My new favourite place to visit........

[Limey57]

...........or so it seems!  Having a 2.0 litre turbo-diesel as a daily driver I'm not used to dropping in here as often as I do now!



Still shaking down the Ranchero but to be honest, I can't stop driving it for long enough to iron out the bugs!  Known issues so far:

Front oil seal leaking (badly) on the differential.  You know what?  There was only ONE item I didn't touch when rebuilding the back axle............  In my defence I thought the previous owner had done it, I have since found the new oil seal in a box.  Ooops.  Then I need to clean the oil off that it's sprayed over the underside of my nice shiny floor!

Speedo needle isn't stable, I estimate my speed to be around 30mph and it shows between 20 and 40!  Might just need some lube?

Still getting hot.  But not as bad as it was, I'm going to keep at it and see if it's just because the engine's tight after the rebuild.

Front brakes aren't as effective as I'd like.  Again, I'm going to give it a few miles to see if they bed-in.

Tracking needs setting at the front as it doesn't "feel right" in a straight line.

Gear shift linkage needs modifying.  There isn't much in between shifting from P to R to N to D etc.  I need to lengthen the shift lever on the side of the transmission, at the minute I think I've shifted into reverse but I've gone all the way to neutral.

Front end just seems too soft.  It's got Aerostar springs and new shocks (with all new bushes etc), but it just seems to be too "wallowy".

All in all, I'm impressed.  My daily is a 2016 BMW 5 series, so I'm used to nothing squeaking, everything doing as it should with German efficiency.  Sure, I know I could drive it anywhere and nothing will go wrong and it's turbo diesel engine will mean I get there for only a few Bucks, but boy is it BORING!  This afternoon I'd had a load of problems at work so I took the Ranchero for a quick spin & I can't stop grinning!  Well, until I next fill it up, around $7.50 a gallon hurts!!!!!

[rmk57]

Your car looks great. It's got to be a real conversation piece when ever you park it.

As for the trans linkage mine is the same and ended up adding on a longer piece of flatbar to the existing lever. It's better but still not perfect as the shift detents in the column aren't quite placed right with the trans detents. Mine has a c6 in place of the Fordomatic.

Were at about $6.00 a US gallon for 94 octane in Vancouver. I'm not sure what kind of mileage I'm getting but it has to be close to single digit mpg city driving.

[Limey57]

Mine's an AOD and I initially thought it was just right, I suppose it is if you are really careful, but it's just not practical long-term.  I might make a completely new lever that I can adjust to allow me to fine-tune it.

[gasman826]

This will fix it.
http://www.lokar.com/product-pgs/autotrans-access-parts/accessparts-product-pgs/fordaod-selctarm.html

What thermostat opening temperature?

[Limey57]

This will fix it.
http://www.lokar.com/product-pgs/autotrans-access-parts/accessparts-product-pgs/fordaod-selctarm.html

That's what I've got fitted, it just doesn't seem long enough?  PRND21 pretty much lines up with the stock shifter detents, but its almost as if something is too "springy", maybe the shift rod between the trans and shifter?  I need to give a good look over while someone moves the shifter, so I can see if anything is flexing.

What thermostat opening temperature?

I honestly cannot remember!  I notice the temperature gauge climbs quite high, then drops a bit, then back up a bit, then drops etc, etc, I guess it could be an air-lock?

[RICH MUISE]

We can't even buy 94 octane around here that I'm aware of. 91 for hi-test is the norm, with occasional 92 seen. Good thing is I don't need Hi test....mine just seems to run as well on mid-grade, about 89 octane. Prices around here: sill under 2 bucks for the dd regular, 2.20 for mid range and 2.40ish for Hi test.
Gary..not sure what front end being "too wallowy" means, but if your talking leaning on corners, just about everybody reports big differences with the hd sway bar kits.

[Limey57]

Gary..not sure what front end being "too wallowy" means, but if your talking leaning on corners, just about everybody reports big differences with the hd sway bar kits.

Rich, yes, too soft is what I mean, we don't do straight roads over here & it feels like it's too soft on the corners with too much lean, so maybe a sway bar kit would be a big help.

[rmk57]

I took some slop out of mine by replacing the rubber bushing with aluminum on the lever on column where the rod fits into. I can manually shift fairly consistent now when I''m at the track.

[Wirenut]

Your Ranchero looks nice in that setting, sorry your fuel is so expensive. I bet that really stands out with all of the small vehicles in your area. I watch wheeler dealer and they take a lot of the American muscle cars to your area. When your Ranchero drives up people probably start looking for a big guy about7 ft tall. Good luck with the remaining repairs, thanks for posting the photo. Looks great!

[RICH MUISE]

Oh, I forgot to mention how good your Ranchero looks. That's a great pic.

[Limey57]

I took some slop out of mine by replacing the rubber bushing with aluminum on the lever on column where the rod fits into. I can manually shift fairly consistent now when I''m at the track.

That's a good idea, is there a danger that the transmission will shift from Park to Reverse if you rev it while stationary?  What I mean is, if the engine twists on its mountings a bit if you rev it and there is nothing in the transmission linkage that has a bit of "give" in it, will it knock it from P to R?  I'm probably over-thinking this but I just have an image of me in the garage, Ranchero running, I've got my head under the hood adjusting something, rev it using the carburetor linkage and it shifts itself into reverse & shoots off up the driveway!

[gasman826]

I have the Lokar shift tube going though the side of the AOD.  I also use the Lokar adjustable rod with hiems joints on both ends.  At first, the shift was bound and moved with a lot of drag.  I found the lower hiems joint was binding due to too much angle.  I bent the lower shift arm to relieve the bind and has been working great.  I also changed up to power steering using '64 Galaxie PS components including the column.  The '64 column has three forward gears so I can manually shift the AOD.  The '57 column has no detents for PRND21 just PRNDL.  If correctly adjusted for PRND2, there would be no manual first gear.  With the performance cam, the engine shakes a lot at idle.  The shift lever bounces around a bit but hasn't changed gears yet.  The '57 didn't use an equalizer setup on the automatic like later models.  I was considering fabricating an equalizer setup but have gotten away with the simple straight rod.

[rmk57]

I adjusted mine so I do have PRND21 but when it sits in park I can give it a bit of a tug and it will slip into reverse. Would I trust it working under the hood reving the engine, god no, rear wheels have to be off the ground for that kind of stuff.

My winter project is to do something with the column shift plate, maybe a Torino, Falcon, or mod the one I have to make it safer.

I do like the idea of the heim joints for a smoother shift and wouldn't be hard to fab up either.

[junior58]

Great pic, looking good. We get a bit spoilt for gas quality here, have a choice of 91, 95 or 98. I normally run mine on 95, occasionally treat her to 98, wouldn't run my lawnmower on 91.

[rmk57]

Octane ratings differ from north america and the rest of the world. Your 98 is probably our 94.