Mike65's 2000 Ranger XLT 4X4 Off Road.

[Mike65]

Here is a pic of one of my new wheels .

 

[Mike65]

Purchased a set of dual note horns that are from a 06 F-250 for my Ranger to eliminate the single note wimpy horn. I installed them yesterday. I had to re-bend the mounting bracket & re-index the horns so they point down once they got installed. I purchased a horn plug connector from Rockauto & used my single wire for the power, & ran the ground to a ground screw under the hood.

 

[Mike65]

Got the tires & wheels installed yesterday. The wheels are American Racing Baja AR172 wrapped in Cooper Discoverer A/T3 265/75R-16.

 

[Turdle]

Looks real good with the new shoes!

 

[RKH58]

Looks real good Mike. You're going to like those Coopers. I've had them on my shop truck since October. Best bang for the buck of any of the tires I've had on it.

 

[Varsity]

I like that set-up a lot! Looks good, almost like those Level II Ranger rims!

 

[Mike65]

Thanks for the kind words guys, I like them a lot.

 

[Mike65]

I have been "living" with an engine miss problem for about the last year, it would start to miss under load & I narrowed it down to #-4 cyl. I would replace the spark plug & it would be good for about 1 - 2 months & then act up again. Well about a week ago it acted up again & this time replacing the spark plug did not fix it so I started checking it out & came to the conclusion that it needs to be torn down. Today I finally got the drivers side cyl head off & pulled the valves out of the head for #-4 cyl & found a crack between the valves through the valve seats back up into the head about 1" toward where the valve stem goes through the head. Time to order new heads. It is a poor picture but trust me there is a rather long crack in the head.

 

[SPSully]

the good news is when its all back together with new gaskets, you wont have to worry about the head gasket failure that plagues these motors

 

[Mike65]

Pulled the passengers side head off today & found it is cracked in the same spot as the drivers side, but not as bad.

 

[Mike65]

Ordered the cyl heads, gaskets, water pump, new fan blade, plugs, wires, lifters, idler pulley, fuel injector O rings, new exhaust manifold studs & nuts & I bought the lower intake gasket from Ford. Just waiting for everything to arrive, should have it here by Friday, then the fun begins, reassembly.

 

[Mike65]

Today is parts cleaning & reassembly prep.

 

[Mike65]

Today I removed the water pump & cleaned the timing cover & the block to get it ready for reassembly this weekend.

 

[Mike65]

Installed the new cyl heads, water pump, rebuilt rocker assemblies, new lifters, push rods, & hooked up the r/s exhaust today.

 

[Mike65]

Today I installed the intake, P/S pump, A/C Compressor, Valve Covers, & thermostat & housing.

 

[Mike65]

Installed the upper intake, throttle body, new fan, fan shroud, alt & bracket, new heater & radiator hoses, & misc wires & vacuum lines.

 

[Mike65]

Had to make a run to the hardware store for a couple metric bolts to attach the y pipe to the exhaust manifold that broke when taking it apart. The bolts I used were M10-1.50 x 70MM which were about 1/2" too long but I used a spacer so I did not have to run back to the hardware store again. I installed the l/s exhaust manifold & attached the y pipe.

 

[Mike65]

Today I installed the spark plugs, plug wires, filled the cooling system & started it up. It started on the very first crank. I ran it until the engine came up to operating temp & shut it off to let it cool & recheck the coolant level. After a couple hours I had to top off the coolant & took it for a ride for a few miles, temp was good & it ran great. Now I have an exhaust leak where the y pipe meets the front cat conv the gasket blew out & the tail pipe is rusted out at the back of the muffler. Time for a new exhaust system. Here is a link to the system I ordered; http://www.autoanything.com/exhausts-mufflers/61A2281A0A0.aspx

 

[SPSully]

makes me want to pull my motor and rebuild the ranger

 

[Mike65]

makes me want to pull my motor and rebuild the ranger

It was not hard just time consuming. The hardest part for this "old man" was lifting the new heads onto the block.