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‘94 4x4 Swap/Build


DRanger024

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Location
Dale, WI
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Total Lift
6-7” front maybe 3” rear
Total Drop
0
Tire Size
33x12.50-15
Tach gauge cluster installed. I switched my odometer into the new cluster. It came with a 5 digit odo, mine is 6



4wd buttons popped in where the old Sun Pro tach was. Still need the dash harness and correct shift motor to get that working. Eventually I’d like to hunt down a manual case.

My old Kenwood headunit fried the right front channel so I have the craptastic Dual unit out of the Mazda in there now. The whole system needs an upgrade.




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DRanger024

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Location
Dale, WI
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Total Lift
6-7” front maybe 3” rear
Total Drop
0
Tire Size
33x12.50-15
Put a good 500 miles on the truck over last weekend. It did really well other than eating the front tires alive. Took care of the alignment when I got home. Turns out the front right tire was toed out a fuzz.

The TTB 4wd works surprisingly well outside of not having a shift motor or manual case. The thing rips through saturated clay like it’s freshly paved black top. The guy I got my parts truck from packed the limited slip. I’m glad he did or I’d be doing it.

Picked up an aluminum topper on my way home for $30. It must be for a 1st or 2nd gen because it’s a little small. Oh well, at least I can camp out of my truck.



Has these classic scroll print bubble windows.



That’s all for now. Looking forward to getting some leveling springs. I plan to start making the 1.5” body lift parts at work pretty shortly. Then it should be ready for some 33’s.


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Last edited:

DRanger024

Dude with a truck
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Location
Dale, WI
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Total Lift
6-7” front maybe 3” rear
Total Drop
0
Tire Size
33x12.50-15
Got to enjoy the task of changing fuel tank straps today.

The rear strap that holds the tank up bit the dust



Front strap was still good but just starting to rust. The strap that goes around the back of the tank was paper thin right where it bends to go up.



Had my local O’Reilly order the straps in but they only got two of the three pieces so I got the two that actually support the tank for $14. I’m not complaining.

Job done.




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BlackBII

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Location
UT
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1989
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4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
5
Tire Size
33

DRanger024

Dude with a truck
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Messages
880
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521
Location
Dale, WI
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Total Lift
6-7” front maybe 3” rear
Total Drop
0
Tire Size
33x12.50-15
Lol thanks man. I wish I had more time to work on it. Both my daughters are interested but I can’t keep track of tools with their “help”.


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DRanger024

Dude with a truck
Supporting Member
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Messages
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521
Location
Dale, WI
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Total Lift
6-7” front maybe 3” rear
Total Drop
0
Tire Size
33x12.50-15
Finally got some different wheels to replace the 3rd gen explorer wheels with their craptastic offset. Ended up with the double 5 spoke factory wheels off of a 2000. Came with some very lightly weather checked 32” BFG mt’s. Two are decent, the other two are pretty worn on the outsides. They’ll get me through to fall. $100 well spent.





Guys truck needed an alignment I guess lol




The low end torque of the 4.0 ohv kind of amazes me. From the minute I went from 245’s to 32’s on my old ‘02, I was disappointed with how much giddy up it lost. That truck had a 4.0 and 4.10’s in it. Today I went from 245’s to 32’s running 3.73’s and the old ohv didn’t even care. Other than the speedo being a little off, I can’t tell a difference.

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Last edited:

DRanger024

Dude with a truck
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Messages
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Location
Dale, WI
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Total Lift
6-7” front maybe 3” rear
Total Drop
0
Tire Size
33x12.50-15
Finally hit the 3,000 mile mark since I did all of my swapping and changed the oil. It was nice and dark and didn’t smell like gas even though the thing is running pig rich yet. No shavings and no big chunks of crap in it. So I guess the rings are still good after 223,000 miles. Never pulled the heads when I had the engine on the stand. Put 4 quarts of Resolute semi synthetic 5w-30 and a quart of Lucas in it to see if it will stop the cold start push rod clatter. I’ve been running this combo of oil in my explorer with very good results.

Since the last time I posted in here, I changed the fluid in the trans out to 0w-30 Mobil 1 which cured the occasional grind from 1st to second. The 2wd 4 banger trans has perfect synchros and gears in it yet and will find their way into this trans hopefully by winter.

Averaging 18mpg with the O2 sensors half working so not too bad.


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DRanger024

Dude with a truck
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Messages
880
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521
Location
Dale, WI
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Total Lift
6-7” front maybe 3” rear
Total Drop
0
Tire Size
33x12.50-15
Sway bar disco’s






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85_Ranger4x4

Wallows in rivers
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Transmission
Manual
Thanks!

They could use some spacers but otherwise they fit right on. I’ll most likely ditch them in the fall for some steelies and bigger tires. Debating on going back to 15’s or staying with 16’s. Tires are quite a bit cheaper for 16’s but not as many options for a mud tire.


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How much spacer do you suppose you would need?

My axles are a hair wide for my body so I could lose some offset and be ok.

Needing a set of cheap 16's for a possible road trip and there isn't a lot out there that is plug and play with 4x4 hubs. :annoyed:
 

DRanger024

Dude with a truck
Supporting Member
Solid Axle Swap
Ham Radio Operator
GMRS Radio License
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Messages
880
Reaction score
521
Location
Dale, WI
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Total Lift
6-7” front maybe 3” rear
Total Drop
0
Tire Size
33x12.50-15
How much spacer do you suppose you would need?



My axles are a hair wide for my body so I could lose some offset and be ok.



Needing a set of cheap 16's for a possible road trip and there isn't a lot out there that is plug and play with 4x4 hubs. :annoyed:


You have a D35 and an Explorer 8.8 right? They would be fine without a spacer on that setup I think. My truck could have used a 0.50”-1.00” spacer behind each wheel. The only issues I had were some minimal rubbing on the radius arms at full lock hitting a decent bump.

I’ll try to take some measurements when I get a second. Then you can decide from there.


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85_Ranger4x4

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V8
Engine Size
5.0
Transmission
Manual
You have a D35 and an Explorer 8.8 right? They would be fine without a spacer on that setup I think. My truck could have used a 0.50”-1.00” spacer behind each wheel. The only issues I had were some minimal rubbing on the radius arms at full lock hitting a decent bump.

I’ll try to take some measurements when I get a second. Then you can decide from there.


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I will in the hopefully not too distant future.

I saw one off of the car cast aside at the JY yesterday and it didn't look like much offset, I don't think the little bit of difference you mention will be a big deal with my configuration.
 

DRanger024

Dude with a truck
Supporting Member
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Messages
880
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521
Location
Dale, WI
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Total Lift
6-7” front maybe 3” rear
Total Drop
0
Tire Size
33x12.50-15
Small update. Cb installed for a small off road/camping trip in the UP mid September. I started with a radio shack cb but threw in a Uniden pro 520xl I had sitting in the bench. Antenna mount was made by me and the coax runs around the outer edge of the roof inside the cab. This was the only way I could keep fuel pump noise to a minimum without cutting wires.

Old Radio Shack trc-483. Modulation was ok at best and good mics are hard to find. I may wire in a 4 pin receptacle to run a nicer mic. I like this radio quite a bit but it could use some upgrades to be a good radio.



The little Uniden. Great radio but very sensitive to interference. Takes a little squelch and dialing back the rf gain to quiet it down.



Fabbed up a mount at work to fit between the third brake light and the cab









My antenna is an older fiberglass k40 with the tuning sleeve on it. I have the spring out now to get my swr down. Only managed to get it to 1.5 on channel 1 & 40. 19 is at 1.1. I also have a 3 foot fire stik with the tunable tip but the swr on that one was in the 1.6 to 1.7 range. I’m not trying to talk miles out, just want to communicate with my buddies when we’re out playing.

Also did a poor mans leveling kit which consisted of cutting an inch out of the bottom of the spring buckets and welding them back together. I drilled the mounting holes up one inch and bolted them back on. Got about an inch and a half out of it so it’s not perfectly level but I do haul crap and occasionally pull a trailer so I’d rather have a little rake.





I think those are the only pic’s I took during that process. Had a buddy on the way to install his new cb.

After that, I realized I had absolutely no form of a recovery point. Originally being a 4 cyl. 2wd truck, it’s no surprise it never had a receiver. I had an old class 2 receiver laying around from my wife’s uncles Saturn Vue so that was donated.

Similar to this except the tubes are bent to be mostly hidden behind the bumper.



I narrowed it down to 30 inches and made new brackets at work. Bought a 2” receiver tube from Fleet farm.



Didn’t snap any pics during all the modifying or before I bolted it up but this is what I ended up with.



If it gets bent or breaks, I don’t care. Hitch’s are relatively cheap for these trucks but I had this one laying around.

Should come in handy!



That’s all for now. Progress is slow on the truck. Wife wants a closet built downstairs in the lower level of the house and I want to remodel the whole room plus the bathroom down there so that’s taking priority. I have all the pucks (cut down body lift spacers, not hockey pucks!) for a 1” body lift but that won’t go on until I’m ready to build bumpers for the truck. Still have the templates for the bumper I built for my old ‘02 so I’ll probably follow this design.




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bobbywalter

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Location
woodhaven mi
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1988
Make / Model
FORD mostly
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
BIGGER
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
sawzall?
Tire Size
33-44
My credo
it is easier to fix and understand than "her"
your solidly in the ranger idiot club. i think there is at least two handfulls of us that have had trucks over two decades.....



my primary vehicle has been with me longer then most of my children....and they go 28 years old down to 13.


so i really dig you getting it back and making it the machine you want it to be...
 

DRanger024

Dude with a truck
Supporting Member
Solid Axle Swap
Ham Radio Operator
GMRS Radio License
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Messages
880
Reaction score
521
Location
Dale, WI
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
Solid Axle Swap 4x4
Total Lift
6-7” front maybe 3” rear
Total Drop
0
Tire Size
33x12.50-15
your solidly in the ranger idiot club. i think there is at least two handfulls of us that have had trucks over two decades.....



my primary vehicle has been with me longer then most of my children....and they go 28 years old down to 13.


so i really dig you getting it back and making it the machine you want it to be...


Thanks bobby. I’ll gladly take membership in the Ranger idiot club [emoji23]. This is the only vehicle I’ve ever missed after selling it. It took the beating a young driver dishes out in stride and never once complained.

My kids are 7, 4 and 3. I hope they can learn to drive a manual trans in this truck. Might have to do some body work soon if it’s going to make it that long!


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bobbywalter

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Joined
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Messages
24,683
Reaction score
6,048
Location
woodhaven mi
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
FORD mostly
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
BIGGER
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
sawzall?
Tire Size
33-44
My credo
it is easier to fix and understand than "her"
all of my kids learned to drive in my truck and to wheel in it too.



and they can all drive a stick. learned in a mazda 3, escort, and the bronco 2.... little bob could drive a stick all by himself since about 7....we would be ice fishing in the bronco and he would cruise around once he was bored....which was 20 minutes without a fish on the line of course...

so you have all that to look forward to...


but up here in the rust belt....30 years is tough to get out of these things....
 

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