 1 million spotwelds to drill out instead of 2 million...

Probably could find one cheaper somewhere else without not much effort.

True haha. And those mere 1 million drill outs and re welds do still sound like not much of a party where as creating some new weird hacks actually sounds pretty enjoyable! To each his own though. I’m always into that stuff so I’ll probably go that direction and not stress about rebuilding the whole front system but instead just poke a bunch of holes in places. Just have to make sure it’s all measured well and fastened securely.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I know going the other way they can be forced to “work”

Most just bolt in the replacement support.

If you are going to replace the supports I would rather just pop a new one in than go they the hassle of stripping two trucks though.

 

[eightynine4x4]

I know going the other way they can be forced to “work”

Most just bolt in the replacement support.

If you are going to replace the supports I would rather just pop a new one in than go they the hassle of stripping two trucks though.

Gotcha. I think maybe having the parts in hand first and then taking a look at what needs to be done is the next step. Perhaps it’s more work to invent new mounts than it seems right now. Didn’t occur to me that the replacement core support could just be bolted and not welded.
But overall knowing that it can “fit” at all is the key here, so I appreciate the confirmation on that. I’ll go ahead and pick up the fenders and hood and tote them back in another vehicle without worrying about general fitment since it seems that many have done this.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Most go newer nose on older support. Never heard how it works going the other way.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Most go newer nose on older support. Never heard how it works going the other way.

I guess the worst case is I need the core support in the end. I’ll be getting the fenders and hood first and surely the grill and lights will quickly follow so will figure it all out at some point!

 

[eightynine4x4]

How strong of an air impact wrench would i need to beat the strength of a 4 foot long breaker bar situation? I have a thick steel tube i use over my breaker bar. Lots of leverage, but it's not the best situation for an accurate distribution of force onto a bolt. Obviously the better socket will help. But also it's not easy to have access to bolts with a giant bar. So in general I'm considering dropping 100 bucks on an 800ft/lbs air impact wrench to maybe save myself a ton of elbow grease here. I already have the required air compressor setup. Would 800ft/lbs be able to break free a lot of locked up stuff we find on these trucks? I could just return it if it doesn't. It's from HD.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Bigger just breaks bolts faster. Your clip nuts are a MAJOR PITA when you break the bolt or the tab on the clip nut (so the round nut just spins, good luck getting vice grips to hold that...)

Breaker bar is the way to go. Add penetrating oil and/or heat for the win if they want to play hardball. Big impact will just snap the bolt and then you the remains of the bolt stuck in the clip nut to deal with.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Bigger just breaks bolts faster. Your clip nuts are a MAJOR PITA when you break the bolt or the tab on the clip nut (so the round nut just spins, good luck getting vice grips to hold that...)

Breaker bar is the way to go. Add penetrating oil and/or heat for the win if they want to play hardball. Big impact will just snap the bolt and then you the remains of the bolt stuck in the clip nut to deal with.

I’ll get the good socket and give the bar another shot then. Don’t have a torch though, and it’s colder out from here on.
PB Blaster doesn’t seem to have done a thing so far but it might be