Completed Project Kirby's 1991 Ranger Build Up

[fordpickupman]

Every time I open this thread I fall in love with your Ranger. You’ve kept classy looking.

 

[Kirby N.]

Thanks man. I finally got my kids bronco rolling.It’s rear 8.8 has like 1/4” of slop in the pinion. I have a couple more junk yard parts to get for it, then I will drive the bronc and do some work on the ranger.

Need to get the new tailgate rhino’d. I think I am going to get the roof done too to seal it up. Then it is into the garage for engine and the transmission. I might take it hunting too. Oh also, it needs more joints and tie rods.

 

[Kirby N.]

A little update. I took the ranger antelope hunting in Wyoming. Borrowed a RTT from a buddy. It was a rad trip- and slept wonderful in the ranger.

Also the bronco is coming along nicely. We pulled an 8.8 out of another bronco at the pick and pull.

Just happened to pull the cover off and found a pleasant surprise.

Detroit True Track. Stokd to have that. Best $90 I have spent in a while.

Also got the 33x10.50s installed. It came out great.

Unfortunately, the rear end is lifted with a 3" block and it doesn't do a good job of accounting for more pinion angle. It needs a lot more pinion angle because of the CV rear driveshaft. Really makes a racket. We are going to swap the rear life for a shackle reversal.

Also need to fix that rust- but we got time for that.

 

[fordpickupman]

I love the trutracs in my sploder

 

[410Fortune]

They put the CV shaft in the full size too? Oh lord get rid of that POS!!
Hard to see in that pic but if the exhaust is real close to the fuel tank be careful, I have had my fuel boiling before. I finally made a metal guard and wrapped that section of tailpipe
Score! junk yard detroit

TTB FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!! (hahaha just poking fun) I was mobbing my Bronco II up the two mile old logging road we call a driveway the other day and your words were going through my head "just solid axle it and be done with it" hahahaha I know, I know so many moving parts!

 

[Kirby N.]

Oh, no maybe I am using the wrong term for the driveshaft. It’s the one with 2 ujoints on one end. I have one on my ranger too since I took out the carrier bearing one. It’s actually a pretty decent shaft but it needs the diff pointed at the tcase in order not to make noise and vibe.

I know, I know ttb. I almost chucked it and put in a Dana 44 solid. I was like inches away and I think I regret it now. The only reason I didn’t is that it looked like from other buids that the lowest I could get it with a solid axle was 6” lift and this is going to be my kids daily, so I wanted 3” at the most. But now after all the grinding and painting and changing bushings and ball joints and new brackets the camber is almost in spec- and I can’t do any more ball joint shims and the caster is like 2* on one side and 4* on the other. So honestly it drives like crap. No return to center. I might have to buy some other radius arm drop brackets for a 4” lift or something. It really ticks me off. I bought a rough country lift and they are cheap but they suck.

Think the exhaust is ok- but I will keep an eye on it. I did just have it replaced due to rust. Had a trusty glass pack installed. Thanks for the hot tip.

 

[BKennedy]

It's a double cardan joint.

When your front radius arm bushings went out (the Duff ones behind the axle), did it make a sharp clunk noise? I think mine are on the way out. I can't see the bushings but there is a new noise and more movement on that joint, drivers side, when I used a BF Screwdriver to push things around.

 

[Kirby N.]

Yep! Huge clunk. And it just got worse. At least the bushings are cheap.

On another note, I took the ranger apart yesterday to get new ujoints installed because I nearly snapped the old passenger side one when trying to winch out the backhoe.

Come to find out 2 things needed attention:

1. brake pads are about the thickness of a quarter. I need to swap those.

2. Ball joints on both sides- particularly lowers are as worn as I have ever seen. I can move them 1/8-1/4” just by lifting on the hub. I wish I could post videos. It’s hilarious how much they flip around.

I have parts on order! Hope to fix all this in the next couple weeks before my hunting trip.

 

[Kirby N.]

Ok- the ranger has been parked for a while for a few reasons.
1. The alternator gave up. I put a high amp one on it from a 1992+. Its somewhere in this thread. And it died
2. The water pump gave up. Its been leaking like a siv.
3. The wipers stopped working.
4. The A/C isn't working. The compressor seized. Unfortunately, it was brand new when I painted it. I got it charged and the dumb thing worked for 2 months and seized. When I did the A/C I replaced everything. Which now everything is junk so I have to start over with new everything.

So I needed to fix all that crap, but it also has 315k on the engine and tranny- and I have been thinking the needs addressed. Not that it runs bad- runs great. But leaks and burns oil and for a daily driver, I really need it to stay reliable. SO- I started ordering parts- with the help of @410Fortune and some others recommendations. I am not going for anything hi performance. The goal here is reliability and longivity. Here is the list:

1. 1998-2000 Motorcraft rebuilt short block. I got this off craigslist a few years ago. It is in a crate ready to rock. I bought it from a guy who had it in storage for years and never used it.
2. 95TM NOS heads and valves. I got them off eBay from a guy who had a whole stock pile of them.
3. NOS Ford pushrods. Melling rocker arms and Melling Lifters.
4. Ford repair sleeve rear main seal with install tool.
5. Poly Motor mounts (to match the tranny mount that @RockRanger made for me years ago) from @Brian1- also supplying valve cover supports.
6. Various gaskets and other necessary parts from Victor- Reinz since I found out they are a Dana/ Spice company- I think I can trust them. Including valve covers, head gaskets, oil pan, intake, etc.

And now, I have arrived at this question- what is a good brand for a/c compressor and other A/C parts? I bought parts from Rock auto last time. Delco compressor I think. It could have been the guy that charged it not putting enough oil in it- but IDK. I just want something to last a long time. I am sick of swapping all the a/c parts every time my compressor takes a dump. Any thoughts on a good brand? Should I buy from the parts house instead of rock auto?


Thanks!

Kirby

 

[BKennedy]

Rock Auto should have the same stuff, just discounted. I went through 2 AC compressors before having the 3rd one work for more than a few months. All were rebuilds with defects. I think you could get away with flushing the system instead of replacing everything. I replaced everything but the condenser and hard lines the 2nd time mine failed, and its been working for several years now. I hardly use it though, because it sucks so much power and my engine is tired. Not 315,000 tired, but tired.

410 couldn't talk you into a V8 swap?

 

[410Fortune]

Four seasons ac stuff is good from rockauto no reman only new!

Sounds like the system was not flushed and vacuumed first? Make sure you change the orrifice tube, system and lines must be flushed since you likely have the Black Death in there
Sometimes a good home brew cleaning is all that is needed with all new components.

Same thing happened in my 97 f350 ccfb all new system, I was so psyched to have ac! And then it all leaked out… new tube was plugged again full of crud…
I’m hoping the little filter on the tube got most of it out now and I can get away w cleaning, vacuum, recharge fix leaks? Usually the low pressure switch o ring or something simple like that
Fun fun
Oh yeah and the rear ac in oir
Black excursion is toast the hard lines all corroded so I’m gonna yank them and have new rubber ones made in town.
They used to sell these online now I cannot find? Sob. Discontinued… of course
Ac is a pita but oh so needed
We are not getting younger and it seems to be getting hotter…

I like your list should last forever
The head gasket and lower intake gasket installation must be done perfectly and then you can expect 150k+ miles no issues

I love ohv when they have a 5 speed behind them no need for v8
Even if you have the ol a4ld (yikes) I know a guy who can build a mean one of those suckers too
We have come a long way from our humble beginnings

 

[Kirby N.]

Actually upon further research the compressor was Denso- and from Rock Auto. I am thinking I am going to wait on the A/C stuff until I disconnect everything and verify the black death is in everything. From what I have been reading the only thing to buy is Denso or Motorcraft.

Yeah, 410 has tried. When he lived here I was really close to having him swap a 302 in for me. He has also talked to me about converting to OBD2 also. However, I just keep coming back to wanting factory reliability. I dont want a conversion. I have had plenty of conversions- a couple Jeep LJs with 5.7 hemi's in them. I did a conversion on my s10 blazer in High School. They are fun and cool, but I want reliable, everything right functionality and the 4.0 has great power for what I do and good mileage. If I can get this one to go another 300k I will be happy. I want to drive it everyday and on trips and not have to worry. This is my driver.

 

[Kirby N.]

Four seasons ac stuff is good from rockauto no reman only new!

Sounds like the system was not flushed and vacuumed first? Make sure you change the orrifice tube, system abs lines must be flushed since you likely have the Black Death in there

I like your list should last forever

I love ohv when they have a 5 speed behind them no need for v8

Thanks- I will go with four seasons then. Supposedly, it was vaccummed- not flushed because I changed everything. Then recharged with oil. I have been told a flush for black death won't work? Only hope is replacement of everything? The compressor seized up solid and made bad noises- I couldn't bring myself to mess with it so I suffered through summer and it has been like that for over a year now.

 

[Kirby N.]

Scratch that- its been 2 years on the A/C since it was working. LOL. Time flies when its hot.

 

[Brian1]

When I redid my entire A/C I bought everything from rockauto except the compressor and condenser which I got from the local Autozone because of the lifetime warranty and ease of returning a heavy/large part for warranty. I don't run it much but its been fine for a few years now.

 

[Kirby N.]

Thanks for the suggestion Brian- that was exactly what I was thinking of doing. The Rockauto parts are out of warranty- and a pain to warranty if they were still in warranty. If these parts would have had a warranty from a local place like auto zone this would have been a lot less painful on the wallet. I also called Ford and I can get a Motorcraft compressor for 310. The lifetime four seasons is 215 and condenser is 100 and there is a 20% off right now- so they are about the same as rockauto. I think that might be the ticket. I didn't ask ford what the warranty is on their parts- but the process is a bit of a pain in the neck. I am going to sleep on it. I have $700 in parts in my cart for Rock auto too- need to make that order tomorrow.

 

[fordpickupman]

I love this Ranger.

 

[Kirby N.]

Thanks I like it too.

 

[410Fortune]

Funny funny funny I have two 4.3 engines in my shop right now and a Chevy 1500 on the trailer. Why you ask? Well we are putting a 04’vortec 4.3 into a 95 s10 for my neighbors son and we are also converting his 99 s10
Blazer to a 5.7 at the same time! These are my first real Chevy projects lol…. Big learning curve.

Once you have Black Death you compressor is doomed, or so they say. Autozone warranty might be just the ticket!! Good thinking dudes

 

[Scott B.]

Since I'm still following this thread, I'll add my experience.

I bought a Motorcraft compressor from RockAuto for my 5.0L. At the time of conversion, I also converted the A/C to R-134. Once plumbed and charged, the system worked fine.

After a couple of years, the compressor locked up. Of course, it was out of warranty, so it was on me to replace it.

Turns out, the compressor which I though was NEW was actually rebuilt in Mexico. Now, it should have been fine, it was Motorcraft. But, it failed.

I did get another Motorcraft to replace it.