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

[MT_PLS]

went over to see my father in law's new ranger last night, the 2025 xlt fx4. he had ford put a 2" level on it and discount tire put some 285/70/17s on some aftermarket wheels and it came out pretty dang nice. and he gave me the "old" (has 60 miles on them) stock xlt wheels and tires. i have to go over and do some forscan work on it sometime to turn off all the nag screens when you first get in.

What, no pictures?! For shame!

 

[superj]

Here they are. Couldnt post from work

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Changed engine oil and oil filter this morning.

 

[Rick W]

Emergency medical question:

The cut/scar on my hand/elbow (bottom inside side of my elbow) rides right on the inside top of the armrest in the Missing Linc. It’s causing me great difficulty.

The seats in that truck are from a 1993 ranger. It’s the 60/40 seat combo. I don’t know how many miles were on those seats, but I’m guessing the truck had 100,000 at least when I moved them over.

I’ve taken that armrest on and off a few times when I replaced the seats, and when I put the seat covers on. It hangs sloppy and has always sloped downward towards the passenger seat. That’s why my elbow is rubbing on the corner instead of laying on the top. The top padding is also pretty much gone.

I’m going to pull the torx screw, take it off, and increase the padding on the top, which should be easy as it will be under the cover that came with the seat covers.

Here’s the question: does anybody know why it’s slanted down to the right? I mean, I’m sure it’s old age. But what can I do to square it up without putting anything underneath it? Do I need to add washers on the front or the back of the bolt? Do I need to drill out and sleeve the hole that goes through the armrest itself?

I prefer not to reinvent the wheel, and before I pull it, it would be nice to know what direction I need to be going in when I replace it so it sits square.

Any & all comments and suggestions are appreciated.

 

[scotts90ranger]

On my '97 the armrest is slanted that way just because it's bent since it's way out there and only held on by the one bolt... passengers tend to put weight on them which bends the bracket in the seat down... the whole armrest on my '97 was broken off completely when I got it...

You could risk trying to bend it back up or if it helps the up and down pivot endpoints are adjustable if I remember right. They really need a support on the passenger side but I've put thought into it and it would be a pain to work with the incline

 

[Rick W]

On my '97 the armrest is slanted that way just because it's bent since it's way out there and only held on by the one bolt... passengers tend to put weight on them which bends the bracket in the seat down... the whole armrest on my '97 was broken off completely when I got it...

You could risk trying to bend it back up or if it helps the up and down pivot endpoints are adjustable if I remember right. They really need a support on the passenger side but I've put thought into it and it would be a pain to work with the incline

Thanks.

Last thing first, I don’t remember the pivot points being adjustable, but that would only affect the rotation of the armrest on the bolt. My problem is the armrest is bent downwards along the center line of the bolt. So that’s not a solution.

So, I went outside and did a big inspection. The armrest has about an inch of rattle/play up and down at the far side by the passenger seat. I didn’t use a tape measure, but I believe it’s down about an inch and a half on the passenger side of the armrest.

When I was checking out the seat, at the top, the whole driver seat seems to be leaning towards the driver‘s window about one to one and an half inches plus or minus. When I swapped the seats, there was no damage or rust to the cab where it bolts to the floor, and I didn’t notice anything wrong with the seat. But I’m thinking I’m going to unbolt it on the window side, put in some shim blocks to get it level, and use some longer bolts. The foam seat pad was worn down on the outside, which I wish I had fixed at the time, but it didn’t seem like the seat frame was bent.

The problem with that is, is that it will turn the armrest further down on the passenger side.

I hadn’t considered that the seat frame inside the seat might be bent out of shape by the armrest and bent over. That actually makes sense now. My ‘97 is also tilted down. I know what you’re saying, that if I just thread a long bolt in there, and I try to pick up on it to straight out the armrest, it may destroy the threads or damage the side of the seat. So check my thinking on this.

i’m thinking of making a steel lever. I’d make it two or 3 feet long to get plenty of leverage but under good control. I’d use something like a piece of an 1-1/2 x 1/4 angle iron. On the seat end, I would weld a flat plate and drill a hole through it to hold the armrest bolt. I’d make that piece of flat out of something pretty strong, like quarter inch steel. I’d drill the hole and weld it to the lever so the hole was two or 3 inches below the center line of the lever. Think of the claw on a hammer, one of the claws that’s fairly straight, not the hook.

Then I’m thinking that if I bolt that to the seat, drilling the hole and using a bolt where there’s no play, I could then carefully bend it upward. The concept is that the pressure point would be at the end of the lever above the hole, and with the hole located below that, the energy would be trying to pull the bolt out, not bend the bolt hole up. With a high point of contact, it should push that spot in and pull the bolt spot out.

Am I nuts? Wait, scratch that. Do you think that would work?

I’m thinking that if I bust it apart, I can still drive the truck without the armrest for a little while. I could either get a scrapyard replacement seat, or just take that seat apart and weld it up solidly, with a much sturdier mounting point for the armrest. It wouldn’t break my heart if I replaced that fanny foam at the same time.

What am I missing?

 

[Snoranger]

Am I nuts?

I’m not that kind of doctor, but…. Yes, yes you are.

 

[sgtsandman]

Thanks.

Last thing first, I don’t remember the pivot points being adjustable, but that would only affect the rotation of the armrest on the bolt. My problem is the armrest is bent downwards along the center line of the bolt. So that’s not a solution.

So, I went outside and did a big inspection. The armrest has about an inch of rattle/play up and down at the far side by the passenger seat. I didn’t use a tape measure, but I believe it’s down about an inch and a half on the passenger side of the armrest.

When I was checking out the seat, at the top, the whole driver seat seems to be leaning towards the driver‘s window about one to one and an half inches plus or minus. When I swapped the seats, there was no damage or rust to the cab where it bolts to the floor, and I didn’t notice anything wrong with the seat. But I’m thinking I’m going to unbolt it on the window side, put in some shim blocks to get it level, and use some longer bolts. The foam seat pad was worn down on the outside, which I wish I had fixed at the time, but it didn’t seem like the seat frame was bent.

The problem with that is, is that it will turn the armrest further down on the passenger side.

I hadn’t considered that the seat frame inside the seat might be bent out of shape by the armrest and bent over. That actually makes sense now. My ‘97 is also tilted down. I know what you’re saying, that if I just thread a long bolt in there, and I try to pick up on it to straight out the armrest, it may destroy the threads or damage the side of the seat. So check my thinking on this.

i’m thinking of making a steel lever. I’d make it two or 3 feet long to get plenty of leverage but under good control. I’d use something like a piece of an 1-1/2 x 1/4 angle iron. On the seat end, I would weld a flat plate and drill a hole through it to hold the armrest bolt. I’d make that piece of flat out of something pretty strong, like quarter inch steel. I’d drill the hole and weld it to the lever so the hole was two or 3 inches below the center line of the lever. Think of the claw on a hammer, one of the claws that’s fairly straight, not the hook.

Then I’m thinking that if I bolt that to the seat, drilling the hole and using a bolt where there’s no play, I could then carefully bend it upward. The concept is that the pressure point would be at the end of the lever above the hole, and with the hole located below that, the energy would be trying to pull the bolt out, not bend the bolt hole up. With a high point of contact, it should push that spot in and pull the bolt spot out.

Am I nuts? Wait, scratch that. Do you think that would work?

I’m thinking that if I bust it apart, I can still drive the truck without the armrest for a little while. I could either get a scrapyard replacement seat, or just take that seat apart and weld it up solidly, with a much sturdier mounting point for the armrest. It wouldn’t break my heart if I replaced that fanny foam at the same time.

What am I missing?

Is there any kind of support bushings that may be busted in the arm rest? It's been so long since I messed with any of them that I just don't remember.

 

[sgtsandman]

The roof racks got installed on the 2011. I have some lumber to pickup sometime this weekend. How much will depend on what bills need to be paid.

 

[Snatchsquatch]

I 3d printed new TPU hood and glove box bumpers for my project since the packrats ate the old ones while the truck was sitting. Unfortunately the packrats are incredibly destructive out here in the desert.

 

[Rick W]

Is there any kind of support bushings that may be busted in the arm rest? It's been so long since I messed with any of them that I just don't remember.

It does have some wiggle play. I’ve had that armrest on and off several times when I swapped the seats and then when I put on the seat covers. I also took the armrest on and off the 97 a couple times when I put those seat covers on. I think they’re the same thing. Come to think of it, one or the other armrest came out of the scrapyard, but I can’t remember from which truck.

I don’t remember any bushings. There were a couple washers, one was kind of a curved spring washer. I’m not sure I ever knew which was supposed to go where. In any case, I’m thinking of making a bushing and maybe drilling out the hole in the armrest to tighten up the pivot action.

If I make such a bushing, I’m thinking of welding a flat plate on the inside, and then using three or four bolts to attach that bushing to the armrest which I believe is all plastic. After I test it, I’ll probably epoxy that bushing when I bolt it to the side of the armrest the final time. I’d make the bushing long, and then shave it down to be the exact correct length without seizing when I tighten the bolt.

When I get around to this, I will document everything for the next guy.

 

[Rick W]

Help question number two: midshaft bearing on a two piece driveshaft.

1997 4.0, five speed, 2wd, long cab, short bed

I just received the correct midshaft bearing. The old one had completely disintegrated where pretty much all that was left was the horseshoe outer housing, and a little bit of rubber around the bearing itself. It wobbled and rattled itself to death.

The new bearing has a large loose washer/disk on one side. The old one did not have any disc, or it was mangled and thrown off.

When I install the new bearing, does the disc go on the front side or on the rear side?

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Got state safety inspection today. It passed, but the inspector mentioned there was a tiny amount of up-and-down play in the front wheels, not enough to be a problem and definitely not related to suspension/steering. When I got home, I tightened the spindle nuts a tiny bit to eliminate the play. Solved it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Took it camping.

 

[SenorNoob]

...I tightened the spindle nuts a tiny bit to eliminate the play. Solved it.

I just did the same job yesterday. Today has been lawn mower day. BTW, Am I crazy or are my tie rods bent forward?