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

[lil_Blue_Ford]

It’s not an end all be all, but it definitely helps with it. Before I put it on, the windshield would fog up as soon as I got in and breathed once.

I might have to give it a try. Really never thought of trying it, but I live in a valley and often windows will fog up until you get out of the valley in spring and fall

 

[97RangerXLT]

watched the bed collect leaves and rainwater...

need to clean it out, take some more sh-stuff to Goodwill and put it back in the garage

AJ

 

[CamTheHedgehog]

I might have to give it a try. Really never thought of trying it, but I live in a valley and often windows will fog up until you get out of the valley in spring and fall

Yeah that sounds miserable.

It’s less applicable for pure humidity, but for the cold winter I’ve also started using anti-fog lens wipes on my glasses. It only lasts for a few days but lets me still see when I walk outside first thing in the morning.

It’s $4 at Walmart, so even if it doesn’t work as well for you as it does me, it’s cheap

 

[ben_2_go]

It’s not an end all be all, but it definitely helps with it. Before I put it on, the windshield would fog up as soon as I got in and breathed once.

I'm not even kidding. It works wonders for fogging.
Anti fog cleaner link

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Yeah that sounds miserable.

It’s less applicable for pure humidity, but for the cold winter I’ve also started using anti-fog lens wipes on my glasses. It only lasts for a few days but lets me still see when I walk outside first thing in the morning.

It’s $4 at Walmart, so even if it doesn’t work as well for you as it does me, it’s cheap

It’s so annoying at times. Because usually what happens is you get in the truck and start down the road and the sun hits the windshield and poof, can’t see a thing and the truck isn’t warmed up enough to really defrost (I’ve thought about a block heater before and might do it at some point). Then you get up out of the valley and a mile down the road and it’s clear again.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Well, today I worked a bit on the last patch I need to do on dad’s Ranger. At this point I just have to clean up the frame there and weld it in.

Then I pulled a back wheel on the green Ranger and tried fitting up a thin spacer to see if I could get one of the 18” rims on. Close, but not quite. Took a bunch of measurements and discussed things with dad and came to the conclusion that I need four 1.5” thick wheel spacers to put the Explorer rims and tires sitting exactly where the current rims and tires are (31x10.50-15 on Ranger 15x7” rims). Since my current only rub is from a loose bedside at full bump and plastic fender liner in the front and the new rim and tire combination is about 1.5” smaller in diameter, I’m thinking that the rubbing should be minimized.

Then I hopped on Amazon and started looking at wheel spacers only to get concerned about the negative reviews about studs stripping out and snapping off and the like. After I started thinking about it, I also realized that at just over $20 each including a set of lug nuts to mount it with, that’s really kind of cheap. EBay has them cheaper. A lot don’t say where they are made. I have serious concerns…

Summit Racing has one set with good reviews, but not many reviews. Also doesn’t say where it’s made, but at $154/pair ($77 each), one would expect a little better quality. My pockets currently are not deep enough for that though. Anyone have any recommendations? Lol. I don’t care if I have to wait a bit for money to buy something quality, I just don’t want to have a problem when I’m ripping down the road.

 

[superj]

I did the rear hanger flip on my truck. I couldnt find black paint though so i had to touch up the frame and hangers with brown for now.

Use 4x6s when you lift the bed so you can drill the rivets, then everything fits perfectly. A 4x4 isnt high enough.

I need to lower the front some more now.

So far, i have taken the stock 2" spacers off the back and flipped the hangers sk its about 4 inches lower. There is still about 6 inches between the stops and the axle though.

Its so much easier to get in and out of the bed and cab now but i think i meed a couplw more inches to meet tech inspection for autocross since the vehicle cannot be higher then the back wheel track, center ro center. My truck is 57 across so i need to get some different offset wheels to help there

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Finished welding frame patches on dad’s 99 Ranger. Now I just have to do something about the one crossmember (I’m thinking I’ll just make a new one out of some 3” C-channel).

Also did a little more prep to the 88 towards getting it moved.

Plus I got the CB antenna on the green Ranger finally, got both auxiliary backup lights installed (one is missing a bolt, it got drilled in the wrong place, but there’s three bolts holding it for now, have to weld the hole in and start over), and a couple other things handled.

 

[Rick W]

Well, today I worked a bit on the last patch I need to do on dad’s Ranger. At this point I just have to clean up the frame there and weld it in.

Then I pulled a back wheel on the green Ranger and tried fitting up a thin spacer to see if I could get one of the 18” rims on. Close, but not quite. Took a bunch of measurements and discussed things with dad and came to the conclusion that I need four 1.5” thick wheel spacers to put the Explorer rims and tires sitting exactly where the current rims and tires are (31x10.50-15 on Ranger 15x7” rims). Since my current only rub is from a loose bedside at full bump and plastic fender liner in the front and the new rim and tire combination is about 1.5” smaller in diameter, I’m thinking that the rubbing should be minimized.

Then I hopped on Amazon and started looking at wheel spacers only to get concerned about the negative reviews about studs stripping out and snapping off and the like. After I started thinking about it, I also realized that at just over $20 each including a set of lug nuts to mount it with, that’s really kind of cheap. EBay has them cheaper. A lot don’t say where they are made. I have serious concerns…

Summit Racing has one set with good reviews, but not many reviews. Also doesn’t say where it’s made, but at $154/pair ($77 each), one would expect a little better quality. My pockets currently are not deep enough for that though. Anyone have any recommendations? Lol. I don’t care if I have to wait a bit for money to buy something quality, I just don’t want to have a problem when I’m ripping down the road.

Had several sets of wheel spacers/wheel adapters on different cars for many years. Like many things, you have to install it properly. I think I posted this before, but you’re supposed to use red thread lock on the studs that hold the spacer to The wheel hub and torque it to like 120 or 140, and then use blue thread lock on the studs that go through the wheel, and torque it to 85 or 90.

I had an old three-quarter ton truck with spacers, and I’ve had four or five cars with the spacers, without any issue whatsoever. One disclaimer is that it’s all highway driving, I’m not bouncing around through the woods.

There’s not too much technology in a spacer, so I wouldn’t be overly concerned with Price. I always bought the cheapest ones I could get.

Hope it helps

 

[Rick W]

After fiddling half the summer, I got the air conditioner working right on the Road Ranger. Like everyone said, it wasn’t that big a deal. But when I changed the alternator, it once again went to blowing only on the windshield. I figured I snapped one of those 30 year-old tiny plastic vacuum lines when I was fooling around in there.

Well, I hunted high and low, it had to be right there somewhere, and then I found this.

Turns out that the vacuum system works much better when you don’t take one of the rubber lines and clamp it down between the alternator and the alternator mount.

It’s a vacuum line, so there’s not supposed to be any air in it, so I didn’t see what this would hurt initially.

Plenty of cold air now, but it’s kind of getting into Winter, so I could’ve just opened the window, I guess…

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Had to get a new battery yesterday evening. I was seeing a pattern of hard starting under certain conditions that told me right off it was time, and with winter coming I didn't want to risk being stranded. The old one was about 4 years old and had come with the Ranger when I bought it.

By the way, have you priced new batteries lately? Try $200. It wasn't that long ago they typically cost half of that, unless you required something unusual. This was at NAPA, and the DieHard brand at Advance was $50 more! And we all know car batteries aren't as good as they used to be.

 

[Bgunner]

Had to get a new battery yesterday evening. I was seeing a pattern of hard starting under certain conditions that told me right off it was time, and with winter coming I didn't want to risk being stranded. The old one was about 4 years old and had come with the Ranger when I bought it.

By the way, have you priced new batteries lately? Try $200. It wasn't that long ago they typically cost half of that, unless you required something unusual. This was at NAPA, and the DieHard brand at Advance was $50 more! And we all know car batteries aren't as good as they used to be.

4 Years is about average for a battery nowadays. A few of my friends have been replacing them every 2-3 years lately. My last one lasted me about 4 years and cost me $240 to get the the new one in March of this year.

 

[SenorNoob]

What ever happened to Interstates lasting 10 years? 4 is typical of my Walmart specials. (I've actually got about 3 in the family I need to change before it gets cold. All but one are in other peoples cars tho. So they won't buy one until it refuses to start one day. Probably 10* outside and an hour before I leave for work on Sunday night.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Had several sets of wheel spacers/wheel adapters on different cars for many years. Like many things, you have to install it properly. I think I posted this before, but you’re supposed to use red thread lock on the studs that hold the spacer to The wheel hub and torque it to like 120 or 140, and then use blue thread lock on the studs that go through the wheel, and torque it to 85 or 90.

I had an old three-quarter ton truck with spacers, and I’ve had four or five cars with the spacers, without any issue whatsoever. One disclaimer is that it’s all highway driving, I’m not bouncing around through the woods.

There’s not too much technology in a spacer, so I wouldn’t be overly concerned with Price. I always bought the cheapest ones I could get.

Hope it helps

I won’t be off-roading with the spacers, but I will be tearing up the roads. I like railing around bends. I don’t want something that is going to spit a wheel off because I took a bend too hard for it. That would likely be rather bad. Part of me questions as to if it would be smarter just to get aftermarket 18” rims and skip the spacers and factory rims…

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

What ever happened to Interstates lasting 10 years? 4 is typical of my Walmart specials. (I've actually got about 3 in the family I need to change before it gets cold. All but one are in other peoples cars tho. So they won't buy one until it refuses to start one day. Probably 10* outside and an hour before I leave for work on Sunday night.

No battery lasts anymore. I remember when 3 year free replacement batteries were then pro rated out to 7 years. Then it was 5 years, now it’s 3 year free replacement is the best you can get. Ugh.

At least I don’t have to pay retail anymore. A perk of having a business account, lol. If you are friendly with a mechanic, they may be able to help you get a deal on a battery. Still not fun to buy a battery though and if things go reasonably well, I’ll be buying another battery in a couple months to drop in the dump truck.