The FORD Lounge

[Gary Lewis]

Shaun - Sounds like something I'd say.  Sorry.  

Jeff - That is quite a leak!  Had a friend that had a tractor that had to be split in half for something like that, and I think it was a Kubota.  

[JimJam300]

I think instead of pondering a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup I will just beef up my Dodge before I decide I've outgrown it. This truck has a 12,500 lb GCVWR so I gotta make the most out of that 7000-ish lbs of towing capability. I've already put in a V10 radiator, a Red Head steering gear from a 3/4 ton, and "bulletproofed" the 318 V8. It probably could use new springs being at 278k hard miles, helper springs on the leafs in back, and heavier tires. Only weak point in the drivetrain is the 46RE automatic transmission. I have a lead on a free Warn winch as well which can come in handy with my Bronco being just a roller at the moment.

[salans7]

Did something to my 2003 Ranger that I should have done years ago. On 1997-2000 Ford F150's, the multifunction switch points up. On 1995-2003 Rangers, it points down.

I've read about a few guys swapping the F150 version in, but never saw any good tech info on it, so I've neglected to try it. I recently came across a good deal on a NOS Motorcraft version, so decided now was the time.

I found out pretty quickly it was not a plug and play swap on my truck even though the connectors were identical. In 1999, Ford changed the resistance values for the wiper controls, meaning that when I went to turn on the wipers, they only worked in the high setting (no intermittent controls at all), and then I could not shut them off.

To fix this, I was able to partially disassemble the F150 stalk, and cut the wiring for the resistance chip that is behind the wiper knob. I did the same on the Ranger stalk, and then fished both resistance chips out of their stalks. I implanted the Ranger chip to the F150 stalk, and then soldered the wires back together (both chips had the same color wires). After heat shrink, I reassembled the F150 stalk and installed it into my truck.

I now have full control of the wipers with a lever that points upwards rather than downwards. After twelve years, I finally will no longer disengage the turn signal when I move my knee to engage the clutch.

[Gary Lewis]

Well done!  That's a neat trick.  

[BigBrother-84]

salans7 wrote

On 1997-2000 Ford F150's, the multifunction switch points up.

Good design.

salans7 wrote

On 1995-2003 Rangers, it points down.

As I already said in couple of other threads, why designers are continuously trying to complicate things?!?

Happy to see you were able to make it working on your Ranger!

[grumpin]

Yes, well done!

I won’t ask what they were thinking…

[salans7]

Thanks guys! I'm glad I was able to work it out. I spread the info out on some of the Ranger pages I'm on and quite a few people were interested and are now planning to do the same.

[BigBrother-84]

Was a very nice day here today.
Sunny, couple of degrees over freezing point.

We feel that this winter will finally ends up!


Little wood job for Big Bro.

[Gary Lewis]

That looks like a lot of snow, but I guess those on the West Coast might disagree.  Still, it is a lot more than we have.

[BigBrother-84]

Gary Lewis wrote

That looks like a lot of snow, but I guess those on the West Coast might disagree.

Yep!  My brother in law is on a ski trip in Colorado's mountains now, cannot come back home (my sister and her husband live at Whistler BC).

They are blocked there, 40 inches of snow in one night!

[Ray Cecil]

That's a beautiful truck. Dream truck.

[Gary Lewis]

40" of snow in one night is a lot, but some places got even more.  Hope they get home soon and safely.  And, I'm ready for Spring!

[salans7]

Well, I did the turn signal lever mod on my 2002 Ranger tonight. Some differences from my 2003 Ranger included the fact that I couldn't find another Motorcraft F150 switch for less than $50, so I opted for a Motorcraft E150 switch. Same lever, but one of the connectors was slightly different, enough to prevent me from plugging it in. So I ended up robbing the lever from the E150 switch, and put it in the Ranger switch. Works great and now I won't hit my knee on the turn signal lever of any truck I own. Feels good to have used OEM parts too, which I always try to do with my trucks when I can.  

[Nothing Special]

Well, our snow is all but gone!  This little bit was a 4' high pile a week ago!

[Nothing Special]

... and the reason it went away now was just obvious as we were watching the weather.  When they showed the temperature map of the entire country southeastern Minnesota was the hottest part of the country!  We were at 88° here, with 90°just southeast of us!

On the other hand, someone on the lake my folk's cabin is on just posted a picture.  He went out on the lake and used an ice auger to check the ice thickness.  18".  Boating is still a little ways off!

[grumpin]

We got a little warmer for a little bit, but it was a cold windy day today. High of 38°.

[Gary Lewis]

Wow!  You were warmer than we were, and we were flirting with a record.  

[Nothing Special]

We blew away our record yesterday.  Today is supposed to break another record, but it'll "only" be 85° today

[Gary Lewis]

We are only getting to 79F today.  Seems strange that you will be warmer and yet so far north of us.

[BigBrother-84]

We're getting 70°F today.  Huge and sudden difference since last days.  Still 2'-3' of snow on ground, hopefully will melt fast and let the spring arrive!