80's Ranger 4x4 for the Trails

[eightynine4x4]

Was stuffing my new MAP sensor back into the proper slot in firewall and noticed something loose / unconnected that I hadn’t seen before..
What is this tube for? The other black cable that runs aside it seems to make an electrical / ground connection from AC compressor to come piece of equipment over on passenger side. But the loose one seems like a tube/hose not a wire.
Any ideas?

 

[RonD]

Windshield washer hose maybe

But yes looks like it could be vacuum hose, length looks correct to plug into vacuum manifold if it had the rubber end on it

Other end looks like it could be a check valve, do the Vents in the Cab work, i.e. defrost, panel and floor?
The "tank" behind it is the vacuum reservoir, holds vacuum for those vents and other vacuum devices

 

[eightynine4x4]

Discovering all kinds of stuff now..
Red wire snipped and hanging, green wire exposed and hanging (connects to underside of windshield washer fluid reservoir), and blue wire exposed and looped around itself after having come from cabin via firewall along with that light blue one.
Projects!

 

[scotts90ranger]

That's an aftermarket relay, someone might have had offroad lights on it at some point, I wouldn't stress about that too much. If you want to use the relay for something here's how to wire it, it should be marked with the numbers referenced:
85: Ground
86: switched power from a low amp switch
30: power from the battery or something hopefully with a fuse beforehand
87: Output

On most relays you can flip 85 and 86 or 30 and 87, but what I listed above is the correct way so if you end up with a diode type relay they will work...

 

[eightynine4x4]

Engine is continuing to improve. Stronger and more free flowing.
The ticking sound is always there on startup and gradually goes away and after maybe 10 minutes of driving it’s more or less inaudible... Until I push the revs hard for a bit up a hill and then it returns and gradually goes away again after 5 minutes of easy driving. It’s like this is “stress” related.
Here’s a video of the sound. This is after having driven for a half hour, having the ticking not be there for a couple miles and then going up a hill at moderate revs like 2.5k. Then I pulled over and recorded this.

It’s hard to tell what it’s coming from exactly...

“Engine ticking”

 

[eightynine4x4]

Anybody know how to search for the long metal bar inside the door that connects the interior handle to the latch to open door? Right now I have to roll down drivers window to let myself out.
I thought it was called a door actuator or door latch bar but i can't seem to track one down anywhere in searches. Found a powered door lock actuator system but not just a manual bar anywhere.

Also my horn doesn’t work. There had been no sound so I checked the horn fuse. Sure enough it was blown so I replaced it. In fact it had been jumped with aluminum foil in the past. I know now that the signal is getting to the horn because there’s a clicking on/off I can hear, but no horn sound. The clicking sounds kinda of like a solenoid. Should I be looking for a new horn or is it the horn part maybe repairable?

 

[Curious Hound]

Question 1. Junk yard - find truck, pull door card, retrieve part.

Question 2. Need new horn - junk yard, open hood, retrieve horn. The clicking sound is the diaphragm inside. It is supposed to vibrate. It’s old and dead.

 

[RonD]

You won't find the rods anymore, but you can make one, and you can still get the plastic end clips for them

If one door works then you have a pattern you can use but it will be reversed, because there was a left and right door rod

Where is the broken one?
Can it be repaired?

 

[eightynine4x4]

You won't find the rods anymore, but you can make one, and you can still get the plastic end clips for them

If one door works then you have a pattern you can use but it will be reversed, because there was a left and right door rod

Where is the broken one?
Can it be repaired?

Unfortunately the drivers door just didn’t have one in it. Maybe I’ll take the passenger one out and copy it in reverse with a raw rod from McMaster.

 

[RonD]

There is also the option of longer rods from full size trucks and cars that you can cut and weld in the center part to shorten them

Never seen the 1989 Ranger rod myself so can't say what it looks like
But you can google other vehicles to see if any are a close match to the bends needed just longer than needed

This is a passenger side F150 rod: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1980-1...ONT-DOOR-LATCH-ACTUATING-ROD-RH-/161833254609

Diameter might be larger, but that's why we have drills and grinders, lol

 

[eightynine4x4]

Thanks! I may just hold off, or at least swap them by bending the other one in reverse if that’s possible. That way I can open my side.
Im going to pretty soon be on the market for panels / nose and may just grab some doors too since mine are badly dented.

 

[eightynine4x4]

So I drove it a lot lately and it does seem like 4x4 has really kicked in today. I may be crazy but the steering wheel is giving dramatically more feedback than before this. However, I’m on wet pavement today (its raining) and not dry trail dirt.
But, I know it’s all working which is good. However I am getting some popping sounds from I believe the hubs. Previously I had heard these sounds when I locked them but hadn’t yet shifted into 4x4 and was moving in 2H. But now, after going into 4H I’m getting them more prominently. Also, I’m now also getting them, albeit quietly, when I am not in 4x4 at have unlocked the hubs.
I do worry that I caused this somehow.. today after driving in 4H I put it in P and got out and unlocked the hubs and then got back in a realized i hadn’t taken it out of 4H first.
But overall I would like to take a deep look at the hubs situation. When riding around slowly in 4H, the popping sound correlates with wheel speed / axle speed.. Also, it gets more and more loud the sharper I turn. It starts to sound stressed like something might snap.
So I’m keeping it in 2H until I figure this out.
Ill just keep the hubs unlocked. Maybe the light jingling will go away. The hubs could just be old and grimy and not fully engaging or disengaging.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Driving around in 4x4 on pavement isn't good, something will give eventually, it is recommended for offroad or slippery conditions...

If it makes noise in the hub area in 2 wheel drive and hubs locked or 4x4 hubs unlocked I would suspect U joints.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Driving around in 4x4 on pavement isn't good, something will give eventually, it is recommended for offroad or slippery conditions...

If it makes noise in the hub area in 2 wheel drive and hubs locked or 4x4 hubs unlocked I would suspect U joints.

From what I can tell from the way symptoms are described, I think this could be the issue up front. I regularly hear rotational ticking up there and also some mild clunking while turning now and again that doesn’t seem related to the cab mounts still needing replacement and make their own noises.
Doesn’t seem all too straight forward to find the right replacements though. I’ll be searching for proper specs I guess. Is it more work or less work to just replace them rather than try to remove and rebuild them? Again i haven’t really found what looks to be correct ones but they do generally seem to be relatively cheap so replacing is appealing.
I need to learn some things about what to look for in the condition of U joints and inspect all u joints in the truck soon.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Shouldn't be too hard to find joints, they were the same joints from '83 to the beginning of the '90 model year, just make sure they say they are for a Dana 28 not a Dana 35.

The drivers side isn't too bad to get out, jack up the thing by the axle on that side, pull tire, pull brake caliper, pull off hub, pull wheel bearing lock nuts (you'll need the special hub nut socket), remove rotor, remove 5 spindle nuts, take a 2x4 against the side of the spindle and hammer on that to wiggle it off, then the axle comes out... The passenger side is the same except you'll have to cut a hose clamp around the boot on the two halves and pull the two pieces apart, hopefully the center joint isn't bad because that one is hard to get out... I would definitely look at videos on changing front U joints on something before tackling though for good measure.