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


Now that I’m an expert (busted head and knuckles):

Sloshing gas: I got about a 5 foot long piece of 3/8 vacuum tube. If you wiggle it around you can not only get it into the tank through the fill neck, but if you watch the natural curve in the tube and you control it, and gage the length, you can get it dead center in the bottom. Then you can siphon out 99% of the diesel. it takes less time than I just talked to describe it. Tastes good too!

I had the same problem on the fuel lines. A few days before you do it, soak them in penetrating oil. Then the clips work like they’re supposed to with the little tool and a few taps. I used the right size open end wrench to back the little tool, and then I can tap the handle to tap the tool.

I also took about 2 or 3 feet of the clips off the fuel lines and the wires etc., so I had enough room to play with. are use zip ties to put it all back, overkill.

On the rear tank, after you get the four bolts out, you have to wiggle it side to side to drop it down. If I remember right, you move it away from the fill neck, and then the fill neck side drops down first. Of course you have to take the fill neck off. If you’re only problem is the pick up screen, you can actually spin the ring around and pull the sending unit out and do it without taking the lines lose. If you put in a new screen, you don’t have to get every bit out of the tank.

If you do drop the tanks: I rigged up about a 30 or 35 inch 1.5” PVC extension onto my shop vac. I got all the little pieces out, and I was able to suck the screen and something else I don’t remember onto the tip of the pipe so I could draw them out with the suction.

And the fuel gauges are expensive and actually don’t even include all the parts, you have to buy them in two pieces and they’re like $200 for the set (x2!). There’s that teeny brass contact that moves, but basically just grounds out on the steel housing. I cleaned up that housing where it contacts with my Dremel wire brush, and the thing works perfect, both of them.

On the little wire that is riveted on both ends, I wiggled those rivets back-and-forth very carefully to make sure there was a good contact, and then I used a nail set with a sharpened point, and dimpled the rivets in two places to further make sure there was a good contact.

The new pick up screens are made of correct material, so when you put them in, you don’t have to worry about them disintegrating. But some of them didn’t disintegrate, they simply fell off the tube, hence using a little hose clamp to really tighten them down.

Hey, You probably know all this, but I hope it helps. And you’re not doing it right if you don’t hit your head on the frame three or four times and bust your knuckles a few times. & Remember you can’t say ouch unless it bleeds...
 
Rock Auto. I may have gotten it cheaper on eBay.

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The little hose clamp is an oddball size, I had to order them and I had to buy a kit with a bunch of them in different sizes, but it was still dirt cheap and now I have the others available for my various Rick-storeration projects

The other thing I did was put a can of Seabreeze into the filter housing, one can is enough, and I also put the can in each gas tank. it made a very good positive difference in the performance

One other thing I did on both tanks was to replace the vents with new vacuum tubing. I ran them a little longer and I drilled out the little hole in the plastic at the end of it a little wider and then I hung it in a spot where it wouldn’t get all muddy. You can tell I’ve got too much time on my hands!
 
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I picked up a hooker on the way home. Is that exciting enough?

Only if it turned out to be a dude who you ended up punching, then ran home and hid under a pile of dirty laundry until the police found you....


1 dollar to the person who correctly names the celebrity who did exactly that...
 
Just sort of as a side note: I bought a hand pump from Advanced Auto - think it was 9 bucks. Was able to empty my gas tank in just a few minutes.
 
Only if it turned out to be a dude who you ended up punching, then ran home and hid under a pile of dirty laundry until the police found you....


1 dollar to the person who correctly names the celebrity who did exactly that...
I remember Eddie Murphy doing something like that.
 
1 dollar to the person who correctly names the celebrity who did exactly that...

🤔 Hmmm, All I’m coming up with are politicians, no celebrities...
 
It was Danny Bonaduce... :rolleyes:
 
Baby steps: The two seams that go up and out from the back window and the rain gutters had cracks in them. I cleaned out the seams by hand, and I ran that heavy wire brush on the angle grinder down the rain gutters. Then I used regular latex caulk like you’d use around your house window and refilled those seams and ran a good little bit, worked in good, down the rain gutters.

That’s as far as I got before I ran out of daylight and energy yesterday:

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Rained here today, so it’s hard to tell the raindrops from my runs.

As I was doing the Bondo work, I mixed up more than I needed every time, and I started filling two creases in the 97. Yeah, they look like they were done in the dark too, but we’ll sand ‘em out...

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Just made my odometer roll over the 1000 mile point.

Can't wait for its oil change Friday. Gonna give her a real good rip on the way home now that its broken in.
 
1,000 miles!?!?! Time for a new truck...
 
You ain't kiddin, trucks nowadays.. junk at 1000 miles.

Shoulda bought a dang ol 1972 f250
 
Modified transmission harness, for front 02s only, and reverse thanks again @Junglejoe. straightened plug wires with old zip tie seperators, and installed throttl cable from expo.
 

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Rock Auto. I may have gotten it cheaper on eBay.

View attachment 56326View attachment 56327

The little hose clamp is an oddball size, I had to order them and I had to buy a kit with a bunch of them in different sizes, but it was still dirt cheap and now I have the others available for my various Rick-storeration projects

The other thing I did was put a can of Seabreeze into the filter housing, one can is enough, and I also put the can in each gas tank. it made a very good positive difference in the performance

One other thing I did on both tanks was to replace the vents with new vacuum tubing. I ran them a little longer and I drilled out the little hole in the plastic at the end of it a little wider and then I hung it in a spot where it wouldn’t get all muddy. You can tell I’ve got too much time on my hands!
I don't use Dorman posts for anything that requires more than 5 minutes to change.

Edit: Especially on a Ford diesel.
 
In my front tank I used the Dorman part I believe but it was hard to find so I don't think there's any other options... I might have gotten the NAPA part, but it's probably reboxed Dorman...
 
These are just strainers, no moving parts. Not much could go wrong if you just secure them tightly.
 

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