Quote:

Originally Posted by safaripacific

Ah, I guess I forgot to mention that. Its the same as I had. 2.3L 4 banger. Will be a direct swap, so little fuss and back on the road the quickest.

how many miles did you get out of your original one? either way it should last a good time with proper maintenance, plus your not beating on it at all.

i'm hoping it starts to warm up here soon so i can get started on mine and get camping this summer.

 

I got 250k miles. If it wasn't for the piston slap I would have no problem running it for another 250k. The old motor does need some new parts though. Such as the oil pump (its whining), the bearing for the fan pulley is about to go, the coolant line that comes from the back of the motor has a few leaks and some other bits. So for the cost of replacing other parts I get a new ready to run motor for less. And most important bit, it has a warranty.

 

Time for the heart transplant. 2.3L DOHC 4 Cylinder with 120,000 miles. In great shape. Has 99% of everything on it. Will be doing some basic mods to fix issues I had with the last motor. Mainly the hard coolant line that runs behind the block.

 

Sweet! Can't wait to see the rig running again! Are you still swapping in the D30 or keeping the IFS? I forgot.

 

The motor has been set in place.

 

IFS. Though, I'm thinking of getting another Ranger to build as more of a rock toy.

 

You want to buy my '96?

 

Your kind of far. I was looking more at buying something fairly stripped down or just a cab and build my own chassis, cage and such. I have tons of extra ranger parts and a V6 motor that I would like to put to good use someday.

 

Update on the new motor. IT'S ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finished hooking up the major components and test fired it. Need to redo the AC system before I can test drive, since I need the AC pump to put on a belt.

 

Man you work fast! Make a trip to San Diego so I can see it. lol

 

All in all there's only about 1 1/2 days of installing the new motor and getting it to run. Pretty easy overall. Then again. I've pretty much touched every bolt on this truck many times over...haha

 

Here a crude video of the second time I fired up the motor. I reattached everything including the bad ac pump, so I could begin running a flush through the coolant system

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeVauSwbKDo

 

you should stop in eatontown nj next time ur goin up the coast

 

X2. I would love to meet up with ya if you come this way

 

nice to see the engine runnin! good luck finishing it up!

 

Did my first test run since the new motor was installed. 100+ miles this afternoon. Dang its a good feeling to drive the Ranger again. :D



Took longer to get back on the road then I wanted. Had to replace a bunch of things including the wheel bearings again. I replaced them recently after the failed spindle last summer. I'm a bit disappointed at Timken. I expected better from them. The seals were cracked when I pulled off the rotor. I'm guessing the cracks must of let water in, allowing the bearings to eat themselves. Used National bearings this time with a SFK seal. Hope it fairs better.

 

Looks sweet! Glad its back on the road!

 

Good luck with the new bearings. Did the truck feel any different with the new motor?

 

The new motor seems to have less power. But its been a few months since it was down, so it could all be in my head.



Quick update: To be quite honest I lost all motivation to complete the truck and trip since everything fell apart last year. The proverbial scat hit the fan, including other aspects of the venture that I'm not willing to talk about online. Well, that feeling has also rolled into this year and has been hard to get back into the groove. Burnt is the best way to explain it. For now I'm focusing on rebuilding my savings to complete the adventure. I have also decided to go back to my original concept for the truck. What I know it can and will do. More to come as I get my wheels rolling again.

I went on a trip last weekend with Adventure Duo and SoCal Teardrops. I had a great time and reminded me of what my goals were all about. Fun and adventure. Dave's writeup is here http://www.adventureduo.com/2011/06/...o-tonopah.html

 

Too bad about the motivation. Hope it comes back, thats one sweet truck!

 

chin up puddin cup! don't give up man. just cause you get a lousy thing once in a while doesn't mean it's time to quit all together. push on, learn from this. i haven't seen a thread from you in a while and i haven't been following but i saw you updated a thread and was like "what has this guy been up to?" now i gotta read some to get caught up.

 

Update.

I moved to Temecula, California, got an office in old town and have gone back to work doing the web design/hosting thing for a while. Need to rebuild my savings. Anyhow, I'm going back to my original plan for the truck. Pretty much a roof top tent on the bed and a some storage in the bed accessible through the tailgate. There's other small things I'll be doing. Also having to redo the front suspension again. The camper was too heavy and destroyed most of it. Even wore out the hyme ball. My brother is going to start giving me a hand building out the bed of the truck. So updates are coming once we get cracking.



A couple of the last trips I've done.



http://safaripacific.com/gallery.php?g=20




http://safaripacific.com/gallery.php?g=19




http://safaripacific.com/gallery.php?g=18

 

truck looking awesome and looking forward to the up dates.

the owner of overlandgourmet.com stopped through Chico, Ca while on a trek. really cool guy he was up grading his FJ at a friends shop. i told him about you and your. he said he knows you or of you. i can't remember. he was also towing a adventure trailer. i had to try it on for size.

 

Yeah I know Zach and Jonathan. Great guys and awesome cooks. They catered a few overland events I've gone too.

 

Glad to see the updates! Maybe I'll have to see the truck now that your only an hour away.