‘94 4x4 Swap/Build

[Dantheman1540]

Dang that is pretty light, mine has got to be closer to 150-200#. I’m hoping to drop to under 75# with 1.75” tube and the 5500# winch. It’s going to be fairly minimalist but not a single prerunner tube. We have too much brush to push through for that.

I’m very jello of your plasma table access, I need less poor friends.

 

[DRanger024]

It’s all 3/16 material other than the two outside pieces under the fenders. Those are 1.5” or 2” channel. I’m sure it could have been made much stronger but at the time, weight was an issue. Between the winch, bumper and plow pump, I probably hang an extra 200lbs on the front end. I’d say the plow itself is 350-400.

 

[Dantheman1540]

It’s all 3/16 material other than the two outside pieces under the fenders. Those are 1.5” or 2” channel. I’m sure it could have been made much stronger but at the time, weight was an issue. Between the winch, bumper and plow pump, I probably hang an extra 200lbs on the front end. I’d say the plow itself is 350-400.

Sounds plenty strong unless you’re bashing things constantly. Weight, especially so far out, is such a killer for suspension. I can tell it’s hurting my front shocks. I either need for compression valve, stiffer springs, or less weight and I don’t want to tear into the shocks.

That plow must sag the front a good bit

 

[DRanger024]

That plow must sag the front a good bit

Exactly 1 inch. I couldn’t believe it because the springs are only something like 190 ppi. They are 3.5 inch lift springs for an Early Bronco.

The Bilsteins I have under my front end are getting to the end of their life. Not sure where I’ll go next. If it wasn’t for the plow, I’d consider coil overs.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Exactly 1 inch. I couldn’t believe it because the springs are only something like 190 ppi. They are 3.5 inch lift springs for an Early Bronco.

The Bilsteins I have under my front end are getting to the end of their life. Not sure where I’ll go next. If it wasn’t for the plow, I’d consider coil overs.

I’ve been looking at coilovers for a future upgrade as well. But then I think about how easy it is to service stuff with separate shocks and springs. Bilstein needs to get their crap together and release universal fit zone control shocks already. I’d love to not have to hack up my front frame to put in hydro bumps.

 

[DRanger024]

Got plow brackets cut today. Hopefully get time to get them tacked on and welded up this weekend. All 1/2” plate. I’m thinking I might weld a 1/4” doubler plate to the winch mount before I weld these on.

 

[DRanger024]

Plow mount is done. Putting the pump on now so I can see how everything sits. This one should be 2” higher than the old one which is a good thing.

 

[DRanger024]

Ready for winter again.

 

[Shran]

Cool!

FYI I have a plasma table too and I refuse to pay for AutoCAD. If you are looking for a really good free alternative, NanoCAD is by far my favorite. It is totally compatible with DWG & DXF drawings and a lot of the command line stuff is the same. A lot of guys don't draw that way anymore but I learned on AutoCAD LT 2001................ back in 2001.... haha so old habits die very hard.

 

[DRanger024]

AutoCAD LT is absurdly expensive for what it does. That’s what I have at work and what I’m familiar with though. I cut my teeth on LT 2015. I’ll check out NanoCAD. I’m running out of email addresses for the free trial of AutoCAD lol. Thanks for the info.

 

[DRanger024]

Ok, my ADD brain has finally circled back around to the truck. I didn’t part it out or sell it, just parked it for about 4 months and didn’t drive it at all. Kind of got side tracked building an AR and collecting some other 2A toys right before election season. Also bought a Brand new Kodiak 700 EPS for myself for Christmas.

BUT! I did order gears for the truck finally. After searching high and low for a US company that still manufactures gear sets in the states and coming up empty handed, I settled on Revolution Gear. Good price and supposed to be of the highest quality. We’ll see.
I won’t get around to installing them until the kids go on spring break from school. My wife has to have her gall bladder removed and scheduled surgery for my first day off that week. Kind of bummed because I lose a day but she’s more important.

Ordered a crush sleeve eliminator from Bronco Graveyard. I don’t think I’ll have the room to crush a crush sleeve working on the floor. I don’t think I could do it even if I started it in the press.

I don’t know how well the D30 would handle 35’s (well I do but it’s mostly jeep guys on the internet and heavily dependent on the driver) but that’s what the next set of tires will likely be. There’s nowhere to wheel in my area unless you know someone with private land so the truck is a mall crawler at this point. It’s fun to look at though.

 

[DRanger024]

Went out to dinner with some friends last night and noticed my turn signals quit working. Hazards work, dash lights up, reverse lights work, flasher is good. I’m a little suspect of the turn signal switch. I replaced it with a junkyard unit because the wiper switch on my old one was boogered. Of course I threw the old one away last weekend after it sat on my bench for months Hopefully get a chance to poke around with a meter a little bit today.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I've fought this on both my Rangers over the last year or two and both were fixed the dumbest way possible and without tools and while driving... cycle the flasher button a few dozen times, some of them with some side load instead of straight down...

83.42% sure this will work

 

[DRanger024]

It was something dumb too. I stopped after dinner and bought a flasher but it wasn’t the fix.
Tore the dash apart this afternoon and didn’t find anything. A couple pins in the connector on the switch have come loose but that’s about it.
Pulled the flasher and jumped the wires and I have turn signals on constant so the power is traveling through the switch. As my luck would have it, I got a bad flasher right off the shelf from oreilly. No big deal though, I remembered I had a mostly complete dash harness hanging in the garage so I robbed the Motorcraft flashers out of that and BINGO! Turn signals.

Also pulled out the craptastic Car Play radio. It would randomly shut off and seemed to overheat after that happened a few times. I don’t need Bluetooth or a nice radio so I tossed in a Ford radio I had laying around. Kind of bummed I cut the opening in the bezel to take an aftermarket sleeve.

 

[SenorNoob]

Some careful work with a dremel or rasp and sandpaper could make that bezel indistinguishable from factory...