Mn Mountaineer

[johnny499]

Hi There.
I have followed many threads on the forum over the years and never really had much to contribute. I have been without a ranger for a daily driver for about six months for the first time since I was 18 years old. I didn't think I would miss it but I very much did. So I went on the hunt for a supercab ranger that I could do a SAS on and 33" tires. I almost bought a roached but not all rusted 93' but every body panel was dented and the tranny was bad. So I passed on that one. I was talking to my buddy about looking in his area when he asked why not look at explorers also because I already have a full size truck for hauling and towing. I included those in my search, after looking for a good deal on those it hit me to look at mountaineers and aviators for a plusher, more optioned ride. After a couple weeks of watching for a good deal I came across a 98' mountaineer with a V8 and an overheating issue. :biggthump
I went and looked at it as soon as I could and picked it up for $600, filled it with antifreeze and drove it two miles home.

I found the anti freeze leak the following night.

Some people should not work on cars apparently.....
So with plenty of antifreeze, a new thermostat, gasket, upper hose and bypass hose I had less than $50 in fixing the over heating problem. Well almost a few days later I noticed that the over flow tank level was not changing and the radiator was loosing just a little every time I checked it. I figured the radiator cap may be bad and I figured I would check the overflow tank passages. It turned out the hose was plugged, a little blow gun action fixed that.
Now for the planned upgrades.
High pinion d44 narrowed SAS.
Modified radius arms with rebuildable joints.
High steer conversion if necessary.
First gen Steering gear or beefier.
SOA modification to rear.
4.56 gears
Locker/posi front and rear.
Selectable 4wd transfer case(model yet to be determined)
Custom drive shafts
33" tires (model to be determined)
Shocks
Retain ABS for the road, I have to dig up my bronco hubs to compare the tone rings for the front axle to see if it's possible.
High flow exhaust.
Cold air box and intake tube.
My most recent project is the tow rig in my sig. Check it out if your curious about my ability.
That's the basic list for now.

 

[FR-425]

$650.00... ..... .. That qualifies as a stolen vehicle!

 

[koda2000]

wow! i wish i could find another Mountaineer like that for $600. it's amazing the stupid stuff people will do. i work on a lot of classic cars, so they've been messed with a lot over their lives, and i run into stuff like that all the time. i like the way the bug deflector looks in flat/semi flat black. i have one on my '01 EB that i think i may paint.

 

[johnny499]

$650.00... ..... .. That qualifies as a stolen vehicle!

Just about. It does have 205,000 miles on it and some rust behind the running boards, a spot above the windshield and little blisters in rear wheel Wells. I didn't have the money to spend really but couldn't pass it up. It was like buying a set of tires and getting the truck for free.

wow! i wish i could find another Mountaineer like that for $600. it's amazing the stupid stuff people will do. i work on a lot of classic cars, so they've been messed with a lot over their lives, and i run into stuff like that all the time. i like the way the bug deflector looks in flat/semi flat black. i have one on my '01 EB that i think i may paint.

Working in the automotive world has shown me all kinds of new ways not to do things as well. The bug shield is actually really salt and sun faded, it has a faded mercury symbol on the passengers side so I think it may be original. I'm amazed at how good it looks for the miles on it in MN.

 

[johnny499]

Well after driving it for a week with no other cooling system issues i started making it mine. The first thing i did was to install a Python 991 remote start and alarm unit.

After driving it through the remainder of the winter i decided the AWD was for the bird's. I found a BW4406 and the required drive shaft's for just over three hundred dollars. I picked it up from the JY and had it installed to drive home the same night in two wheel drive.

I got the shifter and front shaft installed the next day.
I drove it around for a while before i was finally able to get a shift boot installed.

This returned the sound level to normal inside the cabin. I had also done a double bend to the shifter to get it away from my leg.

I also replaced the flattened front seats with some from an 84' thunderbird. They bolted right to the factory rails.
Then I decided to start getting things together for the SAS. So I went out to my parents and retrieved the front axle from a 78' bronco.

Got it home and stripped everything off of it. Started the conversion by removing the outer C from the passengers side and cutting 6"s of the tube off.

Cleaned up the tube and started tapping the C back on.

I used a tape measure from the floor to get an initial alignment before i pounded it home on the tube. To my amazement it was a couple light taps away from perfect after i compared the two ends with the angle finder.

I used a welding rod with high nickle and chrome content to weld the C to the tube. I also welded the center section to the tubes at the same time.

Then i cut off the factory lower panhard bar mount and ground the welds to make them look nicer. Doing three passes an inch or so at a time was a little ugly.

I wasn't really ready to pull the trigger on the order from Ballistic Fab for my suspension pieces but they had the 20% off sale for the fourth of July and couldn't pass that up.

I pulled the gear set and took the housing down to the car wash to clean it up.

Threw down a coat of primer.

Two coats of semi gloss black.

The chromoly ealry bronco shafts and gear set showed up.

 

[johnny499]

A couple weeks ago i snagged all of the pieces to do the EATC conversion for $50. I found the schematics and made a new harness with all of the connectors and flying leads i cut out with all of the components. Now i just need to make time to get it installed.

 

[koda2000]

nice job! keep the pics coming. BTW, i found this gem on craigslist. i'm really temped, but i have too many projects now (and too many gen II's) and it's about a 2 hour drive to check it out in person and assuming the water leak isn't something obvious it would be a bit of a pig-in-a-poke. the outside looks pretty clean though...

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/4541346689.html

 

[johnny499]

Thanks!
That one looks really clean but a 2 hour drive is a bit much when you don't know the real problem. Though i would have gone that far for one with little or no rust. Which pretty much isn't an option up hear, Dang salt....

 

[koda2000]

Thanks!
That one looks really clean but a 2 hour drive is a bit much when you don't know the real problem. Though i would have gone that far for one with little or no rust. Which pretty much isn't an option up hear, Dang salt....

i heard ya. if i was in the market for another truck i would probably make the effort to check it out. a 5.0 leaking water could just be the timing cover, but who knows (especially on a repo). rust-free down here is pretty much a given.

 

[swshawaii]

Good job! I enjoy stories like this. Still appalling to think of the perfectly functional Explorers that were destroyed in 2009.

http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.co...Top-Cash-for-Clunkers-Trade-Ins-and-New-Cars/

 

[pbnj22]

Good to see a fellow Minnesotian on here that has to deal with nasty rust and salt!

 

[johnny499]

Good job! I enjoy stories like this. Still appalling to think of the perfectly functional Explorers that were destroyed in 2009.

http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.co...Top-Cash-for-Clunkers-Trade-Ins-and-New-Cars/

Thanks!
Appalling doesn't even begin to cover my feelings on that feel good move to put people farther in debt, put a band aid on the economy and print more monopoly money to cover it. But i digress it hurts a little more that the explorer was the biggest loser amongst the vehicles.

 

[johnny499]

Good to see a fellow Minnesotian on here that has to deal with nasty rust and salt!

Thanks for that, born and raised in the rust belt. On the bright side not everybody can have such a diversity of seasons and toys to go with them.

 

[pbnj22]

Thanks for that, born and raised in the rust belt. On the bright side not everybody can have such a diversity of seasons and toys to go with them.

lol thats true! anyone snowmobile on lake superior!? probably not! its funny my four snowmobiles are newer, less rusty and in better shape than my explorer! lol

keep the build thread going though im subscribing!

 

[chefduane]

Heh! My whole family is from Minneapolis, but I was born in California. My dad said he'd had enough of shoveling snow! Moved to Cali and I was born. Grew up with good solid Minnesooda folks. My friends had no clue was lefse was!

 

[johnny499]

lol thats true! anyone snowmobile on lake superior!? probably not! its funny my four snowmobiles are newer, less rusty and in better shape than my explorer! lol

keep the build thread going though im subscribing!

My sled is newer than any of my vehicles and is in better shape than the mountaineer! It has been on a few epic trips. I am hoping to see some of the same trails during the summer in the mountaineer that i have been on with the sled.

 

[johnny499]

Heh! My whole family is from Minneapolis, but I was born in California. My dad said he'd had enough of shoveling snow! Moved to Cali and I was born. Grew up with good solid Minnesooda folks. My friends had no clue was lefse was!

I have family in cali. and visited once when i was a kid, i should visit again someday. Ask your friends about lutefisk that should get them going.