410Custom's builds a 2007 Ranger V8 - custom truck build - Project "Ranger Premier"

[BKennedy]

Is the lower bracket the only thing holding the bottom half of the skid plate on?

Maybe tie them together with a piece of flat bar across the back, with carriage bolts or welded studs? I'm not trying to make more work for you...

 

[410Fortune]

Yes that bracket is what holds the plate up, it’s pretty strong. Not “rock bouncer” strong but enough to protect the truck a bit from a whoopsie
I Could spend some time
Making more
Skid plates but we have to leave some
Upgrades for later! Hahaha plus I’ve spent the last 5 days of shop time trying to program the stupid power windows. I’m fed up with it and about to move on. I’m at the point where I think the window automation module may be bad… I mean the friggin windows work great until I arm the alarm. First it would
Roll Down the drivers window… now it rolls the drivers window up and the passenger down. You would think no biggie wires are crossed…
Nope it’s this stupid dei / viper module it does not make any sense it will not enter the programming mode… I’m about done with it. I could mess with this alarm all summer but we need to deliver this truck so
I’m taking one more shot at it today
I disco the battery last night and charged it again. I will try one more time today and attempt to contact viper tech support… they don’t want to talk to you unless you are authorized installer blah
Blah

I have everything else working all of it
Took me a week to get a coolant gauge on this 05 cluster, the key was using a 2.3l ect sensor in the 5.0 block. This sensor is the only one that works with the 05 cluster and threads into the 5.0… I’m like a mad scientist running experiments

Anyways I have been losing sleep over this stupid window automation system for a week now it is time ti move on we need to deliver this thing. I think maybe the module is just bad? One more try then I’m gonna melt it and run it over with the bulldozer

I’ve made some wicked progress
She runs drives starts stops 99.5% of everything works. Windows work fantastic with the switches, we have one touch up and down on both doors… but arm the alarm and one Goes up one goes down…
It could drive you crazy

 

[410Fortune]

Some recent pics from
North Idaho to calm us all back down

The aurora was cool for sure!!

 

[410Fortune]

So last we saw I needed plastic for the new fender skirts. I spent some time with cardboard and carefully created some outer skirts. They came out just like I wanted

4x8 sheets of abs plastic 1/8”
Thick $35 each… at least some things are still same price in 2024. Had to drive 1.5 hour to get them but hey that’s how it goes when you choose live in the woods


The factory fender skirt is chopped at the edge of the body sheet metal. A new outer flare was templated in cad (cardboard aided design) and fitted. I had to drill two holes in the fiberglass to secure them to the fender. I also shaped them with a heat gun to fit best they can. These will keep debris out and protect the door hinges nicely. They can be removed just like the stock pieces and use stock fasteners at the truck side

 

[410Fortune]

The I put them to work… the first real test drive! Out of the shop up and down the road…. Nice!
Folks…. She has finally had some time in the dirt

Nerves were wrecked but I just hopped in starter her up and started driving

First over to the hose to knock
Some dust off

 

[410Fortune]

Then for an actual test drive or ten first I went a few hundred feet turned around came back.. eventually the whole
Two miles out to our gate and back
Several heat cycles were run, check for
Leaks, button up this and that

Great to see her outside!
Test run reveals:
No coolant gauge! Fooled me I thought I had one. Nope the 3.0 sender I was using from a 04 did not work the needle never moved. So… out come the wiring books and much research. Took a while this is a head scratcher… I mean it’s one wire to the cluster from the sensor. Well it turns out the 04/05 ranger cluster is a one year dealio the microprocessor controls the coolant temp gauge and it uses a different sensor then the other trucks. 04/05 sohc engine 4 cyl or 3.0 sensor should work right? Sohc uses clips and o rings. I needed one that threads into intake. I have a 04 ranger 4’cyl outside so for testing I used its sensor. I have a working. Gauge! With sensor wired up. Fed a ground to the second pin, sitting in water I hit it with a torch and watched the needle finally move! Fixed

During install I friggin broke the 2.3 sensor I had, now getting the correct sensor from the parts store is a nightmare!
There are two in a 05 ranger 2.3
Ect engine coolant temp sensor (for pcm) and ect or cts engine coolant temp SENDER (for dash) good luck getting the correct one from the parts store I just bought them both to make sure, nope still not the same. Back to the parts store try again. I think a junkyard might be the only way to get the correct sender I need, what I did was buy all the sensors and senders listed for a 05 ranger 2.3 made by stp… so hopefully one of these will ohm out like the one that worked, that I broke.tons and tons of confusion about this topic in the ranger world on the Internet forums.. nobody can tell you which part number is the coolant temp sensor for the dash and which is the cylinder head temp sensor for the pcm

Welcome to conversions and working out the bugs!

Drain 2 gallons of coolant, unbolt coil tower, straight shot at the cts
Whoopsies 19mm deep socked I broke the factory sensor I had, of course!!!

Rear camera wired and mounted, still needs feed from reverse lights that will come with the bed

 

[Josh P]

I was going to quote message 1064 and ask for the pictures. I see you posted them in the next message just before I was going to ask. I hope you get the windows figured out.

 

[410Fortune]

Now the test drives reveal a couple of things:

Front sitting lower then the back, no biggie there is no bed yet and I can adjust the coilovers

Needs alignment, well no kidding. I will adjust toe and ride height then trailer truck to local off road alignment shop

However the rear end rides very very stiff. The weight of the bed is not going to overcome this stiffness. The Chevy leafs we are running are for half ton short cab short bed small v8, but probably still too stiff…. More research and now I have a plan. It is good to be too stiff because I have tricks to soften these up.
Much harder to go the other way. This truck will likely get outfitted with some
Major gear in the back so we have to be careful here how much I “soften” it
I can modify the crap out of these leaf springs without even removing them as needed (cut chop)




So anyways today I am giving the window automation one more chance then it is either time for a different module or take it to an authorized viper installer and let them sort it out (hahahahahahaha yeah right!) I could now be an authorized viper installed I guarantee it

I fixed the superlift powder coat / paint issue was driving me nuts. See how flat the control arms are? There is plenty of room to go up 1.5” in front

These leafs have 3 leafs and an overload. The second and third leafs can be modified with a grinder to soften things up

Most people who runs these on a ranger or yota will get used springs and still modify them by carefully cutting and stacking different leafs. I am now armed with much more knowledge about Chevy 63” leaf springs lol

Now the best part… dirt flung everywhere!!

Good shot of drivers door gap

4 day weekend here
She is going on the trailer and to town shop! This is where all the final setup will happen over the next week. Cameras adjusted, suspension, alignment, bump stops and cans, limit straps adjusted, resis mounted and road test

Getting very close now

 

[BKennedy]

You do good work. The truck looks great. I still need to get some ABS sheet and make some inner fenders. It's only been 10 years since I did the SAS.

 

[Rick]

The I put them to work… the first real test drive! Out of the shop up and down the road…. Nice!
Folks…. She has finally had some time in the dirt

Nerves were wrecked but I just hopped in starter her up and started driving

First over to the hose to knock
Some dust off

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It sure looks great. Can't wait to see it with the bed. Congrats on an excellent build!

 

[410Fortune]

We have a working coolant gauge, again and finally

The part number is tx61 if you ever need to drive the 04-05 ranger cluster for your project hahaha

I have now hacked the 04/05
Ranger cluster 100%this means I can upgrade older 96-02 explorers rangers sports to use this updated cluster
I like the big bright 4wd lights

Testing the new tx61 before installing which includes draining 2 gallons of coolant first, again.

We are winning!! (not whining)

Nice to have enough wire I can watch the cluster

Broke the oem one I was gonna use, these things super fragile
Still works haha go ford!

 

[allmyEXes]

I need to back up a few pages and see what I've been missing. Point me towards the post/s that are about the Chevy 1/2-ton truck springs. I think I have a pair in our "brown" field. I see that you say Chevy short bed. What year? The Chevy truck bed is a lot heavier than a Ranger bed and the bed that you have may be lighter than stock with the fiberglass bedsides. Will this spring mod work in the Gen 1s? We have a 1963 Ford Econoline van that came from the factory with a 165# weight mounted under the floor over the differential. Kept the backend from swinging around on wet roads. They would get removed when one was converted to a plumber's truck etc. I'm not sure if that is relevant, it just popped in my head.
I've never seen a sensor come apart like that before. Was it previously heat damaged?
Thank goodness it's a Washington truck. @Fix4Dirt Tell me if I'm correct, In California the tires can't stick out past the body and have to have flairs.
I like how this project is coming together. Going back to read some more before supper here.

 

[410Fortune]

The Chevy 63s are fitted to rangers by re locating the front spring hanger forward about 8” and the rear spring hanger is flipped (upside down from a ranger) the result is a much much better ride and tons of flex available
Kartek made the rear spring hangers that invert the shackle (facing up, ranger shackles point down) because their brackets keep everything under the bed (1.5” drop vs just using the stock hanger flipped)

You can go really crazy with this setup even get some nasty arched leaf springs from say deaver and go spring under. With outboard vertical shocks this setup is known as the “link killer” because it can cleanly cycle 22” of travel with leafs… and you don’t have to chop/ back half your ranger and go full “links” to achieve this much travel.
Checkout places like giant motorsports or solo motorsports, for “link killer setups”
And yes, before you ask hahahaha it has been done under an explorer, of course! Ford rbv huge in the desert scene


Our setup is a bit more mild with the factory style leaf springs (04 Chevy 1500 4.8 short an short bed) because he is going to be carrying gear and camping equipment
The goal was a rear suspension that can keep up with the mid travel front 4wd ifs. To keep costs down we kept factory style shock mounting
Locations and kept the springs over the axle. He can keep all his bed space this way, should cycle about 16-18” at the wheel and ride better then most lifted rangers!

I probably just need to “tune” these brand new husky springs

The whole rear setup was detailed a ways back here in this tantric thread!!! Hahaha

 

[allmyEXes]

I see that the "Huskys" are available through RockAuto.
So, moving the spring mount location is to keep the differential in its stock location along with taking in to account the replacement spring's short end length and long end length? I think that I've got this...

 

[410Fortune]

Boom! That’s where these ones spawned

My research shows the ranger leafs are about 1050 psi these chevys were listed at like 1280 if I remember l, I thought cool! Should be close! Hahaha nope these are way stiffer

This setup way more streetable and should perform way better in the bumps then the factory ranger setup, the inverted shackle keeps the tire planted on the ground far superior, = traction. Keep you moving forward



Chevy springs come in 2 3 and 4 leafs (factory) with the 4s being more heavy 1500- 3/4 ton
Go prepared before you start cutting rivets on other people’s trucks hahaha

Quick sketch showing the buildup of current leafs

Second sketch shows removing the clamps and potential cut locations to change their behavior
I will start small one pair of cuts at a time

 

[allmyEXes]

A personal vehicle.
I added a bit to my last post as you were replying. I didn't know if a 1991 4 dr 4x4 project spring mod would be practical. I guess it depends on how extreme of a truck that would be being built.

 

[410Fortune]

My buddy Scott (on this forum) has Chevy 63s under his v8 gen I explorer I believe. The explorer leafs are a closer match to the 63s
The explorer leafs are under the frame rails so doing the inverted shackle is near impossible without going full width and outboard springs

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I need to back up a few pages and see what I've been missing. Point me towards the post/s that are about the Chevy 1/2-ton truck springs. I think I have a pair in our "brown" field. I see that you say Chevy short bed. What year? The Chevy truck bed is a lot heavier than a Ranger bed and the bed that you have may be lighter than stock with the fiberglass bedsides. Will this spring mod work in the Gen 1s? We have a 1963 Ford Econoline van that came from the factory with a 165# weight mounted under the floor over the differential. Kept the backend from swinging around on wet roads. They would get removed when one was converted to a plumber's truck etc. I'm not sure if that is relevant, it just popped in my head.
I've never seen a sensor come apart like that before. Was it previously heat damaged?
Thank goodness it's a Washington truck. @Fix4Dirt Tell me if I'm correct, In California the tires can't stick out past the body and have to have flairs.
I like how this project is coming together. Going back to read some more before supper here.

27600.**No person shall operate any motor vehicle having three or more wheels, any trailer, or semitrailer unless equipped with fenders, covers, or devices, including flaps or splash aprons, or unless the body of the vehicle or attachments thereto afford adequate protection to effectively minimize the spray or splash of water or mud to the rear of the vehicle and all such equipment or such body or attachments thereto shall be at least as wide as the tire tread. This section does not apply to those vehicles exempt from registration, trailers and semitrailers having an unladen weight of under 1,500 pounds, or any vehicles manufactured and first registered prior to January 1, 1971, having an unladen weight of under 1,500 pounds.

Technically yes, but this one sticks out past, as well as many, many Jeepers, etc. So technically yes it cant stick out past the fender... but they have much better things to police here... or at least should be...

 

[Rick]

having an unladen weight of under 1,500 pounds.

Hmm that makes me ponder... What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

 

[BKennedy]

Hmm that makes me ponder... What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Is that the European or African swallow?