90 Ranger 2WD small build

[Dave90ranger]

Well finally making a thread, i bought this truck Dec. 2010 for $500 with a dead injector and failing fuel pump. After new injectors, fuel pump, plugs, wires and coil it was running in top shape. Since then slowly started doing some mods to it since it looked pretty horrible. It has a 2.9L 5 speed regular cab(wish it was super cab).

First thing done to it when i got it home (before all the parts to it) i removed the topper it had on it which was faded really bad and then gave it an extreme cleaning.
Next up after getting it running was a dynomax cat-back exhaust system and audio upgrade.

Pyramid classic 1000 watt amp behind driver seat, i know may be a little overkill but oh well its from my other car and it sounds good.

10" kicker sub in a small custom sealed box behind passenger seat

Dual XD5250 receiver, cheap but good unit
Next up came a tool box and roll in bed-liner

Just a cool shot a friend took looking into my mirror while driving.
Next up came wheels and tires since the existing tires were very old and crappy. Also removed the chrome fender arches since they rubbed offroad. Also has a 2" suspension lift but had to cut the spacer for the front in half since it raised it a little too much

Unique 297 15x7 0 Offset Wheels

P235/70R15 Goodyear Wrangler SRA tires
Next up came more goodies for the front, body mounts, front bumper, grill gaurd, and new mirrors. Also got the clear marker and blinker lights with new headlight assemblies since they were very cloudy beyond cleaning.

mounts were only a little worn out and bad

I also have a new rear bumper with lights in it, side steps, and pacesetter headers but haven't had a chance to get pictures of them. on top of all of this i have done extreme amounts of maintenance items which i am not listing because there's too much lol but most of them are on my car domain page. There will be more mods to come as I get money to do things.

 

[upnsmoke]

Nice progress so far. You got the truck looking pretty clean. It's good you're minding the maintenance stuff as well. Where'd you get the side mirrors? I have been thinking of replacing my flag mirrors with a set, too. I never even considered you might be able to buy them new, just assumed they would have to be a junkyard find. How much lift did you have to take out of it? It doesn't look too high in the front as it sits.

 

[Dave90ranger]

thanks i like the way its coming out, i got the mirrors from lmc truck, i had those old black mirrors also it was soo blah looking lol. for the lift the coil spacer was a 2" lift and i looked at it from a distance and it was leaning back like the front was raised alot so i took 1" out and it evened out perfect. i dont have a pic before i cut it cause it was 2 days after it went in i cut them and let me tell you those aluminum spacers suck to cut lol took forever with a saw

 

[upnsmoke]

I forget to check with LMC sometimes. Do their mirrors have plastic housings backing the reflectors? I recall now that Dorman or someone has new mirrors in this style as well, but if I remember correctly they had plastic housings. Our F150 has similar style mirrors, as most do that I know of, but with metal housings, and they have proved nearly indestructible. Then again, I guess the flag mirrors are reasonably strong as well. I just get tired of adjusting the stupid things, if only for want of an excuse to change them.

On the spacers, your truck does look good as it sets, though I think a little high in the front looks okay, too. Mine currently looks too high in the front for my taste as a result of the suspension setup I ended up with, but I'm just going to point the headlights down a little and leave it that way for a while. Aluminum can be quite tough, depending what type it is and what you try to cut it with.

 

[Dave90ranger]

im not too sure what you mean by plastic housings backing the refelctors?? little lost there do you mean the chrome mirrors? anyways the only downside to the new chrome mirrors is my passenger one i have to adjust every once in a while since they wind and bumps around town cause it to move around then cant see lol

i actually just noticed i dont have a pic with the lift kit installed either with the new coils. im goin to get some updated pics of things i dont have on here tuesday cause it needs a detailing lol.

also thought i could post some other future plans here, planning eventually to make it 4x4 just need to do other things first then ill be getting things together for it. i am not going to go sas at all im going to keep the ttb suspension may only do about a 4-6" lift on it and idk yet on tires. but thats the plans for now

 

[Dave90ranger]

Well gave the truck a nice bath today and it was bad lol guess another bad thing is the water turning red from the truck def one of the things it really needs lol. onwards to the pics since any thread is worthless without pics lol

chrome rear bumper with lights in them, also my hitch i added

chrome step bars, i like them, i know it doesnt help when going offroad cause they can hit but oh well lol

pacesetter headers had to modify this side cause it hit the starter but simple fix now i just gotta pull the driver side off since 2 bolts broke other than that they work good

small interior pic nice and clean very good shape other than the dashboard... da*n florida sun but oh well still nice even the seats

rancho shocks in the rear i have ones for the front but havnt done them yet

the front coils spacer which i cut in half also new coils too

da*n door handle gotta replace it before it breaks for good

side pic tell me what you think? think i may get new spacers for the front but kinda like where it sits for now.

i know its not a trail or notin but still it was a nice area so thought i should at least have one pic

 

[Dave90ranger]

well im changing my mind on what im going to do with this, im going to keep it 2WD but will go up to a 4 inch lift thats all. im still thinking of what size tires i want and then what gears i need(rear end will be getting a full rebuild since it has alot of play and has gear whine lol) but need to save up for that -_- but befor all that i have to do my clutch and release bearing and stuff since it makes noise....

 

[Dave90ranger]

ok got a small update, its not much but it is something. when i first got the truck it had a topper which was red and the paint was flaking off and faded bad well finally decided what i was doing with it. basically all i did was just take bed armor paint cans and painted it with that. topper is completed and do have it installed on the truck just got dark befor i could get a pic since i had to have someone help me put it on. also took the inner fender wells and folded them up so when i take this off road in the future they wont rub like it has befor. also got a new tool box ordered to fit inside the bed so i can get rid of the current one.

i did do the passenger side just didnt take pics cause this took forever and yes i did add splash gaurds near the doors just no pics.

ill get pics of it installed when i can but might not be till sunday since i work till it gets dark everyday. other couple things im going to do is get an explorer roof rack and put that on the topper and then have a full size spare put up there. liked the idea from 2004xlmiller since how his truck looks is what im kinda going for except for the front bumper. another thing im doing is i have had some lights that i did put in the front grille a long time ago then rear bumper and didnt know what to do with them and i got this from another member, im putting them on the frame below each door for light when getting out of the truck and whatnot, only thing im deciding on is how to wire the so i can turn them on manually and when i open the door. i just have to make up a diagram of the wiring for it. well i think thats all for now next up is my clutch and have to replace my plastic fan since it has lots of cracks in it and need replacing.

 

[Dave90ranger]

well figured id give a little update on how it looks with the topper and tool box(the strap for the box is temporary) finally put the matching front shocks on, rides better now
also got one frame light wired up havnt done the other cause i lost the wire for it so gonna have to work somethin out for that. really bright i must say lol gonna have to get night pics soon of all the lights...
and figured i would do some hand jack flex.
on order for maybe this weekend is procomp braided extended brake lines for front and rear, calipers, new coil spacers for the front, new outside door handle, and camber bushings

oh and dont mind all the boxes was the only way to get tools from work home to do things.

 

[Dave90ranger]

finally updating this as i have fixed my exhaust leak on it and have done a couple little things but not much. had to replace my power steering pressure line as i noticed it leaking a lil bit then i had it running and i wiggled it and it started spraying out fluid and was very loose easy fix though also installed my new door handle so no more dangling thing lol
now i had to fix my broken exhaust manifold bolts, now this sucked lol had to pull the head and drill out the 3 bolts that broke but got lucky and got them taken out nicely and put new bolts in it and all is well. almost a week after this my right side started leaking but this one was easy as all the bolts loosened up easily so i could clean out the old and slide the new in didnt take many pics as i was rushing to get all this done as fast as possible
taken apart

goin together nicely

all together but had to get a wrench i had at work so i could time it easier since there isnt much room to tighten the damn bolt for the distributer lol but oh well set now

random slightly muddy pics kinda was bored and went down some dirt roads right after it rained lol



decided to check out my alignment after i put new front spacers in and my 3 degree bushings in so i could align it properly and damn i did a pretty good job guessing where to place them lol this was after i tweeked it but it was extrememely close to this

put my pacesetter header sticker on my window just because lol

now how i had planned to have my toolbox bolted down wasnt gonna work so i resorted to this. works great so i cant complain and nobody can steal it either this way lol lot better than just a strap on it


next up i really gotta rebuild my rear end and do my ujoints ASAP also have to find my annoying roof leak i thought i fixed a while ago also starting a new job next week so things may be delayed as i have to transition to that job

 

[Dave90ranger]

Been a while since I updated this thread so I guess I should update since I have done a few things to my truck since starting my new job and such.
Not too many mods have been done, mostly some maintenance and stuff.
I still have not found my roof leak, Im thinking the side drip rails are leaking somewhere on both sides. I know its not the windshield as it leaked before it was replaced when I got the truck.
Got around to replacing my u-joints finally at work and I am glad i got around to doing them as the front joint at the transmission was basically seized up in one direction and wouldn't move.....oops lol.
so onto the few pics i got to post. First off is my toolbox for work all loaded up and ready to go to my new job. and a pic of it where it now sits.



went to Lowes to get some paver bricks for our lawn which i worked out the weight to be around 2 tons in the bed. i think i need news springs in the rear........ but i think it took the weight ok for what i believe is the original springs haha.



next up is my trip the first few days of May down to Miami for the weekend. didnt get much but i got a few pics while i was driving down and a few while i was there. ill start off with some repainting of my roof and hood which i was hoping i would find the issue to my roof leak but didnt oh well. going to have to really do some more looking into to find it. hood needed paint as it started to bubble up in the middle right at the cowl which i also found out that the whole middle of the hood has body filler on it and realized it wasnt prepped right so it wouldnt stick.





my dad finally got a welder for our upcoming project, 1969 Chevy Chevelle SS 396 numbers matching. im looking forward to using this welder a lot soon!


also have a pretty good video of what my truck does at times with its very random and very periodic check engine light coming on and idle being low. i have figured out though that is not my ECU as i had thought and have gotten to where i found out it is somewhere in the engine wire harness on the top of the engine. see post here about it: http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152365
once i figure out how to get the video to upload to photobucket ill post it. some reason wont upload.