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

[alwaysFlOoReD]

There definitely is the likelihood that alloys are being used...

 

[scotts90ranger]

There definitely is the likelihood that alloys are being used...

The ol Microsoft method: "this has been working fine for decades, lets completely change it and make it worse"

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

That is fair, was just a theory of mine... not sure if I'm the only one... I do imagine with the price of lead increasing they have likely changed the alloy to something less desirable but cheaper... battery posts aren't as soft as they used to be so whatever does that...

I suspect it’s a lot of 3rd world hack processing. Zero quality control, zero care. Look at all the crap quality recycled stuff we get these days.

Wheel weights are not pure lead, they are an alloy and harder than pure lead. Common thing for casting bullets and fishing weights is to mix pure lead and wheel weights when you want harder lead.

 

[pacstud]

Refurbed driver's side weatherstripping. Ran silicone tubing through it, cleaned it and reset. Will do passenger side tomorrow. Even with heater, garage was too cold for both sides.

 

[mikkelstuff]

I'm still chasing down an intermittent miss in cylinder #4 of my 2002 4WD Ranger XLT 3.0L engine. The truck only throws a code when idling for a period of time, say a long wait at a stop light.

I changed out the coil pack which helped substantially but only for a week or so and now the pesky "check engine" light is on all too often.

So today I changed out the spark plugs - a pain for cylinders #3 and #4. It's been 10 1/2 years and only 51K miles since I changed them; however, they looked bad. The plug gap is supposed to be 0.042 to 0.046 inches. The #4 plug was the worst at about 0.060 inches.

Hopefully this will solve the problem. Otherwise i'll change out the plug wire set again.

 

[sgtsandman]

I moved the 2019 into the driveway since it was warm enough for the steering rack to unfreeze. With the extreme cold (for us) and the winds, heat from the engine wasn't enough to defrost the steering rack. It's more sheltered in the driveway. So, with some warm up time, it should be drivable, if needed.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

i melted another cheap ryobi 12v charger. this time with my secondary 12v outlet and not the hash filled cigarette lighter.
2000 2.5l xl ranger.
fuse is rated 250v 6s8a on the ryobi charger.
i attempted to clean both ports with CRC electric parts cleaner and q-tips but it still looks very gummed up. i could not find any good youtube videos on cleaning the truck's 12v ports.

what is the amp rating on these 12v ports? the device pulls about 58 or 78w iirc

i looked up a replacement port but it but theres no amp/voltage/wattage rating on the product description.

ALSO
both reverse lights *i think* went out at the same time. would this imply that my reverse light switch at the transmission may have failed? gonna check fuse and bulbs.

*edit*
back up lamp bulbs look fine.
fuse 6 Back-up Lamps is fine.
fuse 22 Auxiliary Power Socket is blown. thats what melted my 80watt/¿7amp?/12v plug on my ryobi charger.

 

[sgtsandman]

i melted another cheap ryobi 12v charger. this time with my secondary 12v outlet and not the hash filled cigarette lighter.
2000 2.5l xl ranger.
fuse is rated 250v 6s8a on the ryobi charger.
i attempted to clean both ports with CRC electric parts cleaner and q-tips but it still looks very gummed up. i could not find any good youtube videos on cleaning the truck's 12v ports.

what is the amp rating on these 12v ports? the device pulls about 58 or 78w iirc

i looked up a replacement port but it but theres no amp/voltage/wattage rating on the product description.

The best I can offer is to look up what the fuse in the system is rated for adn use that as a guide. The amperage rating is not only based on what the port can take but the wiring connected to it can handle without catching on fire or melting the insulation.

 

[sgtsandman]

I completed the final bit of out processing and received my retired military ID. So, I'm now officially a "gray area" military retiree until I'm 59 and can collect on my retirement. Gray area means, I have some retiree benefits but not everything a full retired military member receives. Unlike Active Duty, the National Guard and Reserves do not normally start collecting as they drive out the gate. Certain criteria, like age, has to be met before that happens.

 

[MrockStar]

I completed the final bit of out processing and received my retired military ID. So, I'm now officially a "gray area" military retiree until I'm 59 and can collect on my retirement. Gray area means, I have some retiree benefits but not everything a full retired military member receives. Unlike Active Duty, the National Guard and Reserves do not normally start collecting as they drive out the gate. Certain criteria, like age, has to be met before that happens.

Congratulations Sgt Sandman. i hope it's not too many years to wait for retired pay and Tricare. I stayed in the reserves/Air Guard till age 60 so i didn't have to wait to start my retired pay and Tricare. 38 yrs is a long time but so worth it. Thanks for your service. MSGT Mrock retired.

 

[sgtsandman]

Congratulations Sgt Sandman. i hope it's not too many years to wait for retired pay and Tricare. I stayed in the reserves/Air Guard till age 60 so i didn't have to wait to start my retired pay and Tricare. 38 yrs is a long time but so worth it. Thanks for your service. MSGT Mrock retired.

Thank you. When I joined in 1987, things were fun. You worked hard and played hard. Working with Vietnam Veterans made it a whole new experience compared to what the average kid saw when joining Active Duty. In 1999, I became a dual status technician. It was still fun but not as much. I had planned then to stay in until I was 60. In 2020, I saw things had gone down hill some (who am I kidding, I saw a decline since the mid 1990's) but I thought I could make it until 2029 and walk out the gate with full pay and benefits before they got stupid. So, I reenlisted for 6 more years. Things got immediately stupid after than and only continued to spiral downward. So there was no way I was going to reenlist this year.

Would I do it again? If it was like it was since 1987 until about 1999 or so, sure. After the last 6 years, I wouldn't nor would I encourage others to enlist either. It's a damn shame.

MSgt Black (RET)

 

[Rick W]

Thank you. When I joined in 1987, things were fun. You worked hard and played hard. Working with Vietnam Veterans made it a whole new experience compared to what the average kid saw when joining Active Duty. In 1999, I became a dual status technician. It was still fun but not as much. I had planned then to stay in until I was 60. In 2020, I saw things had gone down hill some (who am I kidding, I saw a decline since the mid 1990's) but I thought I could make it until 2029 and walk out the gate with full pay and benefits before they got stupid. So, I reenlisted for 6 more years. Things got immediately stupid after than and only continued to spiral downward. So there was no way I was going to reenlist this year.

Would I do it again? If it was like it was since 1987 until about 1999 or so, sure. After the last 6 years, I wouldn't nor would I encourage others to enlist either. It's a damn shame.

MSgt Black (RET)

Argue with me if you want, but I still appreciate every bit of your service. I’ve done things to help the community, but nobody was shooting at me when I did it. I realize you were not in the line of fire, but the “heroes” couldn’t do what they do or earn the respect they did if it wasn’t for the solid men and women who stood behind them, who helped them along.

I salute you, I always will, everyone like you.

I hope that doesn’t make me un-American these days

 

[sgtsandman]

I hope that doesn’t make me un-American these days

That depends on who you talk to. Aaaaaand we'll just leave it at that...