Diesel Ranger Update

The Legendary Truck in the blog header, thats taken me 5 years to get to fixing a simple head gasket, isn't so simple any more.


The biggest problem is its a Mitsubishi motor in a Ford truck, that never sold very well. With a lot of prodding, I got Ford part numbers for the obsolete over sized pistons. Mitsubishi can't use Ford part numbers, and has no access to Mitsubishi part numbers, because they have never released a diesel in north america. I have been on the phone to everyone Mitsubishi, myself, and Ford can think of. It is down to now finding pistons w the pin bore, and diameter, and making them work. Making them work simply involves shaving the piston top down, or shaving the motor top down, depending on which if any are too high. Or maybe I will just part it out and sell the pieces.

As mentioned we went to Bellis this weekend for a farm auction, an open house, and we got 2 more chickens. The open house was a lame little house like we have, they want $300k for, and the auction was a total disappointment. I really only wanted a lawn tractor rototiller attachment from an auction. No such thing at this auction, nor was there anything else usefull at the auction. So we went out for lunch, and without even mentioning my wants for the day, someone there we knew, asked if I have a rototiller. I told her we have an electric one I made, but its slow. She said her garden takes 8 hours to do w her gas unit that hasn't run for years. I figure the electric would take 16 hours. So she says I can have her gas rototiller, if I can pick it up. It got a quick carburetor rebuild, and some seized control cables replaced and it was good to go. But it is only 15" wide, and my lawn tractor is 36" wide. So I welded the tines off the old electric tiller on the new gas tiller for a total width of 36 tilling inches. I had to try it with its own propulsion to see if the 6hp could dig 36". It did work, but it was out of hand and out of control. So I removed my snow blade from the lawn tractor and welded u tiller mounts. I took it over and got half of the huge garden tilled, where I picked the unit up, before the Governor self destructed. I will tune that up tomorrow and take some video of it in action.

Diesel Ranger Goes In The Garage

Its only taken how many years? Today the Ranger got winched rite into the garage, under my custom made engine lift. The motor is all unbolted, just a few minor things left to disconnect. I had hopped to have the extraction video done by now. The Ranger will get minor work, new head, timing belt, water pump, pan gasket, extra block heaters and machined oil filter base (machined to fit more common filters that don't cost $80 each). Everything will get washed, painted and put back together. The ol dodge will turn 300,000 around April, and might retire for good.

I figure I shouldn't have more than 3 trucks. I have just about finished the 57 that will replace the dodge, be more fun, capable and maybe cost more to run. Then the Ranger will be done in the Summer, with extra block heaters for Winter. If all goes as planned I will pick up a free minivan and the old crashed diesel Jetta in Victoria, and make my diesel minivan. Then I want a Diesel out of a 3 ton, to put into the 57, but I won't even think about that yet.

Clients have been real entertaining. I moved a couple that couldn't be more than 20, with 3 kids, moving from one dump into the next. The woman didn't want to haul the stuff in the back of their pick up truck, but their stuff was all the crap you could get for free. I wondered if I would get paid but I did.

Then my electrical job I "estimated" at $100 an hour, if things would have went well. But it took me twice as long, materials were 50% more than I anticipated, and I hadn't included any time for picking the materials up, nor driving to the job, so I made less than $40 an hour for that. I find it really entertaining to see the renovations that home owners do. I should be an inspector.