1998 sas

[jaysranger]

i have a 1998 ford ranger xlt and i been looking all night and aint found what i wanted im doing the sas i got the dana 30 out of a jeep going leaf up front i need to know what kind i should use the support the 5.0 under the hood my buddy does alot of fab he gonna help me with it all i just want to gat everything together brackets if possible to buy and its only a two wheel drive right now and i know it be better to start with a 4x4 but the way i look at it why the heck not more work great i love this stuff. but if any one has any pics about the brackets i would love the help i have a really good idea about the steering box with the out side mounted box aint no problem could use a year and make of a donor box. so any really pics of anything for the front would be great i really want to get this done i know it wont take long with everything inhand but thanks for the help

 

[Toreadorranger]

First advice, step up to a real axle. D30's dont mix with rangers well. Specially one with a 5.0L. Second, Skip the leafs. Go with a coil setup. Radius arms are easy to do. Specially if you use a jeep style radius setup.

 

[bobbywalter]

waggy springs for a v8.


depending on what you want for a t bar and actual steering, i would leave the stock steering box and mod straight axle/gm 1 ton stuff for steering with the jeep knuckles reamed to fit. whether your run a 30/44 60 or whatever....


if your gonna get stupid with it off road...and use a 30 make sure you truss it... and for steering real heavy dom or some decent chromo tube in place of the modded gm stuff.

 

[wohlf 16]

He dosent have a steering box hes got rack n pinion. Gonna have to mount a box on the outside of the frame rail. Toyota boxes are what a lot are using. Prolly what im gonna use instead of the nissan box i bought. Heard of some using an older ranger box but have no idea with the very limited space there is on 98 + on the inside of the frame.

 

[KELLY88]

First step above all in punctuation. That was painful to try and read.

 

[cappin90]

Hey you should document this stuff well... im thinking of putting a D44 under my 98 once i fix the motor and would like to see this how you did this, good luck

 

[bobbywalter]

damn, for some reason i was thinkin it was an 88 2wd.

in the case of the sla chassis theres quite a few boxes you can use, with the ford over rail type being easy to adapt but the toy box is alot easier to fit and quite common with sas swaps..

the big ford box is easily reversable to suit needs as well. like the vic box/eb box have aft sector swing and the others are fore.

i have had all three domestic truck types on my main truck at various times. i liked the chevy box best but it had to go to make room for radiator needs. the big ford box is fine but not as tight as the toy box. generally i use various manufacturer oem parts in combination along with fluid lines to make it all work.

 

[jaysranger]

first of all Toreadorranger very nice setup and i think the coil would be easy on the 97 and lower... but everyone i talked to said 98 and up would be easy with the leafs. there for i think im gonna stick with the plan with the dana 30 even thought it aint the best. and i think im gonna pick up a steering box tom. so if anyone has any pics about the leafs and how the mounted theres i could use the help i know a few ways to do it i just want to look at sometihng already don. ya know what i mean. thanks alot
JaysRanger

 

[Toreadorranger]

first of all Toreadorranger very nice setup and i think the coil would be easy on the 97 and lower... but everyone i talked to said 98 and up would be easy with the leafs. there for i think im gonna stick with the plan with the dana 30 even thought it aint the best. and i think im gonna pick up a steering box tom. so if anyone has any pics about the leafs and how the mounted theres i could use the help i know a few ways to do it i just want to look at sometihng already don. ya know what i mean. thanks alot
JaysRanger

Everyone thinks leafs are easier till they do the swap then wish they had gone coils from the beginning. I know of at least 4-5 guys who have SAS'ed their rangers/explorers with leafs and either switched to coils are wished they had gone coils to start. The 98+ frame has a kick down right after the motor which makes running a rear shackle setup (which gives a much nicer ride on and offroad then a front shackle setup) difficult. The radius arms are literally 3 mounts on the frame. 2 for the arms themselves then one for the panhard bar. Coilbuckets can be either made or robbed from something else.

 

[bobbywalter]

while leafs can work ok, they can be a pia to get just right. and i agree coils are better.

as far as harder, depending on actual setup leafs can be easier to do if the axle is set up for leafs especially if you have limited resources and are out in the boonies. depending on setup you can do a leaf install with no welding by simply cuttng up angle, box and channel and drilling holes.. not pretty but doable and workable.


cutting up a nice cherokee setup for leafs though seems like a piss waste of time. thing is a good set of long arms cost big bux.

too many variables to say one way or the other is easier or better.

whats the point of a sas? think about that. most diy coil setups i see done in the last few years are out performed by some of the leaf setups....

if it works, it works...

 

[jaysranger]

its already set up for leafs so thats why i thought it be better. and whats the worst that happens i dont like the leafs ill just take it back down and change it... and another question i heard something about takeing the cross member out for the motor are cutting it i would really just like to leave it alone.. the truck sits 7 inchs up already and i was thinking it be nice if i could go about another 6-7 inchs i know its alot of a small truck but i feel the need to be different.. and i think im doing a good job of it lol well thanks for the help and like i say pics be good

 

[jaysranger]

ok i bought a new truck... well i say new its a 1986 ford f-150 4x4 and eveything.
i know its a ranger station but i want to know if i could do the sas on it with coils... cause after i build the ranger im gonna do it cause now i will have something to drive while one is down. but thanks ya for the the help