Project Little Green Turd

[wizkid00104]

So I emailed LMC Truck about the fan that failed and the responded within a day. I usually never get email responses, so I have to say i am impressed thus far.

I sent them the following:

To whom it may concern,

I purchased a cooling fan, thermostat, and mounting brackets for my 94 Ranger from LMC back in March of 2012 (see attached order). I was rebuilding my truck over the course of 15 months. I did not actually get the fan installed until August 20th of 2013 after the truck was inspected and back on the road. Last week, the fan stopped working. It blew a several fuses so I checked the coil resistance and it was about 0.3 ohms. In short, the fan was trying to draw 40 amps to run. I do not still have the packaging, but I was wondering if this fan carried any warranty? It was not cheap and I am disappointed that it died so quickly. It’s actually been used for less than 1 year, and it even spent a month in the garage while I rebuilt the transfer case in March. Please feel free to give me a call with any questions.

Here is a post I did on the install if you needed any visual proof: http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1392003&postcount=303

Thank you for the help and keep up the good work with the catalog and the website!

Best Regards,

Jeremy

I received this back this afternoon:

Jeremy,

Thank you for your message. We are sorry to hear you are having troubles with this part. We have requested our quality team to look into this further. Please allow 3-5 business days for a reply.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,

Quinci D.
Customer Service
Long Motor Corporation

P: 1-800-562-8782
F: 1-800-541-8525

I just have to wait and see what happens...

 

[wizkid00104]

Collection of new parts have arrived. I am going to start tearing it apart when I get home today. I adjusted the toe-in last Thursday with the help of my neighbor. While I was working on that, I broke both pinch bolts loose and worked on getting the alignment bushing loose. Hopefully that will make life a bit easier.

 

[wizkid00104]

Started on the alignment tonight. I found that K8986 does not fit my truck; the upper ball joint stud is too thick. K8986 has a 0.75" ID and I need bushings with an 0.82" ID. I ordered some Moog K80109 from Advance Auto. I'll pick those up at lunch tomorrow. Hopefully those will fit...

 

[wizkid00104]

Moog K80109 fit like a charm.

The old alignment bushings came out pretty easily. When I set the toe-in last week, I pulled the pinch bolts, work the clamps with a pry bar, and coated them in PB. I got them out with some small chisels, pry bars, and channel locks.





Here is a comparison of alignment bushings. On the left is Moog 8986 (this is for upper ball joints with a 0.75" stub and I suspect for the Dana 28 instead of the Dana 35), the middle is the 2 3/4 degree fixed bushing I removed from he passengers side, and the right is the Moog K80109 which is the proper fit.

The Moog K80109 is adjustable from 0 to +/- 4 degrees on 2wd suspensions and 0 to +/- 3 degrees on 4wd suspensions.






I antiseized the hell out of everything.



I used 3 in 1 oil and antisieze in the new adjustable bushings. I put them in the vise and worked the oil and anti-sieze in them so the will be adjustable after a winter in the rust belt.

I set the new bushings to their 0 position to install them. I also took this time to grease the upper ball joints and work them around before installing the new bushings.





My driveway isn't level so I used string and line levels to make sure I was level left to right and front to back. A flat garage would've made this a lot easier... (sorry for the crappy pics)





I used the alignment and steering articles from the tech library and bought a protractor from Sears to read my angles.



I took measurements from center of the hub to the fenders before jacking the truck up. I got 21" on the drivers side and 22 3/8" on the passengers side. My wacky camber definately didn't help these leasurements. I have a 1/2" space I can install on the drivers side under the coil if need be. I did the alignment with the jack stands under the front axles so there was weight on the suspension. Camber may need adjusted slighly after test driving. No big deal though.

My initial measures with the bushings at 0 were +1 camber and +9 caster on the drivers side and +3 camber and +4.5 caster on the passengers side. Max recommended caster is 5 degrees, but I had to settle 6 degrees on both sides. That is all the further I could get the drives side bushing to reduce it. Final camber on both sides is +0.5. I am going to test these and see how it works. The suspension arms are designed to work with 6" of lift and I only have 3", so I think this is where the extreme caster is coming from. I can adjust the tierod ends on the suspension arms if need be to aid the caster.

I am hoping the truck will drive straight now...

Tomorrow if it doesnt rain, I am going to install the new brakes and calipers, check the toe-in again, and then reassemble and take it for a test drive.

New set of 31x10.50 General Grabber AT2s are on the way to the house. I am going to mount those and the Swampers in the near future.

 

[wizkid00104]

Moog K8986 and K80109 Alignment Instructions

Here are the instructions for the alignment bushings if anyone should ever need them. One of boxes didn't have any instructions and I couldn't find them online. The instructions are applicable to both bushings.



K8986 Alignment Table



K80109 Alignment Tables

 

[wizkid00104]

LMC contacted me again.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your patience while we worked on your request. Our quality tea has provided us with the following information:

The fan has been installed for almost 1 year and we do not know how it was hook up and if the fan is being controlled with a thermostat. There is no way to know why it is starting to draw more amps. This is not design to run all the time. At this time we suggest having a shop or mechanic check the installation to make sure it is properly installed.


If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,

Quinci D.
Customer Service
Long Motor Corporation

I replied with...

Quinci,

If it helps, I purchased LMC’s thermostat and used it in conjunction with the fan (this was on the invoice I originally sent you). I followed the instructions that came with the thermostat to install. Although I am not a mechanic, I am an electrical engineer. I checked all the wiring for continuity and short circuits with the fan disconnected. That is what led me to the fan motor being the problem. Everything else checked out fine. The fan did not run all the time. In fact, it really only ran when I would sit in traffic. If it was below 45 degrees outside, the engine didn’t even produce enough heat to turn it on. The fan was fused at 10 amps as I recall the original instructions suggesting.

I would be happy to provide a schematic to the claims team and supporting photos as to how it was wired and I would even be willing to ship them the broken fan for their own evaluation. From my experience with small DC motors, I have found that the thin insulating glaze applied over the copper as it is wound around the rotor will degrade or crack over time. This can be caused by heat, vibration, or an inconsistency in the coating process of the wire. Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that when these shorts occur, the resistance in the motor decreases. Less copper to travel through means lower resistance, which allows higher current through the motor, which will lead to failure.

Please pass this along and let me know if you need any further information. Thank you for taking the time to help.

Best Regards,

Jeremy

And I got these responses:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your patience while we worked on your request. Although this item is outside of the 15 day claim period we are able to replace the bedside but you will be responsible for the shipping to Canada. Please advise if you would like to proceed, so we can have a new quote figured. Please remember we must be notified of all damaged/missing items within 15 days of delivery to ensure all necessary steps can be taken with your claim.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,

Quinci D.
Customer Service
Long Motor Corporation

LMC Customer Care would like to recall the message, "Order W1121871".

Jeremy,

Thank you for your patience while we worked on your request. We will be issuing a 1 time replacement of this item at no additional charge to you. As previously stated we cannot be sure what the issue is, as we do not have technicians or mechanics on staff at LMC.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,

Quinci D.
Customer Service
Long Motor Corporation

LMC's customer service has been very nice to deal with. I really appreciate them backing their product because a lot of places won't. I am going to leave the new fan in there and stick this one on the shelf for now.

 

[wizkid00104]

Didn't get as far as I wanted to tonight, but I did get something done.

Got both spindles back on and installed the new M10x1.25 Grade 10.9 serated flange nuts. I chose Powerstop Evolution brake pads. I put them on Nicole's Grand Vitara and she has been very happy with them. I cleaned up the pad areas with a wire brush and coated the with Caliper Lube.





Switched the driver's side caliper with a reman from Advance. I went with the slightly more expensive metal piston instead of the plastic one. I put antisieze on the piston and where the pad contacts the opposing face of the caliper. I want everything to come apart nicely later on.



UPS guy paid me a visit today...



(4) new General Altimax RT43 225/70R16 for Nicole's Grand Vitara.



(4) new General Grabber AT2 31x10.50R15





I will finish up the brakes tomorrow, check my toe-in, and take her for a test drive (if time permits).

Cooling system and mounting tires will follow. New driver's side floor pan afterwards.

 

[mattpresley]

Looking good . Get used to changing Balljoints I swear they are an rbv's weak spot. Every one I have had (I've had 4 rbv's from model 1996- 2010) ate it's balljoints.

 

[wizkid00104]

Thanks! I did all balljoints and tie rod ends in 2009 or 2010. On the bright side everything is still tight (for now). Hopefully a proper alignment will prolong the life of these things.

 

[mattpresley]

Thanks! I did all balljoints and tie rod ends in 2009 or 2010. On the bright side everything is still tight (for now). Hopefully a proper alignment will prolong the life of these things.

Yup proper alignment and greasable balljoints should help them last.

 

[wizkid00104]

They all are and they are frequently greased. Same with the wheel bearings. Im trying to fix everything so I can drive this till the wheels fall off. Then do an SAS and V8 swap

 

[1996xlt]

You'll like those tires, I've had the same ones since February and with most of the on-road driving I do they're pretty quiet, but they also do great in the snow.

 

[wizkid00104]

You'll like those tires, I've had the same ones since February and with most of the on-road driving I do they're pretty quiet, but they also do great in the snow.

Good to know. To be honest, road noise isn't a big concern of mine. With an 8" glass pack, you can't hear swampers hum. But I was looking for something that would do well in the snow. And the price was right with the current $50 rebate from General. I was also hoping they would balance well and ride smooth.

How's your tread wear?

 

[1996xlt]

I had mine road-force balanced and they've done really well. Tread wear has been great so far, I've got around 10k miles on them (I think) and they still look brand new.

 

[wizkid00104]

What is road force balanced?