AgPete139's Green Ranger Thread

[AgPete139]

Thanks, Casey! Haven't heard from you in a while. I guess the wifey and the rigging keep you plenty busy way out there.

I saw your new 35's. Looks great, man!

 

[camodown]

I've been around. Just don't post much over here.

 

[Clay Lorance]

Sweet looking ride Pete.

 

[kroussinoffroad]

SAS!!! haha sweet lookin ride

 

[Northern]

Its about time you post this beast up...

BTW.... Awesome truck, and Congrats, Is there a date set yet?

 

[AgPete139]

So, last 3 weeks I've been in India. We saw several beautiful and grand momuments, but the most reknown is the Taj Mahal.

So, here's a picture of TRS in India, made entirely of marble:

.

 

[AgPete139]

EXPERIMENTAL IMG RESIZING POST

[img=100x200]http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/5061/rodimusprime02sh6.jpg[/img]


Tried everything I know to do, and then Googled some tricks. No dice. Even searched TRS for solutions.

Apparently, just TRS on the VBulletin does not allow this part of coding. I wonder why...

 

[AgPete139]

Picked up a new toy this past weekend:

2008 Kawasaki EX500 Ninja, 1273 miles

 

[AgPete139]

Hey Legoms013! Sorry, I jacked your pictures. I'm using them for reference when I do my 2" plate. Anyways, I've had this setup for the longest time, and I JUST got aorund to throwing it on. I guess the time was right, and I was in the mood for it.

Oh, I also rebuilt my hubs again, but that's not interesting.

TRS Hub Rebuild Procedure:
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/howto_hubswap.htm


Also, I had a small fluid leak coming form the copper crush washer on my passenger rear brake caliper. I finally got around to wrenching that tight. I've always been in a hurry and haven't had time to trace the leak...I've just been topping off the reservoir after 3 weeks of driving. This has been going on since January, I suppose.




Work garage:

Parent's garage:

Tailgate replacement & sag: (HUGE tailgate damage not shown....its well hidden underneath the tailgate cover) It's almost not functional sometimes.

I replaced the tailgate cable from a unit from O'Reilly's for $8. After installing, I find out that the other side has been stretched so far it doesn't bear the weight of the tailgate now! My entire tailgate is tweaked anyways, and only one side of it locks in place anyways. I may just go buy another gate for $20. It just wont be color matched. The previous owner had the tailgate down and backed into something...so that makes it dented badly even more. I've tried to hammer it out to the best of my abilities, but I think it's a loss.

Stock inverted "Y" steering:

Superlift Superrunner "K" Steering:

I realize that this is uncompressed suspension. I did a basic alignment last night to drive, and it is getting a proper alignment done today at the shop.


I have to say it drives a lot nicer, especially with new TRE's (tie rod ends), all bushings/sleeves greased with my grease gun, and no play. The idler arm was a lot simpler than I had expected, and my Craftsman wrenches broke in the process. I swear, that brand is going to crap as of the last decade or so. I think I will invest in a Snap-On or Mac wrench one of these days, since it's getting to the point of Craftsman being unreliable. I can't even put 90 ft-lbs on a Craftsman without it breaking the ratcheting mechanism! "Lifetime replacement" just means replacing it with another POS.


A previous Ranger meet in Dallas (with Hazmat, Yam, & Kryptonitecb:

(picture was not resized...so I removed it.)

This is 4.0L performance Comp Cam sticky:
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showpost.php?p=207070&postcount=1

 

[AgPete139]

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showpost.php?p=173032&postcount=9

Travelled with GPS, while my speedometer pegged 105 MPH at fuel cutoff. Realistically, I was only going 85 MPH, which shows a significant misreading.

I don't have the urge to switch out the speedo gear tooth, so I'll just make do.


Alignment:

Compressed weight, and settled in (showing true steering geometry with correct camber, caster, & toe-in):

 

[AgPete139]

Switched out that other tailgate cable today. My tailgate is so tweaked, I'm temped to just buy a straight one off Craigslist for $20.


I've been tired of all the outside noises coming from my truck. I guess that now I just want a comfortable ride, too, without excessive wind noise, my tires over the pavement, and even my exhaust that I have at cruising. Other cars are irritating, and I certainly don't want to hear everyone's radios in my truck with closed windows. I added additional baffling when I installed the carpet, but it's not enough and echos like a canyon!

The rain is the worst, actually, and sounds like you're inside a metal barrel and your opponents are trying to shoot at you with paintballs. "Ping ping...PI-ng!!" (+ echo echo echo)

So, last night, I tore the interior completely apart again. The truck was devoid of plastics, seats, and carpet, and I installed 25 pounds of Husmat sound deadening material.

Great product to use, and it conforms much more easily than Dynamat. It is also considerably cheaper. I have also heard of another epoxy liquid sound suppressor, but it was too late and I already bought the Hushmat.

This will also insulate the cab f the truck as well, for those hot Texas summer days spent commuting.

My truck is my primary DD, and I play with it when I can. I wish I could thrash on it harder for what its built for, but that's down time and I don't have a garage to work on my stuff. The apartment frowns upon oil changes, etc. The bike is a GREAT commuter, but I do need to haul stuff frequently in the Ranger bed.

While I had the trim out, I decided cover up the discoloration and knicks by using Rustoleum Gloss Black.

This is 2 layers in...

Before:

Roof, with it's echoing & pinging:

After:

Driver door:

The roof is COMPLETELY matted, and my buddy did the driver door. It looks ugly, but he's done this to about 6 other vehicles before. HIS fragmented pieces sounds on the driver door SOUNDS MUCH BETTER than my side, which uses larger pieces of Hushmat. Something to consider for others looking to do this.

I am thinking of putting plush insulation behind my panels now. Very lightweight to quiet it down even more, and very thermal resistant.

We'll see what happens. I don't think anyone has tried this before (that I've heard of).

Some parts of my interior have been taken out for so long, I'm excited at the thought of it being complete again.




Update on the steering:
After DD-ing for 3 days now, I have gotten adjusted to the steering and want it to be better again. It's not enough. Before, I was happy that it was any improvement at all! Now, I want it to be right. I will have to get my buddy to weld a 3/4 plate and drop the centerlink, and then get an alignment.

To make the most out of the alignment though, I should go ahead and throw on those Skyjacker extended radius arms that I have. This will increase my flex, too, and hopefully give a better performing truck, overall.

Sidenote: I caulked all the seams of my truck now with black RTV. She no longer leaks water!



Pete

 

[AgPete139]

I did this bushing replacement about a week ago, and I have these next 2 posts referenced in another thread regarding bushing replacement.

******************************************************




There are a total of 6 cab bolts (2 rear, 2 middle, and 2 front).

PREPARATION:
I threaded the removed bolts from underneath, and filled the bushings with PB penetrating oil before hand. I don't think it changed a whole lot, for the sleeves.) The sleeves become mushroomed out over time and wear, and unintended stress from the cab when weight gets transferred to the sleeve. They are also rusted together, making this a PITA.

BACK 2 BUSHINGS:
The back 2 are sleeved, but usually carry less weight, and were easily punched out for me. (Remove the cab bolt from inside the cab, thread it those 8 or so threads to fill up the nut from the bottom, and get a long extension and hammer away from the inside of the cab. I got it out with about a dozen solid hits with a 3 lb sledge hammer.)

MIDDLE 2 BUSHINGS:
For the middle, due to the dash and other constraints, I couldn't hammer them out. These are fvck!ng impossible. You have to heat up the bottom sleeve enough to expand then hammer from the top again, or cut them out. NOTE: I would NOT suggest burning out the bushings. I've removed suspension bushings like this before, and it's a great method! However, these bushings have metal sleeves in them, and this method won't do anything for you. Besides, you risk catching your truckcab on fire since it's in such close proximity.

Using a metal cutoff wheel, use the frame as a "guide" to cut horizontally. Make the cut below the top bushing. This way, there is minimal rubber burning, less mess, less smell, less rubber buildup on your grinder shield and on your frame. I actually got burned with some melted rubber on the first side I did. This took me only a mere 3-4 minutes to cut off. It got straight to the sleeve.

FRONT 2 BUSHINGS:
These are simply plug & play, drop-in bushings. Just make sure you lift the cab high enough to remove them.


OLD Ford Rubber (LEFT TO RIGHT):

Back cab sleeved bushing, Middle cab sleeved bushing, & Front engine "open" bushing:

NEW James Duff Urethane (LEFT TO RIGHT):

Back cab sleeved bushing (notice how it is "mushroomed"), Middle cab sleeved bushing (notice the sleeves where I cut the bushing in half), & Front engine "open" bushing:

I hope this helps, for anyone that wants to do this again. Make sure you have plenty of punch combinations to see what works for you, a grinder with a cutoff wheel, penetrating oil, sledge hammer, and multiple washers.

BOLT & NUT SIZE: (Metric) M12 - 1.75
WASHERS: Whatever works! I used a combination of Home Depot 3/4" washers, 1/2 washers, and a couple old stock washers.

Pete

 

[AgPete139]

OLD MOUNTS:

Rear cab (cracks show how many millions of cycles it has been through, still holds its shape, that's it.)

Front engine (totally abused & gone, causes rocking and lots of sway in the cab while cornering, can't even hold its shape)

LIFTING METHODS:

Passenger Side:

lol = I couldn't find any long 2"x4" pieces, so I looked around and improvised.


Driver Side:

I thought of another solution once I got to the other side and didn't have enough space with a bush in the way.

"MODS":

I didn't feel like hassling with unlatching my e-brake @ the rear leaves/hanger, so I pulled and strung it out of the way to use my 7" angle grinder.

Also, the James Duff pieces were a tight fit, and I couldn't get them to fit in the front holes of my front frame. So with a little bit of mild grinding, I got them to fit. If you have a rasp or a file, this would be sufficient.

NEW, INSTALLED JAMES DUFF BUSHINGS:

$75, + $25 shipped from their website/Tennessee warehouse


Back cab mount // Middle cab mount // Front engine mount

Hope this helps, guys! Thanks for prompting me to upload the rest of the pics.

Perhaps I should bother Jim & submit it to the Tech Library. lol



Pete

 

[AgPete139]

I have since had to go back and retighten the 2 rear cab mounts, as they have come out and "settled" into place.

 

[AgPete139]

Also, as you can see in the above pictures, I did some MUCH needed refreshing on my fluids.


4.0L OHV:
Quaker State Full Synthetic (5 quarts, $14) :

I made the transition, and I do NOT regret it! Engine is quieter, revvs up quicker, better protection, and longer between oil change intervals. It is actually cheaper than conventional dino oil right now, too.


M5OD-R1 Manual Tranmission
Pennzoil Synchromesh Manual Transmission Fluid:

Wow! I read here on TRS a few users (~3-4) have had success with this, and it's true. The synthetic gets into the oil galley and knicks and crannies better, and it has better wear and shear resistance to the normally recommended (by Ford) Mercon ATF. This stuff is worth the money, since you only really do it once for the life of your tranny. It shifts smoother, it's much quieter, and easier to shift and match RPM. They says it also makes it run cooler. I haven't measured my MT temp, but I don't doubt it's another positive perk to this. At something like $6, it's still worth it to use the 3 that you'll ever need.


Transfer Case:
Regular Mercon V ATF (I think I used Castrol)

Good stuff. I should actually be replacing this more than once a year, apparently. I looked it up, and my book says 2X/year or every 6 months. Whoops.



That's it for now.

Pete