90 ranger expeditionary vehicle

[-irwin-]

Well that's a lot to consider, maybe for now I will just run the glass fenders 3 inch body lift and focus on getting this thing back on the road with a set of 33s and have the lift be the next faze. I want this on the road by winter and if I'm going to dos full on lift I will want it done right the first time. And the lift is a huge cost for 1 inch of clearance. Most of my wheeling is done on old fire trails through the Appalachian mountain and old mining road so clearance tends to be my issue not flex. I used to use this truck as my hunting rig and it fairest well but some of the roads are so rutted I would bottom out. I do want to eventually build it to the point I can do some deeper creek crossings and such.but it will never be out with you 4x4 junkie LOL BTW checked out your car domain, nice builds man! I'm jealous!

 

[4x4junkie]

Thanks man

I do take mine up on rocky trails like California's 33-mile Dusy/Ershim along with Rubicon and others (which is where a number of my pics are from), but I also go other places like Mojave Road (also in Ca) and have been in Death Valley and such, so it's not just hard-core use it sees.
It sounds like 33s might be plenty for your use though so maybe that might be better to at least start out with.
I've had 33s on my Ranger for years and for the most part they've done fine. The longer wheelbase tends to be more of a handicap some of the places I frequent rather than the 33" tires.

Anyway, post up pics of your build when you get it rolling.

 

[-irwin-]

will do man... found a trans on car-part.com rebuilt for 450 with warranty!! what years and models did the manual transfer case come in? while i have the trans out im planning on changing that out as well. might order the fenders and body lift this week! gotta see what the shipping for the trans is.. if its too much i will run the 2 hours to grab it. im so excited about this build! and thanks for all the help, actually found the rear i want at the yard near my house this weekend but i didnt bring a jack. on the other hand i think my sonoma rebuild is finished and my vw rebuild just needs a couple gaskets some bearings and some body work! bout time to focus!!!!!!

 

[4x4junkie]

Assuming you are looking for a manual 1354 t-case, they came in '90-'97 Rangers, '91-'94 Explorers, and a few 1990 BIIs.
The manual case was a "delete" option for the automatic crap these years though (I know for '91-'97 models anyway) so they are not overly common, but they're out there if you look around.

 

[-irwin-]

Thanks man, trust me car-part.com is my friend LOL any digestions on a lift kit? I was looking at a few 4 inch kits but being as you beat on yours I would like to know your opinion, so much of my suspension is rotted I might end up better off just doing the lift now

 

[4x4junkie]

My preferences (in order):

• Skyjacker (what I have on my Ranger) Class II gets you the extended radius arms for more travel
  
• James Duff (I think theirs is "Stage II" for extended arm kit, and "Stage III" which also gets you full-replacement leaf springs)
  
• (very distant 3rd) Tuff Country. Good for if you're on a tight budget.
  Do not confuse Tuff Country with Rough Country though. Rough Country's brackets are known to damage the front axle housing if you don't also install huge bumpstops extensions to restrict the frontend travel.
  

SJ uses factory-type 'donut' bushings on their radius arms. Good for long life and better noise isolation.

JD uses rod ends (heim joints). Better for performance, but at some cost of longevity and noise.

TC's arms have like a spring-eye bushing on their arms. Not familiar with it in terms of performance, but it should be about the same as SJ for longevity.

 

[-irwin-]

I was looking at the sky jacker kit, I want new leafs mine are saggy and need to be replaced I also noticed the new arms which are nice. Should I do the steering system with this on a 4 inch lift? The steering issues you mentioned have me a lil spooked. I also was wondering about doing springs made for the exploder and mount the axle on top of the springs so I don't have to really weld the perch. I would prefer not to cut the strong factory weld off to have a new weld done that I would be scared of breaking all the time. I'm almost to true point I might just do the ranger 8.8 to avoid this.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

You can buy "flip kits" to put your springs on the opposite side of where the perch is. I made my own. Check post 88 and 90 in my build thread;
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79003&page=6

Richard

 

[4x4junkie]

I was looking at the sky jacker kit, I want new leafs mine are saggy and need to be replaced I also noticed the new arms which are nice. Should I do the steering system with this on a 4 inch lift? The steering issues you mentioned have me a lil spooked. I also was wondering about doing springs made for the exploder and mount the axle on top of the springs so I don't have to really weld the perch. I would prefer not to cut the strong factory weld off to have a new weld done that I would be scared of breaking all the time. I'm almost to true point I might just do the ranger 8.8 to avoid this.

You're not welding where the old perches were on the bottom, you'd be welding to the topside of the axle tube (and even if you did weld over where old welds were, it still would not be any weaker if done properly).

You might want to check and make sure you don't already have a 8.8" under there. Some '90-'92 trucks even without the 4.0L did have them (and in some cases even the door sticker code does not reflect this, you have to actually get under the truck and look at the tag on the axle).


As for steering on a 4" kit... Like I outlined in the article I linked, the Skyjacker #FA600 drop pitman arm is an exact match up for a 4" lift. The performance from a K-link type setup would be somewhat better than that of the dropped arm though (and like explained, would need the centerlink dropped down if you buy the Superlift kit). It's up to you how much $$$ you want to spend, and/or if you have a welder and feel comfortable modifying it or not. From your comments about the axle perch welds, I'd say it might be simplest to just go with the #FA600 drop pitman arm and be done with it).
There really shouldn't be anything to be spooked over if you have a good understanding of it however.

 

[-irwin-]

junkie...
i wasnt saying welding over the welds, i was saying i would prefer the factory welds over mine (bubble gum) or more than likely one of my buddies who are a lot better to say the least. you got me though im not a welder just never took enough time to get the touch... im the guy with the lathes and mills
i did get under there the other day... trust me i was praying it was an 8.8 after the find on the trans i thought i might get away with a rebuild... but no dice its a 7.5
this is not going to be a quick do it tomorrow build this is being built to last and will be done in phases. like i said this truck has a lot of sentimental value.
if youre saying the drop pitman arm is as good as the super runner system for the most part then it seems to be a waste although like i said all of my bushings are toast. the rotted rubber is the reason im thinking of doing the lift, probably just as cost effective as rebuilding it all plus the suspension lift was on the want list anyways.

floored...
thanks for the link man im going to check it out

 

[4x4junkie]

Ok, I got ya. I'd definitely suggest having your buddy do the welding then if you don't trust your own. A 220V machine should be used on this anyway.

As for the drop pitman arm vs. the Superrunner steering, the Superrunner is better in that it doesn't put near as much stress on the steering box, and the two tierods each side work 100% independent from each other. The dropped arm's advantage is it's simpler to install, you can just bolt it on, align it, and go. Given a choice, I'd definitely go with a K-link system over the dropped arm.

 

[-irwin-]

I think I might go the super runner route because my tie rods are shot... hell basically the whole suspension is shot. I read your review on the kit, very nice write up, but I saw you are running an f250 spring bucket and Jeep coils? My spring buckets are pretty damn rusty and after 160k miles and with all the other work and expense that's going into this project I would hate to just leave a possibly vulnerable piece in the equation. What all was the reasoning for doing this on your rig? Was it for more flex any issues you found in going this route?
I really appreciate your help, I have a lot of respect for your build and knowledge and I just want to do this right the first time.
Oh and I have a 220 buzz box and a mig too just was never good at using em LOL. Makes it handy when I do need a hand though just have a body come over and everything is right there.

 

[4x4junkie]

More flex/better performance (basically the things anyone does to their vehicle to go farther and get to more remote places).
The stock shock mounts didn't allow a long enough shock that would give me the suspension travel I wanted, and pretty much all the lift coils made for these trucks you could almost substitute a section of solid pipe for, so that's why the Jeep coils and the F-250 shock mounts.

Unless you plan to be going down some pretty rugged trails where you'd need a lot of flex, I don't think you'd need to go that far with it on yours. Skyjacker's regular lift coils are probably the softest of the bunch and still work quite well for general trail use.
I'd get the steering squared away first anyway before you start messing with better coils (soft coils + misaligned steering do not get along well with each other lol).

 

[-irwin-]

I hear ya, my thing is the truck has been off the road for about 3 years so I'm not in any rush and would rather not do things twice. I never plan on getting rid of the truck so time isn't an issue and investment into something that will last is a definite positive

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I find this interesting. I have many of the same ideas and I subscribed in the hopes of learning a bunch more for when I do my b-II. I, also, like the idea of doing it right the first time. When you start fabrication take lots of pics.
Good luck,

Richard