What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)

[85_Ranger4x4]

Does it always have to be about him?

Lmao

Sometimes it could be...

The Bronco group left me out when they posted pics on their Facebook group.

 

[snoranger]

Sometimes it could be...

The Bronco group left me out when they posted pics on their Facebook group.

But you don’t own a Bronco... your wife does.

 

[ericbphoto]

But you don’t own a Bronco... your wife does.

 

[Uncle Gump]

The way some Facebook people are... they might have even left out the 4 door Bronco.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

But you don’t own a Bronco... your wife does.

I got Bronco parts!

 

[Blmpkn]

I got Bronco parts!

Lucky. My fiance tells me mines like a hamsters.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

You guys…

So over the past few days I managed to extract the broken fitting from the steering rack and get the new lines on and get it back bolted in place on mom’s 02 Explorer.

Then we moved on to mom’s 2012 Nissan Murano. Man, eff that thing. It threw a code for the VVT solenoids. They are over $100 each. Can’t find anything online for where exactly they are on hers so I went looking and now I regret going looking. Apparently they are sensitive to oil sludge. So I figured maybe try cleaning and testing them first (I was able to find that information). Well, they are located on the ends of the heads with the timing assembly. On the bottom where sludge will collect and where they are not really accessible. The back one I think I can pull a bracket off and pop it out, which will dump oil on the serpentine belt system. The front one there’s a metal coolant line in the way, so it looks like I have to pull this big cover piece off. Autozone can get the gasket that I think is right… as a special order through the commercial department. To make matters worse, the oil filter (pull the right front tire and fender liner to access) is smaller in diameter and length compared to my 24 hp lawn tractor. So sludge in the oil is a problem and it’s got the wee tiniest oil filter. Great job Nissan. While I was poking around under the hood, I realized that to change the spark plugs, the intake has to come off and not only that, but the three under the intake is also under the cowl area. I suggested fixing the current problem and sell it for something easier to work on.

So then I was up at my mechanic buddies place and finally went looking (again) for the front end vibration in the F-150. Looks like the steering box has excessive play. So now that’s got to be fixed.

He has been trying to fix the brakes on the neighbors daughters Kia Forte, she blew a brake line a couple weeks ago. He replaced the line, bled the system and it was good, for about 4 days then she lost brakes again. Couldn’t find a leak at first, then found a fitting that was leaking. Snugged it up and now it won’t bleed. At all. Well, sometimes it will squirt some fluid out but most of the time there’s zero pedal pressure and nothing at all out the bleeder. Car on or off, doesn’t matter. I’m thinking the master cylinder is junk since pushing the pedal even when there’s no resistance increases the fluid level in the master. Funny thing is, she’s had the car about a year and the master cylinder looks like a replacement…

 

[Lefty]

I looked at 19 Rangers last week hoping to find a decent LS rear axel. No such luck.

Their fate was rather sad: rode hard and put up wet, and done so year after year, treated roughly, never loved, never accessorized, had no special factory options, were never garaged, or even waxed, rusting out everywhere. Almost all suffered their fair share of dents and dings. One was hail damaged and never fixed. The cabs were greasy and smelly on the inside: the carpets were caked with dirt. The dashboards were scuffed and scratched, seats stained, many with cigarette holes. many never cleaned or covered. Even the headliners were messed.

I found a few potential limited slip donors only to find one axel was rusted beyond saving. Another had a leaky differential, not at all a good sign.

Perhaps too, these little boneyard trucks tell another story: that so many stayed in service well beyond the life span of so many other vehicles, did their job faithfully, held up under duress, and even abuse.

 

[Isk Stark]

Dropped off at my mechanic's shop to replace the inner tie rods. Gave up on trying to break them loose without a proper lift.

Took possession of Roush front and rear sway bars today. Can't wait to install them.

 

[superj]

We are waiting to hear about those bars. We need measurements and everything

 

[sgtsandman]

Installed rivnuts in place of the screws holding the windshield visor. Good thing I did, there was some minor rust that shouldn't have been there. And of course the project didn't go smoothly. Two rivnuts spun, necessitating dropping the roof liner and I lost one of the fasteners somewhere at some point.

Anyway, while I had the thing off, I drilled some holes in the low points for water drainage. Now, all I need to do is get a flange nut for the one spot where I now have a make do fastener plugging the hole.

 

[ericbphoto]

Installed rivnuts in place of the screws holding the windshield visor. Good thing I did, there was some minor rust that shouldn't have been there. And of course the project didn't go smoothly. Two rivnuts spun, necessitating dropping the roof liner and I lost one of the fasteners somewhere at some point.

Anyway, while I had the thing off, I drilled some holes in the low points for water drainage. Now, all I need to do is get a flange nut for the one spot where I now have a make do fastener plugging the hole.

No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[sgtsandman]

No good deed goes unpunished.

And "quick and easy" projects have a high chance of not being "quick and easy".

 

[scotts90ranger]

Made the investment of filling the '97 on the way home... I'm not the best at gauging how many miles I have since the mileage wanders a lot in the winter/spring... 15 gallons was $70... still had 5 gallons left! (21 gallon tank in this beast), But at 364 miles that's 24mpg so not bad...

 

[ekrampitzjr]

I looked at 19 Rangers last week hoping to find a decent LS rear axel. No such luck.

Their fate was rather sad: rode hard and put up wet, and done so year after year, treated roughly, never loved, never accessorized, had no special factory options, were never garaged, or even waxed, rusting out everywhere. Almost all suffered their fair share of dents and dings. One was hail damaged and never fixed. The cabs were greasy and smelly on the inside: the carpets were caked with dirt. The dashboards were scuffed and scratched, seats stained, many with cigarette holes. many never cleaned or covered. Even the headliners were messed.

I found a few potential limited slip donors only to find one axel was rusted beyond saving. Another had a leaky differential, not at all a good sign.

Perhaps too, these little boneyard trucks tell another story: that so many stayed in service well beyond the life span of so many other vehicles, did their job faithfully, held up under duress, and even abuse.

Even work trucks should be maintained better than that. Sad, ain't it? And you know lots of those you saw in the boneyard were personal vehicles.

There was a YouTube video (since deleted) showing an auto shop preparing to fix the steering box on a (approx.) 2002 Ford Super Duty work truck. The video was posted in a thread on BITOG before deletion. The frame was rusted so badly that the repair was impossible. The Super Duty was not repairable without replacing the entire frame. Pieces fell off when the shop owner tried to raise it with a lift. One of the crossmembers under the bed was totally gone.

Yet the business owner of the truck said he really liked it and had wanted to keep it running. Then why didn't he get it rustproofed and undercoated after he bought it new?

I tell myself sometimes that I'd like to find a limited-slip 3.55 axle to replace the standard open-diff 3.55 my 2011 has. The limited-slip had been a factory option, but discovering one in a boneyard would be like finding a needle in a haystack. The axle would have to come from a 2010 or 2011 as earlier axles won't interchange. Think I'll just leave well enough alone. Everything inside the diff was super-clean when I changed the diff fluid last year.