- Joined
- Apr 14, 2010
- Messages
- 786
- Reaction score
- 14
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Lakewood Wa.
- Vehicle Year
- 1994
- Make / Model
- Mazda
- Engine Size
- 4.0
- Transmission
- Manual
Okay,a little back story is in order-I work in a BIG garage (11 bays) and have help like you can only DREAM about-so for the rest of this build if it says "I" did so&so you better believe it is EASY,on the other hand if you read "we" did such and such-it was done by a co-worker on an off day for lunch/beer and gas money and was easy for a technician with lots of tools and 3 ASE certifications to do in his driveway -If it says "they" did it -that is fullblown "A" level master tech stuff,hopefully there won't be too much of that but if it happens I will post the mitchell labor guide hours and the parts cost. Now on to the build- I picked up a 1986 longbed 4x4 2.3 manual in rough shape for $400 last month off of craigslist -it ran ok!-we drove it the 26 miles back to the shop and I must say the little 2.3 held its own (70mph in spots). The previos owners had installed and ruined a starter so it required push starting (I am going to try to get a picture from them the way I brought it home) on further inspection it also needed - rear brake shoes,rear wheel cylinders,rear brake hardware,left rear parking brake cable,starter and flywheel-whew! (Lesson #1-DO or have done a VERY GOOD prepurchuse INSPECTION!!)
Before diving into part 2, can previous posts( i.e part 1 ) be updated with pictures relevent to that post or not? Anyway the tech working on the brakes and flywheel "suggested" putting in a clutch kit since we had no idea about their condition or age. He also "mentioned" he noticed a radiator leak and that the front brake hoses were old and cracked-man I can't catch a break.Well if you read part 1 you know ANYWHERE it says "I" did it its easy, well here is a real easy job,I went to the pull a part got a radiator for $20 and a belt (Yes it was a USED belt but man did it look new!) for $1.50.The radiator almost put itself in! 2 bolts Way cool! The radiator hoses looked suspect and since I saved some cash on the radiator I got new hoses and a cap -Finally caught a break! The junkyard radiator works GREAT! And my $1.50 belt is going strong-YAY pull-a-part! (Lesson #2 ORGANIZATION -I lost my reciept and with it my $5 core charge on the radiator-SAVE ALL RECIEPTS) Now it starts,stops and doesn't leak! The flat rate on the clutch is 5.5 the brakes was 2.1 tech had it all done in 6-lift and tools made the difference-Look out woods here I come!!!
With the time change the sun doesn't set 'til 8-9pm so at 7pm I closed up and headed south to an area behind FT.Lewis that had some trails that looked real easy and they were (FYI alot of that are is off limits,I only went on the unmarked trails). It did fine,I locked the hubs and tried all the transfer case postions mission acomplished ! The next day was Saturday so we were busy and it was raining after work no wheelin that night but sunday was pretty nice and I wanted to try a little more difficult trail so I went to an area known as EVANS CREEK (lots of youtube stuff but none of me, YET!)about 45 miles from my house.The truck got GREAT fuel mileage and maintained hiway speed . There were lots of people and trucks and QUADS and motorcycles-this was great-but my little stock ranger stuck out and when I got out to lock in the hubs a guy came up and asked if I was "NEW" to which I replied yes,very much so .He said he could tell as I had no permit,no CB and no one with me (Lesson 3 know the rules before you go,make plans and let people know and have some form of COMMO) All was NOT lost,he was leaving so he gave me his pass,he showed me the easiest of the 3 trails (this was really just the camp road but it was still techniclly EVANS CREEK) and told me to be careful as cell phones did not work there and next time he saw me I better have a "BUDDY" and a CB So off I went.....
Before diving into part 2, can previous posts( i.e part 1 ) be updated with pictures relevent to that post or not? Anyway the tech working on the brakes and flywheel "suggested" putting in a clutch kit since we had no idea about their condition or age. He also "mentioned" he noticed a radiator leak and that the front brake hoses were old and cracked-man I can't catch a break.Well if you read part 1 you know ANYWHERE it says "I" did it its easy, well here is a real easy job,I went to the pull a part got a radiator for $20 and a belt (Yes it was a USED belt but man did it look new!) for $1.50.The radiator almost put itself in! 2 bolts Way cool! The radiator hoses looked suspect and since I saved some cash on the radiator I got new hoses and a cap -Finally caught a break! The junkyard radiator works GREAT! And my $1.50 belt is going strong-YAY pull-a-part! (Lesson #2 ORGANIZATION -I lost my reciept and with it my $5 core charge on the radiator-SAVE ALL RECIEPTS) Now it starts,stops and doesn't leak! The flat rate on the clutch is 5.5 the brakes was 2.1 tech had it all done in 6-lift and tools made the difference-Look out woods here I come!!!
With the time change the sun doesn't set 'til 8-9pm so at 7pm I closed up and headed south to an area behind FT.Lewis that had some trails that looked real easy and they were (FYI alot of that are is off limits,I only went on the unmarked trails). It did fine,I locked the hubs and tried all the transfer case postions mission acomplished ! The next day was Saturday so we were busy and it was raining after work no wheelin that night but sunday was pretty nice and I wanted to try a little more difficult trail so I went to an area known as EVANS CREEK (lots of youtube stuff but none of me, YET!)about 45 miles from my house.The truck got GREAT fuel mileage and maintained hiway speed . There were lots of people and trucks and QUADS and motorcycles-this was great-but my little stock ranger stuck out and when I got out to lock in the hubs a guy came up and asked if I was "NEW" to which I replied yes,very much so .He said he could tell as I had no permit,no CB and no one with me (Lesson 3 know the rules before you go,make plans and let people know and have some form of COMMO) All was NOT lost,he was leaving so he gave me his pass,he showed me the easiest of the 3 trails (this was really just the camp road but it was still techniclly EVANS CREEK) and told me to be careful as cell phones did not work there and next time he saw me I better have a "BUDDY" and a CB So off I went.....
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