Hmmmm... is that the reflection of a sandwich I see in the window? LOL Nice seats too! :)

 

It's my buddy, he's holding an energy drink and a gas station banana bread lol. Racing started early that day, so we grabbed food on the road. The tracks about a 2 hour drive from the house.

 

I weighed it. 4000lbs even. That's with about 1/4 tank of gas.

99 4wd super cab with 265s on 16s

 

When I bought it 3 weeks ago I heard a noise. I took it to Firestone to have it diagnosed (dealer said they'd pay). They told me it was a bad rear axle bearing. Ford wanted something like $1080 to do it so the dealership said they'd pick up and do it (Chevy dealership 4 hours away). I figured the parts were cheap enough so I did it myself for about $68. That's both sides, bearings and seals. plus the fluid and friction modifier.

I noticed however, that the old bearings looked fine. I also noticed that the parking brake pads on the right side were toast, like down to the metal! I bet the noise I heard was the e-brakes being metal on metal after the previous owner tightened the hell out of em.

Of course no one in town (Auto Zone, Advanced Auto Parts, O'reilly) had them in stock at any local store so I had Auto Zone order them. They'll be in tomorrow evening.

 

Pulled the cig lighter and replaced it with a switch, wired into the purple signal wire for the AC so i have some actual control over it.

Pulled the dash/dials - had a few bulbs out, also discovered the mess of a huge spill by the previous owner that clearly hit the entire gauge section.

Cleaned them up nicely, fitted LED's - trying a blue one at each end, cool whites in between.

 

Bought it some new toys from a 2002 Sport Trac:
31 spline 8.8 4.10 limited slip drum to drum
Leaf springs
​Driveshaft
Two front leather seats
​​​center floor console
white 4x4 instrument cluster
shifter, and two switches
$220.

 

Awesome, seems like a steal! pics of the installs are a must!

 

Installed the new e-brake shoes and hardware kit. It would have been much easier if I would have left the axles out, but all in all it wasn't too difficult. I hate drum brakes!

 

I definitely will. The cluster, axle, and spring packs are the first projects. Everything else can wait. My goal is to have all of it plus a PWM controlled fan and a 1" body lift done over the next couple of months, then use the winter to finish any random projects in the garage. Once that's done, I've got approval to start a V8 swap.

 

Does that same Sport-Trac have the 4.6? and is it still available? That should be an easy swap, maybe. Hmm, you have my gears turning now. I'd love to swap in a 4.6 with the tranny and transfer case!

 

I believe it had an OHC 4.0, but the drivetrain was long gone by the time I saw the truck.

Nothing about a 4.6 swap sounds 'easy' to me. The modular engines are HUGE.

 

You're probably right. Were the 4.6 Sport-Tracs still using the Ranger's frame?

If so, fitting one into a Ranger may not be too difficult. You'd just need the motor mounts and crossmembers that go with it. Plus whatever else was different like the driveshafts, ECU, exhaust, ect.

I know it's easier said than done, but it's nice to consider. hmmm.

I have the 4.6 3-valve in my '08 Mustang, and yes they are rather large. The 4.0 in the Ranger was rated at 207hp and the 4.6 (in the Sport-tac anyway) was rated at 292hp. With a few mods and tuning, 300hp is doable.

An Ecoboost swap would be awesome!

 

why would you want all the reliability issues of a 3v?

 

I bought my '08 Mustang brand new in September of 2007, never had a single issue with the engine. I installed a set of Brenspeed cams that kept the factory cam phasers. It's also tuned for more ponies...still no issues. I love the 3-valve, though it could have more power.

 

you're rare. Cam phasers, plugs and lash adjusters are all common issues on both versions of the 3v

 

I did change out the two-piece plugs to a Champion one-piece. Haven't had a single issue with the cam phasers or any noise from the lash adjustment. I'll keep an eye out for issues though since you mentioned it. She sits in the garage mostly now, about 63K miles on her.

 

Started the wiring process for my 50inch light bar mounted on the roll bar! and replaced all the essential lights (tail lights brake lights, signal lights) ya know just spending money like it's grown on trees :D

 

Swapped out the passengerseat back with the drivers. So much more comfortable now. Now to keep an eye out for a passenger seat to fix mine with.

 

Pulled the IAC and cleaned it, cleaned butterfly and TB too.

Tach reads high, about 900 - but scan tool says it's about 700-710.

 

Is it idling rough? Have you checked the throttle position sensor?

 

Erm, it's idling rougher than i'd expect a V6 to idle, but i've not owned it for too long and it's always run this way.

I have not checked the TPS output, i guess i can do that next - i do have a scanner now, i can see the O2 sensors etc. but can't see the PCM's desired idle, only the actual.

 

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I have an '01 Dodge Dakota (for sale) that the TPS output was perfect on but it had a rough idle and on occasion it would stall itself as soon as I'd put it in park. I replaced the TPS with a Doorman TPS from autozone and same prob. I ordered a $65 Mopar part from dodge and it's ran like a dream ever since.

I guess overtime the part of the sensor that rotates with the throttle gets play in it which can cause a load of issues that would seem like other stuff.

Hopefully yours is something simple, with no codes it's hard to find those types of problems!

 

Thanks, i'll see what i can find.

 

these tachs are terrible. Mine reads 1000 when it's actually 800ish

 

Also, saw a fx4 level ii at a local used car lot. Wish it was there a month ago. It'd be mine instead of this truck lol