What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Anymore, I'm inclined to think that is a good thing. Real friends show up when there is nothing in it for them. Fake/good weather friends show up when there is some kind of benefit in it for them and disappear when the benefit disappears.

This is true, I was really upset at how many “friends“ disappeared after my concussions and I couldn’t do things for them… but that just shows they really weren’t true friends to start with.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

That's a bit heart warming. You two knuckle heads made me remember just how much I miss my wrenching buddies.

Heck, half the time I’d even be happy with just someone to talk to and hand me stuff when I’m wrenching. Lot of the time anymore I’ll go find dad just to talk to for a bit and maybe run something past him and get his opinion even though he’s not much of a mechanic. He always says that he doesn’t know why I ask stuff since I’m way more of a mechanic, but a lot of times I just want an opinion from someone who has an entirely different viewpoint or even just someone to talk to for a few minutes and take a break.

 

[sgtsandman]

Yeah, I think I was asleep by 8:30 last night, lol. First really good sleep I’ve had in days. I’m gonna just take it easy today, but I’m thinking I’ll try to at least get the brackets we made shot with some paint and some pictures. Once I get this truck done I’m gonna have to go through and re-organize my tools, I know there was a bit of treasure hunt going on for what we needed, but when I’ve gotten worn down lately I’ve had a tendency to just throw tools wherever instead of putting them back where I got them.

What you saw was the bulk of the most commonly used mechanic tools I have. Doesn’t even scratch the surface of all the tools I have. That box truck that we walked past has the bulk of the construction tools. I hate inefficiency and “making do” so I invest heavily in tools. I know you really weren’t used to having so many options, lol.

Don’t think I asked, what did you think of the bandsaw for metal work? I also have the Harbor Freight version of that saw which works about as good and actually was what I bought first. Got the Milwaukee one super, super cheap (like $40) so one can live at home and one can live with my welder and tube bender at my buddy’s.

I really liked that saw. I never appreciated how nice they were. To date, I've been using a regular hack saw or a cut off wheel on a die grinder.

Flap discs are nice but cost money, so I've used those sparingly. Most times, a file works just as well. Of course, my flat bastard file has seen better days and it's time to replace it. So, yes, it is possible to wear out a file.

EDIT: The brackets will need some final shaping and finishing work if you have OCD like I do. What I made will work just fine but the less than square cuts would irritate me and make me want to dress them up. Entirely up to you of course.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I really liked that saw. I never appreciated how nice they were. To date, I've been using a regular hack saw or a cut off wheel on a die grinder.

Flap discs are nice but cost money, so I've used those sparingly. Most times, a file works just as well. Of course, my flat bastard file has seen better days and it's time to replace it. So, yes, it is possible to wear out a file.

EDIT: The brackets will need some final shaping and finishing work if you have OCD like I do. What I made will work just fine but the less than square cuts would irritate me and make me want to dress them up. Entirely up to you of course.

I spent a lot of years using hack saws, Sawzall and grinder. When the band saw can be used, it’s really nice. Easier on the ears than a grinder and the blades really, really last. The HF one is pretty much identical to the Milwaukee and I think it was like $100 when I got it.

I mostly use flap disks for deburring and finishing work, they seem to hold up better that way. Grinding wheels for heavy work. I still use files a good bit though too which is why I had a few handy. I’ve also found that different brands of flap disks, grinding wheels and cutting disks make a difference. Mostly I’ve stuck with Metabo and Diablo, so far everything else wears a lot faster than those so they are worth the little more they cost. I have worn out a few files over the years, lol.

I might give those brackets a little dressing up, but I’m not sure I’m really going to go crazy with it. They’ll never be perfect because of what we had to do to make them and for the most part they won’t be seen so I’ve decided I’m not going to stress on it too much. They work and that’s the important part.

 

[DaveH]

I hear you on the drafting a write up on a repair. While I haven’t done one on this forum, I have done them in the past. People have no clue how much work goes into such a project until they set out to do it.

As far as the brake line. The old saying of “A quick repair is only one broken bolt away from being an extensive repair”

Yep- often jobs like Rough Country Lift Kit for the 16 GMC turbo diesel (directions state 10 hours to do). Mine took 5 days. Getting old and slow. My 05 Ranger is turning into quite a project. Progress is in days and weeks now not hours..........

 

[Kruegon]

Today, I fixed my B1302 DTC for the Accessory Delay Relay. My power windows are working again. Tomorrow at work, I will connect the scanner and be sure the code cleared.

Next hurdle, the speedometer....

 

[JoshT]

My pleasure. Most of it was bolting on stuff. It took more time and figuring on fabricating the mount brackets for the transmission cooler than anything else.

Wanna come help with bolting stuff on mine next??? You'll have to bring the stuff with you though. LOL!

Like he said, that's plenty of good help. I wish I had wrenching buddies nearby that could do that. It's rough when all my free time is eaten up with college, I don't know when I've going to have time to make plans. As is the only person I can call on at a moment's notice is dad, but the shape hes in now it's better if I can take the projects to him, which means planning out ahead of time and having time.

My wrenching buddies, the few that I had, were co-workers and we wrenched together at work. We probably could have become wrenching buddies outside of work, but due to living situations and spending 40 hours a week turning wrenches on F-15s, it just didn;t work out. None of us really had a place to wrench at home and we all lived approximately 30 miles from work, all in different directions. Still buddies, just don't get to wrench together anymore. One of us quit and started his own automotive maintenance business, too far to drop in regularly and don't want to disrupt his job. I moved to a desk job in a different weapon system, and the others have scattered around.

Hopefully over the next few years I can build a shop and finish this Bachelors degree, then maybe we can all find some time to hang out again.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Got the shop put back together after I sheeted and painted behind the power panel and tool box and whatnot, got a workbench cleared and cleaned off so I can rebuild the transmission on the '90 and got the '90 pulled into the shop, might start pulling stuff tomorrow, will start ordering parts tonight...

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So, my new headlights don’t plug in. They were sold as for 2001-2011, and the housings are correct for that, but because of the extra LED, they wire it up and give you a plug to plug into your harness. Trouble is, apparently at least 1998-2003 use the same turn signal plug. 2004-2011 use a different plug. The new lights use that plug. Guess I get to contact the seller and let them know we have a problem. It’s not the end of the world, I can make something work, just an unexpected problem as far as I’m concerned, but the seller might want to know that they have a problem.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

That's a good take on a disapointing situation.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

And I forgot to finish what I was going to do next…

Not much to the Ranger today, but I wanted to at least get some paint on the new brackets. Ended up making most of the new center header panel support too along with cleaning up some of yesterday’s stuff, little make pretty to the brackets before painting everything that needed it.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

That's a good take on a disapointing situation.

Well, what I’m getting at is that I don’t know the seller will be able to offer me anything beyond a return for a refund and I really want to use these lights. So if it takes a little wiring work which I’m well equipped to handle, then it is what it is. But not everyone can do that.

 

[sgtsandman]

Well, what I’m getting at is that I don’t know the seller will be able to offer me anything beyond a return for a refund and I really want to use these lights. So if it takes a little wiring work which I’m well equipped to handle, then it is what it is. But not everyone can do that.

Just do a big box store stereo installation hack job. Everything will be fine!

 

[Snoranger]

Just do a big box store stereo installation hack job. Everything will be fine!

Wire nuts and T-Taps?
Or
Twist and tape?

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Wire nuts and T-Taps?
Or
Twist and tape?

Sounds about right, lousy hacks. Not sure who put the stereo in my F-150 before I got it, but there was taps, crimp butt splices that were smashed with pliers, wire nuts, twist n tape, and my favorite, the flat blade connectors that they only had one side to so they shoved the wire in and smashed with pliers. Somewhere I have pics of the disaster. No wonder the radio never worked right.