1999 Mounty 5.0 aka My Great Bad Idea

[97Sandbox]

I noticed last night as I was creeping past the lower RPM range, there's a lot of vibration that picks up around 3k RPM. It definitely follows engine speed -- not wheel or drive shaft. This afternoon I heard some clunking in neutral with the clutch engaged which I expect is an input shaft bearing on the way out. I'm wondering if the bad input shaft bearing could be causing the vibration too.

Let this be a lesson to everyone: rebuilding your junkyard trans before stabbing it in will probably save you some headache lol. Last I checked, a full bearing and seal kit for an M5R2 was less than $400, I wish I had just gone for it. Oh well, I'm going to keep driving the Mounty and see how bad it gets.

Unrelated: what aftermarket battery terminals do you guys like? The Mounty has the cheap cast kind that crack around the pinch bolt and I'd like to replace them with something that'll hold up better. I saw some brass ones at the store that look more like the OEM terminals, but they're set up to bolt on the cables rather than crimp them on. Easy enough to crimp on some cable lugs, but it seems unnecessary complicated.

 

[CDW6212R]

I have thrown away two pairs of those bolt on type battery connectors, my last two 98's had them. I bought an aftermarket type on Amazon, about $25 or so. I like them, they bolt onto the battery terminal like an OEM connector, but the battery cable attaches on one of the bolts, you crimp on a ring type terminal. That crimped connection was the only tricky part, and it's basically the same as the stock cable connection. So far they are fine after eight years on one truck, four on the last.

Here's a link to one that has all of the bits, I used one that didn't have the heat shrink, they vary a lot in prices;

https://www.amazon.com/Military-Spec-Battery-Terminal-Post/dp/B00X36RILW/ref=pd_ci_mcx_di_int_pref_dp_d_d_sccl_2_5/147-5157555-9534529?pd_rd_w=JWV5L&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c9ed4e5-2a18-4e6a-abb7-6146d9caf259&pf_rd_p=9c9ed4e5-2a18-4e6a-abb7-6146d9caf259&pf_rd_r=VRYDYF3P6FR2F0A7FZXZ&pd_rd_wg=aNy3c&pd_rd_r=500c8dfc-6da8-400a-a877-0709f000e367&pd_rd_i=B00X36RILW&psc=1

 

[410Fortune]

I use marking terminals and
Copper lugs on all of our trucks
I bought a portable hydraulic crimp tool for installing the copper lugs
Never a battery terminal problem again

Get yourself another m5od-r2 and rebuild it, then swap them out! That’s what I’m doing (I have three now)!

 

[97Sandbox]

I use marking terminals and
Copper lugs on all of our trucks

Got a pic? I'd love to see how that comes together.

Get yourself another m5od-r2 and rebuild it, then swap them out! That’s what I’m doing (I have three now)!

I like that idea! I see them fairly often here, usually one or two in my local yard at any given time. And at $250 a pop for the trans/tcase combo, it really wouldn't hurt to have a spare.

 

[97Sandbox]

Can't decide: Trac mats or no mats

One thing I am sure of: this dual bezel is cool enough to make the extra fab work worth it -- love this thing haha

 

[410Fortune]

Go with the Matt’s,
No Matt’s and your feet slide all
Over

That should say “marine terminals” not “marking”

I’ll get some pics sure!

 

[allmyEXes]

Mats.

 

[97Sandbox]

Got a good salvage yard haul today.

• Black Ranger Console (no armrest, sadly)
• Cruise buttons
• 99 Mounty manual
• Battery heat shield (these are always missing)
• Manual with tilt steering column cover (because I broke a couple tabs on mine)
• Grille/headlight cover with socket trays
• Lots of misc hardware I needed

And it only cost $25!

I'm excited to get it all cleaned up and installed.

 

[97Sandbox]

Both cruise buttons light up woohoo! The last OEM set I found was burned out on the on/off side and the last aftermarket set I found was 95-97 blue, not 98+ green. The latter set was in an '01 Sport oddly enough -- I guess the color mismatch didn't bother them, but it does me.

Unfortunately, the socket tray grille cover does not work with the later Mounty grille -- oh well.

I fixed a few of the broken areas on the console and cleaned it up. I really wish it had the armrest and lid, but I'm thinking I may just put on a grey armrest and lid whenever I find them. Or I may just switch it out for a grey console at that point. Either way, I'm glad to have the console, I've never seen a black one before and it'll go well with the trac flooring.

I started the process of getting the Mounty ready for the short console. Installed the two plastic clips in front, then drilled out the rivets and pulled off the rear bracket for the full length console. Also drilled holes for rivnuts.

Got the rivnuts in. All I have on hand is standard rivnuts, so these are 1/4" instead of the OEM M6. Once everything is in, though, nobody will be able to tell it's not factory. I also put some plugs (former Ex front door bumper stops) to keep anything from sneaking in the old rivet holes.

Main support bolted in.

The black console looks good with a black first gen cupholder.

I guess the floor pan of a Ranger must be a little different from an Ex -- the console is floating slightly at the back:

That explains why the lower plastic piece said "RANGER SUPERCAB" so specifically haha.

I also had a detour trying to install a headlight bulb lock ring that I picked up. I noticed when I replaced my hood cable that one bulb was siliconed in and the lock ring was missing. I tried an Explorer one, but it was too small for the Mounty headlight. I grabbed two Mounty rings yesterday, but didn't notice one was missing a tab and the other was missing all three. When I went to install the two-tab ring, both tabs broke off. I guess that plastic is too brittle now.

My solution was to cut a thin plastic "washer" and glue it in place against what's left of the broken tabs.

It's holding the bulb in fine for now, but I have a feeling the hot glue and PET plastic won't withstand the summer heat. We'll see.

 

[410Fortune]

There is black upholstery and vinyl spray paint / dye that works very well, could match the armrest to the console. Those black pieces are kinda rare the black dash and fx4 leather seats are super rare

Too bad about the plastic tray, can’t be trimmed to fit merc grill?

 

[97Sandbox]

There is black upholstery and vinyl spray paint / dye that works very well, could match the armrest to the console.

I may just do that, I have a couple extra tan consoles to rob.

Too bad about the plastic tray, can’t be trimmed to fit merc grill?

It's not so much a trimming thing, the holes in the tray don't line up with the holes in the grille so there's nowhere to put the retainer pins. I didn't have this issue on my Sport because I swapped a 97 tray, grille, and bumper all together.

 

[CDW6212R]

I still have my old 93 Limited grey console, minus the arm rest. Those had a slightly larger front cup holder section.

 

[97Sandbox]

I have a 94 limited console in my Sport with the color matched cupholders and like it a lot. Those are getting tough to find. I'm sure shipping a console would be expensive, they're so bulky.

 

[CDW6212R]

Very true, a spare 98 console was very heavy as shipped. The 1st gen console is far lighter, but it's still bulky for sure.

 

[410Fortune]

There are
Like 6 different cup
Holder designs that fit the same console

I collect those consoles and arm rests at the junk yards, getting harder to find
I have a couple of real nice
Blue ones hahahahaha

 

[97Sandbox]

There are
Like 6 different cup
Holder designs that fit the same console

Really? I've seen three I think of, definitely not six. There's a BII/early Ex single cup, later first gen double cup, second gen double cup. What are some of the oddballs like?

I collect those consoles and arm rests at the junk yards, getting harder to find
I have a couple of real nice
Blue ones hahahahaha

If you or anyone else has a light grey leather armrest to spare, I'm very interested. The leather ones don't turn up much around me anymore. I used to see more in Wisconsin actually.

 

[97Sandbox]

I forgot to post an update, I got a battery terminal setup I'm content with. Sort of halfway between OEM and the marine terminal idea.

 

[97Sandbox]

Gave the old rig the first wash in a very long time this afternoon. In an odd way, I enjoy how the Mounty still looks like a boring stock beater from the outside.

But at the same time, I'm excited that I'm finally going to get the tires mounted on the American Racing alloy wheels I picked up last winter. Those are 15x8 with zero offset, so the wheel faces will be about an inch further out compared to stock. I'm curious how the overall look will change. We'll see on Friday!

 

[allmyEXes]

Nice looking beater, mine's more on the "beater" side.

 

[97Sandbox]

Lol you can't see the dented hatch, rusted rocker panels, and holes blown in the rear quarters from driving on gravel roads for 25 years (think slow motion sandblasting).

But thanks! It's still plenty solid for a 4x4 farm rig. And I enjoy the peace of mind not stressing about things like nice paint when my toddler runs past it while holding a prybar.