1987 Ranger Diesel

[shayes]

Hello, This is my first post and my first Ranger.

A little history, I was driving in my area and I saw an old Ranger that appeared to be park for a long time, so long the white paint was somewhat green. The next time I drove by the owner was out side so I asked what he was going to do with that old truck and he replied if you pull it out of here you can have it. After looking at the truck closer it appeared to be a diesel ranger and then I found this site and thought that would be a cool truck to get running. Now its in my yard and I'm starting to work on it.

The owner told me that it had made a loud noise and smoked and seemed to no have as much power as before the last time he drove it 4 years ago.

Well I put two new batteries in it and it fire up with a little smoke mostly white and now I'm on to the drive train and trying to figure out what the noise smoke issue was. The oil looks good and black with no gray color and the coolant looks fine as well.

The clutch and transmission is another issue. The owner said the trans worked when he parked it but I can't get it to engage, The shifter fells good but when I put it in gear it doesn't engage at all. When I picked up the truck the clutch peddle was spongy so I thought I would bleed it and see what happens, Well I did the bleed and still nothing. BTY I found out the only was for me to bleed the slave was from the top since the bleeder is onto of the transmission (5 speed with overdrive) I think its the TG5 I think it's called.

I'm mechanical but this is my first diesel, I have changed sychros and clutches before.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,
Scott

Here's a pict

 

[Rebel_Grizzly]

Thats one helluva find man, i would love to find a diesel like that.. seeing those little rangers blowing out black smoke is awsome.
As for your problems, ive never worked on a diesel before so i wont be much help.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

thats a bad ass ranger, nice clean and classic!

 

[gwaii]

that's damn near identical to my first ranger....same color,same canopy.same diesel.

just mine was an 86.


excellent find.

as for the clutch,it's probably rusted together-it happens when they sit for a long time.try putting it into 4th,push the clutch and brake,then try starting it.this may break it loose.otherwise,you'll probably have to pull the tranny and change out some parts.this would probably be a good idea anyway.i'd put in a new slave.

 

[jhammel85]

Wow, thats pretty clean man. Hope you figure out the bugs pretty quick.

Oh and I totally agree w/ gwaii. I've also heard of a clutch sticking like that.

 

[shayes]

Thanks, I'll give that a try later today. I'm also planning to replace the clutch assembly just so I don't have to worry about it. It sure would be nice to get it unstuck so I could move it under its' own power.

Scott

 

[shayes]

Well, the Ranger is still stationary, Looks like I'm going to need to replace the clutch. Anyone have recommendations for a good clutch and slave for the 2.3l Diesel?

Scott

 

[gwaii]

depends on how you use it.the stock slave was fine for me,clutches i blew up on a regular basis.i had the best luck with the centerforce stage three.

i used mine very,very hard.

 

[shayes]

Thanks gwaii, I've seen centerforce talked about before somewhere, thanks for the recommendation. Since I plan on keeping the truck for the foreseeable future I will most likely put the best clutch and slave I can buy. Clutch replacements are not my favorite.

 

[Andres629]

i used mine very,very hard.

I would imagine this to be an understatement...


Nice looking truck, man! I keep seeing more and more of these little deez Rangers popping up. Clean, and the right price too!

 

[Ranger Kip]

Welcome to TRS!

and thats one sweet truck! me steal?

 

[shayes]

Well, I'm going to give bleeding the slave one more try.

I noticed the last time I attempted to bleed the slave the master cylinder reservoir would get fluid pushed up into the reservoir when the pedal was pressed is this correct or could I have a bad master?

Scott

 

[ViperDRS]

When changing the clutch you might want to consider upgrading to a 10" clutch. I don't know about the diesel, but the 1987 2.9 v6 came with an 8" clutch. The 4.0 in later years with a 10" clutch. There is more information on here in
http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/May06/40_clutch_swap.htm

The extra leverage is great if you increase tire size, or do any towing.

 

[shayes]

I wonder if you could get about the same friction just by upgrading to the centerforce stage three? It seems like it would cost about the same and would be much easier to do. Yes, I know you could put in the centerforce stage three for the 10" and get better performance but I'm not planning to make this truck into a rock hopper.

Thanks for the link interesting idea.

 

[psykostevo]

dang, I want a diesel Ranger