2008 fx4 sas

[08rangerFX4]

hey all! been a long time lurker but now i have some questions i need some insight to. currently i have an 08 FX4 with the dixon bros 4X4 long travel setup out front and an expo 31 spline rear axle. looking for something more trail worthy and want to enter the solid axle world.

have done a lot of reading and really like a HP dana 30 or a rubi 44, only problem is the 44 are extremely overpriced where i can get a dana 30 for next to nothing. so here's my main question, as i already have shock hoops and an engine cage for the long travel setup id like to stay with coilovers for the solid axle. will i be able to fit them on the axles without notching the frame as the ranger frame is wider than the jeeps.

the other issue is i have painted 6 inch fiberglass flares on the front, i went from a 59 inch WMS factory to a 68 inch WMS. from my research the widest 30 is 60.5 and the 44 is 63.5 out of a jk. i like the idea of a rubicon express long arm kit, is there another axle other than these to that a bit wider that cold accept long arms. will it be worth it to stay coilover or go with coil as i see most doing. by the way the dixon kit and king coilovers and 930 axles will be up for sale.

 

[Kirby N.]

You went to a 68" wms? That seems really wide. The explorer rear is more like 58.5" if I remember right. About 1.25" skinnier than a jeep rear end wms to wms.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4x4junkie]

F-150/Bronco D44 is 65.5" wide. I would think there's still a few of these left to be found.

JK axles (D30 or D44) are also right about 65" too (the JK D30 is the only D30 I would ever think of putting under a Ranger... Earlier D30s have much weaker R&P gears and housings).

The D60 out of a pre-'98 F-350 is 69.5".

Should be plenty of room for a set of coilover shocks.

Welcome to TRS.

 

[08rangerFX4]

yes the front is pretty wide due to the longtravel, 4.5 over per side. i have looked into the 76 to 77 f150 dana 44 being that they have the weld on wedges so i can remove them.

either way with a jk 30 or 44 or an f150 44 i would still need to change out the bolt pattern on the rear axle.

are there any other candidates to retain 5 on 4.5?

oh and i still have my original front fenders so i can still go back to normal width.

for some reason here in AZ rubi 44 or 44 in general are hard to come by and people want a pretty penny for them.

 

[bobbywalter]

i would keep the dixon with 930's front system.....


or put a 60 in it.



i cant see any gain with a d44 straight axle unless your running huge tires and hard core trail riding.


if that is the case then a 60 front and 60 rear is the way to go, and i suggest just leaving it all eight lug so tires and wheels are always easy to deal with along with everything else.


i just cant fathom the thought of shitcanning a perfectly functioning dixon setup






but, if your serious about it and want a wormy ass c clip rear axle, or c clip eliminated rear axle making spares harder to come by depending on execution.... with a 5x4.5 pattern and matching front there are a few ways to get there.


you can just put the jeep d 30 knuckles on your choice of dana 44 with a beef up kit, and if you want lockouts there was a kit that uses ranger style hat lockouts.

of course it defeats the one good benefit of an actual 44.....real lockouts or slugs and real wheel bearing spacing to handle bigger tires.


or you can get a late 70's dodge front 44 or just the knuckles etc that is 5x4.5 equipped....its full time and also has useless wheel bearings for big tires.....but it 5x4.5! with the captured stub it stays true longer though.

or just run all aftermarket stuff.

but, theres no way i would shitcan what you have for a 5x4.5 straight axle that was 30 or 44 based.....

nooo waayy

 

[bobbywalter]

the key here....and its hard to say. if it is 5 x 4.5 bolt pattern.... bigger then 35's is a less then ideal situation.


axles with this pattern front or rear tend not to have the excess bearing capacity for getting stupid with 40's...

 

[Kirby N.]

I agree with most of this. To get a set of decent wheel bearings you have to get away from 5 on 4.5. If you measure the center of a hub like a 44 with a wheel bearing you will see that it would barely go through a 4.5" on center lug circle.

35s is about the limit on a tj 30 even beefed up. You'll start eating ring and pinions after that. So a rubicon tj 44 helps give some more wiggle room on ring and pinion strength.

Jk axles (44 and 30) are even worse. The stupid ball joints and housings are terrible. Spend a grand on a sleeve kit and some good ball joints and they won't come apart when you hit a pothole on the way to the mall.

I would probably consider a Dana 60 if I were you since your body is so wide. You definitely will experience a lot of benefits with a solid axle when it comes to articulation and rock crawling- even over that high dollar front end setup you have now. If you don't want to sacrifice the clearance you could use a 76-77 44. They have 1/2 thick housings (like a 60) and, like you mentioned, removable mounts. Yes they are hard to find. With some chromo shafts they will survive quite the beating. They still have smaller ball joints, bearings, lockouts and ring and pinion then the 1 ton stuff so that is a consideration. If I were going to build a jeep style long arm setup I would probably start with a ruff stuff kit.

Lots of guys use the cage/ duff arms. Even with coil overs. You can check out explorerforum for a guy named Brian who built one using the duff arms and coil overs. Or look at my build for inspiration. I used coils and shocks, but if I had coil overs I definitely would have went with them. I think it would have been a little simpler space wise. The upper mounts would have been more difficult then could though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[08rangerFX4]

my reason for a straight axle other than my crossmember between a arms constantly taking a beating the arms themselves being 4wd hang far below the center line of the wheel. iam getting into to more rock crawling so the a arm setup is'nt cutting it anymore.

i don't think i'm at the level of 60's yet as i dont plan on going to 35's for some time.

i do know i can re drill the 8.8 for a different lug pattern, so thats always an option.

my other question other than axles is how do you guys with the 4.0L SOHC deal with the drivers side exhaust right off the cat. it comes directly under the driveshaft . . . just do some cutting and make a new exhaust system?

and one more, what about the front driveshaft, the ranger uses a weird cv style joint at the T case, is that a custom shaft that will need to be made?

thanks again for all you help guys.

 

[bobbywalter]

well, a 44 will probably do just fine then.



mod the exhaust a bit....cut and invert the 90's with another i seen wher others used a different y pipe...but not sure what was involved with it..




get a shaft case, or a parts case to use or just swap out the yoke and build a front shaft.