Old School 1986

[PickupMan04 FX4 L2]

Old school 1986......

I graduated from high school in 1986. Does that meen I'm old?

that was the year i was born!

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

wow amazing find!! nice truck looks so sharp, i wish i could find one too

 

[Louisville86]

Updates:

I got up under the dash to look for the source of the hissing sound but couldn't find anything. So I decided to just live with it for a while ('cause I'm a cheap bas#*%^). But I did splurge on a new brake-pedal cover:

I got tired of white so I went for some green accents.

Not really - just playing with Paint Shop and my camera's "color accent" feature. I filled up and got 18.8 mpg in city driving with the A/C running most of the time, which is about what I expected.

 

[E4Ranger]

Nice find- keep good care of it and it'll be worth more than you paid for it, but I think you are there already.
gotta take a pic of mine and post it sometime, but right now its a typical worst for wear 83 Ranger. It keeps me in the shadetree mech frame of mind!

 

[Louisville86]

A couple of more updates:

Have you seen window moldings (the trim at the bottom of the window opening) like this?

Yuck - I wanted to remedy that problem so I paid a visit to my favorite pick and pull salvage yard (Clark's Western Auto Recycling at 61st and Federal, for anybody in Denver) and scored four much nicer ones that now look like this:

While I was there I found a couple of nicer door sill trim pieces to replace the very beat-up ones I had. Looks like this now:

Finally, I picked up a very nice exterior bed light with all the wiring and the interior light, too:

This will require cutting a hole in the cab, so I decided to wait for another day for installation.

My finds today were nice and cheap: $5 for everything. On a sadder note, three Rangers gave up some parts: A Light Regatta Blue '85 4x4 regular cab with a 2.8 V-6/automatic (bed light), a Medium Silver Metallic '85 4x4 regular cab with a 2.8 V-6/5-speed (door moldings), and a Bright Regatta Blue Metallic '90 4x4 extended cab with a 2.9 V-6/automatic (sill trim). Unfortunately, vehicles stay for about two months and then head for the crusher.

 

[skippy]

Nice looking truck!Mine was built in the Louisville plant too.

 

[RobbieD]

You're doing good on that old truck! Thanks for the update, and do keep us posted.

 

[Louisville86]

Another update:

I like my Ranger so much I commissioned a giant, red heart impaled with a dagger:

Actually, that's LoDo in Denver, where the buildings are rusty but the Rangers aren't.

One question: I'd like to change the oil next week; what is a good weight/type? I guess 10/30 is OK but the oil pressure seems to go down a bit after I've been driving when it's hot. Is that high-mileage oil worth paying extra for to help the seals?

 

[Mark_88]

I use 5W30 all the time...tried the high mileage oil in my Suzuki and noticed I now have noisy lifters...not sure if it's the oil or just coincidence, but I'm going back to the 5W30 regular brand when I change the oil again...

 

[ranger_mclaren]

I always used 10w40 during summer then went to 5w30 for winter. Never had an issue.

 

[Louisville86]

Another trip to the salvage yard was not very productive, but I did find this piece from a '86 4x4 instrument cluster I found laying on the ground :

In case you wondered what those extra warning lights were that never lit up on your particular truck.

 

[Mark_88]

Hmmm...water in fuel warning lights??? Never seen one of those before...and the EMISS has been replaced by the CEL...

 

[wrecking-crew]

might be fore a deisel

 

[Will]

Yep.

 

[Louisville86]

I think that light cluster is a "one size fits all" for an '86, as my truck has the same one even though it is neither a 4x4 nor a diesel.

I'm not sure about the "check oil" light - was that a diesel feature, or something optional on 2.3/2.9 trucks? Was it just a low-oil indicator or was it mileage-based?

Only the "fasten belts" and "brake" lights are functional on my truck.