Wow- it's been a busy few years...
Funny this comes up now soon after someone posts that I've not been on here for two years...
The job I was at in 2013 was a depression causing downer, that sucked all of my time and made me hate waking up on weekdays. I hated it, and it made me withdraw from a lot due to stress. I have since changed jobs, I am doing another swap, have other projects... too many projects I think.
To update- I've been driving this truck as my workhorse for the past two years- awesome!!
Just got new snow tires for 2015, first time ever WITH STUDS!! For the Canadian winters. I can drive in 4wheel drive in sh*t weather like I do with my car on dry pavement. OMG I love this truck!!
The slave cylinder failed this summer, probably because I didn't have the aluminum spacer plate between the engine and bellhousing and I surmise that dirt got in there and caused premature failure. (I also used an aftermarket slave from Rockauto, which may have been a contributing factor.
Also the concentric slave is a god awful design. Internal? Is there any advantage to this over an external one?
So this time I replaced everything with as much Ford OEM parts as I could.) With everything out of the truck, I replaced the rear mail seal, resurfaced the flywheel, replaced the clutch, pilot bearing pressure plate, throwout bearing, slave, front and rear tranny seals and front and read Tcase seals, as well as the front diff seal, which was leaking. I figured I didn't want to be doing the removal again anytime soon due to a 20 dollar seal, or other part.
When I put it all back together, it got even better. I learned more about the hydraulics. When I first built it, I bought the ranger clutch pedals from a wrecker and they gave me the clutch master cylinder with it, so I just installed that. Mistake. So this summer I replaced it with an F150 master cylinder which has a larger bore- 18mm vs 16mm for the Ranger, which equates to about 25 percent more fluid flow when you push the pedal. The Ranger is a smaller engine, smaller clutch and weaker fingers on the pressure plate. I didn't figure that into my original thought process when I did the original build.
I also learned how to bleed the clutch properly, outside the truck, upside down to have absolutely no air in the system.
That's why I posted that it drove like a truck. The pedal had to be right to the carpet, 'cause I wasn't pushing enough fluid, and I had residual air in the hydraulics. It would engage the clutch if I let it up 1mm- I had to always be careful when I was driving, and if I got lazy, it could grind gears.
As a result of these two improvements, it has a more car-like feel now. Much more refined, civilized. Easy and fun to drive now.
I also have a friend who is a genius- he made me a small computer controller module that allows me to use the factory buttons on the dash for the T-case shifter. He has the plans had a few extra circuit boards made when he did mine, and he might be willing to make more if anyone else does this swap.
I think I never posted pictures because in 2013 because I couldn't figure out how to post pics from my computer. I just posted two on the SHOforum (where I spend a bit more time) since I can post from a file on my computer. (I hope they don't get removed from there cause they are unrelated to the post I put them in.)
Here are a two I had on my phone from when I was done, with the 1- 1/2" body lift and the Ranger wheels with bigger rubber.
That's me beside the truck- I can't wait until I get my licence !!