Ranger showing its age

[LearjetMinako]

So this weekend I got inmate with the Ranger on doing repairs. Upon doing those repairs, I can see stress cracks forming at the seams. They are usually hidden by the seals, dirt, or paint. But upon an close eye view, they are there. As long as the spot welds hold up, the cab should hold together.

Upon those repairs is to fix an annoying rear window rattle that has been bugging for the past 2 years. No matter what I do, I can't get rid of it. So I replaced the whole rear window seal with a silcone home door seal. A lot cheaper and pretty easy to do. Except there is ONE little leak on the passenger side. Figures right. . It is not bad, but will stain the carpet in a rainy down pour. Maybe this go around, I will double seal the window.

On the up side today. The Ranger got its 130K mile oil change, tires rotated & balanced, finally found the window rattle (2x tiny dowels under the sliding window fixed it), new wipers, washed, and my LMC truck order came in (driver's side bottom weatherstrip & door handle).

Next items to repair, new fan blower (starting to whine), fix the rear window seal leak, replace driver's outside door handle, and replace leaf spring bushings. At least she starts everday and doesn't leave the driver stranded like the Buick Regal, Chevy Blazer, and Dodge 2500 has done in the past.

 

[jhammel85]

Its no big news knowing our trucks are getting old...I mean, my truck just turned 24! 10/86 build date.

Regardless of how old, it sounds like you are taking care of that truck right.

 

[LearjetMinako]

After a 3rd time with the rear window seal, I finally managed to get it water proof. Sprayed it good with the garden hose and the inside stayed dried. Thou, as FYI, the sliding center window do not have a very good seal. Luckily, Ford thought of a failsafe way around it. Also included are photos of the door handle replacement.

Ranger's getting older. I remember when it 100K, it was almost like yesterday

For the rear window seal, I double sealed it. The TOP pic of the seal I used for the outer part. And the BOTTOM seal is what I used for the inner part. Both are used outside of the cab, just matters where you lay them.

Removing the side bolts. I found 2x flat head screwdrivers and a powerful magnet to be useful. Also, long skinny dexterise fingers are good thing to have too. There is 8x 9mm bolts in all. 3x on TOP, 3x on Bottom, and 1x on each SIDE.

Window is out and you can see the orignal seal still in place. The orginal seal is a rubberized foam strip. The rubber is sticky and tears easily when removed.

Window in the truck bed. You can see the 8x bolt screws that stick out. FYI, these screws are part of the window, so they don't come out.

Laying in the new seal. The INNER seal you want to run along where the orginal seal was. Which is along the fold, just outside of the bolt holes. The OUTER seal is ran along the middle curve. Make sure that the seal is ran as one long piece with the two ends at the bottom. This helps prevent any leaks from forming.

Lastly, on the OUTER seal, there needs to be slots cut out. This is for the drain channels built into the rear window. The center slide window has a drip channel for when water gets in. The channel fills and goes out 1x of the 2x drip holes.

**EDIT** I'm redoing the photos. They are all sideways.

 

[LearjetMinako]

So after doing the rear window seal for the 3rd time. I still have the same leak in the same spot. I know it can't be the seal this time. So the water is finding its way in somewhere else. At least it is finding its way out of the cab too, so my carpet isn't becoming soaked.

You can see where the little droplette is forming. The only few things I can think where it is coming in from is the top passenger side molding strip, or a stress crack in the top passenger corner, or a stress crack in the bottom passenger corner.

The thing that ticks me off is that it didn't show up when I sprayed it with the garden hose. But now since it is raining, it is back. .