89 Ranger for winter, 2.9L, starting to panic here($$$)...need advice

[mibson]

stripped hole

presume that the threads pulled out of the aluminum timing cover to which the water pump mounts to.

Yes this above is true.

One thing, the heli coil kit describes the size of drill bit to use, but not what size of bolt it is for...How do you figure out the exact size of bolt?

The bolt from the guy at work seemed to fit the heli coils perfectly, he did measure the bolt in a bolt measuring "jig", but Im concerned it was a bit of a guess and I want to get this done right...

 

[loneranger48]

could meausre it with a micrometer and buying a new timing cover is a hassle..i bought one from a over-seas company cuz i couldnt find them anywhere else and they sent me the wrong one and never gave us our money back.

 

[IMenriched]

Ok, regarding the one stripped hole for the water pump.

The maintenance guy at work gave me a heli coil kit, then a few hours later he came to me with "Permatex Stripped Thread Repair Kit".

This Permatex stuff says its good up to 128 ft lb torque (sounds pretty good), and 300 degrees F.

Im skeptical about this Permatex stuff, but the guy at work said it should work...

Ive decided to try one of the two. The hole is not to bad, just the threads are stripped, the entire hole is not dammaged.

Any thoughts on the best way to go here?

your choice...the manual states that the water pump mount bolts need only 7-9ftlb of torque, if that helps....either way....I'd be dab'n some never seize on the bolts as i go back together....so if the need to remove this thing again ever arises....won't be such a issue. the problem is steel bolt in aluminum...2 different metals that oxidize differently....and folks tend to over torque the bolts.

 

[TRH]

I'd go with the helicoil if you need it and can't retap the hole as is. Bolts are torqued to 90-110 inch-pounds, really not much, so it shouldn't be an issue.
I haven't tried the PermaTex thread repair stuff yet, so I can't speak for its effectiveness. Yet.

How do you figure out the exact size of bolt?

Isn't it the same as the original? If not, try screwing in a few bolts of the same length in different sizes. IIRC, the waterpump bolts are M6x1.25x25mm -- best double check, though.

 

[IMenriched]

Yes this above is true.

One thing, the heli coil kit describes the size of drill bit to use, but not what size of bolt it is for...How do you figure out the exact size of bolt?

The bolt from the guy at work seemed to fit the heli coils perfectly, he did measure the bolt in a bolt measuring "jig", but Im concerned it was a bit of a guess and I want to get this done right...

heili coil thread repair are designed for a specific thread and bolt size....for example; if you're needing to repair a 1/2"-13 thread (standard thread) there is a heili coil for that thread....in your case it is a 6mm or M6 thread (metric) (most likely 1.25mm pitch)....so you'll need a heili coil repair for the same size. the M6-1.25 is fairly close to a 1/4"-20.....the metric bolt will be sloppy in a 1/4-20 tapped hole and not really want to thread in more than 3 revs with out getting tight/hard to turn by hand. Going the other way a- 1/4"-20 bolt will feel snug right off the bat in a M6-1.25 drilled and taped hole...maybe you'll get 1/2-1 rev.

 

[mibson]

I used heli coil and now 300km on it now with no leaks.

I do have an issue with the temp gauge moving from below normal to just the low end of normal. The heater works fine, the truck runs fine. I didnt put the fan shroud back on, I didnt think it would matter but perhaps that is why? Im going to put it on now.

I did change the thermostat to a new one (180F).

 

[creepinjeepster]

I thought the OEM tstat was a 192F? Running a cooler stat could also make your temp guage read lower than it did before.

 

[IMenriched]

I used heli coil and now 300km on it now with no leaks.

I do have an issue with the temp gauge moving from below normal to just the low end of normal. The heater works fine, the truck runs fine. I didnt put the fan shroud back on, I didnt think it would matter but perhaps that is why? Im going to put it on now.

I did change the thermostat to a new one (180F).

Might be the temp sensor sending unit is not reading/sending correct info

 

[rcwc28]

drill and helicoil the darn thing from personal exp. helicoil is the best wat to do it

 

[strvger]

i'd get another aftermarket temp gauge. the ones in these early rangers are known for being short lived at best.

 

[mibson]

Temp gauge fluctuating is my concern

I thought the OEM tstat was a 192F? Running a cooler stat could also make your temp guage read lower than it did before.

I think I will replace the cheep 180F stat with a 192F ford one. But my concern is not the truck running cold, it is the fluctuating temp gauge. It moves from all the way cold to "N" in normal, them moves back down to cold; it does this over and over. The heater works fine.

Someone on a forum suggested if the heater works fine, it is probably the temp sending unit, Id like a second/third opinion on this...

I did notice the top rad hose (after running for 30 mins) was hot, and the bottom rad hose was just warm. I starting to wonder if I should replace the rad, it appears in good shape but did have a 1 drip per second leak after it warms up.(leak has stopped after using Bar's Rad Stop Leak - Now Ive heard bad things about these stop leak products)...

since this truck only has 97 000 miles on it, Im hoping to keep it running for years....

 

[redeyed]

I had the same problem with my temp guage. Just replace the sensor, it's cheap, easy to do, like ten minutes, and if it don't help you are only out like eight bucks.