What did you do to your Ranger today?

[DukeCanBuildit]

Dave,
Whats the purpose of "foaming" up a vehicle like that? I've seen a lot of people doing it.
Would the soap not dry to the truck?
I'm coming from the bucket ans sponge era

Hey Tony,

Same principle as soap and sponge but the foam cannon soaps work better and give you full coverage, quickly.

Foam suspends the dirt particles away from the paint and slowly drips down, similar to the pre-soak cycle at the touchless car wash.

Proper foaming car wash soaps have sudsing agents to maximize this effect when used with a foam cannon, which intruduces air and creates snow-like foam.

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[Stevescootz]

gave her a quick spit shine!
first full wash in a long time. No wash port in my parking garage, so used the adams waterless ceramic wash, not mad at it!

 

[SteveH]

If it doesn't try this from Chemical Guys. While you can use most car wash soaps through a foam cannon they don't always foam up good. You want it to foam up and look like snow (that's why most are labeled Snow Foam) so it attaches itself to the dirt and drops it down off the vehicle. I tried using my normal car wash soap and it barely foamed up at all then switched to this stuff.

I went ahead and bought a jug of it. Thanks for the link!

 

[alan0614]

I finally installed the pair of Element "fire extinguishers" using Gorilla tape (fingers crossed).

I've got one as well, need to grab a couple more. I hope I never have to use it and that it lives up to the reviews.

 

[Blmpkn]

Slapped some new shoes on it that I got from @Ian-NH the end of last week.

+18 offset 18x9 method mr316s wrapped in 275/65 general grabbers.

Got a wicked good deal, thanks man!

 

[5G Dan-O]

Added Kilmat 50 mil sound deadening to all 4 doors today.
Holy cow - what a difference.
Bugged the crap out of me how the doors sounded like a tin can when you close it. There was no sound deadening in any of the doors. Now they close with a solid thud.

Minimal weight added.
Each front door took 4 sheets and the rear doors were 3 1/2 sheets.
I didn't do any deadening on the inside panels, they have the factory foam sheet/vapor barrier. I'm sure the door panels could take a little to improve them but I was working to eliminate the cheap sound when you close the door.

 

[subquark]

I've got one as well, need to grab a couple more. I hope I never have to use it and that it lives up to the reviews.

I was a Texas certified volunteer firefighter and have always carried an extinguisher (there's a 30 year old one in my old FJ-40, I'm sure it's pretty far gone).

And I do like a regular extinguisher because it has some force to it, for blowing through a grill or wheel well. But since I've never put out my own vehicle fire, I hope my chances are slim I ever will. BUT having the Element is that peace of mind with it never expiring or needing maintenance.

It's not certified in the US but supposedly it is in Europe.

Like you say, I hope to never use it, and if I do, I hope it lives up to its hype.

Let us know where you mount it, I have a feeling mine may get yanked off in the spot.

 

[subquark]

Added Kilmat 50 mil sound deadening to all 4 doors today.
Holy cow - what a difference.
Bugged the crap out of me how the doors sounded like a tin can when you close it. There was no sound deadening in any of the doors. Now they close with a solid thud.

Minimal weight added.
Each front door took 4 sheets and the rear doors were 3 1/2 sheets.
I didn't do any deadening on the inside panels, they have the factory foam sheet/vapor barrier. I'm sure the door panels could take a little to improve them but I was working to eliminate the cheap sound when you close the door.

How hard was it to pull the panels? Keep in mind I'm pretty useless at trim and it seems a bit puzzling to me (but I do have a nice set of trim tools, just no patience to go with it).

I'd love to get rid of that tin sound and maybe gain a bit of insulation for New England winters.

 

[Bob902]

Added Kilmat 50 mil sound deadening to all 4 doors today.
Holy cow - what a difference.
Bugged the crap out of me how the doors sounded like a tin can when you close it. There was no sound deadening in any of the doors. Now they close with a solid thud.

Minimal weight added.
Each front door took 4 sheets and the rear doors were 3 1/2 sheets.
I didn't do any deadening on the inside panels, they have the factory foam sheet/vapor barrier. I'm sure the door panels could take a little to improve them but I was working to eliminate the cheap sound when you close the door.

This is an easy, fairly cheap upgrade. I'm glad I did mine.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Slapped some new shoes on it that I got from @Ian-NH the end of last week.

-18 offset 18x9 method mr316s wrapped in 275/65 general grabbers.

Got a wicked good deal, thanks man!

I’m pretty sure you meant +18mm offset, right?

 

[5G Dan-O]

How hard was it to pull the panels? Keep in mind I'm pretty useless at trim and it seems a bit puzzling to me (but I do have a nice set of trim tools, just no patience to go with it).

I'd love to get rid of that tin sound and maybe gain a bit of insulation for New England winters.

It's not complicated but you will need some patience.
You pop the little trim door off behind the door handle - one Torx 25 screw
Pop the door pull cover off and then remove two Torx 25 screws
2 Torx screws at the bottom edge of the door panel


The 'hard' part is knowing how hard and where to pull on the pull handle cover and the door panel to disengage the plastic retainers.

On the front doors there's a tiny connector that you need to pry the connector out. It's the LED light. You actually pry VERY carefully on the light by the connector and the engagement pin will disengage and the connector will come off. The other connectors are self-explanatory (Squeeze the release tab - connector slides out)

The door handle pops off the door panel, the first one will confuse you, the rest will be wicked easy - it's a great design.

I took the speakers out - three 7mm screws - gives you a ton of extra room to work. Also, the foam vapor barrier is easy to tear so pull it away carefully.

There's got to be a YouTube video of this process I bet.

 

[Blmpkn]

I’m pretty sure you meant +18mm offset, right?

In reality, your probably right.

They identify as '-' though so ?‍ I just go with it.

 

[subquark]

It's not complicated but you will need some patience.
You pop the little trim door off behind the door handle - one Torx 25 screw
Pop the door pull cover off and then remove two Torx 25 screws
2 Torx screws at the bottom edge of the door panel


The 'hard' part is knowing how hard and where to pull on the pull handle cover and the door panel to disengage the plastic retainers.

On the front doors there's a tiny connector that you need to pry the connector out. It's the LED light. You actually pry VERY carefully on the light by the connector and the engagement pin will disengage and the connector will come off. The other connectors are self-explanatory (Squeeze the release tab - connector slides out)

The door handle pops off the door panel, the first one will confuse you, the rest will be wicked easy - it's a great design.

I took the speakers out - three 7mm screws - gives you a ton of extra room to work. Also, the foam vapor barrier is easy to tear so pull it away carefully.

There's got to be a YouTube video of this process I bet.

Thanks for the details and really clear instructions. Knowing the Torx and 7mm sizes is a big help to keep me from running back and forth. And those connectors, that's good info (I probably don't have the LED one - I have an XL, but I certainly have the other one).

Is that vapor barrier attached with like a tar ribbon? Not sure that's what it's called. I had an older car that had a bead of a sticky tarry material that held a plastic sheet in place.

And you even inspired greater confidence in me by saying "wicked!" =)

Thanks!

 

[5G Dan-O]

Thanks for the details and really clear instructions. Knowing the Torx and 7mm sizes is a big help to keep me from running back and forth. And those connectors, that's good info (I probably don't have the LED one - I have an XL, but I certainly have the other one).

Is that vapor barrier attached with like a tar ribbon? Not sure that's what it's called. I had an older car that had a bead of a sticky tarry material that held a plastic sheet in place.

And you even inspired greater confidence in me by saying "wicked!" =)

Thanks!

I was sure you would get the wicked joke.

Yes, the barrier is held on with a sticky rope - sometimes called thumb grade sealer. If you're careful it will come off. It's 85 here today in Central NY State so I bet being a little softer made it easier to come off.

 

[Bob902]

Thanks for the details and really clear instructions. Knowing the Torx and 7mm sizes is a big help to keep me from running back and forth. And those connectors, that's good info (I probably don't have the LED one - I have an XL, but I certainly have the other one).

Is that vapor barrier attached with like a tar ribbon? Not sure that's what it's called. I had an older car that had a bead of a sticky tarry material that held a plastic sheet in place.

And you even inspired greater confidence in me by saying "wicked!" =)

Thanks!

it's a pretty easy job. There is a video on how to do it. It's a guy overseas who also replaced the speakers at the same time.

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