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What did YOU do today?


Shran

Junk Collector
TRS Forum Moderator
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Article Contributor
V8 Engine Swap
Solid Axle Swap
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Location
Rapid City SD
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V8
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5.0
I've been working on these two old saws. Last night I was more or less done... the one in front is the good one, it runs really well but I had to steal the sprocket, bar & chain off the other one. The one in back runs OK but needs some tuning... and the bar is totally clapped out, and the clutch is pretty worn. Figured it would be a good parts saw. I am gonna sell the pair together - should be a good deal with 6 extra chains included.

Love these old Stihls, they were way better saws than most others of their time.

IMG_1089.JPG
 


Rick W

Lil Big Rig
Supporting Member
Truck of Month
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Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
3,145
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5,557
Age
69
Location
Atlanta
Vehicle Year
1997 1987
Make / Model
Ranger XLT x2
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0 & 2.9
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
97 stock, 3” on 87
Total Drop
N/A
Tire Size
235/75-15
My credo
Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely
changed the clutch cylinders on the 84 bmw. had the wife pumping while i opened the bleeder. still no movement but the wife was complaining so still air it the system.
You know where my mind went on this one, so I won’t say it out loud. But that sounds like some happy clutch bleeding…
 

Rick W

Lil Big Rig
Supporting Member
Truck of Month
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TRS 25th Anniversary
Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
3,145
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5,557
Age
69
Location
Atlanta
Vehicle Year
1997 1987
Make / Model
Ranger XLT x2
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0 & 2.9
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
97 stock, 3” on 87
Total Drop
N/A
Tire Size
235/75-15
My credo
Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely

Rick W

Lil Big Rig
Supporting Member
Truck of Month
TRS Event Participant
TRS 25th Anniversary
Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
3,145
Reaction score
5,557
Age
69
Location
Atlanta
Vehicle Year
1997 1987
Make / Model
Ranger XLT x2
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0 & 2.9
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
97 stock, 3” on 87
Total Drop
N/A
Tire Size
235/75-15
My credo
Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely
Took out the lacquer thinner and cut a corner off of fluffy towel and took the tree sap off all three trucks. Then I washed the two Rangers and put all three out front.

That gives me room to pull out at least a couple of the Lincolns. I got under the hood of Ole Blue and did this and that enough to figure out that I don’t have any spark from the coil. Rotor and cap are pretty new. So I got online RockAuto and I ordered an Ignition control module for $15, and a new coil was only $6, so I got one of those too.

After some desk work and a break, Lincoln and I went down to Harbor freight and I got an axle shaft bearing puller set, and a real slide hammer in preparation for rebuilding the axle on the Missing Linc. Gosh I hate paying full price.
 

Bgunner

Well Known As an Idiot
Supporting Member
Joined
May 14, 2018
Messages
1,937
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1,447
Location
Western Mass.
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ford/Ranger XLT
Engine Type
3.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
225/70/R15
My credo
If it's not broken Don't Fix It!
Took out the lacquer thinner and cut a corner off of fluffy towel and took the tree sap off all three trucks. Then I washed the two Rangers and put all three out front.
I have found that Rubbing Alcohol 90% or higher works great on tree sap and is a lot safer on paint. You should try it sometime and see if you have good luck with it also.
 

CamTheHedgehog

TRS 25th Anniversary
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ASE Certified Tech
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GMRS Radio License
Joined
Jul 24, 2023
Messages
439
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742
Location
From Charlotte, NC; Living in Lansing, IA
Vehicle Year
2003
Make / Model
Ranger Edge
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0 SOHC
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
Torsion Bar Max Crank (Pre-2008)
Tire Size
265/75/16
My credo
Professional Dingus At Work
Ordered a fresh, non-boogered trim tool, in prep for installing the very cool Thunderbolt turn signal mirrors that @mhoward sold me. Also ordered an oil filter, I'm about due for a change after the trip to KY. Don't know when this week I'll get to it though.
 

sgtsandman

Aircraft Fuel Tank Diver
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Mar 11, 2017
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13,767
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14,520
Location
Aliquippa, PA
Vehicle Year
2011/2019
Make / Model
Ranger XLT/FX4
Engine Size
4.0 SOHC/2.3 Ecoboost
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
Pre-2008 lift/Stock
Tire Size
31X10.5R15/265/65R17
Outside of a couple veteran service organization meetings, I attended and helped out at a September 11th remembrance ceremony. One of the rare times one will see me in my dress blues. I'm a mechanic and don't like wearing suits.

September 11th Rememberance Ceremony.jpeg
 

jballard81

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2024
Messages
325
Reaction score
315
Location
North Carolina
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ford Ranger
Transmission
Automatic
Pressure washed the engine bay and front steering components today. Hopefully removing the quarter inch of sludge from the steering components will help when I go to replace them.

Found out that the power steering pump is not factory black.
Put on your shades so that valve cover doesn't blind you!

Ignore the sad rusty exhaust manifold.

Pulled a 181 error while driving today. HEGO sensor failure to switch. Ordered a couple of Bosch replacement O2 sensors, should be here Friday.

1000010074.jpg

1000010069.jpg

1000010070.jpg

1000010071.jpg

1000010072.jpg


My youngest got home from school and walked through the runoff and then directly upstairs, so I got to spend an hour steam cleaning the carpets 🤣
 

Bgunner

Well Known As an Idiot
Supporting Member
Joined
May 14, 2018
Messages
1,937
Reaction score
1,447
Location
Western Mass.
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ford/Ranger XLT
Engine Type
3.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
225/70/R15
My credo
If it's not broken Don't Fix It!
Working on clean parts always seems nicer than working on grease covered slime. I have found that wrenches tend to hold better on bolt heads without grease on them making their extraction easier.
 

Rick W

Lil Big Rig
Supporting Member
Truck of Month
TRS Event Participant
TRS 25th Anniversary
Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
3,145
Reaction score
5,557
Age
69
Location
Atlanta
Vehicle Year
1997 1987
Make / Model
Ranger XLT x2
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0 & 2.9
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
97 stock, 3” on 87
Total Drop
N/A
Tire Size
235/75-15
My credo
Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely
Outside of a couple veteran service organization meetings, I attended and helped out at a September 11th remembrance ceremony. One of the rare times one will see me in my dress blues. I'm a mechanic and don't like wearing suits.

View attachment 117200
& tell Momma I LOVE her dress!!
 

Rick W

Lil Big Rig
Supporting Member
Truck of Month
TRS Event Participant
TRS 25th Anniversary
Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
3,145
Reaction score
5,557
Age
69
Location
Atlanta
Vehicle Year
1997 1987
Make / Model
Ranger XLT x2
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0 & 2.9
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
97 stock, 3” on 87
Total Drop
N/A
Tire Size
235/75-15
My credo
Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely
Working some on the real estate today, I’m pretty sure nobody wants to hear about that, but you have to pay the bills.

Some sprinkling rain, so I wasn’t heading towards anything real productive, and then I remembered I found this on Craigslist:

IMG_2813.jpeg


After disassembling it, and about 15 minutes with the band saw, I put it back together

IMG_2815.jpeg
IMG_2816.jpeg


MINI ROAD RANGER ! ! !

The only really disappointing thing is it was a pretty good quality toy, so there’s no opportunity to spruce it up with rustoleum.

I still want to make one of those 8 or 10 footers out of the toddler pedal car for the grandkids
 
Last edited:

Rick W

Lil Big Rig
Supporting Member
Truck of Month
TRS Event Participant
TRS 25th Anniversary
Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
3,145
Reaction score
5,557
Age
69
Location
Atlanta
Vehicle Year
1997 1987
Make / Model
Ranger XLT x2
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0 & 2.9
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
97 stock, 3” on 87
Total Drop
N/A
Tire Size
235/75-15
My credo
Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely

pentode

Well Known Cheapskate
Supporting Member
Ham Radio Operator
Joined
Apr 30, 2024
Messages
653
Reaction score
803
Location
Moncton NB
Vehicle Year
2005
Make / Model
Ford Ranger
Engine Type
3.0 V6
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
I like to crack on Ford engineering decisions sometimes but when I work on my wife's 2013 Sonata... let's just say less jokes and more swearing. Man, is that car just about the least fun piece of machinery I've ever worked on. I promised her I'd patch up a couple rust holes (yep, 11-year-old car) and needed to remove the front fender to weld it up because there was some kind of squishy foam rubber behind it. Still, wanted to do it right so went to the overcomplicated hassle of removing the fender. I think there were literally 8 different types of fasteners involved in getting that thing off. Ask me how many clips I broke.

Guess where it rusted out?

gilles1.jpeg
gilles2.jpeg
gilles3.jpeg


That's me peeling the foam rubber part back so you can see the hole. So, riddle me this Batman... why's that foam there? Sound deadening undoubtedly? And was it worth it? 🤬🤬 More tech and more engineering don't necessarily make things better.
 

Rick W

Lil Big Rig
Supporting Member
Truck of Month
TRS Event Participant
TRS 25th Anniversary
Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
3,145
Reaction score
5,557
Age
69
Location
Atlanta
Vehicle Year
1997 1987
Make / Model
Ranger XLT x2
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0 & 2.9
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
97 stock, 3” on 87
Total Drop
N/A
Tire Size
235/75-15
My credo
Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely
I like to crack on Ford engineering decisions sometimes but when I work on my wife's 2013 Sonata... let's just say less jokes and more swearing. Man, is that car just about the least fun piece of machinery I've ever worked on. I promised her I'd patch up a couple rust holes (yep, 11-year-old car) and needed to remove the front fender to weld it up because there was some kind of squishy foam rubber behind it. Still, wanted to do it right so went to the overcomplicated hassle of removing the fender. I think there were literally 8 different types of fasteners involved in getting that thing off. Ask me how many clips I broke.

Guess where it rusted out?

View attachment 117340View attachment 117341View attachment 117342

That's me peeling the foam rubber part back so you can see the hole. So, riddle me this Batman... why's that foam there? Sound deadening undoubtedly? And was it worth it? 🤬🤬 More tech and more engineering don't necessarily make things better.
I think it’s there so you can’t hear the rust coming
 

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