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Metric or SAE and other questions about a 1983 4x4 Ranger (Long Post)


oldjarhead

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New member and first posting.

I don't own a Ford, but my first six cars were Fords (55, 56, 61, 63, 66, 71).

My query today is on behalf of a 17 year old nephew who recently purchased a well-used and abused 1993 Ranger Splash, 4x4, 4.0, 5 speed. I have acquired for him the earliest Chilton manual for his truck and helped fund some of his needed parts, i.e, clutch and throw out kit, Nickson Clamp-a-Stud repair clamps for all four broken exhaust manifold outlet studs, etc. I want to start his tool set but I don't know if his truck's fasteners are Metric or SAE or a mixture of both.

I did a search for "Metric or SAE" but found no posts addressing my question.

I would appreciate replies providing whether or not one of the two standards is used on the truck - or whether it is a mixture and he will need sets of both SAE and Metric tools. I know he will need socket sets as well as wrenches, including Allen wrenches. If there are any commonly required special tools, I would appreciate knowing about them as well.

I started helping my nephew soon after he brought home his truck. He had found it on a local website and bought it without realizing just how many problems it had. I was initially worried that he had wasted his money, but I gradually have come to think he has bought a perfect vehicle for learning good lessons about buying and maintaining a vehicle.

I also would like to get opinions as to how big a tire "should" be used on this truck. It does not appear to have been "raised" or have any non-stock suspension parts. The current tires are "31x10.5x15" and stick out three inches beyond the fender flares. I think these tires, almost bald, are too large and might contribute to driveability issues, especially offloading in the rock-littered trails in the nearby Cumberlands. My thinking is that he should eventually replace these wheels and tires with smaller tires that won't over tax his old, poorly-maintained truck's suspension, engine and brakes. If there are safety or operational limits regarding his choice of wheels and tires, I would appreciate feedback.

I am also interested in help with ideas about repairing his non-working electric-selectable front wheel drive (4x4 activation). He and a buddy bought and installed a new t-case actuator - that had no effect. I read that the new actuator's electrical connection required changing wire terminals to match the OEM part, but I don't really understand what that would entail. If the wire rearranging IS a requirement, can he still pull the connector and change the wiring configuration? If yes, where can we find the correct configuration? (The old actuator was tossed without realizing of the possible need to copy the wiring connections.)

I have suggested he and his (young but trained mechanic) buddy try to use a vacuum pump to test the front hubs to see if they are actually capable of engaging. They haven't got that far, but I would like to know if buying and installing a set of appropriate Warn-brand manual locking hubs is a way to solve the issue of the hubs engaging. If yes, what, if any, other parts of the front-wheel-drive activation chain of devices will we have to troubleshoot and possibly repair or replace?

And one last issue. The vehicle ignition key and switch will not engage the starter when the key is turned to the "start" point. One of my nephew's buddy's Dad jury-rigged a loose-laying (on top of the dash, next to the left end of the dash) SPST momentary toggle switch that does engage the starter with the key held at the "start" point. I thought the ignition switch had a bad contact at the "start" point, but then I realized that might not be the problem because he has to hold the key in the start point while he holds the toggle switch in the "on" position. I would appreciate thoughts on what parts of the ignition system may be at fault.

Thanks in advance for your help and insights.

MDC
 


ericbphoto

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Wow. First of all, congratulations to him. Regarding fasteners, my ‘93 seems to be mostly metric. I don’t think it was completely metric when it was new. And I have made some changes that have added mor SAE Fasteners. Metric wrenches will give him a good start. Most socket/ratchet sets come with metric and SAE, so a socket set would be helpful. He’ll need Allen wrenches.
They’re cheap. Might as well get both types. A set of torx sockets would be good. There are a lot of body and trim fasteners that use a small torx and/or 7mm socket. Also throw in a T55 size torx socket. I think that’s the size for bed fasteners and maybe seat belt bolts. There’s a big special socket for removing front wheel bearing nuts. It’s cheap and you can get it at local auto parts stores. A drum brake adjuster tool and brake spring removal/ installation tool would also be helpful.

Tires? The door jam sticker, if it’s still there will you ell you the OEM tire size. There are some great articles in the “how to tech” section of this website to help you with tires, wheels, gearing, etc.

93 should not have vacuum hubs. It is a mechanical automatic hub assembly. Personally, I would still recommend replacing them with the Warn manual hubs. That is an easy project. There is a great tech article about troubleshooting the electric shift system for the transfer case. That should help. But often, it just requires cleaning the electrical contacts in the gearbox on the shift motor.

For the ignition problem, it sounds like the starter relay may be bad. That’s usually mounted up on the driver side fender under the hood. I haven’t worked on a 4.0l truck though, so his might be in a slightly different place.
 

alwaysFlOoReD

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The key portion activates a rod that goes down the column to the actual switch. Make sure it hasn't moved enough to stop the rod from moving the switch the correct amount.
 

adsm08

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Check the door jamb for the factory tire size. 15 inch wheels were standard on 4x4 Rangers that year, 31x10.50 was an optional tire size. I believe 215/75/15 was the standard size for a 4x4.

The auto hubs up to 1997 were not vacuum actuated, they were mechanically actuated by the motion of the front axle shaft inside the hub once the transfer case engaged. If the 4x4 lights come on the transfer case should be completing the shift in 4wd since the light works off a switch that needs the parts to actually be in the 4wd positions before it closes.

If the light does not turn on then further trouble shooting of the electrical portion is in order. You can also test the hubs by jacking both front wheels off the ground and spinning the front drive shaft by hand, this will actuate the hubs and lock them if they do work. If replacing them with manual ones be aware that the bearing retention hardware is not the same, nor is it compatible between the two. Auto hub hardware will not fit inside a manual hub, and manual hub hardware does not have the cam to actuate an auto hub. The two sets of hardware are interchangeable as to their fitment to the spindle. Manual hub bearing nuts need a special socket to be installed properly, socket is available at most parts stores.

Hardware should all be metric by 93.

Hard to say what may be wrong with the starter circuit without knowing how the second switch is wired in.
 

4x4junkie

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My '94 seems to be about 80-90% metric. There is some amount of SAE stuff on it though (the axle internals for example I know are SAE), so yeah, plan on having both sets of tools around.

31x10.50R15 (265/75R15) was a factory option tire size starting in 1993, so you should not be taxing anything at all by having that size tire on it (many of us even run 35x12.50R15 tires w/o issue). Stock wheel offset IIRC is +12mm (or 15x7" w/4.5" backspace), so if the tires seem like they're sticking out too far, the wheels on it might not be stock (or it has wheel spacers on it).

×3, the Warn manual locking hubs are a good way to add some reliability to the 4WD system (a swap to a manual-shifted transfer case would eliminate the other weakness that is shift actuator, however it seems in general the locking hubs are the problem 70-80% of the time).
 

oldjarhead

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Thanks to all who read and/or replied to my post. I apologize for my delayed acknowledgement. I managed to contract an issue that messed up my vision and I couldn't use my tablet.

I appreciate every bit of information and will work with my nephew to help him fix the issues we can.

I took your advice about SAE vs. Metric tools and bought him a new/old stock Craftsman set that has about 190 pieces, with only about 30 being Allen wrenches and driver bits. It included the standard array of 6 and 12 point sockets in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 inch sockets in SAE and Metric, with all three wratchet wrenches. Unfortunately, it included only six combination wrenches and no way to store more. I'll look for a deal on a good set to expand his "set." It all came in a sturdy blow-molded case with a spot for each tool. It remains to be seen whether or not he will figure out that he needs to put each tool back when he uses it. I did luck out when I found the set on the last day of Amazon's recent Prime Days sale. It was 50% off the Amazon seller's asking price of $99.99 - a great deal at $50.00.

I will post updates as work progresses.

Again, thank you all for you help.

MDC
 

Bird76Mojo

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Just be sure to tell him your tool loaning policy, and that you won't loan out tools to replace ones he's lost that he should have in his set..
 

oldjarhead

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Mojo..
You're dead on! I am stressing the idea that the case has a labeled spot for every tool and he needs to put every tool back where it belongs and that when the work is done, any empty spot means a missing tool that needs to be found. We'll see what happens. Dealing with him sometimes reminds me of the old adage about '...leading a horse to water.'
Thanks..
MDC
 

Josh B

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Does the transfer case shift motor have a 5 wire harness, an eight wire harness, or an 8 wire pigtail harness ??
 

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