Just have to vent

[LittleHorse]

lol yeah...my rotors are warped, haven't checked them to see if they're split. I'm just gonna have to deal with them for awhile until I get some more cash on hand.

I bought a starter shim at autozone, might install it tomorrow and hope it helps the starter issue. After doing some more "testing" I think my initial hypothesis about the ignition switch was wrong. It is gummed up and feels like crap but I don't think it's actually causing that problem.


I think the most frustrating thing I've been dealing with is re-attaching my rear view mirror. There was a mirror in the truck when I bought it - in the floor, and a button in the glove box. I glued the button on only to find out that it did not belong to the mirror and doesn't match! So I bought another mirror with button and have been trying to glue it on above the one I already attached, and for some reason, the freakin glue won't hold. I don't know what I'm doing wrong 'cause I'm following the instructions to a T like the first time, yet it falls off as soon as I let go (after holding it for 1 minute). So the wrong button stuck on there permanently but the right button won't.

GAAAAAAAH!!!

 

[country0001]

I prefer an automatic, but mine has a 5 spd. Shifting into 2nd it'll grind a bit no matter what. Just one of those quirks I guess. Have u checked in the parts 4 sale area on this site or some of the othar forums. People are very reasonable and aren't trying to gouge u like part stores and salvage yards.

 

[LittleHorse]

the tank came in yesterday so I took it up to my buddy's dad's shop so we could use the lift, air tools etc.

Most of it was pretty uneventful until the last bolt - one tank strap came off easy, the other was rusted solid. We ended up drilling the head off and replacing the bolt and clip with another bolt and nut.

Then the fuel line connections - looks like someone had damaged the quick disconnect on the high pressure feed line, and cut it off. Then they forced the hard plastic line onto the sending unit end and clamped it on. I had to cut it off and will have to buy one of those fuel line repair kits with the connector on one end, and splice it into the line. Unfortunately by the time we got to this part the parts stores were closed so it'll have to wait til this evening.

When we got the tank out, I saw that about 45% of the tank was covered in those "fuel tank repair kits". I've never used one, but they appear to be made from a piece of screen and some sort of putty. The edge of one was lifting off so I grabbed it and it just fell off completely, and revealed a rusted hole in the tank about the size of a thick pencil lead. There were also repair kits all the way around the welded flange where the top and bottom halves meet.

The sending unit was COVERED in rust on the outside and wasn't looking like it wanted to come out - so I ran out to the office and checked prices on the internet...too expensive. So I chiseled it out and used it with the new tank.

 

[fx408]

And you just became the board idiot.

Hang in there, once you get the quirks worked out it will be a nice ride.

yeah, the smart thing to do here would be to trade my ranger for a mid 80's bronco.

then i can move back in with my parents. Im pumped for that

 

[LittleHorse]

yeah, the smart thing to do here would be to trade my ranger for a mid 80's bronco.

then i can move back in with my parents. Im pumped for that

so you think having a car payment makes you more of a grown up?

With that attitude, you'll end up having so much debt that you have to move back in with your parents because of your car payment.

Then there's the folly of borrowing money on a depreciating asset...for the first two or three years of ownership, your loan balance on the Ranger will do good to keep up with the depreciation. If you think about 3 years worth of car payments just going into thin air and the things that come to mind are things like "Maturity", "responsibility", or "baller"...then there's no helping you. The smart thing to do would have been to buy an older vehicle that's already experienced the bulk of it's depreciation (2-3 years old is good). Now that you've already bought that new, the only reasonable thing you can do is to drive it until it gives up the ghost at 200k+ miles.

As a person who's had several car loans and more debt than I like to think about sometimes, I feel like I can give you some advice to help you out - but it's up to you to take it or leave it.

Sometimes we're forced to borrow money on things like cars because there's no other option. I have my truck payment because at the time I bought it, I needed a truck for home improvement projects, I didn't have much cash, and I didn't have the resources to fix a broken one like I am with this BII. I paid as much down a I could and flew to Texas to drive it 6 hours home to find a good enough deal to offset most of the interest.

Aside from the car payment, there's the banks requirement that full coverage insurance be carried on a vehicle they loan for. There's another $150 every 6 months.

Given the choice, I'll ALWAYS take the free-and-clear vehicle over the monthly cash drain.

 

[country0001]

Amen brother. I'd rather spend a hundred or so a month to fix my truck up than struggle to make a car payment every month. Besides they are so much harder to work on.

 

[snoranger]

how did you wire the starter? did you just jump the starter power and solenoid wires, at the starter? if you did, thats your problem. rewire the starter so the main power comes from the battery (or the battery side of the remote solenoid)and the solenoid wire comes from the "on" side of the remote solenoid. if you just jump them, power is fed back to the solenoid from the motor and keeps the solenoid engaged for too long.

Due to the 4.0 starter having a starter-mounted solenoid, the original cable is 3" too short. New cable.


Making noise at startup, sounds like starter gear isn't pulling back in until about 3 seconds after I let go of the ignition. Hopefully it's a problem with starter and not something else.

 

[fx408]

so you think having a car payment makes you more of a grown up?

With that attitude, you'll end up having so much debt that you have to move back in with your parents because of your car payment.

Then there's the folly of borrowing money on a depreciating asset...for the first two or three years of ownership, your loan balance on the Ranger will do good to keep up with the depreciation. If you think about 3 years worth of car payments just going into thin air and the things that come to mind are things like "Maturity", "responsibility", or "baller"...then there's no helping you. The smart thing to do would have been to buy an older vehicle that's already experienced the bulk of it's depreciation (2-3 years old is good). Now that you've already bought that new, the only reasonable thing you can do is to drive it until it gives up the ghost at 200k+ miles.

As a person who's had several car loans and more debt than I like to think about sometimes, I feel like I can give you some advice to help you out - but it's up to you to take it or leave it.

Sometimes we're forced to borrow money on things like cars because there's no other option. I have my truck payment because at the time I bought it, I needed a truck for home improvement projects, I didn't have much cash, and I didn't have the resources to fix a broken one like I am with this BII. I paid as much down a I could and flew to Texas to drive it 6 hours home to find a good enough deal to offset most of the interest.

Aside from the car payment, there's the banks requirement that full coverage insurance be carried on a vehicle they loan for. There's another $150 every 6 months.

Given the choice, I'll ALWAYS take the free-and-clear vehicle over the monthly cash drain.

im not struggling to make my payments, i made sure to stay well within my budget. Someone mentioned how fixing his bronco was better than a monthly payment, so i used a little self inflicting sarcasm to say "hey, i like my monthly payment"

Then someone had to be ignorant and call me an idiot, i meant no harm by saying what i said about the mid 80's bronco, well, to any one but the guy who thinks hes smarter than myself.

I apoligize if i offended anyone, but if someone can demean someone on a forum, and has a 10 for rep, then im not sure what to say about that.

 

[tomahawk350]

Since everyone else added to this, I will too. I was paying a F-150 payment when I bought my Bronco back for $300 in oct. In about 4-5 months and $350 in parts I have a reliable vehicle that i can go anywhere in. In January i was laid-off and in Feb. i sold my truck to be able to keep my house. Sure they need maintaince after 20 yrs of hard use, what wouldn't. My bronco also needs a gas tank, but only leaks when full, so it can wait a lil bit. Also I've found parts on Ebay cheap, just gotta watch what u bid on. I saw gas tanks on there cheap, like $40 + shipping. And being from PA i know all about rust. My bronco has its share of rust but once fixed and painted will look good. I also want to add that it was 10 yrs ago that i sold this bronco II for $3000. I have alot of memories with this thing and making new ones all the time.

 

[LittleHorse]

so here we are more than a year later and I've put about 9,000 unpleasant miles on this thing.

It's always been turd slow, but a several months ago it started bucking, got even slower, and seems to lose power when I pass a certain threshold of throttle. Replaced the fuel filter, again, and checked fuel pressure. Key on engine off, the pressure would build and then fall back off almost immediately. Coupled with taking a solid 5-10 seconds of cranking to start (even more when hot) and I thought injectors were a reasonable diagnosis.

So I replaced those today and it made no difference whatsoever in the way it ran. I haven't driven it enough to know if it starts easier yet. So it's possible I fixed the starting problem but it's still miserable to drive.

Seriously, it can't keep up with a beat up U-Haul truck pulling an SUV up a hill. I tried a few weeks ago.

So now that I've replaced plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, injectors, swapped coil, MAP and TPS with a good running truck, no vacuum leaks, clean air filter, no CEL, I'm basically left with no option but mechanical problems. Guess a compression test is in my future. I'm wanting to get a different vehicle, like a 2.3T Mustang SVO but I can't see getting the amount of money I need out of this thing until this issue is fixed. I may end up having to drop in a JY 2.9 just to be able to sell it and I hate the idea of putting that much work into something I'm trying to rid myself of.

Last week the AC blower just up and quit for a few minutes, then came back on, and has done that twice more now so I expect a permanent failure is only a matter of time.

Yesterday I put a new muffler on it because it had one of those $30 Raptor mufflers from O-reilly and the droning around 2800RPM was unbearable.

Then, this morning on the way home from work (night shift) I started hearing a clunking noise in the front end over bumps. Steering linkage is tight so I guess I must have a loose ball joint or wheel bearing.

It never ends with this thing.

 

[countryboy]

i had the same problem as u do with a 88 ranger with a 2.9. the problem with the truck i had was the fuel pump on the frame rail it is the one that builds up the fuel pressure after i replaced that i could easily do 65 up hill on the intersate. i am not saying this is ur problem but could be. i did a fuel pressure test and if should good. but when the fuel pump got hot it was not flowing as good. and i hope u get all the bugs out.

 

[xr75er]

Let’s see where to start. Bought the b2 in April. Paid $1050.00. The guy said he had it checked by a “mechanic “only thing he found was the radius arm bushing. So first thing was the radius arm bushings, then the driver side spindle (found this while I had it jacked for the bushings), shocks, front brakes, electric window gearing , almost forgot the new drive shaft. Then I did a3” body lift. All good there.
Then the motor quit. Figured it was the TFI. Put in the heat sink conversion. Then it quit again. Started trouble shooting, fuel pump not working. Changed front fuel pump and filters no joy. Changed computer no joy. Put the old computer back in and it stared. Then it started smoking. Checked the plugs and 1was oiled, changed the valve seals on #1 and the valve cover gaskets. Went to replace the rear fuel pump and found a bad post on this, See prior post (Rear fuel pump). Ran ok for one day. Then quit again.
Found bad wires at the inertia switch. Changed out the connector. Ran fine for 2 weeks then quit this week while taking the son out for beer and pizza. (Scotch for me.)Jumped the fuel pump and got it home. Started fine the next day. Checked the codes and EGR PFE 35. But this did not have anything to do with it not running; all the parts stores wanted $70 to $120.00 to replace this sensor. Went to the man store (JY) got one for $6, installed it and got 11 code.
Since the fuel pumps weren’t running I decided to add a bypass switch to the fuel pump wiring. Now if the thing shuts off I can turn on the fuel pumps and go. Oh yea new seats due to broken back and torn material. Just my $.02

 

[country0001]

It doesn't ever end. I have been driving my B2 w the 4.0 in it for a couple of weeks, things keep poppin up. Got my brake lights workin today, but both blinkers come on whenever u turn on the right or left turn signal.... Mt taillights won't come on, thinkin bout hardwiring those w a toggle switch. Then I find a leak in my gas tank.

Not to mention that I haven't had time to work on my tan one.

 

[trail B2]

It's been my experience that you can't work your way to a reliable old car for daily use.I love my old B2 for reasons I still can't explain.I know that it will never be as reliable as say a 05 pickup any brand even if it has the same mileage.I know some people might say thats because you changed things but it was unreliable when I got it originally.My other car is a 93 chevy 3500 and it likes to brake down at the same time as my B2 and I have reached the point that i'm ready to make payments on a five year old truck to increase my odds of not being a pedestrian.

 

[84bluebronco2]

It's been my experience that you can't work your way to a reliable old car for daily use.I love my old B2 for reasons I still can't explain.I know that it will never be as reliable as say a 05 pickup any brand even if it has the same mileage.I know some people might say thats because you changed things but it was unreliable when I got it originally.My other car is a 93 chevy 3500 and it likes to brake down at the same time as my B2 and I have reached the point that i'm ready to make payments on a five year old truck to increase my odds of not being a pedestrian.

+1. I was the same way with my 84 B2. Regular pedestrian, infrequent driver.

 

[LiLRanger]

LOL you guys will hate me for this...
I bought my '92 Ranger without seeing it move, hearing it run, or knowing anything about it. Transferred the title, put tags on it, jump started it, had 2 tires installed, drove it home, loaded it with as much stuff as it would possibly carry under the camper shell, and drove it 2100 miles to my new residence.
The entire trip went without a hitch. After the trip, I changed the battery, put a starter on it and have drove it for 2.5 years with little to no maintenance! LOL
Backstory: (long boring read)
I needed a rig to get me from our place in WA to our new home in OK. I had just got done cleaning the house out and packing for 2 weeks solid, and loaded up my F-350 and a 16' trailer (over the scales at 18740 Lbs). Got 50 miles into the trip and blew the transmission up and caught the truck on fire. Towed it all home (thanks Mike!) and had to find another ride to OK to start a new job.
A friend's sister had just repossessed this truck from her brother. I bought it from her on the spot, on payments, and am still driving it today! The biggest problem I have had is a bad throwout bearing and a valve tick. Well, there was the damage the deer caused when I hit her when coming back from fishing...but thats not the truck's fault!
So not all used rigs have a bad story to go along with them.

 

[country0001]

LOL you guys will hate me for this...
I bought my '92 Ranger without seeing it move, hearing it run, or knowing anything about it. Transferred the title, put tags on it, jump started it, had 2 tires installed, drove it home, loaded it with as much stuff as it would possibly carry under the camper shell, and drove it 2100 miles to my new residence.
The entire trip went without a hitch. After the trip, I changed the battery, put a starter on it and have drove it for 2.5 years with little to no maintenance! LOL
Backstory: (long boring read)
I needed a rig to get me from our place in WA to our new home in OK. I had just got done cleaning the house out and packing for 2 weeks solid, and loaded up my F-350 and a 16' trailer (over the scales at 18740 Lbs). Got 50 miles into the trip and blew the transmission up and caught the truck on fire. Towed it all home (thanks Mike!) and had to find another ride to OK to start a new job.
A friend's sister had just repossessed this truck from her brother. I bought it from her on the spot, on payments, and am still driving it today! The biggest problem I have had is a bad throwout bearing and a valve tick. Well, there was the damage the deer caused when I hit her when coming back from fishing...but thats not the truck's fault!
So not all used rigs have a bad story to go along with them.

Thats awesome dude, I had a truck like that too. My 94 ranger was given to me and I drove it a year and a half b4 the tranny went out, taking it in trips to houston and dallas on several occasions.

I love my old trucks, knowing that I'm building something not buying something. Just venting frustrations a bit. Honestly, what fun would it be if everything worked great all the time.

Whare abouts in OK do u live?

 

[LittleHorse]

oh this just keeps getting better.

So for a while I've had a leaking shaft seal on the power steering pump. It's of course made a mess of that entire side of the engine bay. Then I started hearing a knocking noise in the front suspension on bumps.

So I look under there and, most likely due to the power steering fluid, the rubber bushings that go above and below the shock tower around the top shock stud are completely gone. Must have deterioriated from the oil and fell apart.

So this morning I just about finished replacing the PS pump but unfortunately the PS pump pulley puller/installer had screwed up threads so I can't get the pulley installed. So instead I start working on the shock and BAM!

Twisted the shock stud right off the radius arm. Well, most of the stud is still there, but none of the threads.


That's the last straw. It's on craigslist as soon as it's running again.

 

[Chevelle Kid]

If you weren't so far away I'd trade you my 1996 GMC Sonoma. Runs like a champ every day of the week.

Good luck with it and I hope you get it running and moving right, I'd hate to see a nice B2 go to the scrapper.

Ben

 

[Jason]

hey... i like my monthly paymnts!!!!

I know where you are coming from, but I pay cash. I would rather wait 3 years to get something than pay a bank thousands of dollars to get it faster.