Life after the "Terminator"

jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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+1 on the build quality, I love cars that have been meticulously put together with no centimeter untouched much more than the popular show cars that are just slapped together with a little glaze. Your workmanship certainly shows sir!

Thank you. No trailer in this trucks future. It is going straight into service when it is done. 200-400 miles per day, five to seven days a week. The recessed areas will be filthy 21 days after it is done!
 

manolith

I Wanna go fast.
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this might just be the best looking ranger when it hits the road. incredible work.
 

jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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Stop talking! Moar pics! NOWS!

Here you go!

As I mentioned in an early post, I have several assemblies being worked at the same time so the thread may bounce around a bit from one to another as the project progresses. This week I have been preparing engine parts for final measurements and cleaning before assembly and at the same time my son has been working on the disassembly and reassembly of my 31 spline 8.8 Traction Lok differential.

*** The assembly video is about 20 minutes long but is very detailed and I found it to be extremely interesting as I was not familiar with the entire process of rebuilding the differential.

Here are a few shots of the disassembly process along with a nice video documenting the process performed on my particular differential.

Disassembly video

385597 - YouTube


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All the new parts ready to go together.

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Back together and ready for the new carrier bearings to be pressed on.

Assembly video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXfQWYFGeoI


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WOTjunkie

SvtP Resident Asshole
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I don't think I've ever seen as many users viewing a single thread at one time as there are that are viewing this thread. Pretty sure everyone is amazed at the work that is going into this truck.
 

jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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I don't think I've ever seen as many users viewing a single thread at one time as there are that are viewing this thread. Pretty sure everyone is amazed at the work that is going into this truck.

Nice! I have been considering moving my build info over to this site for awhile but didn't think anybody would be interested.
 

jerrad

RIP Gump
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Great job man, you have waaaaay more patience than I do.
Great job and I can't wait to see more.
 

jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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The ABS Toner Ring was in pretty bad shape from sitting inside the unused 8.8 rear end. The section of the ring that was above the fluid level rusted bad and made the piece useless. A new ABS Toner Ring was purchased and pressed on to the 31 spline Traction Lok.

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jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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The crankshaft has been washed with soap and water and the oil passages thoroughly cleaned with a wire brush. It was then sprayed with lubricant to displace the water, and then blown with compressed air to get rid of the excess lubricant. The crankshaft was then carefully wiped clean with a fresh shop towel and set aside for the moment.

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The main saddles of the block have been cleaned and are ready to receive the bearings.

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The main caps, main cap fasteners, and crankshaft have all been covered in plastic during the assembly process and will be uncovered individually as each piece is needed. I am doing my best to try and keep everything as clean as possible. At this point the main bearings are uncovered and ready to be installed.

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The first bearing is pressed by hand into place and then followed by each of the others until the block is fully loaded.

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After the main bearings in the block are covered with assembly lube the crankshaft is set into place. The first main cap is fit with its particular bearing and a generous portion of assembly lube is spread on to the bearing surface.

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The main cap is gently set in place and the fasteners are lightly threaded until the remaining caps and fasteners have been brought to the same point.

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Once all of the main caps have been lightly placed and the fasteners threaded each main cap is “set” with the assistance of a rubber mallet.

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Then each of the main caps are torqued to 40 pounds according to sequence starting with the thrust bearing and working outward. Once all of the main caps are torqued to 40 pounds the crank is “set” with a rubber mallet in both directions to align the thrust bearing.

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Once the thrust bearing is aligned the main caps are all torque to 66 pounds. Next step will be checking crankshaft end play and hopefully moving forward with installing the rods/pistons. But that will need to wait until another day.

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jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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I have been working a lot of hours the past few weeks. Not much to update other than I measured the crank shaft end play and detailed and installed the power steering rack. The end play came in at .006 which is dead center according to specs. I know the dial gauge reads .005 but there was another .001 in the other direction. I hope to get the piston/rod assemblies, rings, and rod bearings cleaned and bagged so they will be ready to install this week. It just depends on how much time I have after work over the next few days.

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jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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I know this might seem a little out of the ordinary but I just don’t have access to a proper parts washer. So I had to put together a “poor man’s version” for the final cleaning of the piston/rod assemblies. Because the Scat Rods come with a rust inhibitor and the ARP fasteners have lubricant from the factory I felt soap and water wasn’t the best method for cutting these properties. A solvent really is required for this type job. So here we go!!! Advance Auto Parts Portable Parts Washer $24.95.

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The Scat Connecting Rods go right in the can and the rod caps and cap screws in the small parts bucket. The assemblies were scrubbed with a soft brush and then a wire brush was used for the passages.

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Once all of the piston/rod assemblies had been through the “Parts Washer” they were then wiped clean and sprayed with brake cleaner to remove any excess cleaning solvent. Then individually bagged and set aside while the piston rings were cleaned.

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The rings were then installed on each of the pistons and the assemblies were placed back inside the appropriated numbered plastic bag.

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Now comes the time that I have been waiting for so patiently! Let’s drop in Piston #1!

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Once it has been lined up the rod bearing is installed and the rod cap lightly set into place and torqued to spec. But first lets install the cap correctly, I got a little busy taking pictures and set the cap on in reverse orientation.

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Let’s step back and take a look real quick! Oh yea, that looks nice in there!

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I think I will spin it up for a closer look!

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Everything checks out so I am going to keep moving. Here comes piston #5.

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Then #2 and #6.

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jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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I had to take a week or two off from the 306 V8 and replace the 2.5 in my 98 Ranger. After a quick trip to NC to pick up a new 2.5 engine package from a forum member, then back to Florida for the install, and now the 98 is back in business. It sure runs good with that brand new engine. Now I am back on track with the final touches of the rotating assembly. Here are a few shots of the last piston/rod assembly going in and the bearing shells being set into place for the last time.

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Now just a quick wipe down of the excess assembly lube and the short block will be ready to be stored away until the timing set can be installed and the cam timing verified with a cam degree wheel.

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jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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Today I checked the connecting rod side clearance and it came in at .017 across the board. I also got the timing chain installed and went ahead and degreed the cam. Everything checked out to spec using the "O" keyway on the crank gear, 22 degrees BTDC on the intake side.

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I made an extension for an old lifter so I could reach it with the dial indicator. I disassembled the lifter and threaded a bolt down the bore until it was tight. I also bought a piece of steel to use as a piston stop to find TDC. Most of the information I found on line recommended using a piston stop but I ended up going back to a dial indicator, it just seemed a little more accurate finding TDC.

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(second lifter bore was used for better photo angle only, not to measure intake opening.)

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jbrown1238

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Awesome progress, but I was hoping you would box the frame.

Thanks Sid. I thought about it but wanted to stay "kind of stock" in appearance. Just a light street 306 with a good amount of port work and reliable parts.
 

jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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I decided to go ahead and get the heads ready to go out for port work and a rebuild. After discussing my options with my son he recommended a local shop in Tarpon Springs that did a set of E7’s for his Ranger a while back. A few days ago the two of us disassembled the GT40P’s we will be using.

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After removing the rockers and the valves we did a quick inspection to make sure everything checked out as far as we could tell. The valves and the heads both looked good and should do fine once they are reworked. We will be adding a high performance spring kit from Trick Flow and valve stem seals from Ford Racing.

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jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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After I prepared the heads to go to the porter I media blasted the upper and lower intake with walnut shells and boxed both pieces up with the heads.

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I picked up the finished heads as well as the upper and lower intake. The heads received the following work.

1. Trim and knock down the valve guide bumps in both intake and exhaust bowls
2. Back-cut the intake valves for better flow
3. Widen the push rod pinches to gasket-match the intake ports
4. Rough edge cleanup on the bowl / Bowl Blending
5. Increase & smooth the short side radius in the intake port
6. Raise/lower the intake port floor
7. Gasket match the intake ports
8. 3 angle valve job
9. Surfaced

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The upper was gasket match ported and the lower was completely ported the entire length of the runners as well as gasket matched on both ends.

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I wanted to add approximately 24 inches of wire between the 42 pin connector and the PCM. I didn’t like the idea of stretching the engine harness and having the large connector sitting out in plain view. I thought with some additional length the connector could be hidden from view. I cut and tagged some donor wire and built a small jig to hold the 42 pin connector and the section of harness to be modified.

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Once everything was secured in place I started in the lower left corner of the 42 pin connector. Working left to right I cut and added wire one pin at a time carefully soldering and heat shrinking each connection.

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jbrown1238

Built on 4-7-03 @ 3:47:15
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I managed to get the ported upper and lower painted and mocked up earlier today. I also installed new freeze plugs. I can’t wait to see this thing sitting on top of a 5.0 inside my engine compartment.

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