Jballard81's 1994 super cab 4.0 4x4 Restore

[jballard81]

Good evening! figured i would capture my trials and tribulations here while i work to get my new to me 1994 Ford ranger restored to a "comfortable" working order. So as stated, its a 1994 super cab 4x4 auto with the 4.0 engine. Previous owner said it sat for the last 4 years, but it runs and drives. i've been keeping an eye out for this combo in a 94-95 for a while now so i jumped on it. In person it's rougher than i had hoped but it was always going to be a project for the $$ i paid.

I've been cleaning as i go, but she's pretty dirty still. the dash is sun-baked and cracked and the dash cover had all the metal tress broken off (luckily in the dash still):
I used 4x4Junkie's trick of using some #8 1/2 inch sheet metal screws to self tap them back in.

Previous owner tore up the headlight dimmer main switch:

after re-housing the wires into a new switch and putting the dash surround back in:

The driver's door was sagging terribly. the bushings in the door pins were completely gone. I replaced those today which was a great improvement:

Door closes relatively cleanly now instead of hitting below the door hook. While doing so, i removed 2 shims from the bottom hinge... if i add them back in, the door is mis-aligned and misses the door hook. If i leave them off, the door closes nicely, but the top of the door is a smidge too far out and the bottom of the door is slightly too far in...

Maybe i need smaller shims now? I just noticed in the picture that the shims are slightly different sizes. maybe i put them in the wrong spot the first time. Anyone have any suggestions?

Other currently known issues:
-bucket seats are trashed, driver's seat back lever is gone. It should pass NC inspection next week and i can take it to some junk yards to look for replacements.
-ignition is sloppy and key is very worn out. key doesn't work in glove box or doors
--ignition replaced! but now need to find key in switch sensor...
-power windows and locks don't work - need to decide if i want to swap power out for manual picked from the junkyard or fix the existing
--driver's side window replaced!
-driver interior door is trashed - will look for a replacement when at the junkyard
-carpet is rough - Planning on taking it out when i pull the seats out. hopefully a good power wash will save it
--done!
-engine runs, but sounds rough. - need to go through and test or clean the usual suspects.
-Need to check through the brakes and suspension

Check out my restoration related threads:
-Headliner Repair & Recover
-A4LD Shift Kit Install
-Center Console repair & install
-Windshield Wiper Motor fail


I'm sure i will find more sins as i work through the list. My current goal is to restore it back to stock working order.

 

[RobbieD]

Thanks for the look. It looks like a nice, honest truck.

On the door you might try loosening the hinge-to-door bolts, (not hinge-to-cowl) just enough to let you jack the door around, and see if you can pull the bottom out and push the op in.

As good as you did with the light switch, repairing the power windows and locks shouldn't be too bad.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Stuff a 2x4 in the bottom and push on the top.

 

[scotts90ranger]

If the front of the door matches fine I agree with the 2x4 and force method, if not adjust the pin... I did a combo on my '97, was hitting the top of the pin but also hanging low so I jacked up the back of the door and once the body lines were right I adjusted the pin... time to jack up the back of the door again...

 

[jballard81]

If the front of the door matches fine I agree with the 2x4 and force method, if not adjust the pin... I did a combo on my '97, was hitting the top of the pin but also hanging low so I jacked up the back of the door and once the body lines were right I adjusted the pin... time to jack up the back of the door again...

Seems this is the way. The body lines are nicely matched up. I will give it the 2x4 treatment tomorrow and let you know how it goes

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Roll the window down...

 

[jballard81]

Roll the window down...

Didn't even think about that! it will have to wait until i fix the power window then

 

[jballard81]

Was out of town last weekend. finally had a little bit of time to replace the door cylinder locks. While i was there, i greased the power-locks rod (giggity) and manually locked/unlocked it a few dozen times on each door and ta-da! the power locks work!

At least the driver's side can lock/unlock both doors. Passenger side still nothing from the switch. I wonder if the switch itself is bad or just so dirty that contact isn't being made.. It's been a while since i've worked on a car this old, but I've never seen interior doors, switches, vents etc be so dirty and dusty.

Might try to pop the wires out of the passenger door switch and see if it can clean it up or at least test it for functionality

 

[jballard81]

Just noticed this today.

Appears that the paint is completely gone from that section of the roof. Guess I will be learning more about body work than I hoped to...

 

[Bgunner]

There is body filler on the that roof that will need to be ground off to get rid of any loose filler. The filler looks to be about 1/16 of an inch thick which means the roof was dented pretty good sometime in the past.

Be sure to sand/grind off all the rust or the new filler will crack in the same area again.

 

[RobbieD]

At least the driver's side can lock/unlock both doors. Passenger side still nothing from the switch. I wonder if the switch itself is bad or just so dirty that contact isn't being made.. It's been a while since i've worked on a car this old, but I've never seen interior doors, switches, vents etc be so dirty and dusty.

Might try to pop the wires out of the passenger door switch and see if it can clean it up or at least test it for functionality

The contacts are OK on the passenger switch "at rest" (because the doorlocks work from the driver's switch) but the passenger contacts may not be making when the passenger switch is rocked. You can try hosing it good with spray electrical contact cleaner while you work the switch.

When you get the passenger switch out, check for +12V on the Black/White wire (power to the switch). If it's dead you likely have a worn wire in the rubber boot coming out of the door. Usually in this case the wire insulation looks fine, but the copper wire strands have been stressed and are broken inside the insulation.

The doorlocks are what's called a "reversal rest at ground" in how they operate.

 

[jballard81]

There is body filler on the that roof that will need to be ground off to get rid of any loose filler. The filler looks to be about 1/16 of an inch thick which means the roof was dented pretty good sometime in the past.

Be sure to sand/grind off all the rust or the new filler will crack in the same area again.

Thanks! Luckily this repair is a little further down the road to give me some time to learn

 

[jballard81]

The contacts are OK on the passenger switch "at rest" (because the doorlocks work from the driver's switch) but the passenger contacts may not be making when the passenger switch is rocked. You can try hosing it good with spray electrical contact cleaner while you work the switch.

When you get the passenger switch out, check for +12V on the Black/White wire (power to the switch). If it's dead you likely have a worn wire in the rubber boot coming out of the door. Usually in this case the wire insulation looks fine, but the copper wire strands have been stressed and are broken inside the insulation.

The doorlocks are what's called a "reversal rest at ground" in how they operate.

This is a fantastic tidbit of information and I will hopefully get a chance to check it out tomorrow. Thanks again!

 

[jballard81]

Was working on changing my ignition cylinder and noticed that this purple/blk wire is stretched tight and looks like it is interfered with by the shifter. I believe this is the key presence detector, the connector also appears to be damaged.

Is key presence the right part to look for?

How is that wire supposed to be routed?

 

[RobbieD]

None of my '94s are automatic, but I did get a not-too-perfect picture of my '90 B2 (same column design) during the transmission conversion (auto to manual).

Crappy picture, I know.

Try routing your key-in-switch wire behind the PRNDL cable; if you have the wire slackness, to the left of where it clips into the pot metal housing.

Looks like your wire is also missing a braided protective sleeve like that found on my earlier truck.

Basically, if it's apparent that your wire is too close to the moving shifter linkage, all you can do is play around with tweaking different routings to get it away. You can also look at the harnesses lower, to see if you can get a little more slack in the key wire.

Worst case scenario, you can cut and splice in a short section to extend the wire (solder & heatshrink). You could add a protective sleeve then too, or just use the smallest size convulated tubing (split-loom) to protect the wire.

- edited into english. it's too damn early!