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

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I filled her up since gas is 2.91 and washed her. Looks greatView attachment 113593

Wish gas was that cheap around here. $3.89 around home and $3.37 across the border.

 

[Rick W]

I half filled up Big Red with Bideniesel at $4.39 last week, and then it almost immediately dropped to $3.89 when he gave more of our military reserve away. The Missing Linc is Lincoln‘s favorite, and gets almost twice the mileage, but the F-250 has AC and I have my limits.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I half filled up Big Red with Bideniesel at $4.39 last week, and then it almost immediately drop to $3.89 when he gave more of our military reserve away. The Missing Linc is Lincoln‘s favorite, and gets almost twice the mileage, but the F-250 has AC and I have my limits.

Right now the only thing in my fleet with working AC is the F-150. Dumb thing will blow snowflakes at you out of the vents once it gets ripping, but most of the time I run with the wing vent (aka smokers window) open and the windows down in that. Choptop I put a full AC in and when I vacced it down it leaked overnight so there’s a slow leak somewhere in my new system. Haven’t got around to tracking that down. My green Ranger the parts I need to finish the AC are riding around in the bed currently. I haven’t got to buying what I need for the dump truck yet.

Speaking of my dump truck… it’s becoming a cluster f to find parts for. I need new spring hangers and shackles (well, they’re not broken yet, but I don’t like how thin they are) and gas tank straps, among other things. Apparently, either I don’t know how to look for things, or those parts no longer exist. There seems to be a discrepancy between a normal 1994 F-350 and a 1994 F-350 cab and chassis. Except nobody makes a distinction and just lists F-350 pickup parts which don’t match.

Oh, and fun side note, apparently 1994 F-350 pickups were rated for something like 12k max towing and the cab and chassis models were rated for 14k

 

[ElectraRider]

changed the oil and filter after my trip to Illinois and my on off switch for cruse control on my 2000 Ranger.

 

[JoshT]

Upper control arms flipped to hopefully correct some balljoint angle with the lowering. Time will tell if it worked, right now they are maxed out at down travel and not enough weight with the engine out to compress the suspension. Ofcourse new balljoints installed in the process.

Also installed new tie rod ends and new torsion bar isolator pads. Not convinced that the tie rod ends were necessary, but wanted to do it before getting an alignment. The isolator pads were definitely needed, the old ones fall out in crumbled pieces and from the larger pieces it looked like they were squished. For those that don't know the isolator pads are above the torsion keys, there is the plate that the key sits in then an isolator pad between that and the frame. Mine looked like they were probably blue polyurethane that had gotten hard, brittle, and started cracking apart over time.

Also the short block is ready for reinstall. I'm not going to be able to paint it like I wanted, but it's ready for reinstall. Somebody went and got it too far assembled while I was at work. As is I can't really clean the block without messing up other painted parts. Even if I could there is too much to mask around, and I don't want to end up with a blue blob of overspray. It would be spray and pray. I'd end up with no coverage in places, and overspray everywhere else.

Also if I stopped to properly paint it tomorrow, it would potentially set me back weeks on getting the short block back in the truck. Currently hitting tripple digits around here in the afternoons. I can't ask my only help to work in that weather, he's already in bad enough shape. With taking brakes to recouperate from the heat there wouldn't be enough time in an afterwork to get it bolted to the transmission and on the mounts. That means tomorrow morning is the only opportunitey I have to install the short block and not push this project back much further.

If I'm going to have any chance of making it to the September G2G, most work needs to be complete by the end of the month. After the engine is back together I still have to get an alignment and a proper exhaust, the latter might take weeks. That would leave August to break in the new engien and work out any bugs that might pop up from the swap. If I don't have that shakedown time and trust it by end of August, I'm not driving it to Kentucky. If I'm not driving it to kentucky, I'm not going.

So I put mine in with no upper intake and just the passenger header on. It was snug getting it wiggled in, but it went. Without the upper intake, bellhousing bolts wouldn’t have been terrible, but I did engine and transmission together with no core support (I had to replace it so I made it bolt on).

What headers are you using? If I had the passenger side OBX installed I wouldn't be able to bolt the mount plate to the mount.

Without the heads installed, the bellhousing bolts are down right easy to get to.

Also I don't have the new heads yet. They said back on the 18th that they "have one done and the last one almost finished", so they should have shipped weeks ago. Last update (Wednesday night) was "heads will be to you in a few days", but I still don't even have any shipping information.

Plus with the short block installed, I can set the old heads and intake in place. That will put the weight back on the suspension for me to adjust it while waiting for the new stuff to arrive. Got to keep some progress going, can't be sitting around waiting on people if I'm going to make my deadline.

Can you tell that I'm getting tired and irritated with waiting on and dealing with other people?

 

[Rick W]

Upper control arms flipped to hopefully correct some balljoint angle with the lowering. Time will tell if it worked, right now they are maxed out at down travel and not enough weight with the engine out to compress the suspension. Ofcourse new balljoints installed in the process.

Also installed new tie rod ends and new torsion bar isolator pads. Not convinced that the tie rod ends were necessary, but wanted to do it before getting an alignment. The isolator pads were definitely needed, the old ones fall out in crumbled pieces and from the larger pieces it looked like they were squished. For those that don't know the isolator pads are above the torsion keys, there is the plate that the key sits in then an isolator pad between that and the frame. Mine looked like they were probably blue polyurethane that had gotten hard, brittle, and started cracking apart over time.

Also the short block is ready for reinstall. I'm not going to be able to paint it like I wanted, but it's ready for reinstall. Somebody went and got it too far assembled while I was at work. As is I can't really clean the block without messing up other painted parts. Even if I could there is too much to mask around, and I don't want to end up with a blue blob of overspray. It would be spray and pray. I'd end up with no coverage in places, and overspray everywhere else.

Also if I stopped to properly paint it tomorrow, it would potentially set me back weeks on getting the short block back in the truck. Currently hitting tripple digits around here in the afternoons. I can't ask my only help to work in that weather, he's already in bad enough shape. With taking brakes to recouperate from the heat there wouldn't be enough time in an afterwork to get it bolted to the transmission and on the mounts. That means tomorrow morning is the only opportunitey I have to install the short block and not push this project back much further.

If I'm going to have any chance of making it to the September G2G, most work needs to be complete by the end of the month. After the engine is back together I still have to get an alignment and a proper exhaust, the latter might take weeks. That would leave August to break in the new engien and work out any bugs that might pop up from the swap. If I don't have that shakedown time and trust it by end of August, I'm not driving it to Kentucky. If I'm not driving it to kentucky, I'm not going.



What headers are you using? If I had the passenger side OBX installed I wouldn't be able to bolt the mount plate to the mount.

Without the heads installed, the bellhousing bolts are down right easy to get to.

Also I don't have the new heads yet. They said back on the 18th that they "have one done and the last one almost finished", so they should have shipped weeks ago. Last update (Wednesday night) was "heads will be to you in a few days", but I still don't even have any shipping information.

Plus with the short block installed, I can set the old heads and intake in place. That will put the weight back on the suspension for me to adjust it while waiting for the new stuff to arrive. Got to keep some progress going, can't be sitting around waiting on people if I'm going to make my deadline.

Can you tell that I'm getting tired and irritated with waiting on and dealing with other people?

Did I ever tell you why I sold my engineering company and became a broker?

NO EMPLOYEES!!! No Subs!

 

[ericbphoto]

Did I ever told you why I sold my engineering company and became a broker?

NO EMPLOYEES!!! No Subs!

What do subs have to do with it?

 

[Maritime Drag Racing]

Well, we have officially changed over to Super Pro since our last ET saw us being .015 too quick for the "no roll bar" rule and the Pro class ET break so we had to install one and fortunately an S-10 main hoop a buddy sold me fit pretty good.. For those of you that haven't seen my posts about this little truck here's the current state of the build. It's an 11:1 zero deck 355ci Chev with Holley pump/750 DP carb/Strip Dominator intake, ported Bowtie angle plug heads, ancient Crane solid lifter(.520/.540 and 248/258@.050), has maybe 470hp, TH350 w/transbrake, FTI convertor, Moser 8.8 rear, 4.88 gear. 9X30 slicks, CalTrac bars and 9 way adjustable shocks. MSD 6AL, crank trigger, starter saver and two step. ancient Accel distributor, Dedenbear delay box.

Blew out the entire drivetrain from crankshaft to rearend during our one and only pass in 2023 and we're only just now getting to make our first run at S/Pro on the July 19/20/21 weekend.

 

[Blmpkn]

Tried getting it back together and running.. didn't work out.

Two snapped off bolts in the alternator bracket at the tips of my fingers used to affix a piece of the lower water pump hose. Tried welding ALL the nuts to what's left of the bolts with ZERO luck -__-

Now to decide if I wanna buy & try some EZ-outs.. or give em a hoggin' with a drill and re-tap.. ugh.

 

[Rick W]

Tried getting it back together and running.. didn't work out.

View attachment 113656

Two snapped off bolts in the alternator bracket at the tips of my fingers used to affix a piece of the lower water pump hose. Tried welding ALL the nuts to what's left of the bolts with ZERO luck -__-

Now to decide if I wanna buy & try some EZ-outs.. or give em a hoggin' with a drill and re-tap.. ugh.

Oh boy, sorry for your luck.

What I know of such things will fit in a thimble, but isn’t one of the first things to try using a torch to really heat up the section, and rapping on the bolts (like a nail) to shock and break loose any rust or corrosion? I’m sure someone else here knows what I’m talking about, much better than I do, and can guide you better.

 

[pentode]

Tried getting it back together and running.. didn't work out.

View attachment 113656

Two snapped off bolts in the alternator bracket at the tips of my fingers used to affix a piece of the lower water pump hose. Tried welding ALL the nuts to what's left of the bolts with ZERO luck -__-

Now to decide if I wanna buy & try some EZ-outs.. or give em a hoggin' with a drill and re-tap.. ugh.

I just went through a similar situation with one of the bolts on my timing cover. Tried welding it a few times to the point of starting to erode the aluminum. My gut tells me ez-outs aren't going to work if welding didn't. I'd get the drill out. I was surprised how well mine went- just center punch the hell out of them and get a really good starting point.

 

[ericbphoto]

Try left-handed drill bits. Might catch and spin it out.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Drill and re-tap. If that don't work use a heli-coil or equivelant.

 

[Rick W]

Try left-handed drill bits. Might catch and spin it out.

I think they’re called “woke” drillbits

 

[JoshT]

NO EMPLOYEES!!! No Subs!

My assistant is over-worked and un-paid, I don't think I can call that an employee. He'd probably say that it comes with being a dad and that he enjoys doing what of it he can.


Well when I got over to work on the truck this morning, that assistant was in the process of masking up the engine. "Sure would look better blue." Fortunately it being in the oven helped the paint dry quicker. Recorded high on his home weather station was 107, it's attached to the top of the "barn" we're working in. At one point the thermometer on the wall in the barn read 111 and I'm not sure that was the hottest part of the day. Needless to say after applying the paint we went in and soaked up the AC for a little while. By the time we got back out after lunch I think the engine paint had already gone through all the heating cycles it needed to fully cure. Even if not quite there, it was more than dry enough to handle.

Day ended with the short block in the engine bay. Can't say it's installed because the mounting plates aren't installed, but it's bolted back up to the transmission and resting on the crossmember. We'll get the mount plates installed tomorrow, as well as the torque converter if I remember to stop for new nuts. After that it's pretty much on hold for my heads to arrive, or give up and reinstall the old ones.