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

[superj]

New mats and side steps showed up but its cold and drizzly so steps arent going on for a few days.

Mats are cool, husky liners. They fit perfectly, other than being cold and not being as smoothed as they could be because of the temps

 

[holyford86]

Started up the 86, hooked it to the overland trailer, then moved both of them (along with the b2) to my new house.

 

[Uncle Gump]

New mats and side steps showed up but its cold and drizzly so steps arent going on for a few days.

Mats are cool, husky liners. They fit perfectly, other than being cold and not being as smoothed as they could be because of the temps

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The high was 17 degrees here today... boo hoo

 

[Uncle Gump]

Started up the 86, hooked it to the overland trailer, then moved both of them (along with the b2) to my new house.

I dread moving... but i sure would love to move.

 

[holyford86]

I dread moving... but i sure would love to move.

One never realizes how much stuff one acquires until it all has to go somewhere else. Thankfully it's not a long distance to move so it's going reasonably quickly even with my stepside, haha.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Fired it up for the first time this year and pulled it out of the garage.

I get to drive it to work on Friday while my F-150 goes into the bodyshop for an estimate after a deer strike.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Deer are very expensive.

 

[Rick W]

Deer are very expensive.

not as expensive as women…

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

not as expensive as women…

Really depends. Sometimes they go thru the windshield and can be very expensive...

This one was a glancing blow off the port bow. Scuffed the fender, messed up the mirror and pushed in the door as he spun away.

 

[1984RESTOMOD]

its less flintstony again for a minute. still need to beef up the drivers side....

the mounts were totally crushed.. just used old 3/16 strap and some rusty ass scrap sheet metal and fluxcore.


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hopefully i can get a cab soon .... maybe in oct when we go to sc. just need to keep lil bob safe


i was beating the hell out of it out back...and it didnt fall off..

so....its good.

What were your wire speed and amperage set on?

 

[superj]

No rain today, woohoo!

Steps installed. Tyger autoblades because i wanted a wide step like my old teuck had. They took about 45 minutes to put on

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Finally had a nice day that wasn't really cold and windy and was able to change the thermostat and temperature sensor today. The thermostat cover was in the way of access to the sensor, so since it had to be removed, I changed the thermostat too. The replacement thermostat was Motorcraft (as was the one removed), and the sensor was NAPA (replacing a Motorcraft sensor).

To get to both requires removing the cover that says "4.0 SOHC", the duct between the air-filter housing, and the throttle body. Then I removed the throttle body after disconnecting the cruise-control and throttle cables. That was as good as I was going to get for access. The flange on the intake manifold was still above the work area, but there was enough room to work.

Of course, the coolant had to be drained. It was in excellent condition, as I expected, because it had been in the truck only about 16,000 miles (26,000 km), so it was reused.

A 3–pound maul with a block of wood was necessary to break loose the thermostat cover (Simmons aftermarket) and the old thermostat. The old one was closed when I removed it, which surprised me, because I thought it might have been stuck open. The sensor was definitely the culprit with the gauge indicating colder than normal, but I suspect the thermostat was opening too soon as well since the heater was warming the cabin, but not as hot as usual. The new one was checked in a pot of boiling water and opened as it was supposed to.

The sensor was a pain to replace, but I got it installed and the retaining clip in place. You will need some of the long heavy needle-nose pliers for this, and lubricating the sensor O-ring with coolant is a great idea. Fortunately, this truck is not like most of the older ones with the V-6 with two sensors, one of which requires removing the intake manifold for access.

About 2+ gallons of coolant had come out. With the thermostat still out after installing the sensor, I used a funnel and filled the engine block with coolant at the housing. After the coolant level reached the housing from inside, I finished installing the new thermostat and put everything back together. I ran the truck for about 45 minutes, and all but about a quart of coolant went back in. That last quart went into the overflow tank.

The temperature gauge is back where it should read, steady on halfway between H and C instead of about a quarter of the way.

By the way, as we've discussed before about other types of work, the Haynes manual is useless for this procedure. That manual indicates that the sensor should screw in. It doesn't on the later trucks, and contrary to the manual, removing the throttle body and the thermostat cover is necessary to get to the one sensor.

While everything was apart, I wiped clean the throttle body and plate with a shop towel soaked with cleaner.

The truck really seems to run a bit better. After finishing, I treated it to a good car wash to get the salt off from previous winter storms before the latest arrives on Sunday evening. Getting the engine running at the proper temperature was also necessary because of extreme (for this area) cold forecast for Monday–Wednesday.

This is a long post, but some of you might find the info useful, I hope.

 

[JoshT]

Nothing

It's been three full weeks since I dropped it off for an exhaust system. Didn't really expect to get it back the first week with New Year's Day landing in the middle. Middle of week two they said they had to order parts. This Wednesday they said they had to order a different muffler, and it would be in Thursday. I stopped by that afternoon to answer a question about O2 sensors. They did not know I was coming and the truck was on the lift. They must be attempting to work on it.

Today they called about 2:30 saying that it wouldn't be done today. Apparently the receptionist, or what ever you call the girl working the counter, quit yesterday and he's been too busy working the counter. Beyond pissed about it, but what you going to do. Not like I can drive it as is, and can't get anyone else to get the job done by tomorrow.

Three full weeks for an exhaust... I was going to take it back to this place when it came time for an alignment. Not going to happen now. They've probably lost all future business from people I know.

 

[sgtsandman]

Nothing

It's been three full weeks since I dropped it off for an exhaust system. Didn't really expect to get it back the first week with New Year's Day landing in the middle. Middle of week two they said they had to order parts. This Wednesday they said they had to order a different muffler, and it would be in Thursday. I stopped by that afternoon to answer a question about O2 sensors. They did not know I was coming and the truck was on the lift. They must be attempting to work on it.

Today they called about 2:30 saying that it wouldn't be done today. Apparently the receptionist, or what ever you call the girl working the counter, quit yesterday and he's been too busy working the counter. Beyond pissed about it, but what you going to do. Not like I can drive it as is, and can't get anyone else to get the job done by tomorrow.

Three full weeks for an exhaust... I was going to take it back to this place when it came time for an alignment. Not going to happen now. They've probably lost all future business from people I know.

One of the reasons why I do the majority of my own work anymore. I only trust two shops around me to do a decent job in a timely manner and only those two. Even then, it usually costs more to have them do it than me doing it myself.

I realize not everyone is in the position where they can do that. So, it isn't a judgement. It just eliminates so much frustration and disappointment doing it myself.

 

[Rick W]

Nothing

It's been three full weeks since I dropped it off for an exhaust system. Didn't really expect to get it back the first week with New Year's Day landing in the middle. Middle of week two they said they had to order parts. This Wednesday they said they had to order a different muffler, and it would be in Thursday. I stopped by that afternoon to answer a question about O2 sensors. They did not know I was coming and the truck was on the lift. They must be attempting to work on it.

Today they called about 2:30 saying that it wouldn't be done today. Apparently the receptionist, or what ever you call the girl working the counter, quit yesterday and he's been too busy working the counter. Beyond pissed about it, but what you going to do. Not like I can drive it as is, and can't get anyone else to get the job done by tomorrow.

Three full weeks for an exhaust... I was going to take it back to this place when it came time for an alignment. Not going to happen now. They've probably lost all future business from people I know.

Holy cow! That’s pretty unreasonable. Atlanta has a lot of options, so I’m typically looking at price depending on what I’m working on, but I’ve always had exhaust systems done while I wait. A couple times I left cars overnight for my own convenience. Once or twice on real fancy stuff, I took it to a particular place to make sure I maintained the integrity of the car, but that wasn’t on this kind of stuff.