ForOffRoadDriving's 94 Ranger Build

[ForOffRoadDriving]

haha thats what i was thinking when i posted the first pics, i was thinking you guys are going to be like "youre putting that grey grill on your truck?", but then i was going to post another finished pic in a few posts and clear up any confusion. i just wish this mod took more time, now im going to need to find something else to "fix".

 

[TheTopher]

Well, fortunately you have a decent skill set so it'll all work out. Most things wind up broken after I "fix" them.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

impressive work! as always!

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i got it installed this morning, after shooting another coat of paint onto it and letting it dry over night. i guess ill find out on my lunch break if i have too many vents blocked or not, ill be keeping my eyes on the temp gauge to see what kind of impact this mod has on the temp.

eventually i want to relocate the autometer temp sender and actually drill and tap a 1/8 NPT hole in the intake so i can put the tip of sensor directly in the coolant flow instead of in a brass T which is kinda out of the loop. i just dont like making a sticky antifreeze mess so i havent done anything with it yet, and im not enitrely sure about how thick the aluminum is on the top of the manifold. i suppose i could always pull the t-stat housing on the parts truck and do some feeling around to find the best, thickest spot?

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

So after "test driving" the new grill mod on my lunch break i noticed no change whatsoever, so i decided to put my scanner on it. what i found was that the engine temp sensor never read hotter than 178* and the autometer gauge is off by 25*, reading on the cold side. after some research i found out that i had put a 180* thermostat in the truck when i built it and it calls for a 195*. with all of this new knowledge present, the need to know 'if I could drill and tap the manifold' and 'how thick it actually is' finally got to me tonight so after dinner I went out to the parts truck with some tools and my drill and sucessfully drilled and tapped the manifold and then threaded a pipe fitting into it to test the thread fittment. I placed the hole behind the thermostat housing and to the left of the engine temp sensor. By coating the drill bit and tap with grease I was able to keep the majority of the aluminum shavings out of the manifold and by removing the thermostat before I started I was then able to remove the ones that fell through. i took some pics of it this morning while i was waiting for thumper to warm up.

this is how the autometer sensor and the dash board indicator are currently mounted

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

well i had today off so i went ahead and changed the thermostat and relocated the sensor. all went well and im quite positive all the air has been bled out of the system (i drilled a bleed hole in the t-stat before installing it). heres the pics, nothing too difficult was involved but keeping the coolant mess to a minimum was the biggest chore.

i had to tie my antenna down so i could get into the garage - i havent had it in there since i put the back bumper on.

heres the new 195* Gates themostat (made in USA) and the new Felpro permadry plus gasket and Standard ECU temp sensor.

stripping things out of the way

when i filled the cooling system back up i elevated the drivers side as high as the jack would safely go and then started the truck and turned the heat on full blast, then let it idle until it was up to temp and the thermostat opened, then i filled it again and let it run for another 20 min to make sure it was full.

i now have a reliable gauge to check my temp with and a OE dash gauge that works within its H and C markings.

 

[MountainMike]

Right on, glad to see everything went smoothly.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

with my gauge now reading correctly, i am finding out/ confirming for the first time that my truck never reaches 195* by the time i make it to work. i was at 178*-180* when i pulled into the parking lot and after letting it idle for a few more minutes it finally reached 190*. im going to keep monitoring the gauge while driving to get as much info as i can- eventually i think ill be able to anticipate how long/ far i have to drive to get to 195* and how long ill have to let it idle to get heat. this is one of those fixes that no one else can really appreciate except for the vehicle operator, kind of like when you change your shifter bushings and afterwards they feel awesome, your shifts are tighter and it just makes things feel happier, but no one else can appreciate that because they dont know how bad it was before.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

I got another delivery from superbrightleds.com yesterday, so heres the pics of the new goodies

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

a few days ago i was pursuing a coolant leak that i was having on my overflow tank, and after a few posts in the 3.0l forum i ended up fixing it (only because i broke it all the way).

i checked to make sure the radiator was full, then i put glue around the elbow to try to seal it up.

after the leak still persisted, i decided to investigate the fitting and in the process i made it a "two-piece design".

my solution was to put a grommet in the tank with a hole that was slightly smaller than the O.D. of the pick-up tube and then put a new elbow in between the hoses.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i took some night pics yesterday but my camera and these LEDs just dont get along too well. i also got a new pair of LED indicator lights for my dual battery switch to replace the cheap incadesent ones that are in there.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

got them installed already, what can i say, weve been slow at work lately..

Battery connected in key off position

battery connected only in key on position

 

[CHKNFKR]

Just read this from start to finish. Amazing work!

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

Thanks man, ive checked out your build from time to time and it looks very promising, those axles are HUGE!

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

so yesterday i went on a rescue mission to save a piece of vintage iron from the garbage man, and after getting it home and lookng it over i think i just might have a diamond in the rough! its a 1974 Honda XR75 and its in near mint condition (aside from a few missing pieces and 20 years of garage dust). the plan is to get it running, clean it up nice and find the missing pieces, and then stud up the tires and hit the lake! its also probably going to be Terras trail bike if it is deemed to have enough power.

it came with 2 tanks, the original one that is completely rusted away, and a new shiny red one that is off the wrong year (75-79?)

im also in the process of replacing the belt on my neighbors polaris sportsman 500 after the kids covered it in snow and kept trying to ride it after it stopped moving (front driveshaft was encased in ice and not spinning).