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

[JoshT]

Installed rear springs.


Apparently the u-bolts were loose. I spent an hour making sure I got the new ones tight. It drives much nicer , except now it pulls to the drivers' side.

Is it possible that you installed one of the springs backwards? That would definitely throw off the alignment. Or maybe new springs fixed soemthing that was corrected for in previous alignment.

@lil_Blue_Ford is it an 8.8"? Maybe hit the junkyard for an IRS Explorer diff cover? They were nice aluminum units that had extra ears for mounting provisions. Cut the ears off and run it on the solid axle. Reminds me that I should look for one (or two) next time I'm at the yard. You may know about that one already and want something else.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

@JoshT , it is indeed an 8.8” and I never gave that a thought. I was figuring on getting one of the nodular iron diff covers for the Choptop but one of those could work for now. Never gave a thought that those could work.

 

[JoshT]

@lil_Blue_Ford for some reason I thought there was an article on it in the tech library, but I don't see it now. Here's a link to an FTE thread showing/discussing it.

Factory Ford bling 8.8 differential cover... poor-boy style on the cheap. - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks - Factory Ford bling 8.8 differential cover... poor-boy style on the cheap. - Aluminum differential cover with ribs/cooling fins, a bottom drain plug and a magnetic fill plug for next to nothing. What more could ya ask for. Rolled around under an IRS...

www.ford-trucks.com

The aluminum is a step up from stock, but for what you are doing the nodular iron cover might be a better choice. It'd definitely hold up better to getting a beating on the trail.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

@lil_Blue_Ford for some reason I thought there was an article on it in the tech library, but I don't see it now. Here's a link to an FTE thread showing/discussing it.

Factory Ford bling 8.8 differential cover... poor-boy style on the cheap. - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks - Factory Ford bling 8.8 differential cover... poor-boy style on the cheap. - Aluminum differential cover with ribs/cooling fins, a bottom drain plug and a magnetic fill plug for next to nothing. What more could ya ask for. Rolled around under an IRS...

www.ford-trucks.com

The aluminum is a step up from stock, but for what you are doing the nodular iron cover might be a better choice. It'd definitely hold up better to getting a beating on the trail.

The aluminum cover has to be better than the stamped tin thing and I should be able to grab one of the aluminum covers for next to nothing, so it would be a good interim cover until I can buy the better one.

 

[Curious Hound]

Installed rear springs.

Not as much lift as I'd hoped. 1" Rear is still 1" shorter than front with the winch on it. I'm thinking about and add-a-leaf.

Apparently the u-bolts were loose. I spent an hour making sure I got the new ones tight. It drives much nicer , except now it pulls to the drivers' side.

If the rear is higher than it was, you have changed the caster angle. That could make the toe & camber change while driving. Double check your alignment.

 

[pacstud]

Looking at the EGR (ugh) set up. If I'm going to pull the pipe and replace it, do I have to worry about the top nut where it goes into the valve. Meaning, can I just crack/cut the bottom and pull the two bolts holding the valve on, and then worry about separating the valve from the pipe with the whole thing off?

 

["Risky Bizness"]

Used some Griot's Ceramic Glass sealant on my wife's Ranger FX4, and my 2008 Sport Trac Adrenalin's glass, in anticipation of upcoming winter weather.

AND, watched that joke of a NASCAR Championship race today.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

After church went and worked on the transmission crossmember for the Choptop. Drew it all out on cardboard and held it up under there which showed that I needed some modifications to my plan. Got that taken care of and got most of the steel cut. I may add a couple gussets yet but I’ll put together what I have and then figure out if/what else it might need. Also got a template started for the spring perches. Going to see about getting the crossmember together tomorrow and get the perches cut, then hopefully Tuesday get the perches on the rear axle done. I sure hope this solves a bunch of problems because Wednesday night I have to run out to Lisa’s.

In other news, I haven’t made progress on the green Ranger but the new upper control arms should be here Tuesday. Hopefully by the end of the week I’ll be back to work on the green Ranger and hopefully I can get left alone long enough to knock it out before Thanksgiving. Really wish I had someone else here who could weld and fab for a couple days. I’ll keep slogging along though.

Got a little work done in the shop too today, mostly after it got dark way too early. Stupid “daylight savings” crap…

 

[JoshT]

Looking at the EGR (ugh) set up. If I'm going to pull the pipe and replace it, do I have to worry about the top nut where it goes into the valve. Meaning, can I just crack/cut the bottom and pull the two bolts holding the valve on, and then worry about separating the valve from the pipe with the whole thing off?

I'm not familiar with the 2.3L EGR valve, but I assume that it is similar to what many other Ranger and Explorer engines had. Valve mounted to the intake with two bolts and a steel tube going from it to the exhaust manifold?

Sounds like you are having trouble breaking the nut loose on the steel tube at the vlave end but can get the one loose at the exhaust m anifold and want to just pull them together?

Yes, you should be able to do that. There may be two small hoses attached to that EGR tube going over to a sensor mounted somewhere.

Make note that while it might be easier to access that upper nut off the truck, it might be more difficult to actually get it to break loose from the vlave. With it mounted on the intake, that valve is prety solidly held in place and you can put some force behind the tool to break it loose. So if you are wanting to reuse the valve and replace the tube (or vis a vis), try to atleast get the nut broken loose while the valve is mounted, then remove the rest of the way when off the truck. FWIW I use a crowsfoot wrench on a rachet with extensions to get at the EGR tube nuts on my 5.0 swap.

 

[pacstud]

I'm not familiar with the 2.3L EGR valve, but I assume that it is similar to what many other Ranger and Explorer engines had. Valve mounted to the intake with two bolts and a steel tube going from it to the exhaust manifold?

Sounds like you are having trouble breaking the nut loose on the steel tube at the vlave end but can get the one loose at the exhaust m anifold and want to just pull them together?

Yes, you should be able to do that. There may be two small hoses attached to that EGR tube going over to a sensor mounted somewhere.

Make note that while it might be easier to access that upper nut off the truck, it might be more difficult to actually get it to break loose from the vlave. With it mounted on the intake, that valve is prety solidly held in place and you can put some force behind the tool to break it loose. So if you are wanting to reuse the valve and replace the tube (or vis a vis), try to atleast get the nut broken loose while the valve is mounted, then remove the rest of the way when off the truck. FWIW I use a crowsfoot wrench on a rachet with extensions to get at the EGR tube nuts on my 5.0 swap.

Thank you. Yeah, access is tricky it's right up against the firewall. Crowsfoot would work. It's on there good. Both ends. The manifold end will be just as bad.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Depends on the goal for dealing with the EGR is, if you're just trying to get the exhaust manifold out of the way you can probably get away with taking the two bolts that hold the valve to the intake off, loosening the manifold, taking off the two hoses for the DPFE sensor (they're different sizes so can't mix them up if I remember right) and taking the manifold bolts out holding the exhaust on then fishing the assembly out the top.

 

[01WHTRNGR]

Got my 4.0 opened up for replacing. Only have videos of the debris, but the front guide is completely destroyed. Haven’t looked at the back too close yet, but it looks to be intact.

 

[Ranger850]

what did you get? a frontier or a titan?

Neither. I got parts truck for my 87 Hardbody

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Had to get a key made after the top part of one of my two existing keys broke off so it wouldn't stay on the key ring. Of course, the key has an anti-theft chip. The Ford dealer wanted $75 for a new key + $80 to program it. A local well-equipped locksmith took care of it for $95 total.

The locksmith ended up cloning the broken key, and the new cloned key works and starts. The truck computer would not allow programming the new key as an extra to the system, even though the computer showed only 2 keys programmed out of a possible 6. The programming message was "Fail". The locksmith said he has seen this problem with certain Ford models. Just FYI for the rest of you if you need a new key on later Rangers. It might get more involved than you think.

 

[MK667]

Oil change and put a new air filter in. All the Purolator stuff is dirt cheap at advanced auto because they stopped carrying it.