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Rusty Version 2.0, what i found...


It's not hard to get to the fan. I can't remember if you have to move anything on the Gen-1 to get to the fan. On my '99, the cruise servo is in front of it and it's a lot easier to access if I move that out of the way. Either way, it's pretty trivial to get the fan out. Once it's out you can vacuum it out, hose it out, and then spray a bunch of A/C coil cleaner in there and hose it out after it's soaked for a few minutes.
 
It's not hard to get to the fan. I can't remember if you have to move anything on the Gen-1 to get to the fan. On my '99, the cruise servo is in front of it and it's a lot easier to access if I move that out of the way. Either way, it's pretty trivial to get the fan out. Once it's out you can vacuum it out, hose it out, and then spray a bunch of A/C coil cleaner in there and hose it out after it's soaked for a few minutes.

Ok. I didnt know if the A/C and non A/C ones were a huge difference like on the FSeries. Thanks bud
 
Figured out why my blower wasnt blowing...

20180423_152728.jpg


That sumbitch was stuffed between the wheel and the heater core, packed in tight. My shop vac ive had for 10 years and used 4 times took a dump so its still tore apart till i go get a new one.

Got the T stat replaced, old one was stuck open, and changed the temp sender.

In the suspension forum a while back i posted asking about why the hell i had so much positive camber. Before i tore it apart today i pulled it up and parked the front wheels on the sidewalk where its level, and sure as hell all was well. Not sure why, but it was, and we'll run with that.
 
No clue what gears it had but they were very tall in any case. It's amazing that car could even pull away from a stop light with the tiny amount of power it made.

Wasn't quite as bad as my buddy's Maverick - that had a 200ci inline 6 if I remember right. Plus an automatic behind it. He had to get a run at the shop when we pulled it in - if he stopped where the gravel and concrete met, the car didn't have enough power to push itself up over the lip.

Weird. A buddy of mine had a Maverick when we were in high school. Don’t remember which engine or how it was off-the-line, but it used to get up a hell of a head of steam. I remember one day when he went to pass a dump truck with an open tailgate on the right hand side. He slid under the tailgate of that f@cker at about 50 mph and I thought we’d be decapitated for sure. Then again, I almost killed us in just about every vehicle I owned at the time. :icon_twisted::shok:
 
Figured out why my blower wasnt blowing...

20180423_152728.jpg


That sumbitch was stuffed between the wheel and the heater core, packed in tight. My shop vac ive had for 10 years and used 4 times took a dump so its still tore apart till i go get a new one.

Got the T stat replaced, old one was stuck open, and changed the temp sender.

In the suspension forum a while back i posted asking about why the hell i had so much positive camber. Before i tore it apart today i pulled it up and parked the front wheels on the sidewalk where its level, and sure as hell all was well. Not sure why, but it was, and we'll run with that.

Man, does this bring back memories. When I was still a teenager, my ’69 Grand Prix (like all of my earlier vehicles) had zero heat. Being in upstate NY, I got sick of the BS and brought it to a mechanic who was a friend of the family (he passed away last year, bless him).

When I went to pick it up, the entire floorboard on the passenger’s side was filled about 8 inches deep with mouse nest. He had left it there so I could see just what a nasty mess they’d made. That year was the first time I was ever able to see out my windshield in winter. :icon_hornsup:
 
Coulda been a 2.8/C5 (auto) combo?

Either way, went and picked up a new delphi pump today from autozone. I didnt know they will price match rock autos price + shipping. Got a 79.99 pump for 48.97 out the door. Hey, 30 bucks is 30 bucks.


Now, the fun of trying to get 31year old spring couplers loose. Those things kick my ass everytime. Yes, i got the little tool, but i got so fed up trying to change the fuel filter on my 97 i finally said screw it and took it to the shop and paid them to do it.


Anywho, pry wont get back under it till this weekend or possibly monday. If you see a video of it running, youll know i won, if its a profanity laced rant asking for advice, youll know i lost.

1. F@CK YEAH!
2. Awwwwwwww....
3. Hahahahahahaaaa!! I know the feeling. :popcorn:
 
Kinds been the story with this thing. Seems like the stuff thats bad/not working is just stuck or froze up.

It was last plated in 06 :)

Might well be stuck or frozen up. As an outside-the-box scenario though, there’s this:

On my 2000 Jetta, there's a plastic grill embedded into the top of the dash. Long story shorty, after replacing the heater core, it broke and a piece of the plastic fell in. Defroster setting hasn’t fully engaged ever since. Just a thought.
 
Might well be stuck or frozen up. As an outside-the-box scenario though, there’s this:

On my 2000 Jetta, there's a plastic grill embedded into the top of the dash. Long story shorty, after replacing the heater core, it broke and a piece of the plastic fell in. Defroster setting hasn’t fully engaged ever since. Just a thought.

Didnt ya see the pic? :)

There was a damn mouse nest plugging the flow hole between the blower and the heater core.

Only real issue left to tackle now is the wiper motor, it works but it runs pretty slow. Oh, and figuring out why the rain keeps soaking the floor. Thinking i need to fire up the tube of seal all and go to town on the rot on the firewall. It isnt bad, but theres enough for water intrusion, mainly along the seams.
 
Well, rusty 2.0 is ready to rock. Got the blower housing vaccumed and cleaned, got everything put back togther, got good hot heat, no leaks, no oil filler/dipstick snot, after 20-30 minutes of idleing in the driveway the gauges sat like this...

20180424_150721.jpg


The radiator hose got stiff and warm, all seems to be well. After the tires ill have right around 900 bucks in this ol gal and hopefully she treats me as well as the original rusty did.

375 for the truck
40 to get it home
85 bucks for misc parts to get it going
137 for suspension work (radius arm bracket+installation)
250 for tires/mount/balance

Grand Total-$887 bucks.

I know a 1st gen ranger isnt exactly a collectors piece, and worthless junk to 90% of the population, but it feels damn good to save a truck from the crusher that wasnt ready to become kia hoods.
 
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Glad to see everything coming together. Looks like a great truck for you!
 
Your AutoZone must be different than my AutoZone(s) - the store in town will NOT price match ANY online retailer (I may have abused the privilege) and the Spearfish store that is 45 minutes away will only do certain items, basically exact part and warranty plus shipping.

Cool that you got it running!
 
Didnt ya see the pic? :)

There was a damn mouse nest plugging the flow hole between the blower and the heater core.

Only real issue left to tackle now is the wiper motor, it works but it runs pretty slow. Oh, and figuring out why the rain keeps soaking the floor. Thinking i need to fire up the tube of seal all and go to town on the rot on the firewall. It isnt bad, but theres enough for water intrusion, mainly along the seams.

Sorry, got a little behind on things. Glad you’re making progress! I miss that simulated wood burl grain dash! Had it in my ’83, but no such “character" came with my ’92. She’s bare bones.
 
Fast,
This is the first vehicle ive ever bought, that i planned on driving, without hearing it run first. I had my doubts but trusted my instincts on what to look for. Guess i got lucky, everything seemed to come togther pretty easy.

Shran,
I was genuine in shock when they told me theyd cut Almost 50% off to match rock auto. I had advanced do that once to on a fuel sender for an old 79 Ford. They went from 59.99 (IIRC) to 23.99. Guess im just a good talker lol.

RE,
I love the fake burlwood ford used lol. Im not a fan of the greyish panels or black ones.
 
I've bought a couple of motorcycles that way, but no cars or trucks to date. Hopefully I'm done buying vehicles for a while, honestly. The Ranger will have a rebuilt engine once it fires up soon, the Subaru has less than 75k miles, and my wife's MDX has something like 180k but it shows no signs at all of weakness. With a little luck we'll have the next few years of just occasional oil changes and maintenance.
 
I've bought a couple of motorcycles that way, but no cars or trucks to date. Hopefully I'm done buying vehicles for a while, honestly. The Ranger will have a rebuilt engine once it fires up soon, the Subaru has less than 75k miles, and my wife's MDX has something like 180k but it shows no signs at all of weakness. With a little luck we'll have the next few years of just occasional oil changes and maintenance.

Im hoping ive hit the vehicular crest as well. Knock on wood my 97, which has been the biggest problem child ive ever had is chugging along good, after basically a complete rebuild. The escape has been fairly reliable aside from TPMS issues and a bad emission vent. I dont forsee any big issues with rusty 2.0, but worst case rusty #1 still has a good powertrain/motor.

The old 77 is gonna be sidelined while i gather parts to attempt my first ever full on, driver worthy resto.

Seems like the past few years all ive done is battle with vehicles, mainly my 97. Which is irritating because i bought it with a paltry 62k on the ticker. The 460s reliabilty is not all its cracked up to be, but to its credit i got a feeling it was overheated like crazy before i got it. But now after head gaskets, block flush, and a rebuild of the bottom end i think its sorted out.
 

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