BlackBII's white ranger

[BlackBII]

Added a roof rack to my camper shell today. I reinforced the mounting holes with some aluminum angle and added a neoprene washer. Hopefully it doesn't leak.

 

[BlackBII]

Finally found a manual steering box along with a 4wd(dropped) manual pitman arm. It's a slow ratio box which means I'll be turning my wheel about 100 times to turn around but this box will be much easier on my electric power steering motor and I'll be able to switch it off when I don't need it.

The input shaft is a 3/4 30 spline which means I'll need to find the right coupler or u joint somewhere as my current one is a 3/4 36 spline.

 

[BlackBII]

Found a 3/4 30 spline shaft on a Jeep Cherokee today. Luckily the DD shafts between an '89 ranger and first gen Cherokee are the same and it made for an easy swap.

Power vs manual

Cherokee shaft on bottom, ranger shaft on top

Both shafts shortened; left is Cherokee and goes to the steering box, right is Ranger and goes to steering column

Completed shaft. I used the rangers shafts' plastic inner sleeve fitted over the Cherokee shaft and rubber outer sleeve on both

 

[BlackBII]

Used some sharpie oil paint pens on my tires. I wanted to do red letters, but the paint pen was more pink than red so I went with white and some blue.

Also mounted the new black mirrors

 

[turbo91xlt]

I did not think rbv manual 4x4 pitman arms existed, only ever heard rumors!! The manual box itself should be the same as any 2wd '83-'97 truck.

 

[BlackBII]

I did not think rbv manual 4x4 pitman arms existed, only ever heard rumors!! The manual box itself should be the same as any 2wd '83-'97 truck.

I'd never seen one either, but after calling 10+ wrecking yards around me looking for the just box itself, I found both. Interestingly, when I called they mentioned they had the box but the guy didn't know if it had the pitman arm or not. I just got really lucky.

After some digging, I found out that the GM 525 arms will fit the manual rbv box, along with older Jeeps and a few others, and those can all be found in any length and drop. Even straight ones made out bar stock that you can bend to your liking.

 

[94b2300ranger]

Added a roof rack to my camper shell today. I reinforced the mounting holes with some aluminum angle and added a neoprene washer. Hopefully it doesn't leak.

A little clear RTV will ensure that the holes won't leak.

Used some sharpie oil paint pens on my tires. I wanted to do red letters, but the paint pen was more pink than red so I went with white and some blue.

Also mounted the new black mirrors

Truck looks clean, I like the simple look. Great job man!! The chipped paint just gives it character.

 

[BlackBII]

A little clear RTV will ensure that the holes won't leak.

Truck looks clean, I like the simple look. Great job man!! The
chipped paint just gives it character.

I need to pull the rack back off to mount some lights, so I'll add some.

Thanks champ. All it needs now is some paint.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Dad has a couple trucks with manual power steering, they are like steering a ship in a movie, hand over hand as fast as you can one way and then you have to repeat going other other way to straighten out.

 

[BlackBII]

Dad has a couple trucks with manual power steering, they are like steering a ship in a movie, hand over hand as fast as you can one way and then you have to repeat going other other way to straighten out.

Yep that's how my truck is now. It's kind of annoying but you get used to it. The manual box combined with the electric power assist makes turning the wheel super easy though, so that is nice.

The manual box requires ~3 1/2 turns each way. It's like driving a dump truck.

 

[BlackBII]

Grabbed some center caps off an explorer at the wrecking yard

Painted them black and cut out the centers of the front two for my hubs. Also painted the knob on my warn hubs red to make them look factory

Also tinted my windows

 

[someguy]

This truck is clean!
When are you planning on lifting it?

 

[BlackBII]

This truck is clean!
When are you planning on lifting it?

Thanks! It's slowly getting to where I want it.

That's the big question I have too... I'm not sure. I have the coils, shocks, brackets and brake lines. The only thing I don't have yet is the steering and radius arms. I need to take a week off of work sometime soon so I can install the lift, build some radius arms and a custom k-link steering setup. For the rear, I think all I'd need to do is use the bottom shackle hole and add a one inch or so block.

It drives so nice right now that I think I'll drive it over the winter like this and then put the lift on in the spring. Plus, the 31" tires I have now are still basically new, and ~5 inches of lift and 31's might look silly. I want to run 32's or 33's but I don't know if I want to spend the cash on wheels(aluminum) and tires right now.

Also, the lock right locker in my 7.5 is misbehaving quite a bit... So I'm considering putting in a disc brake 8.8 and a different locker.

 

[someguy]

Let me know how that 8.8 swap goes, I hope I can do the same thing hopefully soon. As for the lift and tires, I would probably wait until spring too if I were in your shoes.

 

[BlackBII]

Let me know how that 8.8 swap goes, I hope I can do the same thing hopefully soon. As for the lift and tires, I would probably wait until spring too if I were in your shoes.

I will and I'll document it here.

It's definitely on the to-do list but it isn't a priority. I don't feel like spending the ~$700+ on the axle, brakes, gear set, locker, etc.