Pics of my rig

[stmitch]

Yep! Nitro slammers, and I'm much happier with them than I was with my old CalMax shocks.

 

[DangerRangerCj]

Are you running the nitro slammers on both the front and back?

 

[stmitch]

That's correct. All 4 corners.

 

[slurpie822]

I'm one of those guys that is never satisfied, so I've got a set of much thicker bars from an Explorer sitting in the garage waiting to be put on. But who knows if I'll like them. That's another story. If you have the chance to get the Roush stuff, I'd definitely do it!

I'm curious about that Explorer sway bar. Have you found a way to mount them up to the front? I've only read that they won't fit on a 2wd without cutting or bending the bar itself (can't remember which one needed to be done)..

 

[stmitch]

I haven't done anything more than just hold the explorer bar up to get an idea how it might fit. I saw no major issues at all. The frame brackets look like they will bolt right up, and the end links line up. It looked to me, like everything would work without modification. Worst case scenario, you might need different length end links, but those are $20 at your local auto parts store.

I've been storing the truck an hour from my house, so I haven't done any more work on it. It may be coming home soon though. I'll report back when I have a chance to actually try and install the thing.

 

[XLTsplash]

I love your Ranger, Can you tell me more about the Cobra pedals ? What your Cobra ? What did you have to do to make them fit you Ranger ?

 

[stmitch]

Thanks a lot!

The pedals are from an 03-04 Cobra. I believe they also came on the Mach 1 model around the same time. You can get them from your dealer, or cheaper aftermarket ones are available on most mustang based sites.

To get them to fit your Ranger, you'll have to do a little work. The brake and clutch pedals in a Ranger are just metal squares with rubber pads over them. You peel the rubber pad off, and then trim the metal square into a shape that resembles the pedal. Once the pedal has been trimmed, the Cobra pieces fit over the top.
The gas pedal in the Ranger is a long plastic piece, and the back of the Cobra pedal is plastic as well. They're not even close to fitting together in stock form. Both have to be trimmed and shaved to fit into one another. It's not easy to describe, but it's really just trial and error. Trimming and test fitting, and then trimming some more until they fit together. Once they fit together, I ran a bolt through a hole in the backside of both pedals.

 

[DangerRangerCj]

You wouldnt happen to know the part #'s for the shocks would you? Would these happe to be them? M4095G and M4163G

 

[stmitch]

Based on Doetsch's application guide those look right, but I don't remember specific part numbers. Sorry man, I ordered mine through Brian @ Illusive design, and just told him my amount of drop when I paid. You could email him, or try a pm here. I think his name here is slammedxonair.

 

[XLTsplash]

Thank you for the information on the pedal swap. It's one of the many outstanding details of your Ranger.

 

[stmitch]

Thank you for the compliment XLTsplash!

 

[DangerRangerCj]

alright man, no problem. i think i found em on the website

 

[stmitch]

I can't remember if I posted about this here or not, but I've been having a charging issue with the truck for a few months now. I'm on my 3rd alternator, and 2nd Optima battery. Both the battery and alternator ccurrently in the truck test out ok.

The system only seems to lose charge when the battery is connected, but the engine isn't running.
It's not the electrical cooling fan. The problem is present even when the fan wiring is totally disconnected.
It's not the alternator. I've had the same issue now with 3 different alternators, and the current one seems to be charging properly while the engine runs.
It's not the battery. The battery holds charge fine, but seems to have some type of draw when the engine isn't running, and is what eventually causes the truck to stop running.

So, now we begin the long, monotonous process of trying to track down a draw on the charging system fuse by fuse. If that doesn't turn anything up, then it may be a PCM issue. Anybody have any insight/suggestions0things I might not have considered?

 

[XLTsplash]

Checking to see how much of a draw you have and if you do have much more .05 amp draw, pulling fuses and relays one at a time is a good place to start. I can see a draw causing a dead battery. With three alternators failing I would also do a voltage drop test on all of the cables. I have seen Ford battery cables with voltage drop. Most of them have been where the cable goes into the battery clamp. You can test the cable with an ohm meter and it will test fine, put a load on it and the voltage drops off. To test for voltage drop use a voltmeter and start at the battery, put a load on the circuit and start move down the cable. See if the voltage drops off. The circuit must have a load on it. Crank the engine over or turn the head lights on. After checking the battery cables, you can start checking other cables and wires if you have not found anything. Good luck.

 

[stmitch]

That's pretty much what I had planned, although I hadn't considered the battery cables as a potential draw. Thanks for the insight!