My journey to maintaining my own vehicles

[ncjeeper]

A lot of meat left on the shoes. I don't see any grooves or ridges in the drums either. I would just adjust them and run them for another 10k miles. Then recheck.

[RetiredUSMC]

Agree with NCJeeper. As long as you don't leave the e brake on you should be good for at least 10K.

[bdhutier]

I concur.  The holes in the shoes are for the rivets which hold the brake media to the shoe.  There's still a ton of media on there.  You'll want to watch the media , and replace when they start getting close to the rivets.

[lettuceman]

I see a red flag on the shop.  It appears someone is trying to sell you repairs to increase their bottom line.  In your pictures I see what the others see.  Nothing is wrong, just a little wear.  Good brake inspection.  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

[theBINKYhunter]

I see a red flag on the shop.  It appears someone is trying to sell you repairs to increase their bottom line.  In your pictures I see what the others see.  Nothing is wrong, just a little wear.  Good brake inspection.  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

well, it was a brake shop i took it to. they probably only like to see new brakes it's a chain of shops i go to because, like i said originally, for $29 they change my oil and rotate the tires in about an hour, top off my fluids, and tell me what they think is wrong. i'm sure they pick up on every little thing and hope it sticks.

[theBINKYhunter]

and seriously? no comments on the diff cover? well that was a flop

[bdhutier]

Nah, bro.  Looks sweet!  We were all just thunder-struck by the shop trying to screw you over, I promise!!

[archer]

i think the diff cover looks good. thanks for doing that, i need to do my truck once the weather dries up.
But now you need to remove and paint the entire back axle to match...

[theBINKYhunter]

i think the diff cover looks good. thanks for doing that, i need to do my truck once the weather dries up.
But now you need to remove and paint the entire back axle to match...

You're going to get me in trouble with ideas like that

[Ranger Dave]

Hey, paint the axle to match, then brake drums, then front suspension, then bumpers, then body. BTW be sure to post lots of pics

Ranger Dave

[theBINKYhunter]

Hey, paint the axle to match, then brake drums, then front suspension, then bumpers, then body. BTW be sure to post lots of pics

Ranger Dave

lol. the rear axle is really dirty and i was thinking of dropping that... but probably not. i would love to do all of those little aesthetic touches like colored parts, stainless steel lines, etc. frankly i don't have the time or funds to do all of that stuff. i figure i'll get what needs to be done done and make it look good in the process.

i'm going to be doing shocks next and those will probably be black.

speaking of shocks, anyone have brands that are good/crap? keep in mind this is a daily driver and no off roading. i see a lot of monroe and KYB in my price range. i'm not looking to drop $50+ per shock so i think some of the other brands i see like rancho are off limits. i even found the KYB on amazon for the price of the monroe's at the auto store.

i was looking at these: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/KYB1/344396/03415.oap?year=1994&make=Ford&model=Ranger&vi=1137967&keyword=shocks!s!struts

i'm assuming they're a step up from the monroe's since they cost more, but i'm not positive. what says the hive?

[ncjeeper]

I run rancho's on my stuff, but I see you say nay on those in your post.

[SloSheepdog]

Your diff cover has totally inspired me. I might need to do something similar on my Toyota. It's due for new gear oil too. I can't wait for more updates. Well done!

[theBINKYhunter]

I run rancho's on my stuff, but I see you say nay on those in your post.

i hear great stuff about them, but for a daily street driver are those really justified? i'm open to being sold on how i should use those, but the cost was a slight deterrent to me. i believe in you get what you pay for, but i understood ranchos as primarily being for off road use, not street use.

[ncjeeper]

but i understood ranchos as primarily being for off road use, not street use.

They work well off road which means they work great on the street also. I imagine a set of 5000's should be under 50 bucks a piece.

[bdhutier]

Do you have shocks, or struts?  Autozone is only coming up with struts for your year, with Gabriels ranging from $25 to $43/ea.  Gabriels have a lifetime warranty, which is the seller for me.

[theBINKYhunter]

Do you have shocks, or struts?  Autozone is only coming up with struts for your year, with Gabriels ranging from $25 to $43/ea.  Gabriels have a lifetime warranty, which is the seller for me.

shocks all around, i believe. maybe you entered something on the vehicle wrong: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/1994-Ford-Ranger-2WD/Shock-Strut-Rear/_/N-j0molZ8oxxx

so how long is the 'lifetime' determined to be? i know when i sold furniture we said warranties were for the 'lifetime' of the piece. that really meant seven years as that's what the industry determined the lifetime of a couch to be.

and how are the gabriels? they ride pretty nice? ncjeeper has me thinking i need to go for the ranchos, but if i can be a woman here, i really hate the color of them also i see autozone is running a rebate on the gabriels, that makes them a little more appealing also...

[theBINKYhunter]

So... anyone ever dropped a tank on an 05 malibu maxx? Smelled some gas, crawled under there and there is some fuel leaking... barely. I can't see where it is coming from... I've posted on a malibu forum but haven't heard anything yet.

[theBINKYhunter]

well [insert expletive]. looks like i have to replace the fuel pump... anyone know where to find out the size of the tank? dimensions, not capacity. i can't seem to find that, everything that comes up is the capacity. i'm hoping i can get the car high enough on my own to drop the tank. seems like a pretty straightforward job, although the fuel pump is going to run me about $300 

[Humble Mechanic]

You might want to look into replacing the bulbs with LEDs, if they are available for your application. In theory, LEDs should last for a very long time, and they are often brighter than the stock bulbs. The only real problem is they can be expensive!

Be careful with this, especially on a turn signal. The resistance of an LED can be different than a standard bulb. It can make the signal blink too fast as if the bulb is out. It doesn't always happen, but it can. Also, many newer cars have bulb monitoring. Most LEDs really tweak the monitor. Just an FYI

This is awesome! I wish more people would do this type of thing. Keep the updates coming. You are doing great,

[theBINKYhunter]

This is awesome! I wish more people would do this type of thing. Keep the updates coming. You are doing great,

thanks. i just did the MAF sensors in both cars, i need to put that update together. really simple job. i am also planning on doing the throttle bodies and i learned a really cool trick with the spark plugs to improve my truck, pay attention to that ARCHER! you might be interested!

tonight i'm going to do the fuel pump on the malibu... not happy about having to do it but it has to be done.

[archer]

thanks. i just did the MAF sensors in both cars, i need to put that update together. really simple job. i am also planning on doing the throttle bodies and i learned a really cool trick with the spark plugs to improve my truck, pay attention to that ARCHER! you might be interested!

what about spark plugs? outside of my bitch about why does a 4 cylinder truck have 8 spark plugs? argh.... wires and plugs cost a lot more.

[ncjeeper]

i'm hoping i can get the car high enough on my own to drop the tank.

I would think its less than 12" deep. So if your raise your vehicle a couple of feet you should be good. If you were closer I would say to come over and use my lift.

(Its much easier doing things standing up than on your back.)

[archer]

damn, talk about a man cave.....

[theBINKYhunter]

damn, talk about a man cave.....

lol, that's just what i was thinking

[theBINKYhunter]

what about spark plugs? outside of my bitch about why does a 4 cylinder truck have 8 spark plugs? argh.... wires and plugs cost a lot more.

i was going to try this, but with the fuel pump it will have to wait. here's a link to what i found that seems pretty interesting, and enough people have commented on it to make me comfortable with doing it. it sounds like it will work with your ranger since you are upset about the coil packs

http://www.fordrangerforum.com/how-submissions/46529-how-dual-ignition-plug-mod-dual-plug-2-3-2-5l-only.html

[ncjeeper]

Yeah. I figured if I was going to do it, I might as well do it right.

[pokeshell]

thanks, i figure the clearer i can make it the better. i actually bought a chiltons when at the store thinking the repair was going to be a cv boot but it wasn't. after i did the rotors i decided i'm going to return the manual for the exact reason you mentioned. the pictures aren't that great, and frankly i have been able to find everything i need on car forums, through google, or youtube. why pay 20 bucks for something else to clutter my garage when i can use the net.

I have become very fond of googleing videos of car repairs, boats also. Sometimes with photos, you can not tell what they are showing you. Videos, you can tell what it is, and listen to them describe.

I like the posts, older cars are much harder to work on up here in MN. everything is dirty and rusted.

[theBINKYhunter]

don't know when i'll have time to post the write up as the next week is super busy with the job stuff and my last class started yesterday, but my buddy came over last night and we got er done in about three hours  it was a bad connection on the fuel pump and there was no way to replace it as it was part of the housing i was really hoping it would have been cheaper... oh well.

i'll try to get this and the MAF stuff done sometime soon and post them up.

[pokeshell]

and seriously? no comments on the diff cover? well that was a flop

I think it was the way you laid out the pix. Should have put the filling of fluids before the final awesome shot.

Looks super cool. I like it.