1994 mazda b3000 SAS w/leafs

[KMRS87]

Some history. i bought my mazda for 400 dollars with a bad frame/box but good cab/drivetrain/interior. needed a winter beater so it wound up getting 2 new fenders, clutch and a stepside ranger box and i repaired the frame. i had bought a 97 ranger for parts originally for the box(stepside) but found out it had a perfect frame so i put it aside with the intentions of swapping it out after the winter. in the meantime i realized my truck was useless as a 2wd even with a factory trac-lok. so the search was on to convert it to 4wd.

I knew from the start i wanted to go sas an started looking at my options. stumbled across a 78 bj40(fj) diesal toyota land cruiser. which gave me a set of matched(4.11) leafsprung axles. strong enough for a 1/4 ton truck imo. also as a bonus it has 4 pot front calipers an a pretty easy rear disc swap. altho i plan on running the factory twin pot front calipers on the rear( i had previous upgraded my single pot ones). also managed to dig up a divorced Np200 which is known for overheating at highway speeds in heavier rigs but again should hold up fine under a 1/4 ton truck.

This was my first mock up of the axle, knew i was doing a spring over anyway just needed to get it lined up.

This is what it looks like now. didnt take too many pictures but its still in mock up an i hope to keep updating it regularly. I hoping starting this thread will make me lol.

steering. note the steering has better angles but i'm using the factory ranger center link an drag link an factory toyota tie rods. i need to shorten them up to use the adjusters i had in mind.

few more random shots seeing as i took it out of the garage to clean up a bit as well as a comparsion of it with my dd which i plan on swaping the engine trans and all the sheetmetal over once the frame an driveline is finished.

I plan is to run a aftermarket plastic bronco rear tank since the transfer case interfers with the stock one. and the reason for wanting a divorced case was to only build my driveline once so i can swap something a little bigger in down the road without having to worry about sourcing a transfer case.

 

[slammer67]

interesting. i thought of using landcruiser axles - till I found out how narrow they were.
You wont be able to run a very big tire without interference probs. you'll probably need wheel spacers.
I do like how your springs are in line with the frame - i couldn't do that with my waggy 44.
For the trans case, you should be able to find a pass drop 205, or even a 203 from a chevy, or better yet, a 203/205 doubler setup with pass drop. that shouldn't be any longer than your divorced setup.

what motor/tranny we talkin here?

 

[KMRS87]

Its the factory 3 liter 5 speed combo for now. great thing about the narrow axles is i can run a wider rim/tire an still keep the tire under the fenders as it will be a DD/street legal truck. also having the springs under the frame vs outboard gains me alot of clearence. i had a set of 35s on it off a friends chevy (same bolt pattern 6X139.7) with aftermarket rims with no clearence issues and the axles have a factory adjustable steering stop. as for the np200 I'm up to 3 now with 2 rebuild kits. so ill run them until im out an source a divorced 205. but im thinking if they survived under a 6000pound 60s m37 it should hold up fine under the mazda plus they we're all freebees. minus the fact i had to remove 2 of them from rigs sunk in swamps/mud. btw the factory rims an new 31s will be run for a bit yet as i whana put the money else where. front will drop roughly 1 1/2 - 2 inches with the engine & trans, bumper, hood, rad, etc... also plan on running a factory 4x4 lift block in the rear is I welded the factory ranger spring perch on top of the rear toyota axle.

 

[KMRS87]

So i got a tiny bit done before i ran outta wire tonight. Started by removing the old rear crossmember and perches/shackles.

and this is what i was left with. frame is actually in amazing shape.

Then i cut a new boxed rear crossmember outta 2x4x1/4 trimmed the rails on each side and welded it in.

and since everyone always does the weld shots i figure i might as well. no formal training just taught myself over the years.

I figured i'd also throw up a few pictures of the garage. dont mind the mess in the back 1/2 lol

mid garage looking forward

mid garage looking back

Cant really do anything else to the rear until i have my gas tank so i plan on finish welding up the front. building the new front crossmember and starting on locating the transfer case on the frame an building mounts for it.

enjoy.

 

[Bennybooster]

lookin sweet, if you get some wide rims with like 3in of backspacing it would have a really good stance

 

[KMRS87]

new update.

first off i got some new parts in today. kit includes everything to rebuild both kuckles. and my NOS transfer case flange. just need 2 more lol

I started off tonight by modifying the ebrake bracket off the aux. output on the Tcase. i needed to keep the center chunk of it because it housed the flange seal. im also very picky so it hadda look like it came that way when it was done.

what i started with. forgot to take a before pic so i just laid the first few parts i cut off next to it to give yas an idea.

the Tcase without the ebrake or bracket.

my new creation. i think it turned out pretty good for 20 minutes of work with a cutting disc and grinder.

and it reinstalled.

a neat fact is that the stock ranger raidus arm bushings fit perfect in the factory powerwagon mounts. so this is how i plan on mounting it.

so the plan was to use 2 identical drive shafts front and rear. so i could swap them out if needed and only need to have 1 spare. well i did the math and with 87" between the front an rear flange. and the Tcase being 15.5 from output to output. i figured the shafts woulda needed to be 36 inches each. problem is that left me with only 2 inches of room between the transmission output and the Tcase input so that idea was a no go. so i plan on reusing the stock front land cruiser driveshaft in the rear of my RBV. (front is longer then the rear in the LC). heres a few pictures of the transfercase an rear shaft mocked up.

Front from the engine bay.

rear facing forward

and 2 side shots to show the ground clearence. which is roughly 21 inches from the frame and 18 from the transfer case.

Im hoping that when i remove the old crossmember and clock the Tcase to its proper position that i gain a few more inches under the Tcase. putting it level with the frame. Mind you there is no Lift in the rear of this at all yet just factory 2wd ranger sport springs. i plan on runnning extended cab rear springs and 4x4 lift blocks in the rear. so that should help the clearence greatly. all this is on 31s btw.

and for shits an giggles heres a comparision shot of the land cruiser front calipers vs the stock ranger 2 piston ones. (which i plan on running in the rear).

any comments, questions, or constructive criticism are welcome.

 

[MAranger]

Lookin good, first ranger with toy axles I've ever seen. First I've ever heard of an NP200. Kinda sucks that your sprigns now live in your tie rod's real estate. I;ll be cecking in on this one for sure.

Oh, and a carbed 350/sm465 should be on the to do list.

 

[84stealthranger]

this seems like a good build. ive never seen a rear axle like that before lol

 

[KMRS87]

Lookin good, first ranger with toy axles I've ever seen. First I've ever heard of an NP200. Kinda sucks that your sprigns now live in your tie rod's real estate. I;ll be cecking in on this one for sure.

Oh, and a carbed 350/sm465 should be on the to do list.

The tie rods/steering actually sit just over an inch above the springs. lots of clearence im just waiting until i have my 2nd new toyota outer tie rod, the power steering box instead of the manual thats in it now and have the weight of the engine on the truck before i shorten the steering arms or set up the steering.

as for the axles there 3/4 ton an very similar to the solid axles that are under the pre 85 toyota mini trucks except ALOT heavier. they both have removable 3rd members but the rear also has a removable diff cover. ill take more pictures of the axles after fab an paint while im rebuilding them/re-assembley

heres a little info on them for those that were wondering.

Regular Land Cruiser axle housings are similar to a Ford 9" and differential carriers are similar in construction to a Chevy 12bolt. The front and rear differential housings are both offset to the right in all models except some '58-62's which were centred. They have an 9.25" ring gear. The axle shafts are 33mm in diameter (the same as a some Dana 60's) 1960-67 shafts had 10 coarse splines while 68 and later shafts have 30 fine splines. In 1968, the front axle CV joints changed from ball joints to Birfield. Full Floating Axles have smaller shafts because the entire weight of the truck is bourne by the wheel bearings and the shaft itself is not loaded in flexure.

Light Duty axle housings are the same as those used in Toyota Pickup trucks. They feature a smaller housing constructed similarly to the heavy duty Land Cruiser. The ring gear is only 8" but the axle shafts are the same size and have the same number of splines as the regular Land Cruiser.

both my axles are outta a 78 diesal land crusier. gives ya's an idea of why i picked them as well as how stout they really are. in short my axles have the 9.5 ring gear(diesal hd upgrade), 33mm 30spline axles and birfields. i do have a full floater for the rear but its gears arent matched and needs work before it goes under my truck.

 

[KMRS87]

Got a little bit more done tonight. cut the floor pans, rockers an cab corners outta the parts cab as ill be transplanting them into my cab when i switch frames then stripped the truck back down to the frame so i can start welding in the crossmembers, getting the Tcase mounted up and box the frame rails.

also figured id throw this shot up. its of a 3 foot level across the rear frame rail. i pretty much triple check everything last thing i want is to have a truck with ghetto lean after all this work.

goal tomorrow is to get the tcase mounted in place so heres hoping.

 

[Josh40601]

subscribed

 

[JeepRecoveryTeam]

also figured id throw this shot up. its of a 3 foot level across the rear frame rail. i pretty much triple check everything last thing i want is to have a truck with ghetto lean after all this work.

goal tomorrow is to get the tcase mounted in place so heres hoping.

Nothing wrong with a lil ghetto lean

 

[KMRS87]

well update time and lets start by saying i switched from taking pictures with the cell phone to using a actuall camera lol

goal was to get the transfercase bolted in tonight didnt quite get that far but close.

Got both crossmembers tacked in place took a while to figure out where to put them so they wouldnt interfear as well as getting them in perfectly square.

and now how i plan on actually bolting it in.

This is what the factory np200 tcase bracket looks like.

this is the ranger radius arm kit along with the bolts. i need get ones an inch longer as i whana drill them and run safety wire threw them.

as you can see the radius arm bushings fit like a glove

and the finished product.

the goal with anything i do to the truck is to be able to walk into any parts store an by any part i may break to minimize down time as it will be a DD. so while i could have made a custom bracket an used fancy bushings. this way suits my needs as well as be carried by any of the local parts stores and i can replace a single bushing if need. since i bought 4 new kits for a total of 80 bucks + 20 for the 4 bolts. i can take the 2 new kits that come off my truck an keep them as spares as they only have about 10k on them max.

tomorrows goal tcase mounts, and removing an unnessary mounts, like the old coil spring perchs and such. plan is to run f250 shock towers anyway.

since i was using the digital camera i figured id take a better picture of my front shackle set up.

 

[MountainMike]

Looking slick

 

[slammer67]

This is looking good so far.
I dont think your going to be happy with the ranger steering - as your leafs compress, your wheels will toe out and as they extend, your tires will toe in. I'd look into landcruiser high steer setups and ditch the ttb steering.

Are you lusing lc leafs? I was going to do that, I thought they'd be perfect, I ended up going with toy truck leafs, which are way too soft, even with a leaf added. The lc leafs are 3" wide and have higher spring rate.
The rears look like stock fords.