Transmission / transfer case and Dana 35 upgrade questions

[rangerbrink]

I have a some drivetrain questions but I'll start with a brief project history first.

This is my first post and first Ranger project. My son and I are combining several different trucks into a creation of our own as you can see in the photos.
Built from an 83" long bed 4x4 frame, 94" body. It will have a 4.0 from a 94 Mazda truck. Swapped the old dana 28 to a dana 35, installed a 2002 explorer 8.8 in the rear. (3:73 gears) Lift is about 5" built from Skyjacker coil springs and our own custom fabricated drops. Rear springs are custom from local spring shop.

We have the original 83 T5 transmission and BW1350 transfer case. Neither will work on this truck. The T5 won't hold up to the 4.0 as we plan to use it and the BW1350 wont work with the 5" lift due to it have a sliding yoke on its front output shaft. Too much driveshaft angle for a sliding yoke into the transfercase.

My questions are:

1. Can anyone recommend a good 5 speed manual transmission and transfercase for the 4.0? This truck will be a daily driver but see plenty of hard trail action. Transfercase must be a manual shift. Not worried about driveshafts as we plan to have both front and back custom made. We have the original 83" cross member for the T5 but can custom fit parts if need be. Must bolt up to the 94" 4.0
2. With the T5 and BW1350 in the truck we are having difficulty setting up the ideal front Dana 35 pinion angle to match the transfer case output shaft angle. We can adjust the dana 35 angle slightly with our custom built radius arm drops but not enough without adding too much caster angle. (that's considering anything over 6 degrees positive too much caster) Maybe that's wrong? Any thoughts on the front dana 35 pinion angle? Has anyone else run into this issue?

Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Welcome to TRS.
Transmission = m5od-r1 These came in RBV;s [ Ranger Based Vehicle = Ranger, Explorer, Areostar, Bronco 2. ] from 1990 and up.
Hard to tell from the pic but you probably need drop brackets for the radius arm. most people like extending the arms at the same time for better articulation.
Check out the "How to Tech" at the top of every page.

 

[swynx]

i would extend the radius arms anyways. gives a way better ride. i extended mine just 12 inches and pull north of 20 easy.

 

[Shran]

You don't have many options for transfer cases. BW 1350, or 1354 (ideal option.) Or an Atlas.

The original trans is not a T5. Could be a TK (Mazda) 5 speed. Totally different than a T5 in any case.

The Mazda M5OD is a good choice. Beyond that - you could have an adapter made and run a full size truck trans - that would give you a lot of options. Any of the old 4 speeds, ZF 5 speed, and the F150 M5OD.

Another option is a C5 automatic from a Bronco II/early Ranger and a C4 (early Bronco) tailhousing with a Dana 20 transfer case. Advanced Adapters makes some other adapters for other t-cases too.

The best option for wheeling by far is the Atlas but it's spendy.

 

[rangerbrink]

You don't have many options for transfer cases. BW 1350, or 1354 (ideal option.) Or an Atlas.

The original trans is not a T5. Could be a TK (Mazda) 5 speed. Totally different than a T5 in any case.

The Mazda M5OD is a good choice. Beyond that - you could have an adapter made and run a full size truck trans - that would give you a lot of options. Any of the old 4 speeds, ZF 5 speed, and the F150 M5OD.

Another option is a C5 automatic from a Bronco II/early Ranger and a C4 (early Bronco) tailhousing with a Dana 20 transfer case. Advanced Adapters makes some other adapters for other t-cases too.

The best option for wheeling by far is the Atlas but it's spendy.

Thank you for the information!

You're correct about the T5, I meant the Toyo Koygo 5 speed. Been looking at way too many transmission numbers these past few days.

After tons of research this weekend I narrowed my options down to a manual M5ODR1/BW1354 combo or a 700R4/Atlas combo. Of course the automatic plan is twice the cost and ten times the work. Anyways I've decided on the 700R4/ Atlas plan. This gives me the best low end Tq and highway driveability. The ford C5 1st gear is too high for me and the 700R4 OD gear is awesome. Also the 700R4 doesn't need a computer.

Sending my son to the salvage yards tomorrow to look for a 700r4 since hes on spring break.

I think I'll solve my front drive shaft misalignment trouble with a multible double cardan shaft.


Thanks again!

 

[rangerbrink]

Welcome to TRS.
Transmission = m5od-r1 These came in RBV;s [ Ranger Based Vehicle = Ranger, Explorer, Areostar, Bronco 2. ] from 1990 and up.
Hard to tell from the pic but you probably need drop brackets for the radius arm. most people like extending the arms at the same time for better articulation.
Check out the "How to Tech" at the top of every page.

Thanks....I have already dropped the radius arms as far as I could without going over 6 degrees caster on the knuckles.

I'm going to look into the multiple double cardan shafts that Tom woods makes to fix things.

 

[Shran]

Nothing wrong with the 700R4/Atlas combo. Awfully spendy, though. I'd be tempted to go with a C5 and lower gears in the axles to make up for the higher 1st gear... but having an overdrive gear would be nice.

You could also build an A4LD with all the upgrades... just sayin... probably cheaper to go that route and buy a big fawking cooler than a new 700R4 and adapter. I know a few guys who have wheeled their A4LDs pretty hard and haven't had issues. And you can still put an Atlas behind it.

 

[swynx]

Nothing wrong with the 700R4/Atlas combo. Awfully spendy, though. I'd be tempted to go with a C5 and lower gears in the axles to make up for the higher 1st gear... but having an overdrive gear would be nice.

You could also build an A4LD with all the upgrades... just sayin... probably cheaper to go that route and buy a big fawking cooler than a new 700R4 and adapter. I know a few guys who have wheeled their A4LDs pretty hard and haven't had issues. And you can still put an Atlas behind it.

hes not wrong, look up the a4ld frankentranny, uses the best parts from the arld/4r/5r if i remember correctly. i have seen a few members here run 40's with an a4ld, they just add a big cooler with a fan.

 

[Shran]

I hate on the A4LD just as much or more than anyone on here, but that $900 adapter only makes sense if you're totally committed to the V6 or just happen to have a nice 700R4 laying around. I mean... $900 could buy a 5.3 or a 4.8 or a 350 or whatever GM engine you want and everything you need to install it if you shop wisely.

There are just too many options.

 

[rangerbrink]

Nothing wrong with the 700R4/Atlas combo. Awfully spendy, though. I'd be tempted to go with a C5 and lower gears in the axles to make up for the higher 1st gear... but having an overdrive gear would be nice.

You could also build an A4LD with all the upgrades... just sayin... probably cheaper to go that route and buy a big fawking cooler than a new 700R4 and adapter. I know a few guys who have wheeled their A4LDs pretty hard and haven't had issues. And you can still put an Atlas behind it.

We'll after a week of planning and research I've made a decision. We're going with a rebuilt A4LD and Atlas transfer case. The 700r4 adapter plate is no longer available so I would have had to make my own. Biggest problem would have been exhaust clearance issues due to the wider bell hosing. I guess that's why its no longer produced. The 700 has the best 1st gear and OD but the A4LD isnt too bad especially with a low gear in the Atlas. I just so happened to have an A4LD laying around that came with the 4.0.

Thanks all for your recommendations!

 

[Shran]

Cool. Update us as you progress on your build. I think regardless of the A4LD's bad rep, you can keep it alive for quite a while under the right conditions.