Project "Danger Ranger"

[livetoride21]

And so it begins, this weekend it is time to start working on her. Hopeing to get a lot accomplished, going to get all the general maintenance things out of the way;
-Tie rod ends
-upper balljoint/tables
-new serpentine belt, tensioner, and idler pulley

Then to start the fun stuff;

This weekend;
-new shocks all around
-torsion bar crank (1-2" lift)

Next week/weekend;
-Extended shackles (1-2" lift)
-Prewire for fog lights and cb radio
-Start mocking up to cut steel for bumpers
......... to be continued.

Cb antenna

Maintenance parts

Driving lights. 7" HID



Once I have the truck lifted with new parts up front and it has settled, the new tires will be going on very soon too.
Can't wait!

 

[livetoride21]

Got a good bit of work done today. Nothing super interesting, but forward motion none the less! Goth both upper balljoint/tables replaced with heavy duty professional grade units (look how much larger the balljoint is in the pictures), new rancho shocks up front, and serpentine belt/tensioner/pulley replaced.


Also cranked the torsion bars up front for about 1.5" of lift. Will let it settle then adjust again accordingly. I'd like 1.5-2" of lift to make my tires just have a bit more room.
I'm not the greatest at documenting these kind of things because I don't have a dedicated "shop" camera haha. greasy hands and a nice camera don't mix well.
But I'm going to try my best to get as many pictures as I can along the way. The drivers side table was a real bear to get out, but I'm happy to have nice tight ball joints!

Next up will be to change my tie rod ends for heavy duty units, rear shocks for ranchos, and install my rear shackles.
That will hopefully happen some time this week or next weekend.
In two weeks tires will go on and alignment will be done.
Then I will start building my bumpers and things will get a whole lot more interesting

 

[livetoride21]

Well, made some progress today towards making my front bumper. Sketched up the final flat patterns for the pieces I will need to cut for the front bumper, will probably have them laser cut for very cheap. Going to cut them out of cardboard and mock it up 100%, then its time to order.






Drew my driving lights quickly to see approximately how they would look. I like it, can't wait!

 

[Flash Gordan]

Easiest and cheapest way to get added lift and extra hauling is to install a set of leaf springs from a Ford Explorer. I gained 1.5 inches and can probably load an extra 500 lbs before the springs start to sag where they were before.

 

[livetoride21]

Easiest and cheapest way to get added lift and extra hauling is to install a set of leaf springs from a Ford Explorer. I gained 1.5 inches and can probably load an extra 500 lbs before the springs start to sag where they were before.

I've actually done that swap before, and it can get quite time consuming and pricey, if you're anywhere near the rust belt. Usually you end up replacing all the bushings, and suspension bolts to do that swap. I also didn't enjoy the stiffer ride of the explorer leafs.

I decided to go the route of extended shackles, to get around 2" of lift. I realized the other day that hopping around on the ice ice fishing this winter had done a number on my stock shackles. One of them had finally cracked, so I figured it was time to install the longer ones i had. Unfortunately, winter is still holding on here, and I spent 4 hours in the cold the other night getting them installed. Managed to salvage the leaf spring bushings, but not the bolts. Then I installed my new rear shocks, tie rod ends, light torsion crank, and installed my summer wheels. (soon to have my new Cooper Discoverer ST MAXX 265/75 r16 installed on them) then it's on to building my bumpers .
Without further ado, here are some pictures to show I actually DID get some stuff done haha. For some reason in the pics, the rear end looks a bit lower, but actually it's higher though.













Can't wait to get my tires but on here and see how she does in the dirt!
Also can't wait clean the salt and crap off from our winter.

And the most important upgrade of all, got my Expedition Portal decal on

 

[jdog1]

this is freaking awesome..... i have my own ranger and have been wanting to do something like this for a while. im defiantly going to be keeping a close eye on this....

 

[livetoride21]

this is freaking awesome..... i have my own ranger and have been wanting to do something like this for a while. im defiantly going to be keeping a close eye on this....

Thanks! Great to hear there are more ranger owners here! I'm hoping this Wednesday I will be able to get my tires mounted up and alignment done, but worst case, it will be another week. Than the fun begins, going to start building my bumpers, then I'll be able to mount up my CB radio , and driving lights. Can't wait!

 

[livetoride21]

Things are starting to get more interesting now
Finally had my tires installed and alignment done yesterday. (was almost bang on anyways)
Super happy with the ride quality and road noise of the new tires. Can't wait to try them in the dirt and mud!
Still debating whether I will go up another inch with a body lift, what do you guys think??
Once that's decided then it's time to start making my bumpers :wings:
But before all that, really haveto give her a good wash to get the salt and road grime off.

Without further ado, here are some pics

 

[livetoride21]

Finally, I have the chance for a small update on this project. Been quite a while, and well life happens. Bought a house with my girlfriend and have basically been running non stop since then. That's not to say that progress and adventures haven't had the chance to happen. Went on a few trips this summer, and just a couple weeks ago finally was able to mount up my Driving lights to get ready for my big trip of the summer 1400km round trip, towing my boat with 300 ish kms of which being gravel logging roads.




As a prequel to this, my girlfriend and I decided it was time to finally get out for an overnight excursion.
Gear packed, truck ready, we headed out to the Quebec Laurentian region, near Mont Tremblant.
We would head into the bush and find outselves a suitable spot to camp for the night in the truck in the woods.


Once we had explored some of the many trails and found our spot to campf or the night, we decided to go into the small village of Saint Donat, and have some dinner.
Roasted chicken was served on the tailgate


We then headed back into the trail to our campsite.







We left camp early, so we could go and explore more of the trails around there



We went about 15 km into the bush up from a sand pit, where I even got to play in my truck a little bit :wings:




we ended up on some very bumpy trail, that appears to be where the water runs down from the mountains in the spring.
Any farther was a little too much for my taste being alone. It will be nice to go back sometime with 2 or more trucks, so if anything goes wrong we're not in too much trouble.
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that trail, but next time I'll take some!

I will hopefully be ordering the steel to fabricate my bumpers and tire carrier this coming week, so more updates are to come, as well as pictures from my big trip up north!
Hopefully I won't disappear as long this time

 

[Scott B.]

Dinner on the tailgate - can't beat it! Looks like a fun overnighter.

Congrats on the house - all your running around is worth it (even though you may not think so right now.)

 

[livetoride21]

Dinner on the tailgate - can't beat it! Looks like a fun overnighter.

Congrats on the house - all your running around is worth it (even though you may not think so right now.)

haha yep dinner on the tailgate is the best! And thanks! In all honesty the running around doesn't really bother me, I'm still able to do a ton, I've just had to delay a few things, but I'm hopeing next summer to be able to get out for a nice long expedition. hopefully across Canada!

 

[Scott B.]

haha yep dinner on the tailgate is the best! And thanks! In all honesty the running around doesn't really bother me, I'm still able to do a ton, I've just had to delay a few things, but I'm hopeing next summer to be able to get out for a nice long expedition. hopefully across Canada!

Across Canada!?!? That will be nice.

I'll keep a watch out for your trip report - and hopefully one day follow it!

 

[livetoride21]

Across Canada!?!? That will be nice.

I'll keep a watch out for your trip report - and hopefully one day follow it!

Thanks! We've done most of eastern Canada except for Newfoundland. So it seems like its time to go west.
We will either head across canada, or through the states and check out Arizona, etc...
Can't wait! and I look forward to seeing some trip reports of yours as well!

 

[UltraHDGames]

Good looking truck! Good to see a silver regular cab ranger

 

[livetoride21]

Small update, finally picked up my welder the other day. Lincoln mig pak 180, will be using it flux core for now. Now this project is really ready to roll!
Should have my steel this week to start on bumpers