That's a good looking TM. I have the same one with 700 hours on it. The TM's starter is noisy. If you manage to take yours off, don't throw the old one away as it will likely still be working after the hundred-dollar cheapie has bitten the dust.
Your Ranger has the roll cage off the 500 series. Mine just has a small bar and screen behind the seats.
A local upholsterer redid my lower seat cushion for $125. He didn't have trouble with the raised part in the middle, but told me he would have to put a seam along each outer edge to make it fit. The result was a beautiful job and quite a close match on the fabric, though he had told me an exact match for the gray is impossible, as the factory bought in the material and used it up, then ordered more, with no attempt to standardize colours.
To my mind the biggest challenge with the TM is changing the oil. At long last I have hit upon an efficient system for doing this now that we have a car hoist in the shop. You'll find a long series of articles (and rants) about the 2004 Ranger TM at
Walnut Diary | If Google has dropped you here, try typing "The Walnut Diary" and whatever you want to find. eg: "The Walnut Diary bass.".
- TM oil filter is NOT the standard Polaris filter. It's smaller, scarce, and quite expensive. Change oil and filter every 50 hours. 1.6 litres will do to start. Your results may vary. I use Rotella 5W40 synthetic. I have observed no oil consumption.
- Use synthetic oil. The TM has a Robin 18 hp industrial engine which they bolted into this loss-leader vehicle. Treat it well.
- Remember that the engine is from Japan, with metric bolts. That said, there's a devilish little Allen-headed drain plug right under the machine, hidden in a recess, which you remove to drain the oil. (Don't take the bolt out at the bottom rear of the engine. It's hard to get out and worse to replace.) I have stripped two of these Allen plugs because they are very soft. They're housed in a 90 degree brass plumbing fitting bolted onto the engine to enable drainage down. This could be a US-made add-on. At a dealership you'll have to ask for the drain plug for a 2006, as the earlier diagrams don't handle it. On a parts diagram the plug doesn't look anything like the actual product, but the number is right. It's silver, smaller in diameter than a dime, has about a 4 mm Allen hole in the centre (not exactly 4 mm.) and an o-ring in a slot to seal the oil in.
I strongly advise you to raise the TM on a car hoist for the first oil change. Once you understand the layout, the drain plug should go well, but don't over-tighten it or the Allen part will strip.
The oil filter has been the subject of more than one comic rant (not intended as such, but widely admired) on my blog. I won't bother re-creating it here, save to say that the grittier your fingers are when you try to replace the filter, the better.
- In 2005 they specified hotter plugs for this engine. Instead of the "5", use the "4". I think it's an NKG and their heat range numbers run opposite to Champions.
- The TM has boots at the front for the steering gear, but no CV joints. Greasing's pretty minimal, though there are fittings on the drive shaft and a couple of hidden ones on the pivots for that back suspension square.
- I have replaced the right tie rod end. I think that's the only repair I've had to do.
- On the other hand, adjusting the parking brake is well beyond my expertise as a mechanic. It must have been designed by the same devil who made the drain plug. Don't rely on it.
- The brakes, on the other hand, work very well.
- The battery needs frequent watering and/or replacement.
Here are some notes. For more info, check The Walnut Diary for the Ranger TM series. Down the right side of the page you'll find 18 articles relating to this machine.
