New guy here!

[Jimmeh]

Hey guys. My name is James. I live in Columbia Falls, Montana underneath the beautiful Glacier Park, and I am an apprentice carpenter. I'm 19 going on 20 here in a few days, and I own two trucks.

The first truck is my pride and joy. It's a 1992 Ford Ranger XLT with the 4.0 liter V6, automatic, power windows/locks, extra cab, 4X4. My girlfriend refers to it as my picture (insert derogatory term for female prostitute here), probably because I have about 300 pictures of it on my computer, and because I spend a lot of time with it Here are a few pictures of it:









My other truck is a 1995 Dodge Ram 1500 4X4 with the 5.2 liter V8, manual, power windows/locks, single cab, short bed. It is my work horse, and it's done quite a bit of stuff for the short amount of time I have had it. It's a great truck, and I plan on running it to the ground before upgrading it to a new truck. It isn't pretty, but I like it a lot. Here are just a couple pictures of it:





Anyway, I figured I'd give another forum a try since I hang out a lot on Ranger Power Sports. I plan on making the Ranger my trail rig (already have taken it on a few trips, nothing major though), and, as stated, running the Dodge to the ground pulling the Ranger to the trails, or just working it.

Well, there's my intro

[junior3382]

Nice rides, welcome to the site. A friend of mine has a similar Ranger and it took almost nothing to get it trail ready. Nice thing about the TTB front end, parts are easy to install, and easy to find. And though the motor can be doggish at times, it can handle the larger tires. Anyways, welcome to the site, do not be afraid to post....

Here is a pic of the Ranger I was talking about.... a little older then yours, but same pricipals apply. He does not have a whole lot of money into it either. Now it has been repainted and new tires, but still good to go.....

[bradrhale]

welcome james. truck looks good but i sure do like the background. makes me want to go there.

[mrjohnwayne]

Howdy and welcome!

[gmctrucks]

Welcome James what's that white stuff on the ground and also on the roof of your house we don't see much of that over here in TEXAS or at least in my area and I agree the back round is very nice looking you also have some good looking trucks.
Be good! GMC

[Jimmeh]

Thanks for the welcome, guys!

I love Montana with all my heart, and plan on dying here, unless the little lady drags me away. A lot of people around here think there is nothing to do, but there is plenty! I do a lot of hiking, fishing, mountain biking, and of course FOUR WHEELING!

My plans with the Ranger include a small lift, probably 3", 31's, custom front bumper, CB, some extra bed storage (got the material to build it, I have just been way too lazy, and spending way too much time at my girlfriends), and either paint the topper the same color as the truck, put a basket on it, and call it good, or get a new topper with the basket up top and be good.

The plans with the Dodge are one of those lumber racks that go on the bed, and allow you to slip a topper underneath, a topper (durrrrr), smaller tires (it's really tall for me, plus I would like better gas mileage after the topper [currently getting 18 MPG's driving like a grandma]), and a buck stop front bumper.

Some of the few things that I have to fix on both trucks include:

Ranger:
Power steering pump JUST went out a couple of weeks ago, transmission needs a fluid change badly, new exhaust (cat included), and that's just about it.

Dodge:
Rear end either needs replacing or rebuilt (hoping for the latter), four wheel drive needs to be fixed, needs shocks all around the truck BADLY!, new dash bezel as I hacked it up installing a head unit that I don't have anymore, and obviously that front bumper.

First things first, though. I gotta move out and get my own garage! I live with my parents, but they got their own projects (moms 94 Mustang GT, and dads 86 F-150). All I know is I want my Ranger back, **** it! I miss driving it!

Anyway, I'll quit rambling. I'll go play around on the site and find out more about my trucks

[gmctrucks]

Hey bud add a can of stop leak to your steering pump that stuff really works. Also a small push bar in the front of your Ranger would look meaner. Now on your trans disconnect the lines going to trans cooler and have one bucket sucking fluid in and the other one draining the dirty fluid but I would change the filter as well.
Good luck! GMC

[Jimmeh]

Originally Posted by gmctrucks

Hey bud add a can of stop leak to your steering pump that stuff really works. Also a small push bar in the front of your Ranger would look meaner. Now on your trans disconnect the lines going to trans cooler and have one bucket sucking fluid in and the other one draining the dirty fluid but I would change the filter as well.
Good luck! GMC

Thanks man! I tried the stop leak, and it worked, however, the pump has never been changed on the engine, and it's sitting currently at 180,000 miles, so I imagine the pump is just completely gone. Now it makes a horrible noise, and it just is full of metal shavings in the fluid reservoir.

I got a push bar, I'm just lazy about putting it on, especially since the front isn't finished yet. I actually have plans drawn out for the bumper IF I really want to go that route, however, I don't know yet:



And thanks for the tip on the trans.

[mudseeker]

happy belated welcome.