ForOffRoadDriving's 94 Ranger Build

[ForOffRoadDriving]

well last night i did like Kyle M. suggested and pulled the oil cap off and ran it, but it still leaks. i crawled under it with my UV light and could see where the oil was dripping off the left rear pan bolt and then hitting the starter and running off onto the floor. i looked up into the bellhousing through the insection hole but all i could see was a whirring clutch pack. im fearing it might be a broken main bolt, since it seems to leak on the left side of the seal the most. i want to drive it so bad its driving me crazy!

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

so i came into work today and was greeted by this awesome gift. one of our customers had been in on the weekend and he and i got to talking about rangers and i told him i was building one and then i showed him some pictures of how far i had gotten on it. then he told me how back in 94' he had bought the exact same truck and still had it but his son was driving it, since he had also just bought an 08 FX4 level II which he was eager to show to me. we talked for a while longer and then i got him his parts and he left smiling. this morning before i got to work i guess the guy showed up and dropped this off for me, its pretty much brand new and it looks like he jsut took it off and put it up in the rafters for storage.

 

[Trainfan]

Excellent work. I've been trying to decide if my '94 is worth keeping. I think you have convinced me to keep it and fix it.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

glad to hear ive inspired you. i like the 93-94 rangers because alot of parts interchange from the genIIs, which i have quite a surplus of parts for, and the fact that they didnt have air bags or front ABS yet.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

no progress lately guys, still stumped on the seal thing and unfortuately i have discovered disc golf and now ive been spending all my spare time in the woods throwing frisbees.

 

[a-5 freak]

My god I swear this is the best build thread I have ever seen. There should be some sort of hall of fame or something for you.

 

[DRanger024]

unfortuately i have discovered disc golf and now ive been spending all my spare time in the woods throwing frisbees.

That comment made me chuckle. I've been chasing disks for a couple years now and often wonder what I would do otherwise haha!

By the way, great thread! I want my buddy to sell me my '94 back now so I can fix it up and slam it on bags

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i made a custom tool last night to install my seal so i think tomorrow im going to once again pull my trans and pop out that seal and try installing it with a proper tool. i love google, i type in the ford rear main seal tool number and this pops up:
http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...__30l__40l_rear_main_seal_installer_tool.html

 

[idriveafordranger94]

This is such a cool build....definately my favorite. I can't wait to see the end result. I think I might use that POR 15 for my frame. How much does it cost per gallon?

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

the cost of POR15 varies where you buy it, but you can expect to pay around $25-30 per pint and $40-50 per quart. im unsure of the cost per gallon, but i estimate it would be around $150-180. POR15 is for sure really good stuff and it makes the road grime and mud rinse off so easy!

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

I found some extra time last night and finally got around to pullin my trans again and replacing my rear main seal for the 4th time. i also got my second battery tray brakcet painted and installed for good, now i just need a 59 series battery to fit in the tray properly. after i installed the seal using my homemade tool (which worked great as long as i tightened the bolts in steps equal to one another), i started cutting apart my transmission jack plate to redesign it so that hopefully i can install and remove this thing all by myself. the idea is to set the trans farther forward on the plate so that the trans and engine mate up before the wheels of my two floor jacks touch. heres some pics:

I also picked up this cool oil cap that was in an ancient package at our Midland store while we were conducting a store inventory. i thought it was a pretty good find for $3.

I bought two seals this time, one is the original single lip seal with the spring on the back side, and the other is a double lip PTFE seal which had no springs.

This is the reassembly process:

this picture is taken through the uv glasses, i was checking for any traces of oil dye before i reinstalled everything.

heres my trans plate, it just looks like a burnt piece of metal, but the next time i post pics it should be pretty functional.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i got my trans plate made last night as well as some brackets to hold my shovel in the rescue ranger. everything turned out well on the adapter plate except for my jack wheels are still touching before my engine and trans mate together, so im going to have to move my cup back a couple of more inches.

 

[WNY964x4]

truck looks good man , you have alot of time into this build , make me want to do my explorer right even though it is gonna be a purpose built mud truck , keep up the good work

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

on tuesday i put the transmission back in all by myself! i got so fed up with my floor jack wheels touching each other and keeping things from going together that i pulled out the engine hoist and chained up my motor so that i could remove the jack from under the oil pan. after doing that my transmision adapter plate made easy work of an otherwise tough task. despite my small personal victory with the trans, when it was all said and done, its still leaking! its not coming from the seal though, which leads me to believe that its leaking through the pan gasket. to be more specific, i think that its leaking between the main cap and the block and the oil is being forced through the pan gasket at the rear bolt. im going to go through the motions and pull this sucker out again on my next day off. ok, enough chit chat, its time for more pics!

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i grabbed a battery from work to see how my second battery tray is going to work out and everything looks good. i had to go with a 59-540 battery because the 65-850 is 2" too long and it interferes with the main wiring harness that is bolted to the core support. it sucks that i did all that work and still had to give up 310 CCA, but at least i dont have a perfectly good but empty battery tray.