Every Boy Deserves A First Pickup

84FSP said:

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

That is a sexy beast - would expect nothing less from the master of slammed trucks.  This will be my first so prepping nuts and bolts with break free for the suspension.  Praying the moog alignment adjusters do as advertised up front.

Thank you bud. 
 

I do not like Fords in the least. They're so annoying to work on. I honestly have dived pretty deep into this one mechanically to get it up to standards.
 

But. You simply cannot beat a Ford Ranger. They're perfect for my humble truck needs. It's just the perfect truck for my life.  

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

I'm glad to hear that.  While I would have liked 4wd and a v6 the 2wd 4banger is supposed to get good mileage and have enough guts to get around.  Going thru it top to bottom with the boy is something I'm really looking forward to.  

Side note, Dad will also dig having a cool little mini truck to run around a bit in before he gets in from me.  My cars & coffee buddies are all on board with the plans...

In reply to 84FSP :

I believe in just shotgunning the parts cannon at them with timing belt and all the associated doodads like tensioner and crank/aux shaft/cam seals....cooling system refresh....probably a valve cover gasket. Fresh fluids. Three new brake hoses. All 8 spark plugs. Clean the intake plenum and throttle body. Might as well give it a full mid-life tuneup. Belt and tensioner. Probably needs a power steering pump reservoir o ring too.

Mine is pretty zippy to be honest. It will super easy spin tires in first and second gears on dry pavement.

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

I like the plan - initially went halfway there with fluids, filters, hoses, belts, brakes, suspension, tires, etc.  Might go the rest of the way into the motor with that guidance.  Ideally a really together kid truck that needs nothing other than what he breaks.  

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

I'm glad we live far apart or I would be on you to buy that truck;  what a transformation!

The boy did his first oil change successfully.  We found the exhaust leak as a rusted out muffler.  Waiting to hear back from flaky FB folks on mustang bullits and a stainless exhaust setup.

84FSP said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Lol yeah but the bed liner is uncomfortable, at least I hope it is.  

"He tried to screw me once in a very uncomfortable place!"

"What, like on the bedliner in the back of a Ford Ranger?"

CrustyRedXpress said:

84FSP said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Lol yeah but the bed liner is uncomfortable, at least I hope it is.  

"He tried to screw me once in a very uncomfortable place!"

"What, like on the bedliner in the back of a Ford Ranger?"

NICE lol

Parts cannon has been fired.  Filters, belts, plugs, wires, wipers, full suspension, and exhaust procured.  Still hunting a nice set of Mustang Bullits with hopefully decent tires...

You're gonna get annoyed at a couple of those spark plugs on the driver's side. I just go ahead and remove the upper intake plenum when I do them. That's why I mentioned cleaning intake and throttle body at the same time.

I've owned 3 ford rangers and loved them all.   I'm in to see another one get saved!

I remember a couple good forums; the ranger station and a different more universal ford truck sub section?

a couple good tips were to use a zip tie around the cable on the back of the accelerator to remove the play and make it more sensitive to input, and that you can chop out some extra plastic in the air box to get some intake sound. 
can't remember if your model has the torsen front end, but it's basically a free lift if you want a rougher ride. 

I learned to drive in my dad's truck and always wanted to get my own, specifically a Ford Ranger. Your son will have a blast! Is there anything he want's to do to the truck later on?

No Time said:

While I never did proper analysis to verify if it was accurate and what weight might be impactful, my theory for avoiding sandbags, etc. was that while it might add some traction, it added weight to daily driving that could negatively impact braking, handling, and fuel economy. I also theorized it made a very front weight bias vehicle into a  pendulum where if it did slide there was more momentum to make it harder to recover when encountering black ice, refreeze, and other marginal conditions.

YMMV

When I daily drove a long bed RWD F150, my strategy was to put the weight in the bed just forward of the rear axle.  Still got a decent improvement in traction, kept polar moment down, and didn't remove weight from the front tires.

I'm on Ford Ranger number 4. Can't beat'm.

Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) said:

You're gonna get annoyed at a couple of those spark plugs on the driver's side. I just go ahead and remove the upper intake plenum when I do them. That's why I mentioned cleaning intake and throttle body at the same time.

That is helpful, I was staring at those plugs wondering if there was a way around pulling the intake off.  Have to see if I need to replace any gaskets/seals when I do that.

Paris Van Gorder said:

I learned to drive in my dad's truck and always wanted to get my own, specifically a Ford Ranger. Your son will have a blast! Is there anything he want's to do to the truck later on?

I expect there will be.  It won't be long before it needs to have a bumping stereo.  I just took a cursory look around and that tech has gotten drastically cheaper since the last time I cared.  

My hope is to have this get him thru high school while I get him sucked into autox and other forms of racing with me.  That should keep him mostly out of trouble and spending his money on cars/parts vs other paths...

You'll need a plenum gasket and likely an EGR gasket. Somewhere up above I mentioned valve cover gasket replacement. It's one of those deals. once you've got the plenum off, you're just staring at the valve cover right there and no better time to swap the gasket if it's showing any signs of leakage.

Removing the upper plenum is one of those mind game deals. It looks like a hassle and it hurts your feelings, but once you commit to doing it, it's literally 30 minutes added to the job and you get a chance to address any leaks and filth buildup while you're that deep.

Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) said:

and you get a chance to address any leaks and filth buildup while you're that deep.

That is right up his alley.  I need to get him over to clean up the challenge car sometime 😀