Josh40601's Build Thread. (D-ranged)

[Josh40601]

Trucks now at Dad's body shop getting pretty again. Tired of the tan.

everything stripped down but the bumper, because it was crook-ed. After cutting the positioning plates' welds, I was able to get it repositioned and square.

Gutted the interior again except the dash. Just going to mask off the windows and dash and get spray happy with some chassis black

Then I marked up the rear of the bed, because I want the functionality of a full length bed, but still need to do something with protecting it, so sliders and a bumper will be built.

dug out the original tailgate since the gold one was rusty and just as beat up, added a skim coat of filler to help smooth out the rolled edges on the rear bedside, and went to work with a DA

Took the bed loose so I can fix the wiring to the fuel pump, and put some rust inhibitor on the bottom of the bed, and this is where I finished up. All the dents and body work is pretty much finished, just need to do some primer and blocking, then she is ready for some yellow and black

edit: and I need a new driver door :/

 

[Josh40601]

As for the radiator issue, I do have a radiator and condenser from the 01 wrecked ranger I picked up as a parts truck. It was a manual, so it won't have the trans cooler built in, but I have one of those already mounted, as you can see. So I am going to try that (mainly because it is free and if it doesn't work I can upgrade later)

 

[bobbywalter]

well....you got the capacity to do custom cooling...but the option to use oem in a comfortable fit.

so it would come to my power level. for sure i would french a summit unit in there now if 300 whp is on the agenda someday. it wont be super easy with ac, but running a taurus style fan with a big radiator works well. and it will be done and all painted up...


then again what you have could work well.

my bias is for field work. i tear up those ford waterpumps, and like to be able to change them on the trail or side of the road by just flipping my electric fan out and having a shit ton of room to do so. and also keeping everything clean after wheeling.

 

[Josh40601]

My biggest thing with this truck is functionality. I don't have a lot of extra money to throw in a full 4 core aluminum bad ass unit from Ron Davis or something, but I don't want to keep chasing stupid overheating issues like I did before Rick put in the v8.

I also want the ability to use off the shelf consumable parts, like brake pads, hubs, bearings, hoses, etc.

So if i can find an aluminum Summit radiator that can use off-the-shelf radiator hoses, that's what I would like to go with, but until then, I will use the factory 01 4.0 ranger one to at least get the truck completed. I still have a lot of little stuff to get taken care of before it is ready for DD duties again

 

[Josh40601]

More sanding, more blocking, more priming

and finally some final colors starting to go down.

Hope to get the doors and jambs painted this coming weekend. Possibly have the whole truck painted and ready to put back together before December.

 

[RangerSVT]

Progress. You're getting there...

SVT

 

[Josh40601]

seat supposed to arrive today

 

[Josh40601]

jambs and doors painted. Love the contrast between the black interior and the yellow. Used a bright white sealer first, then 3 coats of pro//BASE screamin' yellow with 3 coats of high gloss clear. This thing will be BRIGHT.

new passenger seat arrived. hoping to get the body all finished up this weekend. Doubt it will get painted this weekend, but at least I can get everything ready for paint.

 

[bobbywalter]

she is gonna be yellar again!

 

[Josh40601]

Updates from the last two weeks....



I added a 3/8" steel rod to the lip of the wheel openings in the bed to prevent the sheet metal from cutting into the tires like it did last time. I really like how these came out, and after a skim coat of duraglass, I think it will look really good with the bedliner

And a little pre-grinding weld shot. Still moving too fast, but I'm getting better. For a dude that sits at a desk all day, I'm ok with how it turned out

Last weekend I was only able to go out for about 4 hours, but dad said his guys would work on it a little this week (goal is to be in color by Christmas... I'm not holding my breath)


Inside of the wheel wells on the bed I wanted to make sure the inside was finished out as well as the outside. I got rid of the black foam crap and pushed this panel to the outside of the bed

For those who are unfamiliar, those two spacer things are what mount the bedside to the inside of the bed. Where I cut the wells out so much, they were completely detached. I used some sheet metal to reattach it, then came in with some long hair fiberglass to make a smooth edge for the tires, just in case they get that close to the bed. (on the rubicon, I folded the corners of each side of the bed due to lack of bump stop and well not open enough)

Here are a couple close ups

 

[Josh40601]

I think I found the culprit to most of the codes...

This is from Explorer Forum:
Here's something else: P0443 and 446 are both Evaporative Canister related: the vent is powered by a solenoid which is fed by the same fuse. I'll bet it's blown. If it still blows with O2 sensors disconnected, the canister solenoid may be shorted. I'm writing as I follow this wiring, page after page of it, now spinning wheels: fuse 41 also feeds the PCM Power Relay, if it's blown the engine won't run at all.


I say that because my truck does not have an evap canister (that I am aware of), and the charcoal tank from the rear of the truck is gone as well. I don't know if Lee (the tuner) can delete from the PCM the EVAP solenoid or the O2 sensors (I know he can do the one after the cat, but not sure about the top 3). This is something I will discuss with him before replacing anything.

I'll post up what he relays for anyone in the future that has this issue

 

[Josh40601]

Bed is done. We duraglassed the lips, followed with a skim coat of bondo, blocked it all out and now it is in primer (of course, my dumb ass forgot to take pics). Bottom of the bed and inside of bedsides are all painted, frame is painted, and the bottom of the hood is painted.

All of the body work except the passenger door is finally done and ready for wetsanding. Dad said he is painting it this weekend (I don't believe him) but we will see.

Also replaced all the relays and fuses in the distribution block under the hood. The Diode for the PCM is very rusty and Corroded, but none of the parts stores had it available, so I'm on the hunt. AC compressor is SCREAMING again, which is very annoying, so that will likely have to be replaced again too. Still leaking like crazy from the junction in the trans lines. ugh... So much work still left to do.

 

[RangerSVT]

The evap solenoid cant be deleted in the tune, that option is not available. The rear O2's can be...

SVT

 

[Josh40601]

I don't think the EVAP system is the cause of the lope issues. I think that is 02 related. He is sending me a revised tune tonight. I'll get it installed on Saturday. Hoping to get the leaking transmission line fixed, and figure out a way to keep that stupid AC compressor from screaming

 

[Josh40601]

tune still isn't working.

Rick, can you send me a tune with the rear 02s turned off? I want to see if it is the truck or the tuner doing it.

Also started putting the interior back in. Got all the seals and weatherstripping back in for the cab and rear doors. I need about a bajillion of those push pin things that hold the plastic on. Got a new gauge surround out of an Explorer Sport, new headlight switch and dimmer switch, but the dimmer had a completely different plug in the back, so it was useless.

Got the trans lines all tightened up and no longer leaking. then I went to the radiator... When I pulled the radiator, mud came out. I'm worried the engine is already damaged due to my neglect of the truck for so long. I really freaking hope not though... The radiator was not bad, the condenser was what was busted. Parts stores wanted 130 bucks for a new one, PAP wanted 30. I went to PAP.

Dad says he is going to try have it painted before Monday, but we shall see.