New project definitely!

[Ansimp]

Got stuck into the RTV today ( after cutting in three more LED down lights in the house, only 4 more to go) as I need the original front bumper for th XLS ( cracked and damaged) that meant having the Smart Bar ready to replace it as planned. I wanted to have some DRLs as the Ford headlights are not key operated like the Subarus and I have some new replacement spotlights as well for the bar.

4 of the ulra bright LEDs installed in the bullbar blanking plug

• Ansimp
• Sep 20, 2015

Hopefully should be bright enough for DRL

• Ansimp
• Sep 20, 2015

New spotlight and DRL

• Ansimp
• Sep 20, 2015

Smart Bar with new lights installed

• Ansimp
• Sep 20, 2015

I would also need some switches to control things so I drilled blanking plates and installed 3 switches and a trailer brake controller in one and the diff lock overide switch and LED indicator in the other.

Trailer Brake controller and accessory switches

• Ansimp
• Sep 20, 2015

Diff Lock manual switch and LED indicator

• Ansimp
• Sep 20, 2015

The other job that I wanted done was to replace the Tek screws with nutserts and bolts that hold in the bed liner and then the canopy with roof racks. I am also going to have an additional battery in the tray so I riveted in an alloy mounting plate so that I could screw the 30a DC-DC charger to through the plastic tub.

Nutserts and Tool

• Ansimp
• Sep 20, 2015

The original Tek screw to hold liner in and canopy on

• Ansimp
• Sep 20, 2015

Mounting plate for 30 amp DC-DC charger near new nutsert

• Ansimp
• Sep 20, 2015

 

[Ansimp]

There has been plenty of progress on the RTV now that the XLS has been sold. I wanted to use the canopy off the XLS for the RTV as it had bigger doors on the sides which made for easier access to my tools. When I picked up the other canopy from my mate he gave me the alloy ladder racks and the soft tourneau cover for the tray which allowed me to present it with greater appeal to more potential buyers.

XLS washed and ready for sale

• Ansimp
• Oct 24, 2015

Drivers side of the XLS washed and ready for sale

• Ansimp
• Oct 24, 2015

 

[Ansimp]

It took about 5 days to sell on Gumtree ( like Craig's List) with over 200 views but only 2 calls both from a neighbouring suburb and fortunately the second caller was cashed up and motivated. He looked at it in the dark on Wednesday night and left a deposit for collection on Friday afternoon. A call on Thursday morning and a request for pickup and payment that evening which I was happy to do even if it was little rushed. With cash in my pocket I was able to register the RTV on Friday morning ($505 for 6 months including stamp duty on the purchase price) and use it that afternoon.

Finally registered and on the road

• Ansimp
• Oct 24, 2015

The plates are from Ruth's stolen Forester and as they weren't recovered ( reissued) are still on the Police data base as stolen. I figured that after 2 years it was time to start using them again even if I do get hassled by the LEOs.

Went for some more chunky tires for the DD

• Ansimp
• Oct 24, 2015

I decided to fit some more aggressive tires on the rear to give me as much traction in the wet as possible. You can see some signs of the clay off the DD when I drove home from the tire shop in the rain on Thursday afternoon.

Diff lock engaged for the Dreaded Driveway

• Ansimp
• Oct 24, 2015

Finally have the diff lock LED wired up so if it is really slippery I can lock the diff and know it is actually engaged ( haven't finished wiring up the manual overide)
I have 5mts of 3528 SMD Leds mounted around the inside edge of the canopy that provides visible light during the day onto my tools and storage shelves. Unfortunately I didn't glue the lead wire in the right place for the switches and needed a trusty assistant that is half my size to climb in on top of my shelves and auxiliary battery to complete the job.

Trusty assistant glueing up the supply wire to the canopy LEDs

• Ansimp
• Oct 24, 2015

Battery control switch and jump start connection points attached to the front roof rack support bar.

You can see my battery isolation and changeover switch in the top corner with jumpstart connection studs mounted on the front roof rack support bar.

 

[slabghost]

I'd have been happy to have either one. Glad you have the build you wanted. Now I have my own project ford. My old Ford Ranger has a blown motor.

 

[Ansimp]

slabghost » Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:08 pm[/url]":1veyzgk5]
I'd have been happy to have either one. Glad you have the build you wanted. Now I have my own project ford. My old Ford Ranger has a blown motor.

Sorry to hear that you have a major on your hands with the Ranger motor. Atm the 4 litre six cylinders that are in my Utes are $300 from the wreckers with low milage and warranty, so I won't be rebuilding any if I have a failure :yes:

 

[Denver]

Very rare to see vehicles look like this, at this age, :shock: here in the RUST BELT! :rant:

 

[Ansimp]

[video]https://youtu.be/3Zv7kt8Uv8A[/video]
As I changed the instrument cluster to the fancier looking XR model I needed the LED as there wasn't any indicator for the diff lock in the cluster. The diff lock works through the BCM and usually flashes when selected then goes solid when engaged up until 70 kph when it disengages ( flashes the genuine cluster indicator) until you have decelerated below 40 kph when it once again engages. It also disengages when reverse is selected so it is pretty useless if you are trying to rock the vehicle to get it unstuck or back out of boggy situation. Next to my LED is a micro toggle so that I can engage the diff lock manually in tricky situations when the factory switch is insufficient. The LED only illuminates when the diff is actually locked ( no flashing in transitions).

 

[Ansimp]

Denver » Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:28 pm[/url]":2j5r0z9p]
Very rare to see vehicles look like this, at this age, :shock: here in the RUST BELT! :rant:

For me an 11year old car is almost new :smilie_happy:
Luckily no snow and salt on the roads and current vehicles have much better rust prevention than the older Fords and Holdens used to. :yes:

 

[slabghost]

The one I need are at least double that in the wrecking yards and really high mileage. Auto Zone crate motor is about $1500. BTW the Ranger is an 86.

 

[julimike54]

Nice looking job! Looks like you're set now.

 

[Ansimp]

Well the project is still continuing but it is happening while using the RTV as my work vehicle ( mobile auto electrician). I used the XLS in this role with the same canopy and shelving unit and was pleased to work out of it apart from the low height and its lighter load capability. The XLS was basically trouble free apart from a sticking LH front caliper that took 2 disc machinings before I managed to sort it out. Yesterday after a fairly hot day and the XR temp gauge getting to about half way the transmission started slipping in reverse. While trying to release the bonnet catch I noticed that the bonnet cable was fraying and stretching, making the bonnet hard to release. I changed the rear shackle bushes before heading out to work in the morning and adjusted the park brake cable adjuster to give a more acceptable application point to the lever. I also happened to notice a slight weep of engine oil from the bell housing suggesting that my new rear main was not sealing properly.

I was looking at a new heavy duty transmission cooler from my supplier for $250 and then decided it was more cost effective atm to change the radiator for $120 trade first. I decided to go for a new bonnet cable ($48) rather than muck around with a second hand one. Yesterday I had purchased a flip remote key off an ebay seller ( went to their shop) and had a mate cut it and then borrowed a snap on scan tool to program it. Unfortunately the scan tool couldn't turn on my cruise control which was on my leather XR steering wheel. While picking up my new bonnet cable at the dealership I booked in to the service department to have the cruise control turned on. 10 minutes later and it was all good to go with no charge as the service rep said that the Forman did it and was happy to do it for free. Can't beat that price for professional service and a free cappuccino while I waited.

 

[dan filipi]

Little bits like this so typical of an older vehicle.
All ya can do is keep at it til everything is new again.

 

[joedrum]

:shock: opcorn:

 

[Ansimp]

Took a couple of photos after driving up the DD in the wet the night before and you can see the clay is as sticky as ever. We haven't had any real heavy rain yet and I really need some to settle the driveway properly and to make sure all the new drains are working as planned.

I changed the new bonnet cable ( a pita job!) and the radiator yesterday. Looks like a new ( second hand) automatic transmission is in my future for the RTV ( slips in reverse when hot :doh: )

 

[slabghost]

Just don't let it get hot!

 

[dan filipi]

Rebuild it. Not that hard to do.

 

[joedrum]

sheesh tony ...that sucks

 

[Ansimp]

dan filipi » Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:21 am[/url]":133jlmds]
Rebuild it. Not that hard to do.

Way too expensive for parts, I am looking at $300 for a secondhand unit which is pretty good considering a bonnet/hood cable was $48 trade. I may think about doing up the old box if I can get bits at the right price in the future as a spare. When I had the box out I realised that it had a new convertor done in 2010 so I was hopeful that the box would be good :doh:

 

[Ansimp]

Ansimp » Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:48 pm[/url]":3hjb10jo]

dan filipi » Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:21 am[/url]":3hjb10jo]
Rebuild it. Not that hard to do.

Way too expensive for parts, I am looking at $300 for a secondhand unit which is pretty good considering a bonnet/hood cable was $48 trade. I may think about doing up the old box if I can get bits at the right price in the future as a spare. When I had the box out I realised that it had a new convertor done in 2010 so I was hopeful that the box would be good :doh:

These gearboxes are designed not to be serviced as no dipstick to add and check transmission fluid levels. You fill through a bung on the side of the transmission like on a manual gearbox. It was suggested that I might need to get some more fluid into it and the best way was with it running in drive while topping it up. I managed to get about a litre more fluid into it and atm reverse seems to be behaving a lot better. A mate suggested that I might be able to get a whole damaged car for about $400 from the auctions so he is keeping an eye out for me.

 

[Ansimp]

I finally had a chance to take some photos of the canopy lights, 30a DC-DC charger, 100a aux battery ( it's inside the poly battery box), marine isolation/link switch, work lights on-off switch and the LED 5m strip light changeover switch ( run through the interior light circuit using the remote etc or from the auxiliary battery)

5m of LED strip light really illuminates the canopy interior

• Ansimp
• Nov 4, 2015

30a DC-DC charger and 100ah battery inside poly battery box

• Ansimp
• Nov 4, 2015

Marine changeover switch, changeover switch for strip LEDs

• Ansimp
• Nov 4, 2015

The bottom switch is on-off for round LED work lights which were originally mounted on the Rats...

Led worklights illuminate the tailgate/ workbench

• Ansimp
• Nov 4, 2015

Worklights illuminate the tailgate fairly well

Plenty of light with worklights and strip light all turned on

• Ansimp
• Nov 4, 2015

Even better with the LED strip light on as well

Led trailer style lights in the rear glass canopy tailgate

• Ansimp
• Nov 4, 2015

The LED combination lights are pretty bright behind the glass tailgate and this is just as park/tail lights. It is much brighter with the brake lights and that also illuminates the original canopy center brake light with now has G4 led replacement bulbs in it.
[video]https://youtu.be/D2jsnj0am40[/video]