Jballard81's 1994 super cab 4.0 4x4 Restore

[jballard81]

Went for a drive today, mostly in the 45-60mph range. I'm trying to dial in when i feel the vibration. I guess like anything, there is a learning curve.

-I noticed that during a slow acceleration from a complete stop the vibration is there. I believe it probably always was and I just attributed it to old truck syndrome.
-Vibration 'feels' worse when accelerating with more engine strain (say up a hill or my steep driveway)
-At 45-55mph even when i thought the vibration was gone with rpms around 2100+ I noticed today that i can still feel it coming through the steering wheel. can see it in the mirrors as well. in this instance it is not a constant vibration but has a consistent pattern
-when at 45-55mph when i feel the vibration, if i let of the gas entirely it seems to stop. in fact, i think this is the case at all speeds.

got under it and checked all my paint marks on the rear driveshaft again and got a good look at the new carrier bearing and it seems fine. I'm thinking replacing the carrier bearing helped with the seat vibration, there is just more to figure out still.

 

[jballard81]

In continuing with my parts cannon approach to fix the vibration/shake I replaced the transmission mount today. Had to remove the TC skid plate and the crossmember just to get a better angle on the bolts

Comparing the new part to the old part, the new part was noticeably lighter. you can see how much thicker the metal is on the part i removed as well

The new part also had the mounting holes about 1/8th of an inch short, so ended up having to drill them out a bit to get it in...

you can tell how worn out the old part is in the pic above. camera wouldn't pick it up, but there was pretty much zero rubber on the interior part like there is on the new one.

got everything bolted back up and went for a drive. immediately noticed how much smoother the seat felt when idling while in drive at a stop light. like a very significant difference.
I also finally got to feel how firm and clean it shifts through the first three gears. I think ~70-80% of my vibration woes are gone at this point. Especially when driving it around with OD off. There is still a vibration at certain rpms around 40-50 but it's greatly reduced.

I also tested with OD on and it felt pretty good in the low gears and didn't notice much if any vibration. once i get up to 45-50 and rpms drop and i give it some gas to maintain speed i get the vibration. however, it is also not as bad as it was previously. I still need to test the vacuum regulator and see if that could be the culprit for my OD issues.

With how bad the transmission mount was, I imagine the engine mounts are probably no good as well, but still need to get someone to help me do the test to confirm.

It was really great to finally make some progress, the stop light idle difference alone was a huge improvement!

 

[Bgunner]

Without rereading through the thread, by any chance did you check the clocking of the driveshaft? It being clocked wrong will cause a vibration. Just a thought I had.

If you can set you phone somewhere under the truck on video mode you can record the test and see if the motor mounts are bad by yourself. You just may have to get creative with handy items around to angle the phone right to record it.

 

[jballard81]

Without rereading through the thread, by any chance did you check the clocking of the driveshaft? It being clocked wrong will cause a vibration. Just a thought I had.

If you can set you phone somewhere under the truck on video mode you can record the test and see if the motor mounts are bad by yourself. You just may have to get creative with handy items around to angle the phone right to record it.

I couldn't find the original markings from the factory. I put my own on when I did the ujoints and lined em back up when I reinstalled.

It's entirely possible that it could have been clocked wrong at some point before I got it. I imagine the only way I could check would be through trial and error with swapping it around?

 

[Bgunner]

The u joint caps should be lined up exactly with each other. So you have 2 options, either clocked properly or 180 degrees out. How to tell? I honesty do not know. I just know they have to be even with each other.

 

[scotts90ranger]

The orientation on the axle yoke should make absolutely no difference, on something as silly as a Ranger it shouldn't be noticeable, if the splines on the driveline are 90 degrees off or even a tooth or in my case when I had an issue it turned out to be bent AND twisted , that DID vibrate

 

[jballard81]

my ujoints appear to be in phase as best i can tell. i'm also pretty confident the yoke splines are lined up with the original spot.

Before i pull out the rear DS again, I still need to get a friend to help me test the engine mounts. Once i know if those are good or not i can move forward with the next steps:

-replace the engine mounts

-engage 4x4 for the first time. assuming that works, pull out the rear DS and test drive it

In the meantime, I continue to research parts and info on resurrecting the AC. When i get tired of that, I switch gears to researching tools and items needed for painting.

 

[jballard81]

Good day for the boneyard! Gathered most of the parts needed to do the mustang rear disc brakes swap.

Calipers, discs, anti-moan brackets, and finally the axle brackets.

Learned that you have to take the axle shaft out of the mustang to do this. At least the one I was working on the c-clip came off of the axle shaft very easily.

Only complaint I have is how much the prices have gone up it feels like. All this was about $170. Also I noticed that they charged core amounts for the discs and calipers... What am I going to do bring back the non-existent 'bad parts'?

Oh and I found a 99 4x4 super cab that still had the one piece driveshaft in it! And it wasn't trashed! Until I rotated it and found where the forks had beat it up.

Oh well, I might just try buying an aftermarket replacement one piece ds.. Facebook marketplace is so painful to deal with sometimes
*Just kidding... One piece ds for 4x4 on rock Auto was $600....

 

[jballard81]

I will never pretend I'm any good at painting, but I'm very impressed with how the anti-moan brackets came out with a good cleaning, wire brush, rust conversion and then paint. Easily the best results I've accomplished so far:

 

[jballard81]

Spent some time working on the calipers today. Had to order a new pin and piston boots. One of the caliper pins was seized, so worked that free and it's soaking in vinegar now.

Ordered some 1/4 shank bore brushes, hopefully that will help clean out the rest of the rust from where the caliper pin was stuck. Pistons are in good enough shape, was worried that the torn boot let in crud but seems fine.

Also finally found a decent b-pillar replacement trim panel from a 95 super cab in the boneyard, color matched and everything

I found a couple of possible seat options in some old explorers but ultimately they would still need more than just cleaning so I left them.

I need to order new brake lines for the mustang brake conversion still. The tech article lists an option for the 12" cobra brakes but I have the 10.5" gt's.

I guess I just need the approximate length and what type of connection that will match up to the existing ranger lines. I know the caliper end is a 10mm banjo.

 

[SenorNoob]

10mm and 3/8 banjo are effectively the same. Give ya more options when you're looking.

 

[jballard81]

Helped a buddy put in new ujoints on his 87 (I think) jeep Cherokee front axle shafts.

Got the caliper rebuild kits, most were wrong of course, but the piston boot was correct. The bore brushes worked pretty good on the caliper pin holes. Worked even better with some 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around them. Cleaned them up really nicely.

Had to watch a YouTube video to figure out how to 'rewind' the piston back onto the caliper. I don't believe I've ever serviced rear disc brakes before. Always nice to learn something new.

Here are the calipers all put back together and drying after a poor paint job

Found what I thought was a battery hold down off a 95 in the JY. Basically just a wedge and a bolt to hold it down. Cleaned it up, the bolt head I'm guessing was 8mm at some point but it had been eaten down to somewhere closer to a 7mm. Filed the edges on it enough for a 7mm to fit enough at least to get it installed.

Good day in the garage, even if it was ~96 degrees

 

[jballard81]

This trim tape is brutal to remove. I looked up a ton of videos on it and everyone recommends these eraser drill things. This is the best it seems to be able to do. Anyone have any tips/advice?

Almost like there's no clear coat underneath this piece of trim. Even then, it's taking forever

 

[jballard81]

Was way too hot and humid to work in the garage, but I did anyway...

Pulled out the driver's seat, all the trim and the headliner. All so that I can get the rear window pulled out to finally replace the butyl seal.

Seal on the top was crusty and falling apart while the bottom part was still very much good

While the headliner was out I added some heat duct insulation to the roof

Hopefully that helps keep it a smidge cooler. Need to do under the carpet as well, but couldn't work up the effort.

Also replaced the driver's side b-pillar trim I broke a while ago. Got it all back together. Now just need to test the new seal and pray for no more leaks!

 

[jballard81]

Found these socket trays for $26 on Amazon and swapped over mine from the bulky plastic case they were in from a craftsman set

This is my setup for the bone yard. Fit pretty nicely into a backpack as well.