I recently purchased a 1998 Ranger XLT 4x4 5 Speed with the 3.0L engine. It was advertised as "needs clutch". I got a good deal on it and had it towed home. As I got into it, I found frame rot in the rear and the adventure begins.

I figure this is as good a place as any to post my updates and progress. All of my vehicles have names (generally as dubbed by my kids). This one has been dubbed Ranger Rick, after the cartoon raccoon. Of course right after that we saw a number of dead raccoons on the side of the road, so I hope that's not an omen.

A couple of shots of Rick




I hate this grill


And the rotted frame


And the new to me frame from a 2002 "southern" truck



So far, I've gotten the dash out (needed new bulbs in the cluster) and disconnected the clutch inside. Struggling with the seized line disconnect so I'll probably end up cutting it since I need to replace the clutch anyway. I also replaced the alternator as the old one was not charging.

In the last couple of days since I got the new frame, I started the disassembly. Box is off (of course), rear bumper and shocks. Taking my time and doing it methodically so I do it right and can reassemble in solid fashion.

 

Salvage yard run today. Got a correct set of wheels, a nice cluster bezel from an Explorer Sport Trac, nice grill and a few other things.

 

Didn’t do any big work this weekend due to being away with my wife (although the salvage yard trip was part of our “vacation”). We drove home this morning and when I got home I just did some small stuff.

Grill is replaced. Looks 100% better than that awful aftermarket one


i put the cluster back in with fresh bulbs. The Sport Trac cluster bezel looks good


Other junk yard finds were a Bully tailgate net - brand new including the mounting brackets in the package


And I’m dubious about these but I grabbed them anyway. They were installed in a Ranger. They work. I may not use them though
LED headlights

 

I feel like I made some meaningful progress in the last two days.Interior is back together with the new bezel and the grill is on. I sandpaper restored the driver's headlight (ala Chrisfix) and it looks order of magnitude better. I still need to do the passenger side, then I'll install those LEDs and see how they work out.

I started stripping the rusty frame (bumper, tow hooks, shocks, etc.). I ground out the 16 rivets on the replacement frame and got that ready. Just need to spend some time with a sanding sponge or something to knock the dirt and grime off, then I'll paint it. Once that's done I will finish swapping everything out of the old frame and join the front to the new back.

After that, I need to do the clutch. I cannot for the life of me release the master/slave line. The plastic collar is so buggered up and not moving at all when I try. I sprayed it, twisted it, etc. Nada. I'm to the point where I'll just cut it and pull the trans. I always thought I'd need to do a clutch when I bought it, so that's not an unexpected expense. Rockauto has all the parts (Luk brand - I've been reading here) for like 260 plus shipping (before the 5%, of course). I'll probably get that done before I put the bed back on to give myself a little more wiggle room back there.

I feel like I'm not going to make progress very much for the next couple of weeks. I have to work (you know, the thing that pays for my toys), I have a church funeral on Thursday and a fire company funeral on Friday. I took a 10U game for Saturday (umpiring girls FP softball). Plus, tonight is my actual 25th wedding anniversary and I have a meeting at church (I'm the moderator, so I kind of have to go). At least I'm not celebrating they way my parents celebrated their 25th - in the emergency room with one of their idiot children with a broken leg. Not saying who the idiot was.

I'm hoping to get the major stuff buttoned up soon, though. I feel like I"m bringing down property value. Bed liner is sitting on the lawn. Bed is on saw horses right next to it. Truck parked in the driveway (sans bed, of course) and the new frame parked in the driveway right next to it. At least the borough code enforcement officer is also my assistant chief at the fire company :)

 

Got the new to me frame stripped down and cleaned up completely. First coat of primer applied. I started getting into the suspension on the existing frame. Rear ubolts came right out. Shackle bolts are another story. They may get cut off. Springs seem to be in good shape so I'd like to clean them up, replace the bushings and reuse them. I'll probably buy the shackle as the ones on the truck have seen better days. I ran out of steam working on it last night and today was a work day, so I didn't make any progress.

I do like how the frame looks with a coat of primer. I'll hit it with another coat then get a coat or two of enamel paint on it as well to give it a little more protection.

The punch list continues.

 

Quick snap of the replacement frame with the paint on it.

 

Spent about 3 hours on the truck this morning before I had to go do the umpire thing. Fire call in the middle so that’s always fun. Turned out to be nothing and we were recalled pretty quickly anyway.

Got a lot done today either way. Fuel tank is out. Drivers side lead spring is off. Rear drive shaft is removed. I was in the midst of removing the passenger side spring when I had to pack up for the game. I may be able to start grinding the rivets away to separate the rotted frame tomorrow. Fingers crossed. I’m starting to feel like there is light at the end of this rusty tunnel.

 

And the frame is off. It put up a good fight and my arms are beat. Good thing my neighbor is a strong kid (construction guy, 20-something, good man). He helped get the rivets punched and helped me carry the old frame away.

Just need to do some cleanup and prep and paint on the front half and I’ll make a whole truck. This week.

 

Spent a few more "prep" minutes. Got the rear sway bar off, wire brushed the rear of the front frame area in prep for some paint. Small steps while I wait for parts and my welding guy to take a look at something for me.

Shocks and sway links arrived yesterday. New sway bushings, shackles and bushings should be here by the end of the week.

I'm hopeful that this weekend will end with the new frame joined up to the front of the vehicle.

 

Had a good talk with my "metal guy". He guided me in the right direction and I'm ready to start assembly. Parts all came yesterday, so I should be getting that frame in place Saturday or Sunday (weather permitting - plus a divergence with an in-law visit/brake job).

 

Didn't get the frame assembly done as planned this weekend. Life happens. I got the repair plate in place for the additional rust damage I found. Pressed out the old leaf spring bushings and pressed in the new.



Also spent some wire brush time with the leaf springs and put on a coat of paint, just to tidy them up before assembly

Before


After

 

I’ve been framed

 

Weather has not cooperated the last couple of days, but I got the rear suspension on (sans shocks). I just have to add the shocks and tighten down the sway links and the suspension components will be complete back there.

 

One more update today. I finished the suspension work. New shocks are on, sway links tightened down. Also installed the bumper

 

Had a funeral out of town today. Didn’t have much project time but I did clean up two of the junk yard wheels.






Eagle One cleaner from Autozone, elbow grease, pressure washer, and a Ryobi polishing kit then a coat of Carnuba wax.

Cleaned up ok. I’m not going to go crazy. This will do for sure.

 

Haven't made much progress. I seem to be in a never ending cycle of funerals. Lost last weekend due to one and bad weather and some pretty bad weather that last couple of days.

Anyway, I did the plumbing for the "new" charcoal canister. The situation is as follows:

Old one was in pretty rough shape. Mounts were completely crusted in. The new frame I purchased came with a good looking canister, which as far as I can tell is in tact. The plumbing is slightly different but the solenoid was the same one. I would have used the plumbing that came on the new one, but it was all cut through and mangled by the yard when they salvaged it. I did see that the swivel connector that goes into the side of the canister was the same at the canister side, but not the hose side. I pulled them out and was able to interchange them. Perfect, I'll just plug in the lines from the 1998 frame/canister combo to the 2001 canister. WRONG. The 2001 canister is slightly wider and the 1998 lines try to connect while running straight through the driver's side shock absorber. Looking at the (mangled) line from the 2001 frame, the hard line has a bend in it to route it around the shock. Since I cannot use that mangled one, I had to figure something else out. I used a razor and cut the vacuum-formed section of the hard line hose away from the connector on the mangled one as a test to see what I had. I then committed and cut the 1998 connector out of the 1998 hose. Then I cut the 1998 hose off of the 1998 y-connector. A two foot length of flexible 7/16" ID fuel line went on with a clamp. It was a snug fit, but it went on with a little persuasion. Hooked them up, routed it behind the shock, used a zip tie at the corner of the spare tire cross member where the wiring harness goes through to secure it. I then transferred a couple of the stock clamps from the hard line, secured with zip ties and pushed the "christmas tree" through the holes in the frame for them.

I did not take any photos, but I will get some and post them up.

It remains to be seen if I have any other evap issues, but barring some other leaks or a failed solenoid, I think it's a pretty solid repair and lets me avoid trying to replace the entire length of hard lines. Besides, I could not find that part anywhere available. I was already planning my next salvage yard trip for it. Now I don't need to.

Heading out of town this weekend for work. I guess I won't make any progress for another week or so. Sigh.

 

Some photos of the plumbing

 

It's like Christmas time again. I'm receiving delivery notifications from Rock Auto while I'm at work. Clutch parts are arriving today

 

We've got clutch parts

 

Sigh. Didn’t make nearly the progress I wanted today. Got many distractions including a stranded kid with a flat and I had to stop because I’m doing traffic controls at a parade tonight.

Front drive shaft is removed. Tried to loosen out the drivers side front o2 sensor to access the exhaust bolts to drop the exhaust so i can get the trans out. Not cooperating.

I’ll get there. Just not today.

 

Well, I've gotten to the point where I'm out of "nice days" to work on this. Since it's a driveway project and not a garage, it's going to sit this winter. I put the bed back on to get it off the saw horses. I'll come back to it in the spring.

 

You could send that grille to me!

 

If you're interested in the grill, we can work something out in regards to shipping and such. I don't want to make a profit on it, but I don't want to eat the costs either.

 

I was away at a conference in January for work. While out on a jog with a work friend we discussed my project and my lack of acetylene to break the exhaust loose. He told me that he had tanks in his storage shed and he'd let me use them once he dog them out. He contacted me today and asked when I wanted to come retrieve them. He'll make it "porch pick up" and such so we can keep our distance, but it looks like I may be able to move this project along now.

 

Had some time today so I did some little things. I replaced the driver’s seatbelt which was torn.


I also installed the LED headlights I found in the salvage yard trip. Daytime so it’s not a great shot but they are definitely white and bright