FNG with a 94 Ranger

[desertdog71]

I just acquired a 94 Ranger Super Cab 4.0 4x4 from an auction for cheap because another beater seemed like a good idea. I bought it sight unseen and should have known better but it doesn't matter now, it's mine. It had a bunch of work recently done and receipts so I took the chance it would be a great deal. So it has new heads, and completely new AC system at least. That's the good part. The bad part is the engine has major blow by and what looks to be a rear main seal leak. The interior wiring has been hacked to pieces by someone probably young that wanted an AMP and subs etc. Brake and Rear Antilock lights are on. There is a mystery 3rd brake line attached to nothing up by the master cylinder, I think they ran a new one and abandoned the one still in there. No worries because peaking under the truck, the new brake line is held up with zip ties.

Anyways I bought a project it seems. I wanted a radio that works, so I pulled the stock one out, there was no wiring attached to it at all and there was a spaghetti jungle of wires, wire nuts and electrical tape that baffled the mind inside. I have determined that basically nothing but the ground wire in there is working at all. So I'm just going to run a hot, acc, ground, and new speaker wires for the stock locations and call it good on that. I got annoyed with the situation and didn't want to stand on my head to do wiring so I gutted the interior while I was at it. So I have room for my old fat ass to work. The headliner was disintegrating anyways and needed to be removed.

The hood is primered and the upper portions of the fenders have melted clear coat. That combined with new heads leads me to believe that it may have gotten very hot at some point. I could be wrong, but it makes sense to me since there is not any paint damage anywhere else on the truck. The frame, suspension, etc all seem very solid. Transmission works as expected. Lights all work as expected. So overall it's not terrible, it runs and drives although the thermostat cycles often and you can watch the temp climb and go down about once a minute. The cooling system looks clean and mostly new, so I left that alone. I did an oil and filter change and the oil was thin and smells of gas pretty bad, so I think a rebuild or a swap is in order. Not sure what I will do yet. I'm mechanically inclined enough to be dangerous, I've pulled and replaced engines, transmissions, can do brake work, etc. Most of that was a long time ago though.

I want to retain the AC, so I think the easy answer is to rebuild the 4.0 and call it good. It's a beater backup vehicle, run to the dump, haul garden soil truck and nothing more. I can probably leave it as is, but the leak and gas smell from the exhaust are annoying enough to make me want to do something with it. I'm open to swap ideas if I can keep the AC and it not be a huge fabrication nightmare to make it work. A 302 with a 5 speed has it's appeal. I have spare time to fill with nonsense.

 

[Brain75]

The hood is primered and the upper portions of the fenders have melted clear coat. That combined with new heads leads me to believe that it may have gotten very hot at some point. I could be wrong, but it makes sense to me since there is not any paint damage anywhere else on the truck. The frame, suspension, etc all seem very solid. Transmission works as expected. Lights all work as expected. So overall it's not terrible, it runs and drives although the thermostat cycles often and you can watch the temp climb and go down about once a minute. The cooling system looks clean and mostly new, so I left that alone.

If it is cycling often, AND the cooling system looks new then I would hazard they put a low temp thermostat in there and it is behaving that way cause of the thermo. Couple that together with MELT (mine all peeled and flaked, not melt - the top of the bedrails looks identical to the fenders) and I would say the PO did that because it overheated all the time. Sounds like you have a pretty abused engine - ran hot constantly overheated really bad and they never figured out why, just bandaided it with cooling system hacks. I wouldn't trust that engine to get me to the gas station. I'd be looking for a like-for-like donor from the 'yard that is in better shape.