35 or 44

[olranger]

i have a 89 ranger 4x4 with the d28 ttb in the front. i would like to swap it out for the 35 or 44 out of a f150 or bronco. The reason is it is hard to find a bronco old enough for a solid axle. Plus i am not the greatest fabricator. I want to know is it worth it to put a 35 ttb in or should i op for the 44ttb. I have a buddy that runs all jeep or toyota, and they all have solid axles in them. Well i really like my ranger and dont want to buy something else. He says that ttb are junk and waist of time. I should by solid or buy a jeep. He also says wheeling by yourself or a single stock ranger with d28 is dumb. What do you all think.

 

[88_Eddie]

if you arent a great fabricator then you'll wanna swap in the 35, it bolts right in and is pretty darn strong


yeah, go buy a jeep and you'll have two solid axles, but what's the point of having them if the piece of shit wont run. anyone that says that the ttb is junk, doesnt know anything about them.

i used to follow my buddy in his 84 CJ on 35's, locked F&R with 4.56's in my bone stock bronco 2. never got stuck once, never broke anything. i just have a nice little scratch/dent in the front passenger fender.

this is a classic example where telling your buddy to go f*ck himself would be very beneficial to all involved

 

[olranger]

ha, that is great man i appreciate the info, thank you

 

[chrwilkins30]

just go 35. I was surprised when i saw what people could do with ttb.

 

[Ranger44]

The key to TTB is setting it up right. Throw a skyjacker class II 6" lift. Some 33" mud terrains, and lockers front and rear...you have a solid rig. The D35, when upgraded to the spicer 5-760x joints, has the same joints as a D44.

Hell I did more in with my 2" lift, 31" AT's, and lockers than a yota solid axle on 35's could.

Like everyone says, TTB is misunderstood and when people modify it wrongly and have problems, they automatically blame it on the suspension. The only place a solid axle shines is a dedicated mud truck, and by then you'd have to swap a big block and something bigger than a 44 anyways.

 

[olranger]

ok great thank you for the info, i think i am going to do the ttb35, thank you

 

[4x4junkie]

He also says wheeling by yourself or a single stock ranger with d28 is dumb. What do you all think.

I think he's right on that particular count lol.

However I also agree with the others here, the D35 swap is easy as pie. Get the 760X U-joints and slap on a set of the Warn Jeep hubs and you should be good to go (links about all these are in the Tech Library).
I've been running this setup on mine for some time now and have been quite happy with it.

Like Ranger44 mentioned, just watch out for pitfalls created by the suspension industry if you go to lift/modify it (the biggest one being dealing with steering corrections after a lift). Done wrong, a modified TTB can become a real handful. Done right it will keep up with the best of them (and then some, as speeds pick up). Most of these pitfalls are documented pretty well around here so avoiding them shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[legoms013]

Go with the D35 swap, fairly easy. Plus with a little work the D35 is a great setup and works pretty dang well. Very good platform to start with.

Spend some money on Skyjacker brackets, coils, and any other brand of long arms, along with the better Spicer 5-760x U-joints, HD "jeep" manual hubs, a c-clip eliminator, locker and you will have an offroading vehicle that has character, can go many places and is comfortable to drive.

Just be sure to address the steering issues with lifted TTB correctly and you will be on the right track.

Check the tech library as there is endless information there about swaps, upgrades and maintanance.

Have fun with it, and remember to show up your jeep friends when you get it all together and working good.