Hi from Pa.

[Ed K]

Excuse my thumb or finger in the engine pic. I think I was in the process of replacing the throttle cable at that time.
The pic from behind with the floor jack and 12 ton jack stands was when I was getting ready to replace the leaf springs ( I think). I had already done a full brake replacement. But since I have to put it back on the ground every night and I had it jacked up
so many times over the past year, it's hard to remember what I was actually doing at the time I took the pic.
That's a good shot of the area I have to work on the truck. I don't enjoy it, but it's what I've got.
Some of you might notice the 8.8" LS rear where a 7.5" open should be. It's one of the few nice surprises I've had with this truck so far. I have no idea when it was swapped in and my Uncle says it wasn't done when he owned it. But he's getting up there so he might not remember having it done.
I ended up changing the rear shocks mid June this year right after I finished the leaf springs, but the Gabriel Pro Guards are no good so I ordered a set of Monroe OESpectums, they're supposed to be here today.
The last pic is in my Uncle's yard, which is connected to my back yard, my back door can be seen in the pic. I hadn't had the truck that long, so I don't remember if I took that pic before or after I had to replace the timing belt. I didn't get many miles on it before the old belt decided it was time to break up.
I have a pic of the truck on the rollback the day after the timing belt snapped and left me sitting on a main street but I think most of you have seen a Ranger on a rollback at least once.
Like I said, she's nothing special, but she's paid for, and she's mine.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

Oh she's not bad looking at all. I've seen a lot worse. Welcome to TRS. I know I'm a little slow (not just physically .) I will be following along as you get Rhonda back up to speed. I love that your daughter likes the truck. My son actually saw a Ranger yesterday in a parking lot and was asking if he traded his car for one if I would help him make it look like that. Needless to say I'm trying to convince the wife now to let me trade his Murano for a Ranger. Maybe difficult because it was her late stepmother's. Nice to see the younger generations building and driving these little trucks.

 

[MaicoDoug]

12 ton jackstands? Man, you all are in the big leagues.

 

[Roert42]

12 ton jackstands? Man, you all are in the big leagues.

With harbor freight you need that X12 safety factor.

Plus the the bigger stands go up higher so you have more room to work.

 

[Ed K]

Oh she's not bad looking at all. I've seen a lot worse. Welcome to TRS. I know I'm a little slow (not just physically .) I will be following along as you get Rhonda back up to speed. I love that your daughter likes the truck. My son actually saw a Ranger yesterday in a parking lot and was asking if he traded his car for one if I would help him make it look like that. Needless to say I'm trying to convince the wife now to let me trade his Murano for a Ranger. Maybe difficult because it was her late stepmother's. Nice to see the younger generations building and driving these little trucks.

Well, after about 50 hard stalls she got the truck going for a bit and I think it's starting to grow on her, then she started stalling again lol. She'll get it. She's 21 now but she's just starting to drive. I only get to see her once in awhile since she moved away and she works now so finally getting to teach her to drive feels pretty good, at least for me, for Rhonda not so much lol.
I wish you luck convincing your wife on a second vehicle for your son. Maybe point out that with a an old Ranger to focus all his youthful exuberance on, the Murano might last a lot longer. Plus they're great to work on together. Anything 2000 and under is fairly easy compared to the newer vehicles. I say "fairly" easy since even back in the 80s and 90s engineers be engineering, ya know? So some would be easy to get to parts, like spark plugs and clutch slave cylinders are either obstructed( 8 spark plugs on the 2.5L and old 2.3L) or hidden inside the transmission ( the slave cylinder). But still better to work on than anything today.
And, he wouldn't have much money left over for more nefarious past times lol.
I just re-read your post and realized you were trying to convince your wife to let your son trade the Murano in, not keep it. I'm a bit slow too sometimes lol. Well, my arguments still stand.

 

[Ed K]

12 ton jackstands? Man, you all are in the big leagues.

I got the 12 ton jack stands for the reach since 6 tons just weren't high enough to do what I needed to do. They're heavy as hell, especially at my age, but they work good.

 

[Ed K]

With harbor freight you need that X12 safety factor.

Plus the the bigger stands go up higher so you have more room to work.

You're right about the reach, that's why I got them. Since I was replacing the leaf springs I needed stands that go high enough to reach the rear frame rails so the rear and springs were un sprung. Then I controlled the rear with the floor jack.

Regarding the stands themselves-
After the Pittsburgh jack stand fiasco Harbor Freight really stepped up their game with the Daytona series. I have a 3 ton set and now the 12 ton set. I looked over every weld on both sets and all welds were good. And when I was QC I wasn't lenient with weld quality at all. They passed my VT so that says something.
The 12 ton set is built like a tank, and have already proven their worth. As I've said I was jacking up and lowering back on the ground multiple times per week/day, and one time I was just getting the first 12 ton situated when the truck slipped off the jack. Both wheels were still on but it still would have made for a pretty bad day if I didn't have that one stand mostly in place. It caught the truck like it wasn't even there and it didn't even graze me. I didn't even have the cross bar safety in yet so the ratchet bar teeth took the weight and momentum. It happened so quick I didn't even get a chance to think about trying to slow crawl out from under there. I thought I heard a noise and that was it, it was over.
Since I work on dirt and gravel the jack can't work it's way forward as I jack as easily as it can on a hard surface. I was tired and sore so I didn't recheck the jack before crawling under. The Harbor Freight Daytona saved my tired old ass.
I'll stand by them, since I can still stand because of them.
The only reason I don't have the 6 ton set yet is because Rhonda likes spending my money so much that I've burned through all my savings so they're firmly on my HF bucket list, for now.

 

[superj]

yup, wichita falls is a town up that way. right by where you are talking about.