Safari Pacific MX2 Build

[meatheaded nucklebuster]

Ha ha we were typing at the same time. That sounds like a good approach, one that I wouldnt think of due to lack of experience.

 

[schanusa]

Here's a post I did on another forum. Reposting here so everyone can see whats going through my head. Time and $$$.

Many things broke/failed on the truck, more so than just the engine. Six months after I bought the truck I had the radiator pop. Ever since then I've been fighting overheating issues, way before I started loading it down. The thermostat/temp sensor part really gets under my skin though. I've had four fail (at $200 each) without letting me know I was overheating. The temp sensor is on the cold side as well. So when the unit fails it usually gets stuck in the closed position. So no hot coolant is registered by the temp gauge. Poor engineering. And yes, I check my fluid level weekly because of this.

I can't really complain about the engine itself. My comment towards the motor was more of how much of a pain it is to work on and how I believe engineers should spend more time working on things before they are allowed to design anything. I'm not saying they're not smart, applicable knowledge escapes most of them. Best example is the water pump. It requires a slide hammer to remove. I could rant for hours on things that went wrong, but it would waste more time than anything.

The hard reality is I'm spending all of my trip money getting the thing to stay on the road with how it is. Quite frankly I don't want to spend more than necessary to get the truck rolling. Here's whats going through my head. Hopefully everyone will see the method to my madness.

Payload capacity on a 4x2 2.3L Ford Ranger is 1260 lbs.

Flippac: 390 lbs
National Luna 40l Fridge: 64 lbs
Dual Battery: 60 lbs (est)
National Luna Power Pack: 12 lbs
3 AT Boxes (20"x 12.25"x 24.0"): 135 lbs
1 AT Box (20"x 9"x 24.0"): 39 lbs
4 Fuel Cans: 40 lbs
20 Gallons of fuel (Aux): 126 lbs
14 Gallons of fuel (Main): 88.2 lbs
5 Gallons of water: 41.5 lbs
5 lbs propane tank: 8lbs (est)
Maxtrax: 17.66 lbs
HiLift: 30lbs
Spare Tire: 60lbs (est)
Me after el baño: 160lbs

So far we're over capacity at 1271.36 lbs. That's without food, cooking gear, clothing, sleeping gear, papers, cameras, recovery gear, air compressor, bumpers and more. Quite simply its time to relieve some weight no mater how you slice it.

Now, to carry all this weight I could do the axle swap/suspension beef up route. Money is the factor here.

Dana 44 Front:
Axle: $200
Bearings: $50
Ring n Pinion: $300
Shocks: $300
Springs: $200
Ford 8.8 Rear:
Axle: $200
Bearings: $50
Ring n Pinion: $300
Locker: $700
Springs: $200
Transfer Case: $200
Transmission: $200
Transmission Adapter for motor: $200 (If I don't swap motor)
Front Driveshaft: $200
Rear Driveshaft: $200


Just for estimation I've gone with $200 for most everything, though as we all know it gets way more expensive after that. Forgetting about the bolts you have to get, powder coat/pain, u-joints and so on. That's $3500 on the low estimate side. Not including fabricating everything to work properly and we all know it will cost easily $5000 or more. For that amount of money I could be at the end of South America watching ships leave for Antarctica. For more comparison, I spent roughly $6000 for my North America trip in 2007 which was 22,000 miles in 10 weeks.

Then there's the engine swap. I've found a few used Cummins 4BT motors for $3000 but on average they go for $5000 as a long block. That's just the motor, not including replacing the transmission or having an adapter made, fuel delivery system, wiring, brackets and pulleys for pumps, motor mounts, rebuilding the engine cradle, HAVING to do a solid axle swap for clearance and all the other unforeseen items.

The best option overall is to simplify, loose weight and actually start my trip.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

so no SAS

 

[4.0B2]

i vote cummins and sas.. lol

its easy to vote stuff like that when its someone else's money! lol.

i love this ranger! its just awesome!

 

[schanusa]

so no SAS

Unfortunately not for a while, if at all. Unless I get a huge cash sponsor or a network tv channel jumps on board. Though I don't think that'll happen since I've been working at it for 2 1/2 years.

i vote cummins and sas.. lol

its easy to vote stuff like that when its someone else's money! lol.

i love this ranger! its just awesome!

Lol, oh yeah. Its even easy to say. I'll just toss in a solid axle and hook up a diesel...haha

Thanks!




Well, back to basics for now. I'm kind of burnt out of working on the truck all the time too. Looking forward to actually getting to use it and have some fun. The first thing is to get the truck back to a manageable weight. Tonight I've been pulling off a lot of the gear and weighting it one by one. So far I'm at 1472lbs of gear, minus bumpers. I've also been changing some of the setup and such. I'm at 1095 lbs with gear reduction, though my goal is 900lbs. Getting very slim pickings. I have removed 377 lbs so far and theres a couple pieces of equipment that I've never used to be removed. So I'm at least under load capacity now.

The motor will get either an overhaul or replaced with a new one (same motor). Haven't finished pulling it apart yet, as I need a large torx bit to remove the head. I have also been told I could get a used motor from Japan with 50k for $300. Not sure if Japan has the same motor in their Rangers, nor who to contact for them. Did find a motor in a junk yard, running with 120k for $550. Not liking the junk yard thing though...

 

[schanusa]

Finished pulling the motor apart, but stopped because I was stumped.

Set everything out so I know how to reassemble.

250,000 miles and pretty much no where at all. The hone marks are barley worn off.

Yep, even to the bottom of the cylinder. A testament of taking care of equipment and using synthetic oil since day 1.

Here's the part that stumps me. I pulled the motor apart because of a rod knock. I know I'm not the only one who heard it as it wasn't quiet at all. But after examining, rod bearings are good and no slop anywhere. So now I have no idea what could of been knocking.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

not a good idea on the Japan thing. since the gas engines they used there arent the same as the duratec thats used in America

 

[schanusa]

not a good idea on the Japan thing. since the gas engines they used there arent the same as the duratec thats used in America

I thought so.



Well, did some searching on some of the suggestions on a couple other forums. The one I've never heard of till now was piston slap. Found some videos on youtube of people thinking they had piston slap and what it sounded like. A couple showed what it was. Yeah, I'm a visual person, I've got to see photos or diagrams to get it in my thick head. Then I rocked the top of each piston to check and sure enough cylinder 3's got the slap. Now I'm curious how it happened.

More searching landed me at http://www.focussport.com/performance_pistons.htm They have OEM piston sets for a great price, but I've never heard of them. Anyone know if they're a reputable company.

 

[MountainMike]

Hey Travis. I've heard of Focus Sport before, back when they were still Focus Sport and not FSwerks. Pretty reputable company that's big with the Focus guys, you hear a lot about the company over on focaljet. it seems like a pretty legit operation to me.

 

[schanusa]

I finally decided to pull the trigger on getting a used motor. It's clean, has 100k miles and I should have it by mid next week.

This is better option overall than rebuilding my current motor. Rebuilding would cost way more as if I do rebuild I need special tools, machine shop work/cleaning, new bearings, seals, pistons, oil pump,all the other pieces and the hassle of rebuilding/timing. I wouldn't want to do a poor job rebuilding and the cost to do it right is way too high. The used motor is only $600 and has a 90 day warranty. Yeah, it has 100k miles but after researching these motors are good for 500k. So I think overall this is my best option.

 

[schanusa]

Time for the heart transplant. 2.3L DOHC 4 Cylinder with 120,000 miles. In great shape. Has 99% of everything on it. Will be doing some basic mods to fix issues I had with the last motor. Mainly the hard coolant line that runs behind the block.

 

[MountainMike]

Right on, good to see you procured a solid engine there Travis.

 

[scott5640]

hey man what truck was the SFA off of?

 

[schanusa]

hey man what truck was the SFA off of?

SFA = Solid Front Axle I guess. Its from a 96 Wrangler.

 

[schanusa]

The motor has been set in place.