Nomad's 2000 Ford Ranger Project

More broken parts on the Freeranger When I drove the Ranger the first time I immediately noticed that it sort of banged into gear and reverse. A thump, like sloppy engagement. I could tell this happened on deceleration as well, but not with the clutch in. So it was related to the direction of travel. A visual check of the rear diff revealed a leaking pinion seal and about an 8th of a turn of slop before the diff engaged. Unfortunately I was preoccupied with engine needs and getting the seats finished so I did not spend much more time on it. I now know I should have opened the rear cover immediately instead of assuming what it was. I changed the pinion seal, and greased the driveshaft, replaced both u joints, and the slop was still there but not quite as bad.   A video showed similar slop from worn spider gears. Again, I should have opened the rear cover before buying them. Live and learn.  As I removed the cover ready to install the gears my heart sank... The cause of all...

2.5L New Timing belt and tensioner What needs to be done on a 250,000 mile 2.5L Ford? Well... either nothing, or a lot...  OK who's kidding who... a lot. Time for a change Since I want this to keep going reliably for the next 3 to 5 years I'll be taking care of as much as I can. I have no maintenance history and I don't want to just wait till something breaks to fix it.  Unfortunately, I have a stumble after coming off the throttle and I'm afraid it's a recessed valve issue which would require a head refresh at a machine shop. I'm hoping to avoid that.  I'm going to stop throwing parts at it till I see how bad this engine feels once it's running. I'm hoping this list  takes care of most problem areas but then again new parts these days have poor quality and could fail me vs an older non-broken part. The list: Timing belt and tensioner pulley. Drive belt, tensioner, and idler pulley. Water pump, flush block and heater core. Thermostat and housing. New...

 The original rusted and patched together exhaust is "functional", but not really a long term permanent solution. The hangers have rusted through and the muffler was just hanging its weight off the exhaust manifold and the tail pipe was rusted off the muffler body. Not good. A heat shield on the floor above the catalytic converter rusted off and was rattling badly. I want to replace it as well.  I'd like to find out what muffler may be even quieter than stock. Instead of trying to get the 2.5L 4 cylinder to "sound cool" I'd rather make it whisper quiet if possible. The old engine will be loud enough without a droning exhaust. Added an aluminum heat shield above the cat and will clamp on a regular oval muffler.

Ranger with Explorer bucket seats, center console, new carpet   Hiding a nasty surprise 26 years of service, and dirt As I try to make this old '00 Ford Ranger as clean and comfortable as I can on a budget I have run into additional unexpected issues. This is "Scope Creep" as they call it. In this case, a rotted away driver side floor pan!  I decided to spring for brand new ACC "cut pile" carpet with the "mass backing". To the tune of around $200 this will be one of the larger single items I've purchased for this tired old truck. I'd considered pulling a complete carpet from the junkyard for $35, but it'd still be hard to clean out 20 years of dirt and wear. Since this is for my daughter's first vehicle this is a "splurge" that will make the interior clean, fresh and new feeling with the nice condition '98 Explorer Sport seats and '00 Explorer center console I'm installing.  Almost fine, but we can do better Out wi...

 I had to ditch the useless 60/40 seats that came stock in the '00 Ranger. The armrests always break, and when folded up are still in the way. Going with individual seats makes more sense for this little truck and being a 5 speed means the center spot is needed for shifting.  Enter the 2000+ Ford Explorer center console. Many have done this swap. The hardest part about it is the console is in about 10 pieces and is help together with a bunch of tiny screws and bolts. Removing one takes a good bit of time.  Benefits: Armrest with more room for storage needed in the small regular cab. Cup holders, at least one should work around the shifter, place for phone etc.  The front of the console bolts right up to the factory dash with existing holes. as the Explorers used the same exact dash and same floor structures. Once I install new carpet I'll sink self tapping screws through the tunnel for the frame.  As I remove the carpet I'll be prepping the floors and all holes ...

1 '98 Explorer seats on '00 Ranger rails   Typical Ranger interior wear The driver seat was in typical Ranger condition, shredded, dirty and uncomfortable. The back foam was beat down and the cloth was failed. The 60/40 seat setup was not ideal and I want to bring the interior back to comfortable and clean. I also wanted to do it for the least amount of money. I considered cheap covers and hacking the stock driver seat into a single bucket, or using a passenger seat to re-skin a converted driver but that would still be nearly the cost of whole seats. I looked at a bunch of other options for seats while in the junkyard that I could custom fit (Mazda 3 sport, Subaru WRX, Ford Focus) but when I came across these seats in a '98 Ford Explorer Sport 2 door I decided to try this route. These will look factory and clean and the foam is firm and dare I say basically new looking in most regards, especially from a '98. Looks like I'll still be doing some custom work to the Ran...