Once the beam kit was on the truck, it was time to start thinking about engine and trans. I knew with having the beam kit bump out where I wanted it too, the factory engine crossmember was 100% gone, and then Ryan and I talked about the possibility of the firewall getting cut out as well if tire clearance at full lock/bump got bad. Once I got the kit on the truck, I knew right away the firewall was gone. I pushed the wheelbase 1.5-2” forward from factory in the front, enough to still look proper in the fiberglass, and at full bump/lock the tire was all in the firewall.
I knew as well from the previous kit that was running 33’s that it was rubbing the firewall and the computer wiring (typically ranger stuff) so I knew it was gonna need to be cut but the amount it needed for the new setup was more than just a little patch panel. Instead of having a fugly looking hagardly patched up factory firewall with a bunch of factory holes in it, I just ripped it all out. Which was a blessing in disguise for multiple reasons.
After I cut the whole firewall out, I bumped the truck out on both sides, and just roughly mocked up the engine and trans in the truck and realized the clearance I had for the oil pan to the top of the beam was really close to keep everything under the hood still. Sooooo, I built the most low profile, stout, engine crossmember I could between the beams and oil pan. I was originally thinking a plate work crossmember but once I saw what I was working with I opted for some 1.75” .120 tubing between the two. There is a main tube that runs from beam pivot to beam pivot, that is 1.75x.120 with 1.5x.120 inside of it to keep it as rigid as possible. And then there is two other 1.75x.120 tubes to create an “X” over the top of the beams at the same angle the beams sit at when at full compression. The structure that’s in there now is way stronger than anything I could have came up with out of platework while staying in the same packaging constraints.
Back to the blessing in disguise. After realizing the clearance to the beams/oil pan and there was no factory firewall from holding me back, I ended up pushing the engine and trans back 7” from factory location. At the same time, it mitigated the issue I was having with the trans output being right on the cusp of the driveshaft needing to be a two peice shaft with a carrier bearing or a single peice shaft. So pushing it back put the output of the trans right in the sweet spot for a single peice driveshaft setup which I’m pumped on. Also, when I mocked Ryan up in the truck originally with his new PRP seats and the engine and trans still in the factory spot, the shifter was a good reach away when full pinned in the seat while simulating having harnesses on. So now the shifter is in a super optimal position for really comfortable driving