Back to the 2020 FX4 Salvage Rebuild

[XionUAV]

What do you guys think of seat covers? Personally I'm not a big fan, but in this case I think they might be warranted.

The interior was pretty nasty. I spent all day yesterday with the seats out cleaning the carpet and other areas and the seats. White dog hair everywhere and what appears to be coffee with caramel was spilled on the passenger seat, floor and a few other places. Dog hair was stuck to the dried caramel. There was more food down the sides and in the seat rails not shown in the pictures.

The owner or driver appears to have worked someplace with a dust or powder that solidifies in moisture. Areas of the seat have remained lighter after cleaning. They aren't stains but something bonded with the fabric in between the threads that is a light yellowish tan color. The picture of the seat is the driver seat before cleaning. It looks substantially better but still has some lighter areas.

Most pictures of seats in used Rangers look similar with areas of gray in the black. Usually I only purchase vehicles with leather seats. This was an exception obviously.

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[TJC]

I purchased a mid 80's Toyota Camry 4 Cyl arolund 1999. That thing was SLOW. But it got me through some tough times.

Anyway it was filthy. I actually took the seat covers off and threw them in my washing machine one at a time. I even put them in the dryer! They came out very clean and smelled great for the time I had it. They were cloth

Reinstalling was easy with lots of hog rings.

I was no longer afraid to sit in the car after that.

It is best to use an old washer or perhaps a laundry mat.

Just a thought.

 

[Chris M]

What do you guys think of seat covers? Personally I'm not a big fan, but in this case I think they might be warranted.

The interior was pretty nasty. I spent all day yesterday with the seats out cleaning the carpet and other areas and the seats. White dog hair everywhere and what appears to be coffee with caramel was spilled on the passenger seat, floor and a few other places. Dog hair was stuck to the dried caramel. There was more food down the sides and in the seat rails not shown in the pictures.

The owner or driver appears to have worked someplace with a dust or powder that solidifies in moisture. Areas of the seat have remained lighter after cleaning. They aren't stains but something bonded with the fabric in between the threads that is a light yellowish tan color. The picture of the seat is the driver seat before cleaning. It looks substantially better but still has some lighter areas.

Most pictures of seats in used Rangers look similar with areas of gray in the black. Usually I only purchase vehicles with leather seats. This was an exception obviously.

A couple of guys here got katskins covers for their seats, I think.
A couple others did Wet Okule (?) Covers.
I think if it were me and I had the money I'd either source some leather Ranger seats or just have yours done in a nice leather by an upholsterer. I bet you already know of a good shop ?

 

[shovelhd]

Those are pretty nasty. If it were my truck, that I'd put so much time and effort into, I would not add slipcovers of any kind. Since this is not your daily driver, I'd try removing the factory covers and washing them as had been suggested. You have nothing to lose. If that doesn't work, I'd try and source some used seats "locally". Good luck. I can totally appreciate why you went this route with your truck. It's not just that you can do it, it's because you like to do it.

 

[XionUAV]

Ideally I'd prefer to swap out the interior with leather from another Ranger. The seats are now clean. They got a thorough chemical cleaning with upholstery cleaner, scrubbing and an upholstery machine. What you can still see is not coming out because as mentioned, it's some kind of residue that has bonded to the fabric. A process strong enough to remove whatever it is would likely bleach the fabric and make them look worse than they do.

Finding the right interior likely won't happen quickly so in the meantime I was considering these from Coverland. Reviews are good. But I may just leave the stock ones until a replacement interior can be sourced.

 

[TJC]

Katskin will no longer sell you seat covers. They now sell a package where you must use a local installer, which has doubled their price.

I've installed them in a Miata years ago. Took a little time but wasn't technically difficult. I called them recently inquiring about a purchase. They would not sell me just the covers. I had to use their installer.

 

[got3fords]

It isn't just about money. I take personal pride in using my talents and skills to do things others think are too hard or unworthy. That's why I started my own tech companies 30 years ago instead of continuing to work for someone else. That's why I risked everything, and my reputation, to write a novel to which the film industry is showing interest. I'm not one to do typical, average, simple or easy.

Anyone can go buy a new vehicle and stick parts on it. Working to repair something damaged to make it usable and of value again brings a personal satisfaction that makes the labor and time worthwhile, well, except for dealing with the idiots at the first body shop. Could have done without that, and parts issues.

I like to work. "Free" time isn't something I know what to do with. When I die it will probably be while working on or building something. That's just who I am. And it makes me proud to be able to say I rebuilt and built-out this Ranger to the vision I saw for it when it was sitting in a salvage yard with the front corner smashed in, and wasn't one someone else had built that I bought somewhere. It was a blank canvas and I made it into something worthwhile.

Again, I applaud you. Hope to see your movie someday.

 

[Chris M]

Ideally I'd prefer to swap out the interior with leather from another Ranger. The seats are now clean. They got a thorough chemical cleaning with upholstery cleaner, scrubbing and an upholstery machine. What you can still see is not coming out because as mentioned, it's some kind of residue that has bonded to the fabric. A process strong enough to remove whatever it is would likely bleach the fabric and make them look worse than they do.

Finding the right interior likely won't happen quickly so in the meantime I was considering these from Coverland. Reviews are good. But I may just leave the stock ones until a replacement interior can be sourced.

Those look nice.

 

[XionUAV]

Again, I applaud you. Hope to see your movie someday.

Thanks. Dealing with the film industry is like working with a herd of cats. You never know what they're going to do.

Earnest Hemingway had a point when he said, "The best way to deal with Hollywood is to drive to the edge of town, throw your script at them and run away." I've met with dozens of industry reps over the years and can definitely understand why he felt that way. Many are good people. Others epitomize the problems with the industry and the crap material produced.

Jeff Gordon's quote sums up many of the paths of my life - "I'm putting my foot to the floor, and I'm not lifting 'til I see God or a checkered flag."

Broke or flush, success or failure, it's always an adventure. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

 

[XionUAV]

It's official. She's registered. Original title is out-of-State so an additional few weeks to receive the new one.

Also got the alignment done this morning. Of course there had to be drama.

Selected a place called Fat Bob's Garage that specializes in 4X4 and off-road work. Had some tires mounted there once. No problems. Quote I got was $125 plus tax. I get there and the guy says the total will be $152 or something like that. Tax isn't that much.

Took a look at the quote and they had added $15 for "shop supplies." What? I tell the guy you don't use "shop supplies" for an alignment, plus that addition wasn't disclosed when I originally called and got the quote. The guy says they have to clean the mounts. Seriously?? I almost laughed out loud. Then he says they add that fee to all jobs. I replied, "Yeah, I don't think so," and walked out.

In case you guys haven't figured it out by now, I don't tolerate BS from anyone, especially employees and businesses that should know better.

Went to Les Schwab where I had a lot of alignments and bearing press work done when dealing with higher mileage vehicles in the past. The two guys I used to work with there are long gone, but the new guys seem ok. While there I got a phone call I suspected was from Fat Bob's. Didn't answer it. Later I get a text from the guy apologizing saying I was right that the "shop supplies" charge shouldn't have been on there. He claimed it was a glitch because of a recent change in their billing system. Ok, but why didn't he question it when I told him it was bogus?

He offered a 10% discount if I came back. No thanks. At least he reached out. I'll give him that.

Rhino Lining bed-liner is scheduled for next week. That will pretty much put the lid on the project except for some minor stuff like mud guards, and charging the AC. I have the refrigerant, dial and hose set and vacuum pump for that. Won't need AC much longer, but at least we'll find out if the system is sealed or not.

 

[XionUAV]

Oops. Won't be putting any fuel system cleaner in without one of these. Just ordered a 2-pack. Naturally there wasn't one with the vehicle.

Something I didn't realize the Ranger has that's pretty nice is rear side motion alerts. I was slowly backing out of a parking spot when the alert started going off. Stopped and realized it was a vehicle coming down the aisle. The sensors registered it before I did. Very nice.

 

[TJC]

I use Royal Purple Max-Clean 2 pack ~$30...comes with the adapters Your gas funnel adapter should be with the jack under the drivers side back seat (In my SCab anyway).

 

[Big Blue]

Something I didn't realize the Ranger has that's pretty nice is rear side motion alerts. I was slowly backing out of a parking spot when the alert started going off. Stopped and realized it was a vehicle coming down the aisle. The sensors registered it before I did. Very nice.

Yeah, it uses the blind spot radars for cross-traffic alerts. Saved my butt in parking lots more than once. The way some people think parking lots are race tracks.

 

[XionUAV]

I use Royal Purple Max-Clean 2 pack ~$30...comes with the adapters Your gas funnel adapter should be with the jack under the drivers side back seat (In my SCab anyway).

I've got a big bottle of Lucas fuel treatment. Your Max-Clean looks like a good product. Nice of them to include the nozzle.

Any adapter was long gone when I got the truck.

By the way, I'm seriously considering the one-piece driveshaft. The start-up vibration in mine is very noticeable. It pretty much follows exactly what the guy videoed in the first few pages of the thread discussing it. Didn't go through all 42 pages but the one-piece seems to be the most logical solution. At the moment I'd rather spend more money on that since it's a driving issue whereas a pretty, non-discolored driver seat can wait.

 

[XionUAV]

Just discovered that Tom Wood's drive line shop is less than 20 minutes from me. Looks like getting a one-piece drive shaft from them is a no-brainer.

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