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Project Little Green Turd


wizkid00104

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New floor board arrived. Hopefully I can get that in on Sunday with the help of my buddy's dad (no welder yet and I lack the skills) :yahoo:



Decided to drain the Peak Super Flush last night and begin disassembling the cooling system. Got some slightly discolored water out and some sediment as well. I am pleased with that product thus far.



After the system was flushed with the garden hose, I pulled the radiator hoses and plugged the bottom hole so I could fill the radiator with white vinegar. It is a weak acid that helps eat away the iron deposits in the radiator. I am just trying to get it as clean as I can. I let is soak for a few hours and got even more sediment out.



I used a "balloon" to plug the outlet...






Radiator neck compared to the new one:




Old thermostat:


Old water pump:




Everything came out rather easily... which scares me. I am replacing the heater hose attached to the water pump. It was really dry rotted near the outlet. I was pleasantly surprised to find the bearings and water pump still in decent shape (205,000 miles on them). I am gonna clean it up and throw it on the shelf for a spare.

I ran out of daylight so tonight I want scrape the old gasket material off and get everything cleaned up.

To remove the water pump, the manual recommended pulling the timing belt cover. I am glad I did this. I found the belt is rather cracked after 20 years of use and the tensioner is tensioning anything either. While I have it apart, I am going to replace those as well. I read the procedure in the Tech Library which was very helpful.

http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/Summer2010/4cyl_timing_belt.shtml



No pressure:


Pressure:


The parts are in stock at one of the local Advances, so I am going to pick them up tonight or tomorrow. I think the only other tool I need for the timing belt is a 3 jaw puller. I'll probably just get a loaner from Advance for now.

:icon_cheers:
 


wizkid00104

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Finished the cooling system and timing belt on Saturday.

Pulled the radiator flushed it really well with the garden hose and then let the vinegar soak in it for about 6 hours. It really does help remove the deposits in the radiator.



Got the idler, tensioner, and crankshaft pulleys off.





Lined up my marks



Had to rent the pulley tool to remove the inner part of the crankshaft pulley.





New idler tensioner pulley:



Didn't take any photos of the new belt installed, but I had to put it on and take it off 3 times to get alignment markings to match up. One of the pulleys rotated ever so slightly and it through me off.

New water pump:



Replaced all the coolant hoses. Decided to clean up the coolant temp sensor which proved to be a good idea.





All done:







So far it looks all good. Engine runs smoother with less ticking than before.

Here are some shots of the old timing belt. It was time to replace it:





Didn't get to the floor pan yet, but I will soon enough...

:beer:
 

wizkid00104

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Got the floor pan done 2 weekends ago with some major help from my buddy's dad. Learned quite a bit about sheet metal work which I knew nothing about.













This past Saturday, I fill in an voids with bondo so i had a nice clean seal around the edges and then Monstalined the floor. So far, i am very impressed with the Monstaliner. It was about 1000 times better that the Duplicolor Bed Armor I tried on my bed.



There was some damage in trying to get the old seat mount out.







Passenger's side was pretty good.







Monstaliner 1 Gallon Kit



Cleaned everything with MEK Substitute (Methyl Ethyl Ketone is apparently very dangerous and tough to get a hold of on shorty notice), sanded with 120 grit to rough everything up real good, wiped it down again and brushed the Monstaliner on. You are suppose to mix the whole kit together at once but that was wayyyy too much. I did 14 oz liner and 2 oz catalyst and mixed with a wooden stick. Worked like a charm.







While this was drying, I replaced the passenger's side rear axle seal because it was leaking. There was gear lube everywhere. Cleaned it all up and put in some new Lucas 80W90.





Posi was still in good shape and no abnormal wear on the ring gear.





Diff cover was still in good shape as well. Loosened up the bearing cap clamps, applied a new gasket, and tightened everything back up.

Got the interior back together to go wheeling with Seth and Nick at West Co. Sunday afternoon. I rode with Seth as I decided not too attempt to break my truck right before inspection... which I will get to shortly...

I learned 2 things on Sunday.
1. Slippery rocks make Ohio-ans very rough on their equipment. Hilarity ensues... "You're going to push him with your tail gate.... 'SLAM' ... He's free." :icon_rofl:
2. I need to build bumpers, sliders, and a really good belly skid plate before wheeling with Nick and Seth. I also need more spare parts.





Took the Ranger to get inspected today... and it failed :pissedoff:... the story of my life. My replacement rear seal did not seal... I believe it is wear on the axle shaft itself that is the problem. I have an extra shafts in the shed from my old 7.5 that never had anything bigger than 30" tires on them. The ones in my 8.8 had 35s before I became owner. Hopefully cleaning this seal up and replacing the shaft will solve the problem.

I also need a new driver's side e-brake cable. The current one has siezed... shocking. This is the 3rd or 4th e-brake cable on that side. And I use the e-brake constantly to prevent this... I can't win. The frozen cable has ruined on of the shoes on the driver's side. The bad seal on the passenger's side "ruined" the shoes there because it is a technical liability.... I at least can understand that. So tomorrow will be spent replacing more crap. This is the 4th or 5th set of shoes since I've owned this. I go through 2 sets of shoes to one set of front pads... which I find very unusual :annoyed:

And finally, they gave checked my alignment and gave me the printout so I can tune in my adjustable bushings. I post that tomorrow :beer:
 
Last edited:

wizkid00104

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So here is the alignment report I received. For my adjustments, I used the initial values because the final values are measured after the wheels have been turned which changed the numbers some. The initial would be from driving the truck straight onto the machine.



It's definitely out of alignment, but I am not too upset considering I aligned it in my unlevel driveway using a protractor that is accurate to maybe 1 degree.

Anyway, I created a little table to make sure my calculations were correct.



I followed this logic:
1. Remove my current adjustments from the numbers given on the laser report. This will give me numbers if the bushings were set a zero camber and caster.
2. Pick a value to shoot for in the caster because caster was more out of alignment than the camber in my case. Use alignment chart to make sure caster was obtainable and still have adjustment available for camber.
3. Pick a camber value to shoot for. Use the chart to cross reference from the selected caster to find new bushing code.
4. Add the new adjustment values to check what the end result should be.

These are the instructions on the bushing:


And this is the alignment table I followed for my bushings:


I may have them take one more reading after I adjust it... I am not positive if I want to spend the $30 again though. I just want to know how much error there could be in doing this mathematically instead of my measuring... because I know there will be some.
 

wizkid00104

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I re-checked the axle seal the other night and the seal was fine.



I did notice some play in the axle shaft when it was installed so I measured it to the shafts out of my old 7.5 rear end because 28 spline 7.5 and 28 spline 8.8 use the same axle shafts. It was approx. 0.020-0.030 smaller in diameter that the 7.5 shafts. I remember when I bought the axle that the guy who had it on his Ranger said he was running 35s. I'm guessing that contributed to the shaft wear. You could actually feel the wear on the shaft near the seal as well. Replaced the shafts with my spares and everything fits more snug.

7.5 shaft:


Worn 8.8 shaft:


I have also decided that I will remove the axle shafts when I do drum brakes from now on. SOOOOOO much quicker and easier to without the axle shaft in the way.

With any luck, the Ranger will pass inspection today... but we will see. :beer:

Next up is to finally put the 50/50 coolant in it. Still just running distilled water. Then adjust the alignment continue sealing the new floor pan from the outside and painting it. Then maybe the F250 will get some TLC :icon_thumby:
 

wizkid00104

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Ranger passed inspection! Now I just have to change the distilled water to coolant and finish painting underneath. :icon_thumby:

Getting ready got camp this weekend.



Had to change the quad brake pads this week. I discovered they were a bit worn...





:icon_cheers:
 

wizkid00104

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Wrecked the quad Saturday... bounced off the trail and hit a "small" rock...





It didn't mess my suspension up though, so for now I will just leave it as is.

Yesterday I ordered 2 shutz guns (1 for oil and 1 for bed liner/Chassis Saver) from Monstaliner and picked up 2 gallons of bar and chain oil to undercoat the Ranger.

I also picked up some fittings to a little bit of modifying to my compressor. To shut the air off, I had to turn the regulator down all the way. I added (2) Harbor Freight 3/8" full port shutoff valves and a 3/8" air filter/water separator. No I can shut my air off and I have a fitting that will be acceptable for spraying bed liner and eventually paint.

Before:





After:







:beer:
 

wizkid00104

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I got 2 new schutz guns in on Friday. One is for bed liner and the other is for bar and chain oil.



Tested the oil out this weekend and it worked well at 50 psig. It spatters the goop out of the gun and it sticks well to rusted metal. I tested it on the stake and a little bit under the truck. It goes on really goopy, and then a little bit runs off, and it leaves a very nice slippery coating on the metal. I am going to clean the mud out from under the Ranger before applying any more. I have a little more sealing work to do on my floor pans too.



Friday night, I used a little trailer and picked up some decent size logs with my neighbor. Not sure how much every thing weighed, but I reached load capacity... As I was going up a hill in 2nd gear with my foot to the floor I was slowing down. I will leave the towing to the F250 from now on. I only took the Ranger because I needed to maneuver into some tight spots.



I am getting laser eye surgery this week and if my eyes are good enough, I am going to work on it Thursday and Friday. The weather looks good so I will have to wait and see.
 

wizkid00104

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Just checked my coolant again. It has a lot of crud in it. I may have ran the distilled water a bit too long. Looks like I will be flushing thing system again.... Lesson learned.


Sent from my iPhone
 

wizkid00104

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Patch the remaining floor board holes from the bottom with tiger hair tonight. Found that it is much easier to apply it with fingers than those stupid spudgers...

I also undercoated the truck with bar and chain oil. I did skip over the floorboards for now. I am going to spray them with bedliner first. I am very happy with the results of the oil. I have used less than a 2 quarts. Should be at about 3 quarts when it is all said and done.

I cleaned some of the dirt off before spraying the oil. Could've been cleaner but oh well. i put the truck on jack stands, pulled the tires, placed cardboard in the front wheel wells to protect the engine, covered the brakes with rags, and covered the exhaust with rags. Took me about an hour to spray the oil in all the knooks and crannies.

Before:








After:




















Not the greatest photos, but I am please with the results so far. :beer:
 

88_Eddie

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how was the eye surgery? i want to get it, but i dont think my eyes are bad enough.

never heard of the bar/chain oil? what's the point? keep dirt and shit from sticking to the undercarriage?
 

wizkid00104

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how was the eye surgery? i want to get it, but i dont think my eyes are bad enough.

never heard of the bar/chain oil? what's the point? keep dirt and shit from sticking to the undercarriage?
It was great. I was 20/25 in my left and 20/20 in my right the next day. I had PRK which is different than LASIK. I won't go into the details (just look them up). I had contacts in for 5 days after the surgery and have to keep drops in my for a month. For me relatively painless. Nothing ibuprofen couldn't handle. Surgery took 45 minutes from the time I walked in till I walked out. The first 5 days after the surgery there was a lot of blurryness from the contacts and sensitivity to light. A week out, I am very happy. The consultations for it are free. It couldn't hurt to get the evaluation and ask questions. I went to LASIK Vision Institute which is nationwide.

I got it off an old VW site. Bar and chain oil is very viscous so it sticks well. Coat all the metal underath to prevent corrions from the lovely rock salt and brine we deal with in the winters up north. As an added bonus, bar and chain oil has phosphoric acid in it which reacts with rust in the same way naval jelly does (it eats it and turns it black). Its all in the spirit of rust protection. I found that the Chassis Saver paint helped a ton, but it isn't perfect. This should assist further in protection. The best part is it is cheap. $7 gallon is what I paid for the oil and $15 for the gun.
 

wizkid00104

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Monstaliner

Cab bed liner went on last night. It looks fantastic! I sprayed at 50 psi. I tried bumping it to 70 and it really fined out the mist. I was happier at 50,

Before and Afters:












I did my skid plate too. I sprayed the bottom with 3 light coats and got a very nice finish. I sprayed the top with 2 heavy coats and you can see the texture difference. I was just trying to use the rest of the liner I mixed so I figured what the hell :icon_thumby:













I'll spray the rest of the oil on Sunday :beer:
 

Divh

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what are you using as under coat
 

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