Well I have come to the point on my B2 that Im happy enough with it that I will leave it alone for a while and get back to my 99 Ranger and try and return it back to glory.

I love this truck.Its been an amazing truck to me over the years but unfortunatly I was a little too hard on it and put it out of commision last July and it has been sitting since.On its last wheelin trip I got it stuck very bad in a deep creek crossing and flooded the truck up to the cup holders.Trying to get it out I broke BOTH front CV shafts,had a AVM hub fall off when one shaft broke in half,trans lost all gears except 2nd,overheated motor to the point I have anitfreeze leaking between the head and block on both sides of the motor and killed the starter.

Today I pushed it inside the garage and started the rebuild. My plans are to have the trans rebuilt stronger,replace both front axles,remove front Aussie locker,pull the 4.0 and do a rebuild with ported heads,cam,headers and tuner.I also have to gut the interior and do a complete cleaning and possible replace some upholstery .


I am done wheelin this truck hard since I have my B2 now so it will be my daily driver from now on so sit tight and enjoy the show!

 

oh wow

 

Nice to see your finally going to work on it! I love that truck.

 

If you were that stuck why didnt you winch? Good lookin truck though, I like those wheels.

 

The winch has one small ground wire that some how got cut either when I went into the creek or earlier in the day and I didnt know.The winch was under water and when I tried to winch out the winch didnt work,I thought the water killed it so we tried snatching it out with 2 Jeeps but they couldnt move me an inch{this is not the stuck in the above pix BTW} It was at that point I seen a loose black wire in the water and traced it back to my winch.I twisted the two wires together and the winch worked but by that time all the trucks damage was done.It was a hard pull since I only had my rear axle working and one gear in the trans and this is when the motor overheated.

Worst stuck of my life and nobody had a camera that day.

 

Oic, well that makes sence then.

 

Got gaskets,bolts,timing set and a Comp 422 cam on the way for the motor.

I gutted the interior today to try and get rid of the funk inside.

 

Did you order the misc stuff your going to need for that cam?

 

So far all I have is my gasket set,head bolts,timing set and cam.Im waiting till I get the heads off before I decide what Im doing with the rest of the motor.

Got the interior all cleaned up now.I had mold growing on the jump seats,trim,carpet....

There was more dirt under the carpet than on top! Now Im just waiting for the carpet to dry and then I can put the inside back together.

Im taking the front axle apart tonite to replace the broke CV shafts and whatever else I find.

Here is my "before" shot.It will never be this trashed again!



This was after a good sweep job!

As soon as my dogs can in they jumped in it and started sniffing around like they were gonna take a dump in it.I cant blame em.

Almost ready to put back together.

 

Can't wait to see how this goes.

 

Well interior is all back together and looks like new again.

I started on the front axle next.Ripped it all apart and found something new. I never knew there was another seal on the back side of the knuckle that seals to the CV shaft.Mine were shot and were letting dirt and water get into the knuckle and that is prolly the reason I have gone thru more wheel bearings than oil changes in the past four years.
I got two NEW cv shafts,brake pads,seals and retainer rings.


Bad seal and dirt filled wheel bearing

Removed bearing and seal to clean

New seal from NAPA....26.00 ea!

Trashed bearing

Cleaned up with new seal


Out with the old!

In with the new.

New retaining rings.

New pads,cleaned the hub and all greased up.

Im still missing the other AVM hub so if anyone has an extra{hint hint}.

The other side was the same,no pix. Now its on to the trans removal.

 

looks good let me know how that cam works out i have looked at them b4

 

Looks good Brian.

 

Ever thought of going to live axle?, it'd be the perfect time now. O and got a part number for that seal?

 

No need for a straight axle in a daily driver.

Part number is on the box,thats why I posted that picture.

 

Well motor is now tore down to the shortblock.Not pullin it out now.I need this truck back on the road asap since I got a job transfer and I have been driving my B2 over 80miles a day back and forth to work.B2 will barely do 60mph and gets a lovely 12mpg!

Heads are getting dropped off at buddies machine shop in the morn to find out if they are cracked or warped. Once I know I can decide if Im putting money into these or getting a new set. I have a set of Comp #988 springs for the heads to go with the #422 cam also. I will be ordering my Smith Bros pushrods tomorrow also.

The motor has 130k on it and so far I am very happy to see how clean it is inside,another reason I aint pullin it out to do a complete rebuild on it.

Once motor is up and running again I am just dropping it off at another friends trans shop and will just pay him to R&R the trans and fix whatever broke in it.

 

OK, both heads are cracked at the rear most cylinders so I ordered new castings from Alabama Cylinder Head today.

#3 cracked between valves

#6 cracked between valves


I will be working on swapping cams tomorrow and getting new timing set installed. Should be ordering my new Smith Bros pushrods by end of the week.I have never seen pushrods wore this bad! And I read this is normal for a 4.0!

 

Lookin good Brian. Bummer about the heads though, crummy luck to have 2 cracked ones.

 

Looks like good progress man.

 

Its alright I guess, now I get to start with fresh heads to port.I just wish I could afford some headers right now,these stock manifolds are HORIBLE!

 

dang Brian, really going at it. idk how i missed this thread before. Looks good so far.

 

He meant live axle as in the CV setup that 2000.5+ rangers have. No hubs no need to worry about them stop working.

 

Easy to miss I guess when I have three project threads going at once! .....cant call me lazy!


I wouldnt want a live front axle in this truck because first of all it still has an Aussie locker up front which would make steering a little goofy on the streets and I like the mileage improvement you get by unlocking the hubs.

 

Dam I am impressed! I called Alabama Cylinderhead Monday at 2pm and ordered my new heads.....I get home from work Tuesday at 4pm and they are waiting at my door!! Ok, +1 for quick shipping!

Now +2 for a meaty lookin head! COncider these the "before" shots. They are going to my buddies shop tomorrow for porting and essembly.

 

Nice man. ALABAMA FTW! lol