When is it time to call it quits?

[90longbed]

I've purchased 2 new vehicles and they were trashed within 5 years (as far as looking new or otherwise undamaged)...and my Suzuki Sidekick was in mint condition when I got it...people would slam their doors into it, run shopping carts at it, and generally disrespectful...one guy even left me two slices of baloney on the hood one night...not enough for a sandwich but enough to make you say "hmmmmm..."

Now, with my mighty 88 Ranger...people actually move out of my way and walk a fair distance from it instead of passing by in case something falls off on them or they get caught up on some of the rust hanging on the rear wheel wells.Combined with the trail of oil smoke behind me I don't usually have to worry about idiots getting too close to my back end...

Ahhhhh....

my first ranger I owned for 5 years...it was in 3 wrecks(none of them were my fault) got broken into twice.... first time they got a cheap 35mm camera and an 8 ball shift knob.... second time they got the 6x9s I had behind the seat and the radio (sony explod that had issues right after the warranty expired), tires were slashed once.....also replaced the engine twice... one time was under warranty.....

the ranger I have now has been in a fender bender with a lowered s10... the only damage was the air deflector, dent in the bumper and a broken driving light.....someone ran a shopping cart into the rf fender leaving 3 small dents and some body hit it in the front breaking the license plate bracket.... hopefully no more of that......I hate people that are disrespectful of other peoples vehicles....one time I was waiting in our old buick while my wife was shopping.... lady in a newer stratus opens her car door right into the fender, then she was digging in the car for something and bouncing her door against our car with her ass.... walked by and didnt say anything.....I was in a really pissed off mood that day....after she walked off towards the door I threw my door open as hard as I could into her rear door about 4 or 5 times..... granted the buick was a pos, but it was the principle of the whole thing....

 

[wildbill23c]

Hmm, considering what I keep finding on craigslist I may just keep my B2 for parts, not that there's many good ones left LOL. Then pickup another one or even a Ranger that needs a bit of simple repairs like the B2 I found that just mostly a guess needs a new ignition control module (the part on the distributor that everyone says fries itself due to heat).

I try and drive the B2 around because it gets a little better fuel economy in town than driving my full size truck around for no reason. Its worse I think just driving very short distances than it is just letting the truck set all week and only driving it once a week when I'm off work.

I enjoy the RBV's, but I'm almost tempted to get back into a Ranger again (4x4 of course this time though). Something about these older Rangers and Bronco 2's that makes me really enjoy driving them.

 

[96Indyram]

Rust is the best camouflage! ... The less body parts to be seen, the less it will be seen! LOL When its so rusty that it dont cast a shadow...thats when it gets into "stealth" territory.

 

[wildbill23c]

Rust is the best camouflage! ... The less body parts to be seen, the less it will be seen! LOL When its so rusty that it dont cast a shadow...thats when it gets into "stealth" territory.

Except when it rusts to pieces around you and then you have nothing left. Then its not really much use LOL.

 

[MastuhWaffles]

Except when it rusts to pieces around you and then you have nothing left. Then its not really much use LOL.

Or you can be like Lancia and smelt the old rusted cars and make new crappy ones!

 

[wildbill23c]

Or you can be like Lancia and smelt the old rusted cars and make new crappy ones!

LOL. Smelt the rust into more rust, and rebuild a rust bucket .

 

[90longbed]

on mine I was able to crawl far enough on the drivers side and pull back the insulation... found some surface rust, meaning its been leaking for awhile.... looks to be the windshield..... needs a new windshield anyways....its the original one and its cracked and looks to be delaminating on both lower corners

 

[wildbill23c]

Hmm, I think mine is more than just the windshield. When I got the B2 the heater blower fan was howling, bearings were shot. So when I pulled it out the whole area where that blower sat was full of debris, I didn't look into it much then, but I will later on this year when the weather straightens out. I think it has just rusted out, and the water comes in down by the floor on both sides. The passenger side where the ECU is was pretty corroded so I'm leaning towards that cowling being rotted out, and given the rest of the rust wouldn't surprise me.

Ok, so other than body parts, and engine parts is there anything left on this worth saving to keep for spare parts and grab another B2. I keep finding newer ones with the 2.9L V6 for sell relatively cheap. So what parts can I swap into a newer one with the 2.9L engine?

Also, if I can grab another B2, or even a Ranger for that matter, what is everyone's opinion on the auto trannies in the older models? My 84 Ranger 4x2 had an automatic and never had issues with it even with my grandparents pulling a travel trailer with it all over the country. Unfortunately the ranger is gone so I'm not sure which tranny it had, I just know it never failed even with all the trailer towing it did...It did have an auxiliary cooler added to it when grandpa had the trailer hitch installed.

Basically looking for ideas on serious reasons to keep a complete 2nd parts vehicle around that is lacking in interior parts worth saving, and few body parts left worth anything, all the glass except the windshield are in great condition. The engine is well there, but not really sure how far I'd want to go into it for spare parts given all the crap I've had to repair on it already, I'm no sure how reliable the internal components would be for spare parts. Figured if I had to go that far into an engine for parts, I'd be better off getting new components than trusting old worn the hell out parts LOL.

 

[saskbill]

Sounds like you know the answer to your own question!

If you're not depending on this as a daily driver, it's probably time to stop spending time and money on it, drive it into the ground/park it when it stops moving, and start looking seriously for a newer/better one.

At least when you're eyeballing a potential new acquisition, sentiment won't/shouldn't be a factor (as opposed to when you're faced with giving old faithful a new starter/waterpump/brakes/whatever to keep 'er going just another few months). Try to remember the mantra: good body or good drivetrain - it's gotta have at least one, and ya gotta be able to work on the other one, else you're gonna be right back where you are now.

Follow this good advice, and you'll be a better man than me!

Good luck!

 

[Slammin Sam]

All of the points listed are good advice. The question is, what do you want? Bodywork and paint are very expensive unless you have the equipment and skill to do it yourself. I wanted a good looking good running B2. During my 7 month search, I realized that finding a cosmetically good B2 and reworking the mechanics was way cheaper. I lucked out and found one that was excellent all around for $2,200. If you find that you can't fix up what you have, try to sell it to someone who will fix it or at least part it out. Parts for B2s are getting harder to find because so many have gone directly to the crusher.

 

[90longbed]

Try to remember the mantra: good body or good drivetrain - it's gotta have at least one, and ya gotta be able to work on the other one, else you're gonna be right back where you are now.

thats what made me get my 90.... ran and drove good,engine sounded good...good tires, everything seemed to work.body was kinda rough... needed a driver, only had $1400 to spend....most of the rangers in that price range looked good but had some kind of mechanical or electrical issue...

 

[wildbill23c]

Sounds like you know the answer to your own question!

If you're not depending on this as a daily driver, it's probably time to stop spending time and money on it, drive it into the ground/park it when it stops moving, and start looking seriously for a newer/better one.

At least when you're eyeballing a potential new acquisition, sentiment won't/shouldn't be a factor (as opposed to when you're faced with giving old faithful a new starter/waterpump/brakes/whatever to keep 'er going just another few months). Try to remember the mantra: good body or good drivetrain - it's gotta have at least one, and ya gotta be able to work on the other one, else you're gonna be right back where you are now.

Follow this good advice, and you'll be a better man than me!

Good luck!

Yeah, I agree. I'm just trying to really figure out if the current drive train is worth keeping. The transmission whines in 5th gear (TK-5), half the stuff on the engine is hacked onto it thanks to the previous owner's lack of mechanical skills. It runs and drives but that transmission is well, whiny LOL. The engine runs good, just terrible valve train noise. At least I guess I could pull parts if necessary, however if I'm looking into getting a newer one with the 2.9L V6 are there any engine parts I could use?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Maybe some wiring/electrical but the engines themselves are very different if you go to a 2.9/4.0 rig.

 

[wildbill23c]

^^Interior stuff, tires, wheels, axles, transmission, transfer case are pretty much interchangeable though correct? can't remember which transmission can be swapped around easily. My 84 B2 has the TK-5 but I'm not sure that I should really hang onto it due to the whining in 5th gear.

I'm seriously thinking of driving it till I fall through the floor I think its getting to that point LOL, or the tires are worn out...hey I got it with bald tires and it took me 4 months to save up the money to replace them. I like it, but not so much that I wouldn't have it picked up for scrap (worth more in scrap than pick a part will give me for it). I kind of want back into a Ranger the Bronco 2 really isn't that useful not having a pickup bed LOL.

So what would be suggested as far as parts to keep that would go either to another B2, or an older Ranger? Want to keep my options open for either one right now.

Kind of calling it quits on my B2 and leaving it as is, and just driving it till I find something else that I can grab relatively cheap that has a good body that just needs a bit of engine work or just someone wanting to really get rid of their B2 or ranger.

 

[dinosore]

Driving an imperfect car hurts way less than paying for a new one. The devil you know is the better devil-you know what's not right or may be close to failure.

You want an acceptable:
Frame
Suspension
Seat belt

If the engine runs but isn't 100%, who cares? unless it's getting close to death.

My DD has just enough heat to defrost the dash, no AC, slow, a little rattley, etc. etc. but it doesn't eat too much oil and it gets me where I need to go. The once a month repair session is 100x nicer than a $500 payment + higher insurance + worrying about people backing into it, etc.

Preach!