My "new" 93 ranger

sfwjesse · Apr 5, 2009

93 Ranger XLT 4x4
118k miles, 5spd, 4.0L

I picked this baby up for $600 bucks....the guy wanted $900 but given the amount of work it needed i just couldn't give him that.

The goods:
-body is solid, minimal bed rust
-aftermarket bed liner
-118k is low mileage for that year
-heads and head gasket were replaced a few years ago
-frame is solid

The bads:
-broken rear slider window
-chipped front windshield
-shackles and shackle mounts are toast (one is completely gone)
-clutch problem (i determined this to be a bad slave cylinder)
-shocks are toast
-lots of surface rust on frame and everything that bolts to it
- ball joints feel loose...maybe wheel bearings

The mission:
This is replacing my trusty BII. Make this an inspectable DD for home depot runs, homeowner hauling, etc., that will last me a long time (given the mileage is so low). Also put 2" of lift in it and 31" tires for some moderate off roading.

sfwjesse · Apr 5, 2009

Here is the trusty BII. 1988 eddie bauer, automatic, 174k. This thing has countless hours put into it just to make it inspectable and drivable. The wife is making me sell it because i cant have 2 trucks

. Its not a looker but its functional and does fairly well on the trails.

Parts im stealing off it:

10" rims and 31" BFG A/T's
2" superlift leveling coil springs, (unless i can get enough money for the truck with the coils in, then i can use the extra money to just buy another set @$200)

sfwjesse · Apr 5, 2009

Here are some of the problems

sfwjesse · Apr 5, 2009

Mission 1: Replace slave cylinder and put in a new clutch and rear main seal while I'm at it.

This proved to be a WICKED tough job, due to the Y-pipe refusing to come off the manifolds.

2 weekends later, tranny is out, had to sawzall the y-pipe..... :bawling:

Here she is. Cleaned out all the brake fluid in the bell housing, siliconed the shift rail plugs.

Here is the transfer. I broke 2 bolts in this bad boy, i had to drill and retap them.....NOT FUN.

sfwjesse · Apr 5, 2009

$200 for slave, clutch kit at advance auto parts

Everything back together. Got the old y-pipe rewelded at work. Note the 2 cut locations. As expected, it didnt fit very well with the width of 2 sawzall blades missing from it. I was unable to bolt the braket on the cat to the tranny mount. We will see what joys this brings for me down the road. I would suggest if you ever remove the y-pipe this way to tack it first, fit it up, then weld it solid.

With the tranny out it was possible (BARELY) to drill out the manifolds and replace with bolts. Unfortunately i did not use stainless........i may be replacing those soon.

sfwjesse · Apr 5, 2009

Ford's lovely hydraulic clutch design has been kicking my butt for days. I have since given up bleeding it for now, and moved on to more productive things on the truck. I plan on attempting to build something like the schematic below, but with a large reservoir feeding the normal reservoir, pressurized, with the master unbolted from the firewall and held more horizontal with some blocks of wood.

sfwjesse · Apr 5, 2009

Pulled the bed to do shackles and paint the frame. While the tranny was pulled i did some brushing and painting under the cab. Rustoleum primer and gloss black is my choice.....its nothing fancy but it will slow the rust rampage right?

Here it is after some angle grinder wire brushing and hand brushing

Primed and new shackle hangers on. Slider window from the junkyard, $50. Waiting for 2" lifting shackles

Gloss black. We will see just how tough Rustoleum is over the next few years....

floodz · Apr 5, 2009

Did you get that problem with your clutched fixed yet? I had a problem with mine not too long ago, needed to bleed mine. I let it go. Within a couple of days it bled itself and is back to normal now.

sfwjesse · Apr 5, 2009

Brushed the few rusty spots on the bed and touched them up. The bed was in really good shape. I will replace the rubber that was between the frame and bed, as it has been worn to nothing.

sfwjesse · Apr 5, 2009

As of now, i have 4 weekends (and a few weeknights) into this thing. Not counting any tools i purchased, i have exactly $500 in parts/paint/fluids so far. I still need adjustable camber bushings, shocks, and whatever is needed to tighten up the loose front end. My plan is to finish up the rear when my shackles come in, then check out whats going on with the ball joints and bearings, and possible swap coil springs. At some point i need to re-attack the clutch hydraulics too .....

sfwjesse · Apr 5, 2009

floodz said:
Did you get that problem with your clutched fixed yet? I had a problem with mine not too long ago, needed to bleed mine. I let it go. Within a couple of days it bled itself and is back to normal now.

Not yet, with no shackles on i dont really want to test any clutch pedal. It would be nice if it bleeds itself lol....but i am not counting on it :annoyed:

sfwjesse · Apr 7, 2009

Still waiting for shackles, so i decided to attempt the bleed again with the master cylinder tilted in the firewall and a tube running from the slave bleeder to the reservoir.

Here is the master unbolted from the firewall and held somewhat horizontal with a strap. I also have it on ramps so it is actually barely higher on the inlet/outlet end...which is good.

Here is the line pushed onto the bleeder. 2.99 at home depot, 1/4" ID

Here is the line running to the reservoir, on the outside of the truck so i can see the air bubbles coming up while pumping.

Because the pedal is disconnected, a screwdriver through the eyelet of the master push rod worked well to pump it.

All this is great, and i saw alot of air coming up, and had to top off a few times. After a while it was solid fluid. At that point i disconnected the line from the bleeder and closed it. Put everything back together and.........................

Still grinds going into reverse!! LOL. It is still barely brushing the clutch. At this point i am stumped....probably just gonna drive it and see what happens over time. I cannot figure this out. The only other thing i can think is the master is junk, but i do not see any fluid inside the cab and the check valve seems to be working because the fluid reservoir doesn't budge when i pump it. I realize this question has been asked a million times but is there anything i did wrong here?

np205 · Apr 8, 2009

Get in the truck and push the clutch down, let it up as fast as possible. This will purge out the air bubbles. Ford clutch's suck to bleed. Do this for a few minutes and then check the clutch. I've always had to do this bleeding the clutch in a ranger.

sfwjesse · Apr 9, 2009

Officially been trying to bleed this for 2 weeks now. I finally lost it tonight and started ripping and tearing the master out completely. I managed to break part of the plastic on the clutch pedal switch housing, but amazingly nothing else was broken. I was crawling all over that truck like a raped ape when i lost my mind......just had it with the failed attempts. It took me about 2 min to get that master out...starting from the beginning.

So..i have tried
1) conventional bleeding
2) bench bleeding
3) gravity bleeding
4) tube from the bleed screw up to the reservoir
5) a little bit of everything

I am convinced something is wrong with the master....either the check valve has a slight leak, or the seal is flexing under pressure, not sure. I do know the previous owner dumped a little motor oil in the reservoir when we were trying to make it drivable the day i bought it. That has since been flushed out but perhaps it ruined the seal. Not sure...but im buying a new one. I know u all will say i am just not bleeding it right, but I am telling you i did, and it should have worked.

What is my best option? Ebay or dealership?

sfwjesse · Apr 11, 2009

$65 at advance auto parts, you reuse the line from the tranny. Bench bled, installed.....didnt work. Used the method of the tube from the bleeder to the resevoir, pumped for like 10 minutes. Seems to have more pedal now...shifts through the gears fine but reverse has a slight grind still. I am going to run it now.....i figure it can only get better as the clutch wears right?? :icon_confused:

...just have the slam it down when im going into reverse

On to the springs now. Turns out the B2 lifting springs are the same size as stock 93 4.0 L ranger springs....DAMN. For now i am attempting the stacked washer lift, just to level the truck a little.

Turns out ball joints on one side are good...the wheel bearings where wicked loose. I pulled them and inspected....looked OK so i just tightened them up and moved on. We will see on side two.

My "new" 93 ranger

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