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

[4.0blue98]

Repaired exhaust... finally! Flange at downstream end of catalytic converter rotted off caused a big noisy leak. Chain cutter and an expander and it's back to normal. Good for another 200k.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Repaired exhaust... finally! Flange at downstream end of catalytic converter rotted off caused a big noisy leak. Chain cutter and an expander and it's back to normal. Good for another 200k.

You want a noisy exhaust leak, try my F-150 with the mighty 300 leaking at both exhaust manifolds to the Y pipe… sounds like an angry farm tractor with no muffler, lol. Flanges and bolts rotted off, I got replacement flanges but need to pull the fender and get in there with the torch, lol

 

[ekrampitzjr]

You want a noisy exhaust leak, try my F-150 with the mighty 300 leaking at both exhaust manifolds to the Y pipe… sounds like an angry farm tractor with no muffler, lol. Flanges and bolts rotted off, I got replacement flanges but need to pull the fender and get in there with the torch, lol

My hat's off to all our members who can do magic with a cutting torch and welder. That's one skill I wish I had picked up along the way.

 

[ericbphoto]

My hat's off to all our members who can do magic with a cutting torch and welder. That's one skill I wish I had picked up along the way.

Never too late to learn

 

[sgtsandman]

Well, didn’t get to spend as much time today on the Ranger as I wanted to, but got to spend a little time down there, cleaning some things up and prepping stuff today. Hopefully I can hit it hard tomorrow. Need to work out a few details really soon.

Need to settle on a leaf pack to build. I stuck several possible pack configurations together and compressed them and I’m still not really sure what to make of it. Posted all about it in the 4x4 suspension forum. If I can pick one in the next day or so, I can get the rear axle in.

My Ranger rear driveshaft has the wrong bolt pattern flange on it to mate to the AWD t-case. Don’t remember this being a problem before with this swap, but I have the Explorer rear shaft. The one flange has a couple gouges in it from a U-joint failure but probably still would be ok? Thought about trying to work some weld into it, I’m guessing it’s cast steel? Could use the other flange too I guess.

The flange should be good if there isn’t any cracks or sharp corners in the damage. If there is a sharp corner, that can cause a stress riser and needs to either be blended with a round file or welded. I believe you are correct that it is cast steel. So welding shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

My hat's off to all our members who can do magic with a cutting torch and welder. That's one skill I wish I had picked up along the way.

I’m not as skilled as some, I still haven’t figured out how to make a nice cut with a torch, but I can cut with it, just not the neatest. Years ago I watched an older junkyard owner use a bad tip on a torch to cut a truck frame so clean it looked like it was cut with a bandsaw. That to me is an epic level of skill.

That said, many years ago dad gave me his old torch set. I still use it, but I also bought a second torch set. Learned (mostly self taught) to cut and to weld with it. Very handy sometimes. Never too late to learn.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Never too late to learn

I agree... I learn everytime I fire up the welder. I've been without torches for years now here in Illinois... I keep looking for a good deal though. I've managed without them but I miss not having them in my tool crib.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Oh man…

I went at the green Ranger project again, figured I’d tackle swapping rear axles today and came away very irritated… for something that’s been apart before, by my hands no less, it sure didn’t act like it. The donor rotted out Explorer came apart easier than this. I know I would have coated every bolt in grease. I’m absolutely baffled. The U-bolts (which I never touched) came apart easily. The sway bar links (which I’ve had apart), one was seized on the bottom and the top of that side I had to cut. The other side came apart easily. The shocks, the one shock ate all the way through the threads on the bottom, the other was perfect on the bottom, but took 5 minutes of pounding 1,400 ft/lbs of impact gun to it, no joke. Both tops were normal fight.

But the leaf spring bolts… all four were dry as a popcorn fart. They should have been drooling grease. Of course, with the bed on, can’t really get an impact on them, but they should come apart nicely, right? Nope. The first one I tackled I ended up with the 3/4” ratchet on it (the handle is like 3’ long) and snapped that MF’r right in half. So I had to cut up on the other side of the bushing because what was left wouldn’t punch out. Of course the 4-1/2” grinder wouldn’t get it and I didn’t want to pull a cord so it got the sawzall. Second bolt was a fight, had to unscrew it all the way. Third was just awkward because somehow, it got put in from the frame out on the hanger, which I never do because you can’t get it out again with a hitch on the truck. Last bolt, was a fight and I thought I might break it, but then it unscrewed out slowly.

That whole mess is out now though, so I gotta finish prep on the Explorer axle and then once I build the new packs, it can go in. So much for having it ready for the springs today. Tried getting the yoke changed on the driveshaft today too and that’s also halfway done. Knocked the yoke off the driveshaft and the old joint out. Joint felt ok, but should probably get cleaned out and repacked with grease, so I just figured I’ll throw a new joint in for now. Tried to knock the junk U-joint out of the yoke I need to use and couldn’t get the clips out, they both broke and in such a way there was nothing really to grab. Got mad and cut the cross and punched out the ends, but still have to figure out getting the last of the clips out, they’re wedged pretty good.

 

[Bobber64]

Got my fuel sender the other day. Picked up a parts truck that has a 302 and an automatic yesterday and my fuel tank and lower radiator hose came in today. Waiting for my daughter to get off work at 9pm and we will get to work.

 

[CorbinsRanger]

I installed a shifter repair kit. Quick job they said. Just remove the boot and there it is they said. Turns out when you have a manual T-case you have to RIP the carpet up on passenger and driver side, pull apart the console so you can wedge it up far enough so the rubber mat that covers the the hole in the transmission hump. Also the BCM cover. After that it was a breeze.

 

[ericbphoto]

I installed some spring spacers to adjust my suspension geometry. Then I laid under the front end trying to figure out a better steering system. Measured some stuff.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Well, back after the green Ranger today… hit a few snags of course. First up I finally burned the old bushings out of the Explorer mains and as luck would have it, the sleeves from the old front bushings aren’t salvageable and you need them to install poly bushings in the front spring eyes. The tech archives mention needing the sleeve and what poly bushings you need, but doesn’t say what to do if the sleeves aren’t salvageable. Still on the hunt for an answer on that one.

Well, I can get the driveshaft done at least… called Autozone and got a U-joint and cleaned up the driveshaft and yoke and hammered the joint into the yoke and it doesn’t fit. So my options are to try filling the gouges on the one yoke (looks like the one I mentioned the other day will fit the U-joint that had gouges from breaking a joint), see if there’s a joint that can be outside retained on one side and inside retained on the other that would fit, or look for an adapter joint and figure out what the nice looking yoke takes (appears to be set up for inside or outside retainers). That one came off what I thought was the parts Explorers rear shaft, so it should have been the same joint? Strange.

Despite all of that, I got a few other things done, like the dreaded task of drilling holes in my new long leafs for the plastic end pads, which actually didn’t go all that bad for a change. Got the new outer bearings and seals in the disk 8.8”, scraped the old gasket material off for the diff cover, pulled the one shock mount, bunch of other little stuff.

Oh, that’s something else I’m going to have to figure out, mounting the shocks, apparently the Explorer shocks mount way different from the Ranger on the top. I don’t remember how they did it now.

But I made some progress, some irritating things got done, and I managed not to smash any fingers or break anything that wasn’t already broke.

 

[ericbphoto]

I just measured a couple sleeves from my springs. 9/16" ID x 3/4" OD (more like0.78") x 3" long. If you can source some tubing with the right ID and OD, make your own. I don't think I have a set of 4. I'll try to remember to look around tomorrow. If I have them, I'll send them.

Google just brought this up. 19mm OD x 15mm ID should be close enough for that. These are 8" long pieces. You would need 2 to make all 4 sleeves.

Check this out! https://a.co/d/ikuZWmR

 

[ericbphoto]

Pm sent.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I just measured a couple sleeves from my springs. 9/16" ID x 3/4" OD (more like0.78") x 3" long. If you can source some tubing with the right ID and OD, make your own. I don't think I have a set of 4. I'll try to remember to look around tomorrow. If I have them, I'll send them.

Google just brought this up. 19mm OD x 15mm ID should be close enough for that. These are 8" long pieces. You would need 2 to make all 4 sleeves.

Check this out! https://a.co/d/ikuZWmR

So… maybe I need to be a little more specific… I’m talking about the outer metal sleeve, not the small one the bolt goes through, but the metal “shell”. Tech archives calls it a sleeve and I should have known better than to not specify. All the bolt sleeves looked ok, might have to throw them in the box in case I ever have to replace one of those. That outer shell/sleeve thing gets left behind when you burn out the center rubber and you have to usually chisel it out for poly bushings, and as luck would have it, the two rear shells are perfect. The ones I don’t need and are too small for the front. Both front shells were rust fragments.