4x4 conversion with tranny swap

[jaymegriffiths]

Is the skidplate for the BII different than the Ranger one? They look to be, but I haven't found one for my rear tank to compare with the BII.

I have the original tranny crossmember that bolts to the outside of the frame rails via the rubber bushings in the brackets, but I also have an inside the frame rail crossmember from I think and 83-85 model year Ranger. Early style crossmember is bent up in a nice curve to clear the front driveshaft and doesn't hang down as low.

I like the idea of 2" extra ground clearance and I'm thinking about using the early style instead, but will need to grind the rivets and remove the original 1987 xmember mounts. Any comments on my idea?

im about a week away from starting a similair swa. 88 2.9 x cab to same year 4x4, but with e shift t case and newer year. hopefully ill getter together fairly quick. any good advice (besides don't do this its not worth it cause i have no other options)
lol

 

[Natedog]

im about a week away from starting a similair swa. 88 2.9 x cab to same year 4x4, but with e shift t case and newer year. hopefully ill getter together fairly quick. any good advice (besides don't do this its not worth it cause i have no other options)
lol

W0w, somehow unsubsribed myself from my own thread?!??!?

 

[Natedog]

im about a week away from starting a similair swa. 88 2.9 x cab to same year 4x4, but with e shift t case and newer year. hopefully ill getter together fairly quick. any good advice (besides don't do this its not worth it cause i have no other options)
lol

W0w, somehow unsubsribed myself from my own thread?!??!?

Advice, yeah don't do it....LOL! Buy the 4x4 truck that you want and sell your 2wheel drive. How are you doing on this since I didn't get an email notification to this thread....resubscribed meself just in case.

Finally bought 4.10s for front axle after looking under about 15 different Rangers and BIIs at a couple friends' property up in the mountains. Spent about 10 days up there visiting, helping him finish his derby cars for the fair and then replacing my front brake rotors, wheel bearings, calipers, pads and swapping from auto hubs to manual locking hubs.

Installed my manual tcase shifter with a mounting bracket for a4ld/M5R1 with manual tcase setup and my stock lever on the 1350 T-Case was still about 1/2" too short. While I was at wreckers paying too much for a front diff setup, I got the 'Z'-bend type lever that goes on the t-case and is about 2.5" long center to center....stock straight lever was about 2" long. Now I can shift into all transfer gears, but it wouldn't go back into 2 High no matter what. Crawled under the truck and the lever on the t-case hits the case and bolt head when it's in 2High....had to loosen lever mounting nut, shift back from 4High into 2High and retighten nut.

Need to research which lever I need on the t-case (2.5" Z-bend or???) and which transfer shifter lever (I have 2 different...one's bent linkage and the other is straight back linkage) to use for my m5r1 with 1350 TCase. Going to wreckers this weekend to look for inside the frame rails late model t-case crossmember since it has almost as much ground clearance and is alot easier to install/remove than the early type that goes over the catalyst.