D-Ranged

This is my Ranger. There are many like it, but this one is mine. I'm updating the beginning of the thread with how it progressed. To follow along, you can see some of it here, the rest is on The Ranger Station and Pirate. Just search D-Ranged. This thread isn't much different than what you would see on those forums, but a couple people asked me to post up about it on here too, so here you go. Also, I'm in the process of fixing all the bad links to pictures.


It started life simple. A 1 owner, ultra clean 94 4.0/5speed/4x4. I immediately removed the dear hoof wheels and installed some cheap aluminum ones.

Then a few months later, I put on a small lift, but not the tires... hey, the 31s still had tread and I was a lance corporal that lived in the barracks... cut me slack

tires finally wore out, bought some used 33s and a stupid roll bar thing

then i got a free drivetrain out of a FSB, and put it in (god this thing was SCARY to drive)

then i went to Loftis Motorsports in El Cajon, CA to get a SAS done

then I put an 06+ front clip on it

then i put a big ass bumper on it, a winch, added some lockers, and met up the Explorer Forum guys in Truckhaven in 2011.

oh yea, and painted it Screamin' Yellow.

I ran the 35s for a while, even took it to Moab,

and when they wore out, I stepped up to a set of 37s

added a doubler,

and took it to the rubicon. Alone. Don't EVER do that, especially on a trail that 600 miles from home and you drove your rig there

Then I moved to Kentucky for school and things went drastically south.

 

[josh40601]

so you are going the SAS route and not the prerunner route. Good idea

 

[josh40601]

well, while the T-Case is at the shop being welded up, I went and worked on D doing a lot of the little things that i have been trying to not pay attention to. With me turning this one back into a DD after the Rubicon, I want to get as much knocked out as possible.

First, the A/C. The A/C hasn't worked for almost 2 years, so i replaced everything in the system other than the condensor. Heater Core, compressor, lines, and acumulator. Now it works like a charm.

Second was the rough running.... I had no idea what this was. I assumed the new top end had smoked the bottom end of the engine and i would just have to limp it until KY. I was wrong. When i pulled off my gangster-ass Autozone intake tube, i noticed that the radiator hose clamp had cut a hole in the tube. So i figured, this might not help, but it sure couldn't hurt to cover up that little hole. Slapped some electrical tape on, WAH-LAH!! Runs better now than EVER.

3. Jeep thingy. The one I snagged at the JY was plastic, and my buddy Mike from KY sent me one that he had that was alluminum. I like it better, so i took the old one out, put the new filler neck in, and painted the alluminum Jeep Thingy hammered black. Mounted everything up and very pleased with how much better it looks.

4. Passenger Window Motor. The passenger side window motor went out, so i had to replace it. After getting the new one in, I realized the old one was held in with rivets. So i ground them done, knocked them out, and installed the new motor. When i was installing the glass, i over tightened one of the bolts i used to put it all back together and shattered the glass. Dumbass. So i had to go to the border and get a window, then get it installed.

5. Header Panel. When i took the truck to Maaco, they didn't remove the grille to paint the header panel, so it was still red. Which is ugly and annoyed me, so i took the grille out, used my "close enough Yellow" spray paint and gave the header panel a fresh coat.

After the header panel dried, I decided to put my FX4 grille back on instead of the chrome one. I like it. All black and yellow now, minus the lights, which i will do one of these days.


Drove the truck to work today, and it runs so much better than before. Hopefully i will pull better than 14.6 MPG now....

Here are some pics of the finished product....

 

[specialized7]

This is one of my faviourite rangers. Good job buddy!

 

[josh40601]

Thank you!! That is awesome that it's one of your favorites.

 

[PAshooter]

I think your ranger is one of alot of peoples favorites. Its awesome.

 

[josh40601]

wow man, thanks so much!

 

[josh40601]

Worked on the truck last night for ENTIRELY too long. Took some 3/16" hot rolled and cut it down to match the frame. This is entirely too thick for what i needed, 1/16" would have sufficed. Whatever. Anyway, with the fuel lines and wiring running along that side, i wanted to be sure i didn't burn into them, so i kept a spray bottle close and soaked everything with water. The welder did not like this. As you can see below, my welds look like **** (what else is new) but they penetrated good enough.

Anyway, i mounted the air tank on the frame. I type too much

Pictures.

My gangster welds

side shot

Then i took some sheet metal and mounted the air chuck or whatever its called.

 

[josh40601]

Another update!

Just picked the doubler back up from the weld shop. Going up to my buddy's to build the crossmember and install the whole mess this weekend. There will be pics.

 

[josh40601]

Update~

Well, i had a busy ass weekend...... DOUBLER IS IN!


Now that is out of the way, time for the fun....

This thing was a *****. It didn't want to go in. At all. Fought me and my buddy every chance it got.

Here is the end product as of today...

 

[josh40601]

also messed around under the hood.

The hood latch from the 05 edge was just bolted on the core support and was always flopping around, so i decided to permenantly attach it to its new home.


First i just tacked in on there so it would stop moving.

Then i burned everything in. was pretty thin, so i burnt through twice, but filled it back in. Still look like boogers, but at least they're penetrating...

Ground it down, slapped some satin black on it. Called it good

 

[josh40601]

Stuff I need to get finished before i can go wheeling again (Sunday)

1. New rear driveshaft DONE
2. speedometer cable ORDERED
3. move shifter forward DONE
4. cut hole in access panel
5. add skid plate to bottom of crossmembers
6. Fix Fuel Sending Unit.... Again.... DONE
7. hook up the air tank again

 

[RockRanger]

What shifter do you have to move forward? I just used a 1350 shifter from the junkyard and it bolted right up.

 

[josh40601]

As you can see from above, the sending unit **** out on me again. This makes the 3rd time. I have a new one at the house that i am going to install. This is starting to really annoy me.

 

[josh40601]

What shifter do you have to move forward? I just used a 1350 shifter from the junkyard and it bolted right up.

it did bolt right up, but i don't want to cut the floor, i want to cut the access panel. Same thing happened with Kage's Ranger. He had to do a little fab work on his and he was using the same shifter as both you and i

 

[josh40601]

ordered the B2 tank and straps from Rock Auto. Going to "band-aid" the one i have now so i can go wheeling Sunday, but as soon as the new tank gets here, its going in. I just hope i can use the same location for the filler neck....

 

[RockRanger]

Looks like the filler neck location should be pretty close. With your mods to the inside of the bed I do not see why it will not work. You will probably have to cut the bottom support out of the bed to allow it sit higher.

What is wrong with the current tank?

 

[josh40601]

What is wrong with the current tank?

Its too small.

 

[josh40601]

Found out what the issue was with the sending unit..... Truck was out of gas.... I felt like the biggest dumbass on the face of the earth... Whatever. It runs again. I now have a Jerry can in the bed just incase this happens again.


I did do some work on D once i got the truck running again. 1st was install my "smoked" lights. Little dark, but i don't care.

Then it was time to get the crawl box shifter mounted to where i could use it....

1st, here is the stock 1350 shifter that i received when i bought it. It is sleeved so i could use a smaller bolt in the hole i wanted to use on the Transmission Adapter

Then i cut off the shifter handle and cut out a small piece of 3/16" and test fit everything

Once i had it fitting, I burned everything in. Welds are getting much better.

Then i cut a piece of 1/8" plate and made a gusset for the shifter. cleaned it up a bit, and shot a quick coat of paint to keep from rusting

Then just installed it.

My take on the Crawl Box?

WHY THE HELL DID I NOT DO THIS SOONER?!?!

oh man, if you don't have a crawl box, and you rock crawl you RBV, go out and buy/build on ASAP. IT IS AMAZING.

 

[RockRanger]

Its too small.

For some reason I remember that being discussed some where .

You are right I will take a doubler over a solid axle any day of the week in a crawler. It is as important as lockers.

Lift it
Lock it
Gear it
Wheel it
Break it
Fix it

 

[josh40601]

well, I am still only running a locker out back, but going to throw a Spartan or something in the front for the Rubicon.

And yes, you did tell me that the 13 was too small. failure on my part. Hopefully someone will want this one.... but im not holding my breath