94 ext cab 2wd to 4wd

[BangerII89]

does anyone know if the 2 piece rear driveline from a 4wd will fit in the same location when I put the 4wd transmission and transfer case in? or will I have to make a one piece driveline? the reason im asking is I cant find any 2 piece or one piece drivelines at the junkyards and my only luck is a place four hours away. so I kinda want to get some info before I drive four hours there.

 

[4x4junkie]

If you've swapped in a 4WD trans & 1350 or 1354 transfer case, the rear driveshaft from a 4WD truck should fit it just fine (the engine, trans, & rear axle are all located the same on both 2WD & 4x4 trucks, just the 4WDs have a factory 2" lift block).

Be sure to use a '88 or newer trans if you're looking to do the 4WD one-piece driveline swap at the same time (eliminating the Supercab driveshaft center carrier bearing).

 

[BangerII89]

sweet. thanks bud. ive got a 94 extened cab 4.0 5 speed m50d-r1 2wd truck. Im putting a fm146 and manual bw1354 with a 4.10 disc brake 8.8 and long arm dana 30 with coilovers in it for a daily and light trails.

 

[4x4junkie]

Sounds like a fun project.

Be aware though that a FM146 was never made for the torque output of a 4.0L V6 (they are marginal even behind the 2.9L they were paired with), and your Supercab truck is gonna put you a good 500+ lbs over what that D30 axle was ever designed to carry.
I would suggest trying to find a Mazda M5OD trans and a D44 axle for your project, as it'll be time/money well-spent.

Good luck with it.

 

[BangerII89]

I have never had an issue with the fm146 behind a 4.0 in my wheeler on 39.5 and im not nice to that thing. and the front of a Cherokee vs the front of my ranger is 100 lbs more than the ranger on a scale minus axle weight. I was curious about that also when I was looking for a dana 30.

 

[4x4junkie]

The big concern with the FM146 is it's ball bearings. If you don't drive it on the highway much, you may never have a problem, but a sustained load on it at 65 MPH (driving up a freeway grade for example) seems to be what kills them (the input and output shaft bearings can't take the heat well apparently).

When I checked weights, a Cherokee was ~1700lbs on the front axle and a Supercab Ranger 4.0L 4WD (what you're converting yours into) was pushing 2200lbs. This was weight w/tires & wheels, but still it's a much bigger difference that I'd be comfortable with (the D30 ring & pinion is not particularly strong for propelling that kind of weight either). This big difference comes from the vehicle's weight distribution front/rear (A SC Ranger is about 60%/40% due to it's long wheelbase and empty truck bed, the Jeep is much closer to 50/50%).

Anyway, just giving you a warning is all. For sure there are some on here that drive conservatively and have not had any problems with a D30 under their truck.