Snowball 94 Limited

Hey I'm a long time reader and Just bought my first X Wednesday I love it.

She's a 1994 Limited.Named her Snowball (Sry If someone already had this name) I paid $1500 for her. She got a new Thermostat 2hrs after I bought her cause it locked up on me and over heated in the middle of the road. Her primary duty is going to be as a daily driver/Photography vehicle. I am an avid amateur photographer.

The day after I got her I took her out on her first photo Journey.
Here's some pics.

​

She is replacing the 1989 Ranger my parents let me drive till I found my own and just like the Ranger I couldn't keep her on the pavement for long.

I also found a mound of gravel and flexed the suspension a bit.

​

Her primary purpose will be to get me to college and back and do a little off-roading. She does have some problem but what 16yr old vehicle doesn't. I will eventually get some kind of lift but first is New/Used tires and a MAF.

Leave your opinions did I make a good purchase? What Kind of lift should I get it need to be cheap cause most of my money will be going to School.​

 

[willindsay]

Do you mean the interior panel you broke, or the other half of the hatch handle? It bolts in from the inside of the hatch if you're not familiar...

The interior panel. Ya I knew it bolted from the inside.

I broke the panel trying to get my hand in to try and pull on the rods to open it. It already had a small crack and many scuff marks so this gives me a good reason to replace it.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Ah ok...

 

[willindsay]

Well guys she won't start again. I get all interior lights and I can hear the fuel pump relay and the pump kick in. It's 46degrees out but last night she started up no problem when I went to move here to infront of my dorm.

I'm kinda stumped only thing I can think of is the solenoid on the inner fender. Any sugestions would be great. Really hoping it's simple cause I have only the very basic tools with me.

 

[willindsay]

I really should stop going home!

On Friday I was heading home and everything seemed perfect till I got into a little traffic in Knoxville. I noticed the temp gauge was reading just a bit towards the hot side and didn't think anythig of it since I had been sitting in traffic for a while. Then all of the sudden I start getting smoke from the hood.
I pulled into the closest parking lot and poped the hood. There was antifreeze all over the top of the intake tube and the top half of the engine. Well I called a tow truck cause I didn't have time to mess with it and had it towed to the mechanic. Mechanic said the fan clutch was gone, I was thinking head gasket, I was going to replace it myself cause they wanted $400 to do it. But mom had a cow and had them fix it cause she still doesn't trust me to do it myself. Guess it's just Mom being mom. It made her feel better and she paid for it so I didn't mind too much.

So Now I have a basically all new cooling system they changed all coolant hoses and replaced the fan cause they said it was cracked and the heater hoses cause they blew off.


But now the big issue I think the trans is starting to slip. I notice a thud that kinda feels like something is out of balance at 55and85 in OD but when I put in D it's fine. I haven't checked the fluid yet so I'm hoping it's just a little low. I plan on installing a filter and tranny cooler in the Spring.

 

[MrQ]

Ouch! Coolant issues are the worst PITA on these trucks.

 

[willindsay]

Ouch! Coolant issues are the worst PITA on these trucks.

Ya I seem to be cursed with them.

Oh I forgot to mention the one good thing I'm up to 17mpgs from 15.
If I can make it to 20mpgs I would be thrilled!

 

[MrQ]

I am up to 18-19mpg. It's all in how you drive.

 

[willindsay]

Well first time I've been home and not had a major issue with it.

But I did do some work on her today. I went to Pull A Part today and found some great things. I got:
-2 auto down modules one for the passenger window and one to wire as auto up on drivers.
-2 hatch handles got the best one put on today but had to make a modification to it. I would not make contact with the hatch striker so I found a short screw just bigger than the hole in the rod and screwed it down til it made contact.
-Auto dim mirror. I've never had one of these before and I LOVE IT. But I think my windshield had been replaced at some point because it doesn't fit on the holder. The old one got wider at the bottom but it stays put AND works my lights. Favorite thing ever and it only cost me $6.
-Bunch of Ford emblems and 2 1st Gen Ex emblems and a 2nd gen emblem. Why I don't know but they only charged me a dollar for them all.

The girl also got a oil change with a new Motorcraft filter and 5qts of Mobil 5000.

Oh and just a note for anyone in East TN. They had a 1st Gen with a manual transfer case and all the linkage. If anyone is looking for one.

 

[BrianDye]

When I had my 95 Sport that had the autodim mirror, I loved it, but didnt realize HOW MUCH I loved it. Then when I traded and got the Grand Am without the auto mirror, that had to be like one of the top 3 things I missed.

Let us know how easy the auto module is, I would really love to install one for my driver window up, and possibly one for auto down on ALL the windows. That'd be awesome if its not too much work.

 

[willindsay]

When I had my 95 Sport that had the autodim mirror, I loved it, but didnt realize HOW MUCH I loved it. Then when I traded and got the Grand Am without the auto mirror, that had to be like one of the top 3 things I missed.

Let us know how easy the auto module is, I would really love to install one for my driver window up, and possibly one for auto down on ALL the windows. That'd be awesome if its not too much work.

I will be sure to here is a link on how to do it seems pretty simple. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394/2002-ford-ranger-regular-cab-kennett-square-pa-us?p=22Granted it is on a ranger but should be similar.

 

[willindsay]

Well somehow today I went from just going to vacuum the inside to Hey lets remove the rear swaybar. Man those bolts were a pain I had to use a cheater bar on my ratchet for most of them. I also could see no way to snake it around the shocks. I spent 30min trying every way and it wouldn't come so I broke out the Dremel and cut it in half.
Gotta say it rides a bit smother without it. If i ever need to put one back on there are plenty of 1st gens around so it was no biggie cutting it.

 

[MrQ]

Removed mine when I threw the new axle under. I have noticed a little difference, but since my shocks are limiting my uptravel I have yet to see any decent gains.

 

[willindsay]

Ok yesterday when I had the hood up I noticed something that look a bit odd to me. The tranny line running to the top of the radiator had a little twist/crimp in it. Not sure if it is supposed to be this way or not.
Heres a picture.

If this is not how it is supposed to be can I fix it by cutting the line and putting rubber line in place of it? Or is there a better way? I plan to install a cooler and filter in the spring.

 

[willindsay]

Well just thougt I'd give an update. Haven't done much besides put gas in the tank. This semester is almost over and hopefully I will be able to get more work done on her soon. I'm changing schools to be a photography major and will be alot closet to my tools so I can get stuff done.

First order of business is getting that tranny line fixed as I understand the A4LD is very temperamental.


We got our first good snow here today and I went out and drove around. Gotta say it did pretty great there were a few spots where it was about an inch deep on the road and she went straight through then in 2wd. I did have to put it in 4wd a couple times when I felt it slipping. Tires with more tread would deff have helped but these are still good for a while.

Now on to the pics!

 

[BigRondo]

Looking good Will. The pictures are awesome!

Good luck with your new school. You seem to have a knack for photography. I hope all works out for you!

 

[willindsay]

Looking good Will. The pictures are awesome!

Good luck with your new school. You seem to have a knack for photography. I hope all works out for you!

Thank you. I'm really hoping it all works out too.

Just in case your interested here's my website/portfolio willindsay.com.
And my Facebook Page.

 

[deamon3]

Wow , I liked that one so much I felt like touching it up some

 

[willindsay]

Wow , I liked that one so much I felt like touching it up some

A bit to out of focus for me but still looks pretty good. I left all the scuffs on the front though because it adds character to her.

 

[willindsay]

Couple more pics from today.

 

[Sbyrne97]

Do not put a rubber hose on the tranny line...it may burst off if the ends are not flared...the pressure in the fluid is too high to simply clamp a hose on the pipe. best to get it replaced or just simply see if your trans is acting funny...If you can some how flare the tips only then can you put a hose on it.