5.0 swap/ build thread

[MadDog]

So I am new to TRS and I will be working on my 91 ranger I just picked up from my uncle. Gotta love family for free stuff!

I will warn you that my build will go slow seeing that I am a returning college student and classes start in a week. This thread will be following me and my build with the help of a couple buddies of mine and i am sure there will be Numerous questions.

Here is what I plan on swapping out and into my rig:
D44 front (5.38 gears)
9" rear (5.38 gears)
302 5.0L v8
ZF-5 tranny
BW 1345 transfer case

Here are my first questions:
1 what years of f-150 can I get the ZF out of? I have gotten that they are from the 150 and that was about it.

2 is the BW 1345 a good match for the ZF? Or should I go with a doubler?

Pics to follow of me bringing her home.

Thanks

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

Here is what I plan on swapping out and into my rig:
D44 front (5.38 gears)
9" rear (5.38 gears)
302 5.0L v8
ZF-5 tranny
BW 1345 transfer case

Here are my first questions:
1 what years of f-150 can I get the ZF out of? I have gotten that they are from the 150 and that was about it.

From what I've gathered they came in 250's starting in 88. That model of ZF was used till 94 when they worked the bugs out and improved them and used that mod till 97. Ive heard they were put in the 150's but I couldn't find any in my area. If you find one in a 250 it'll need to have a 5.0, 351W or a l-6. Or you can get a big block ZF and a 2wd ZF then swap the guts and tail housing from the big block ZF to the 2wd ZF and you'll be in buisness!

2 is the BW 1345 a good match for the ZF? Or should I go with a doubler?


I'm not sure on this I was gonna get a adapter for a dana 20 T-case so I didn't research other T-case setups. But with the ZF's granny low you shouldn't have any need for a doubler. Unless you wanna have a crazy low crawl ratio then that'll be the way to go.

 

[MadDog]

Thanks Rowdy. Time to go hit up some pull and saves and see how many of my parts I can get.

Edit: I will be putting in a D44 in the rear as well since I cant match 5.38 gear ratios between the D44 front and Ford 9" rear.

Also a couple pics of the day I brought her home.

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

Ha ha that's the same as mine when I got it! 2wd, 2.9, 5spd, xlt, short bed but mine was white.

Before
View attachment 8327



Now but still ain't finished.

 

[MadDog]

So went out to a couple junk yards this past weekend and found this beauty. A Dana 44 HP front.

Housing, steering, radius arms, basically everything you see for $90 . Time to get some work done I guess.

 

[Thed]

Pretty! Are you going to keep it full-length?

 

[MadDog]

Yes I will be keeping it full width.

I do need to change what I had thought I was going to put under the truck.

I will be putting a Dana 44 in the rear instead of the 9" due to the fact I can't get the gears I want in the 9".

Also the tranny and the Tcase have had a lot of thought to them as well. The ZF5 has proven harder than I thought it would to get my hands on so I am looking at getting at BW T-18 4 speed. They were more popular and easier for me to find. Also that crazy low first gear is appealing.

Now the Tcase I am still unsure on. I have a couple 1345 sitting around our shop that I can use but I have been leaning towards getting a Dana 20 or even a Dana 300 if I can get my hands on one. The Dana's are more for down the road upgrades if I want to do a gear swap on them to get a lower ratio.

Thoughts? Ideas? Also this will be almost purely a crawler off road truck and will see very little of the street.

Thanks,

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

I have a Dana 20 in my truck. I built a adapter for it to mate up to a NP-435. It's basically the same as the T-18. I'm not sure if they're identical though. I had to find a 2wd NP-435 because the spline count matches the Dana 20. Pulled the tail housing off, cut the threaded end off the shaft and built a custom adapter. I had a machine shop machine the surfaces so everything fit together perfectly then I welded it all together.
View attachment 8451View attachment 8452

 

[MadDog]

So it has been a while since I have updated this build. A couple things have been done since the last time that I was on. I got the bob done, and the dovetail. Going to point out a couple of things that I know are wrong with the way it looks.

The rear axle hasn't been moved yet that is why it looks funny. That is going to be the next thing that is moved so I will be able to finish the bob on the frame. When I am done with school this semester I will be spending the first week under my truck getting the rear in and the 4 link set up.

The bed is cockeyed because I haven't gotten my body lift in yet so I can't get the body lines all matched up.

I don't have a top down shot of the dove tail yet since she isn't currently rolling since the wheel wells get in the way of the tires since I haven't moved the axle yet.

Still have a lot of grinding and smoothing out of the welds to do so that kinda at least looks nicer.

About the bob and dovetail. I took 14.25" off of the front of the bed to make it so I could still use the rear mounting holes in the frame. Also it just so happened to be 14.25" on the dovetail as well (purely coincidence). You can see the chunks I took off in the dove tail, the tapped on triangle was the amount I took.

On a random note how do you get pictures to post into the message instead of as attachments?

 

[MadDog]

Moved the tread to here, it is a better place for it.

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137779