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Gunslinger
Joined: Sat Nov 4th, 2017
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I have a tendency to replace certain things just because, especially in the brake systems.
Explorer housing? Nothing on the diff is from an explorer. Calipers, rotors and pads are all Mustang, the diff and axles are from an ~04 Ranger.
Hmm, now that I think about it, I think I'll need new U bolts anyway. The old u bolts are for the 7.5, and the axle tubes for the 8.8 are bigger. Well there's my "Duh!" moment for the day. Looks like I'll be finding a set.
Anywho, I made a slight change. My plan was to take the bed off, replace any and all suspension bushings, the rear end assembly, then put 'er all back together. Well with the weather as cold and crappy as it is, I'm just going to replace the rear end and when it warms up a bit, then take the bed off and do suspension work. Not only that, but I have several things in the bed which would have to come out. At that later date, those parts in the bed now won't be there then. Makes things easier and more pleasant.
Next bit of buisness I'm going to tackle is figure out where it's still leaking from with a high tech bucket of water, then patch/seal as necessary. After that, dash goes back. While it's out, however, the edges are getting some SEM black. The whole thing will get redone after the engine swap as I'll need to take some panels apart to make a few small changes at that point, and I'd rather not risk scratching the new paint/dye, as tough as it is.
The Ranger will be a bit of an ugly duckling for a bit, with mismatched doors and a half-painted dash. But, that's OK.
As far as mirrors go, I think I've settled on getting an OEM set and sticking some Muth glass in them. Expensive way out, but I want to do this right and I can't come up with a way to get that turn signal function as cleanly as Muth did. Plus the heated glass is a bonus. The puddle lights should be easily accomplished with some white LED grommet lights, but I haven't 100% decided which light I'm going to use. It must be small and low profile as not to interfere with the operation of the mirror.
I do apologize for the slowness as of late. I've been focusing on training for my new position, which is going very well.
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1999 Ford Ranger XLT - 3.0 V6 4x4 - Loaded (Totaled) 143k. Rest in Peace, Gold Dust.