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

[sgtsandman]

Forgot to mention, I vacuumed down the AC system in the Choptop and it leaked mostly down overnight so there’s a leak somewhere. Everything but the pump is brand new, but that doesn’t mean much. Not exactly sure what to do about trying to find the leak without filling it with Freon and dye and run it till the leak shows then dump it all and fix. The only thought that I had was I have a bottle of CO2 and a regulator that I could rig up to pressurize it and then spray everything down with soapy water and look for bubbles… no idea if that’s an acceptable solution though

The CO2 should prevent the introduction of moisture into the system. You may have to play with the pressures to get bubbles to show well. We use the air and soapy water method at work and sometimes there is too much air for bubbles to form if the leak is bad enough. Other than that, a mirror and a headlamp for those hard to see places.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

My vent cap/oil filler (2.8) fell off and half melted on the exhaust manifold. So of course parts places can't find one, so I got some aluminum tape and sealed it up as best I could and reinstalled it. It's not moving now unless I reef on it. And it'll work just fine.

I'm sure I have a couple if you can't find one. All my 2.8 stuff is relegated to the carport of forgotten tears . I actually have so many parts that need new homes I was hoping to get to that carport this year but hey I did get a bunch of stuff cleaned up. Then I have more trannys and t cases under the house. Horde much do i

 

[BroncLander]

I'm sure I have a couple if you can't find one. All my 2.8 stuff is relegated to the carport of forgotten tears . I actually have so many parts that need new homes I was hoping to get to that carport this year but hey I did get a bunch of stuff cleaned up. Then I have more trannys under my house then Jeffery Dahmer. Along with the t cases

Do you think it's worth rebuilding the 2.8 or would it be wiser to just put a small V8 in here?
If I do an engine swap it'll be to a carbureted V8. Like a 289 or something. It would definitely be easier to find a decent 2.8 and rebuild it and then pick a weekend and just do a motor swap.
This engine has 275 thousand km on it. So around 200 thousand miles. And I'd probably at least put a whole new clutch kit in it when it's apart. If I go with a V8, I'd likely want to use an automatic trans, and if I stay with a fresh 2.8 I'll keep the 5 speed.
I wonder what it would cost to have a 2.8 built by an engine builder? And if there's anything they can do to get a bit more whoomph out of it?
I can get the part for 18 bucks, it's just that they have to order it in and it'll be a couple days. And I got a headstart on my road trip this afternoon so I'll pick it up when I come back. I appreciate the offer a lot though

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Do you think it's worth rebuilding the 2.8 or would it be wiser to just put a small V8 in here?
If I do an engine swap it'll be to a carbureted V8. Like a 289 or something. It would definitely be easier to find a decent 2.8 and rebuild it and then pick a weekend and just do a motor swap.
This engine has 275 thousand km on it. So around 200 thousand miles. And I'd probably at least put a whole new clutch kit in it when it's apart. If I go with a V8, I'd likely want to use an automatic trans, and if I stay with a fresh 2.8 I'll keep the 5 speed.
I wonder what it would cost to have a 2.8 built by an engine builder? And if there's anything they can do to get a bit more whoomph out of it?
I can get the part for 18 bucks, it's just that they have to order it in and it'll be a couple days. And I got a headstart on my road trip this afternoon so I'll pick it up when I come back. I appreciate the offer a lot though

People have done quite a bit of wild things to get some oomph out of a 2.8. All it takes is stupid money and dedication. The 2.8 is a good little engine. Some quirks in the electric engine controls. But the truth is you could just get a 4.0 for less money. A 4.0 is a bored and stroked 2.8. A 2.9 is a stroked 2.8. And they all started life as a weak little 2.6 in Germany. As far as v8s go there are several good options but they all again take lots of time skill and money. If you were to find a shop willing to rebuild the one you have a nice little over bore and a fresh engine will do wonders, they arnt race cars. I never was held back by mine, and the torq curve is really well engineered.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

The CO2 should prevent the introduction of moisture into the system. You may have to play with the pressures to get bubbles to show well. We use the air and soapy water method at work and sometimes there is too much air for bubbles to form if the leak is bad enough. Other than that, a mirror and a headlamp for those hard to see places.

That’s about what I was thinking, I thought compressed air at first, but that can introduce a lot of moisture into the system potentially. I have the CO2 and it’s cheaper and easier to dispose of than Freon since I don’t yet have a recovery system. The plants around here will love a burst of CO2, lol.

 

[BroncLander]

People have done quite a bit of wild things to get some oomph out of a 2.8. All it takes is stupid money and dedication. The 2.8 is a good little engine. Some quirks in the electric engine controls. But the truth is you could just get a 4.0 for less money. A 4.0 is a bored and stroked 2.8. A 2.9 is a stroked 2.8. And they all started life as a weak little 2.6 in Germany. As far as v8s go there are several good options but they all again take lots of time skill and money. If you were to find a shop willing to rebuild the one you have a nice little over bore and a fresh engine will do wonders, they arnt race cars. I never was held back by mine, and the torq curve is really well engineered.

I would be totally fine with another 30hp and no oil leaks. Maybe an aftermarket simpler carb, less emissions stuff, clean up the engine bay a bit. And then a dual battery tray so I have a starting battery and a house battery. I don't need big power. Just fuel economy and reliability are my main concerns

 

[Roert42]

That looks better than some of the commercially welded stuff these days! It’s pretty rare I can make a nice stack of dimes, but I know my welds hold, penetration is key, you can have a textbook perfect weld that doesn’t have enough penetration to hold and you can have an ugly thing that will rip the surrounding metal apart before it fails

It’s impossible to have textbook perfect welds that are bad. It’s almost an oxymoron.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Well I got the new rotors pads and calipers along with the new brake hoses installed on the 8.8 so I can start to work on the necessary mods and new brake lines while it's still out from under the truck. 300$ went fast right there!!!. I think I've got it thunk out pretty good. I'll still need to hit up a junk yard eventually for the parking break cables. Ot will be so nice to never have to deal with drums again on this truck. Cept the parking breaks I guess.

 

[jungScipio]

I replaced all the lights in the dash and climate control over the past few days, and those worked great. Only problem now is getting the panels back on...

Next up is the dome light assembly.

Today I took my friend driving around the countryside in my Ranger and it went great. I'm really proud of the little truck; and the ac didn't cut out whenever I accelerated, and the rear left leaf spring didn't give me any trouble (it's missing its mount). Great day today,

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

It’s impossible to have textbook perfect welds that are bad. It’s almost an oxymoron.

Ok, so perfect looking welds that don’t hold because they’re run too cold.

 

[Roert42]

Ok, so perfect looking welds that don’t hold because they’re run too cold.

Like a caterpillar that just sits on top of the metal.

That's why I don't like Mig welding for beginners. It's easy to make something that looks fine to an untrained eye. Anyone that knows what they're looking at would know it's an issue.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Like a caterpillar that just sits on top of the metal.

That's why I don't like Mig welding for beginners. It's easy to make something that looks fine to an untrained eye. Anyone that knows what they're looking at would know it's an issue.

My first couple dozen welds were like that. Took me awhile to realize what I was needing to do. After that I learned to hold the heat long enough for it to melt the base metal. It will pool in the surface then drop and smooth out. It's kinda hard to explain. Was was even harder to figure out teaching myself. I've watched dozens of tutorials online but it took practice, and in reality I still have plenty of room for improvement.

 

[Mrs. Eighty Five]

Too late. I think @Mrs. Eighty Five has an account here, so she probably already knows.

Well, this is sad. A month later I’m now seeing this. I’ll be honest, I was working that day trying to not lose my cool with kids that have trauma, ODD and Ad/HD.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I gave the '97 Ranger a bath, it's yearly scrub, just 5 minutes with a brush wand thing on a hose... no need to get fancy with soap or anything...

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Well it's been a long stupid day, but I between the stupidity I had a few breaks. So I was able to get the old 7.5 out from under the 89. I got the 8.8 in there sitting on jack stands. I bought a 51 inch piece of brake line ready to go. Got it bent up, now the break lines are all ready, cept I'll need to find a 6 inch or so extension before I allow for much articulation. Also my modified u bolts ended up being too short with the bigger axle, so I bought a new set. So now I just need to cut the one bolt from the passenger leafspring, get leaf springs installed and get the driveline flange and conversion u joint. The new wider footprint already looks much better with the factory fender flares. Before they kinda looked silly sticking way out for no reason.