New thread about my 2004 Ford Ranger XLT 2WD 2.3L. Got the truck in Febuary of this year and have some plans for it as I go along. The truck was purchased used with 98k on the 2.3 motor, although this motor had troubles with knocking. Hope to show as much as possible along the way.

 

Pictures! I love green.

 

Here is the day we towed it home with my dad's Chevy 2500HD.

 

Next we got it home and then we tore into it down to the cams.



We had not found any problems at this point and we decided that it would not be worth the trouble to go any deeper in the engine to find the issue. The search was now on for a new motor. Some might say why not put a 3.0 or a 4.0 in at this point but then again I could just buy a truck with a v6 that would be a lot easier. So a 4 cylinder it is.

 

A couple weeks later we had found a motor with 67k on it from a local salvage yard.







We had then got the motor in with no major issues. Sorry no going in pictures.

Although, advice to anyone doing this, the new motor and wiring harness was an 06. The truck is an 04. Use the harness from the 04 motor or else the engine will not start along with some other issues like hitting the brake pedal and the radio turning off lol.

 

Here is how the truck sits as of now.



Next up are some mods that I would like to complete.
- CB Radio Mount
- Adapter to use am/fm antenna for the CB
- 06+ black grille
- 06+ Taillights
- black out headlights and taillights
- Maglite Mount
- Coil spacers to level the truck.
- Aluminum Wheels
- Aluminum Tool Box

 

I recently finished my CB mount for my Uniden Pro520XL. It is bolted to two pieces of flat stock which are bent and then bolted underneath the cup holder.





Next up I have to order the adapter to use the stock am/fm antenna for the CB.

 

I just ordered the adapter that allows you to use the am/fm antenna for the cb yesterday, should be in next week

 

The adapter was very odd, wasn't what I expected could not transmit or receive on the radio. I returned it and now I will be getting a 4 or 5 foot firestik antenna.

 

Why not chop the end off the factory antenna and solder on a connector that would work with your CB? Keeps it OEM.

 

That's a good idea, but I'm not a fan of cutting into the wiring if I don't need to I would much rather the other antenna, more range, etc.

 

I suppose so. Makes sense if you're getting more range out of the new antenna.

 

Just ordered a new radio of ebay tonight. It is a stock ranger radio with cd and cassette. The reason for the new radio is that I did a mod to the original which just had a CD. I had soldered into the right, left, and ground locations on the CD player, then hooking the wires up to a 3.5mm female jack. I then tested it out in the truck without screwing everything back in to make sure it worked before I buttoned it up. This was my mistake. I plugged it in and it was working like a dream until the cd player fell out and ripped off my solders and half of the circuit board. Anyway there went $70 out the window. I will now just be running a cassette adapter.

 

Also hope to be picking up some aluminum wheels from the local junkyard later this week. And maybe a toolbox aswell.

 

Truck looks good man

I do not advise coil spacers, I had 2" ones in my 06 and it rode like complete garage, Pay a little more for lift spindles, well worth it

 

Thanks a lot the same to you. I have also heard that about the downsides of the coil spacers from a lot of people, will have to look into lift spindles.

 

Hello all, hope everyone had a nice Christmas and New Year, have not updated my truck in a while. Since I last updated the truck I have been daily driving it since we got it registered in mid-October. I have rewired my CB radio with a fuse tap into the radio fuse so it turns in and off with the radio. For my antenna, I went with a Firestik 4ft. antenna which I mounted on the bumper. Just today the truck gave me some issues and wouldn't start. As my dad and I diagnosed it we noticed the spark plug wires were no good, and caused a misfire. We will be ordering new wires. I am looking into getting a toolbox for the truck, any suggestions?

 

Good luck to you on finding a box that'll fit our oddly sized beds. Not many people make 'em the right size.
The size of the style side is wider than a step side, you'll probably have better luck, however.

Take a tape measure and find the distance between each side of the cargo area, driver side to passenger side.

With that number you get written down somewhere, check out some hardware stores online and see what they carry. I know homedepot carries toolboxes of that nature.

 

Took boxes for fleet sides are pretty easy to find. Most boxes "for small or compact trucks" will fit. Check the dimensions against your bed width to be sure.

I am of the opinion that a truck box is a truck box (as long as we're not talking the shitty plastic ones), but people do have their favorite brands. Tractor supply, kobalt, UWS, etc.

Try hunting craigslist, guys are always selling tool boxes on there, maybe you'll find one you like

 

Agreed there is a UWS one and a kobalt one that will fit my truck. Craigslist is hit or miss for this kinda stuff as well, asking too much, people don't know what they have, etc.

 

You would be surprised, Lowes has a model that fits the truck as well as UWS, all a matter of price and availability aswell

 

Recently picked up some wheels and tires off of Craigslist for a good deal in my opinion. They are some 16" alloys off of a ranger with 255/70/16 Mastercraft Courser HSX practically brand new with only 2,000 miles on them. Although there is some pretty bad clear coat peel on them, but I will be stripping them and reclearing them.