newbie here. need some info

[SCREWd2V]

hey guys! as some of ya'll may know i did pick up the 1990 Ranger STX 4x4 4.0 this weekend!

the tires were dry rotted, so i drove it to a local town to replace with some cheapo used tires b/c i didn't really have the money for new, and i might be upgrading the tires to a larger size in the future.

it was pulling to the right on the 4 hour trip home. thought maybe it was an alignment issue. brought it to a buddy's shop for alignment. he thought it was a tire pull b/c worn tires. he was correct, before he could even begin the alignment, he lifted the vehicle, and found that the front tires were loose wabbley (not too bad). he stated that i would probley only need to repack the bearings.

well i would perfer to do this job myself, but he mentioned i would have to take off the 4x4 assembley, and that sometimes requires a special socket.

is this true?

as far as for my tire issue, i'm going to try to swap the tires around, see if that will do a quick fix for now.

the pads need to be replaced in the front, as long as the rotors resufaced. needs a new belt, power steering is a bit noisey, and the horn doesn't work lol

 

[kozak]

You will need a spindle nut socket. Think I payed around $20 for mine.

The socket pictured above is not the exact socket you will need, but it gives you an idea.

 

[SCREWd2V]

i see where you got that photo from on the tech writeups.
another new question. what is the difference between an auto-hub and a manual hub? what's the pro's and con's?
haha thanks

 

[kozak]

Well with an auto hub, you engage your 4 wheel drive using the push button, or the floor shifter, depending what the truck has. Then your good to go.
With the manual hubs, you have to get out of the truck to lock the hubs, and engage the 4 wheel drive with the push button or the floor shifter. As well as unlock the hubs when you no longer need 4 wheel drive.
The manual hubs last alot longer, and work better then the automatic hubs in my opinion. Some do like the advantage of not having to get out of the vehicle to lock the hubs.

 

[SCREWd2V]

thanks for the info!

 

[SCREWd2V]

well yesterday, i got the rotors resurfaced, new pads, changed the seals and put new wheel bearings in the front axle. I must had made 6 different trips to the parts store! Oriely's kept giving me the wrong parts :x
I guess my STX 4.0 4x4 is a rare gem. Most of my parts were located in their computer system under the Bronco II.

thanks TRS for the help. The Ranger rides soooooo smooth now! more mods to come in the future , but i will be saving up for forged internals so i can crank up the boost on my Mustang.