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'95 xl reg cab 4x4 5 speed 2.3l

What is attached to the brackets on the axle that look like rear sway brackets?
 



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..I spoted one of the bolts was leaking again on the rearend..The rearend shop did the set on it when I had the gears swapped so it's been a little over a year..

..I just wish I could seal this without draining it below the bolt..:(

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The preload bolts are above the bottom of the axle tubes. If your fluid is much over that your filling the tubes too which means your putting too much oil in..

You should be able to lift the rear end some, then pull the preload bolt out and not have any fluid (other than a drop or so) come out.

~Mark
 






What is attached to the brackets on the axle that look like rear sway brackets?

I've never taken the sway bars of other than moving them from one axle to another..It flex's pretty good with them on..:D

The preload bolts are above the bottom of the axle tubes. If your fluid is much over that your filling the tubes too which means your putting too much oil in..

You should be able to lift the rear end some, then pull the preload bolt out and not have any fluid (other than a drop or so) come out.

~Mark

..Yea..The shop did the work so I'm not surprised one leaks and the other does not..When I installed the Atlas the driveshaft bolts at the axle had probably a whole tube of red loktite while the bolts at the t/c had none..:banghead:
 






I've never taken the sway bars of other than moving them from one axle to another..It flex's pretty good with them on..:D
...

I noticed that when I had my rear bar on - I figured it was so flexy, the bar wasn't doing anything to stop sway.
 






..I believe it's what has kept me out of the ditches..:p:
 






..With Smog coming up, the Ranger "Moab Red" air filter got replaced with a new black air filter and I cleaned the MAF..

..I'm thinking about cleaning the IAC but since it is bolted from the rear of the motor I might wait on that and I might replace the plugs..

..as usual, I'll pull the plugs and see what they look like first..:hammer:
 






..Have I mentioned I love this truck?

...I haven't done anything to the Ranger (other than,see above post) in order to take it to it's Bi-Anual Smog Test Only as it fits (Rangers and Explorers) in the "Gross Polluters Profile"..:rolleyes:

..I noticed yesterday the Idle is a lil rougher than I like and since the repair to the "Project X" is postponed till next week, I got the boneheaded idea that I have a couple days to burn so I'll just run it thru Smog and use that as a diagnostic tool to repair the Ranger over the net couple of days..

..I figured I would probably fail since I haven't done much in the way of a full tune-up or any real repairs in a couple years since the last test..

..The Ranger being OBDII as a 95 model vehicle usually means they won't hook directly to the computer since the Smog Regulations state ODBII as it was required on 1996 models and newer to be plugged in so the 95 just gets the sniffer..

..Well, you know how this goes...Of course...Since I didn't do any prep for this test they run it thru the full system test with sniffer and of course the Nitrogen "Evap" test..

..Since the regular test with the sniffer usually is performed at 15 mph and then upshift to 25mph and their computer reads the particulates...

..They spent a lot of time before that part of the test running the vehicle with wheel speed shortly then there were multiple rpm range test..I was getting nervous and was like :wtf:

..By the time I got to the "Evap" test I was pacing back and forth..This is the same time they test the seal on the gas cap...The machine shows a large Fail after checking the gas cap and at the same time an alarm goes off on the "Evap" test..:eek:

..Crop...I now see money flyin' out the window and know my next couple days will be very busy..:banghead:

.Then it dawned on me I don't really remember having changed that gas cap so it might be stock..I told the guy don't fail my truck as I will run down the street on foot and bring back a gas cap..He happened to have one so that cost me $12..Ok...Back to the test..

..Now he starts re- verifying the vacuum lines and I beleive they crawl under the truck to verify "Evap" and fuel lines..Usually when they start crawling under my trucks is when they start telling me I have modified something smog related (which I have not or never will) but this wasn't the case this time..

..In fact, the guys silence was what was making me nervous as they will usually give you an indication that something is not going so well but by the time all the test were over and the computer had linked to DMV in Sacramento which finally gives a full print out, I dang near had to pry it out of the guy if I had passed or Failed...

..I was expecting the worst but he said, "You did ok"..

..Yeehaw..:bounce:

..I passed everything and my readings were as good if not a lil bit better than in previous years..Not bad for a 4 truck with over 250,000 miles..:biggthump

Fuel Filler Hose Update

..It appears the cheap $38 Fuel Filler hose lasted longer than the previous hoses I had purchased and I don't think it will last till the next Test Only in 2 years but I will see..

..I also think the 1" bodylift I did for the Atlas has helped give some critical clearance where the hose normally tears at the 90* turn just above the fuel tank allowing it not to have to flex as much when the truck flex's out..:scratch:

..I think I'm going to reward the Ranger with a tank of premium Chevron..:D

..Oh yea..Smog Test only without any discount cost me $60, the gas cap $12, and the registration this year was $106..
 






Nice! Just passed mine a few weeks ago to my surprise too. I was the same way, pacing back and forth, getting really nervous, started hearing an exhaust leak at the header I'd never heard before, and I'd been experiencing an occasional random misfire before the test. The guy seemed pretty happy for me actually, when he told me my numbers were really good.
 






..Even though I do this test every year as the trucks alternate, the old test was a lot quicker..

..The new test where they also plug in to the computer for database collection makes it seem like it is twice as long as it used to be..

..I did enjoy getting to hear what the Ranger sounds like from the outside and I like the sound..:biggthump
 






..The Ranger got it's tank of medium grade fuel and then she got put to good use..:D

..I wound up taking it instead of the "X" (which was broke down do to a shattered flex plate) to a race in NorCal...I then wound up in Reno which lead me to a number of other places locally up there and by the time I got home I had put about 1500 miles on the truck..:eek:

Here are a few updates as I believe this is the first real long distance driving I've done since I upgraded to 4.88 gears, 33" tires, and threw the Atlas in there..

..The lowest gas mileage per tank was 18.76 and the best was 21.78 mpg with 600# still loaded in the back of the Ranger...Oh yea...This drive was all done in the Sierra Mountains..

..The Ranger is a lot better in hill climbs now and it's kind of cool to be passing people at 65 mph where before I would be doing 45 mph with the old set up..

..However, there were those super steep highway hill climbs there I suffered doing 40-45 mph..:(

...This I can attribute to the gearing between 3rd and fourth gear as they seem to have the widest difference between the two...Now the 2.3L likes high rpm's so running up to 3500 rpm's is not unusual in such conditions but not for a prolonged period of time.

..With that in mind on the super steep long hill climbs I would be doing 3200-3500 rpm in 3rd with plenty of power and easily could vary the rpm up and down in 3rd..The issue would be moving up to 4th gear..

..When moving from the 3200-3500 rpm's (normally 3000 DD mode) in third gear up to fourth gear, the rpm's would be at about 2000 and just below the power band..:(

..Luckily this doesn't happen very often and the mpg's make me feel a little better but this is something I may look at working on in the distant future..:hammer:
 






..I had a chance to sneak away locally to our local hills while working...

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..and I'm thinking I might be in need of a bigger truck..:dunno:

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..Well, this has been a must work on the power steering month..

..3 weeks ago I had fluid pouring out of the Hi pressure hose as it goes into the pump..I was bent inside the fitting..:wtf:

I replaced both lines and this past couple weeks the steering pump had been leaking..I replaced the inner O ring where the Hi pressure line goes in but there is a slow leak at the tapered washer against the pump..This all appears to be Original so I know I will be replacing the Pump sooner to replace the seals..

..Today, I couldn't find a new leak on my own as it was intermittent..I drove over to my buddis shop and had him look while I turned the wheel..It turned out being the seal above the pitman but rather than just dripping like they normally do before they fail, this would only leak under pressure at full lock to one side or the other then it would puke it out..

..So today it got a new seal replaced as well as a dust seal..It appears I had lost the dust seal somewhere down the line..:dunno:

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The kit I got was the PartsMaster 8779 Power Steering Repair Kit = under $11

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...it's been a couple busy days as I finally swapped a new stock steering pump in resolving that leaking issue. .

..I just ripped out the dash and changed the heater core which took way longer than it should have..

..With all the wrong information out there on how to do this plus somebody had previously swapped one in with no foam around it then freaking double nutted the heater box in the engine bay both top and bottom...:rant:

..I almost want to do it over so I could see if i could do the swap with removing less parts and document it properly..:hammer:
 






...it's been a couple busy days as I finally swapped a new stock steering pump in resolving that leaking issue. .

What did you finally decide on for the pump? I finished my Saginaw conversion (rev 2) and I have about 100 miles on it now, so far, so good.

And why chnage the pump, I thought it was the steering box?

~Mark
 






...I kept it simple..:)

..I found a good American rebuilt stock replacement that really resembles my AGR that I'm thinking about modifying like I did the AGR pump on my X..:hammer:

..it was the hose first so both hoses got replaced the the seal on the steering gear blew then the big nut on the reservoir wore out its home and seal..:banghead:...but it was all original and due..
 






..its been a few years but I just broke down and bought the Ranger new wipers..:hammer:

...I got the El Cheapo, Hecho en Mexico "SuperTech" for $5 each at Wally World... My usual ones are now about $20 each at Wally's..

I ain't expecting much but they are not Chinese and should last till next winter..;)
 






...Over the last month I rewarded the Ranger with a new stereo piece by piece..A HD head unit then front speakers and finally rear speakers..

...Its kinda cool as I can finally use Pandora, Iheart radio, and with my MS Surface I can watch movies in surround sound while out in the middle of nowhere..

I do need to start on repairs as it looks like I'm taking this truck to Moab the long way..:burnout:
 






Dear Diary...

..I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE..:D

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Dear Diary...

..I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE..:D

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I have my old set which are still decent. But, I'm guessing you have a better idea ;)
 



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...Hmmm...I might be interested as this is temporary till I get done wheeling this summer..:hammer:

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