Armadillon's FW Ranger D44/Ford 9"

[scooter]

all depends on how you set up your suspension....

with a sky-high rig....use the stock location....

on a low COG build....may even be above the hood...

also depends on what kind of wheeling or DD duties ya have....a crawler typically uses only 3"-4" of up travel....

so really...nobody is wrong....

l8r, John

I said if your having to fab your mounts you can run shocks as long as you want.

Since its 4wd, itn not going to be a low COG so they wont be mounted above the hood.

As i stated before, i mounted 14" kings, and was NOWHERE near the hood, in fact iirc i was barely past the inner fender (plastic one).

Of corse you cant mount a shock that long in the stock location

 

[armadillon]

Interesting discussion. I figured my coil would limit the amount of down travel on my rig. I guess whatever shocks I go with I'll adjust the shock mount up or down to accommodate. I'll have basically the same setup as Hagan and a few others, so I'll check what shocks theyre running. Perhaps the Tech Library will lend some assistance...


Yesterday evening my gf and I cleared out a lot of stuff from the garage and I made a shelf to get some boxes off the floor and up towards the ceiling. A buddy from work gave me a 5' wooden carpentry table to work on stuff so that got shoved in the corner. Now I'm getting more and more space.

I still need to run an extension from the 220 dryer outlet through the apartment and out into the garage to get the buzzbox going. I've gotta get some practice in before I touch my rig. It's been 9 years since I ran a bead!

 

[scooter]

Interesting discussion. I figured my coil would limit the amount of down travel on my rig. I guess whatever shocks I go with I'll adjust the shock mount up or down to accommodate.

The coil will limit it yes, but if the axle/tire weighs enough it will pull on your spring hard enough to out travel your shock. Also as you wheel harder and harder, the spring softens up ALOT!!!
Mine flexes more/easier every time i go out. I can seriously max out my front shocks easy now.

 

[armadillon]

New toys! Stuff finally came in the mail. Jam nuts, tapered inserts, threaded bungs/adapters, 1 ton TREs, F250 shock mounts!!

 

[armadillon]

Still worried about the radius arm caps that PlumCrazy sent me. UPS may have lost the package. They said they'd call him if something happens. *shrug* I'll start cleaning up the axles tomorrow so I still have time.


I may try to do the SAS in a single weekend, but I've GOT to get some practice in on the welder or find someone who can weld well.

 

[PlumCrazy]

Still havnt heard back. Im out of town all weekend. If they don't know on Monday, I'm going to get pissed.

-PlumCrazy

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

New toys! Stuff finally came in the mail. Jam nuts, tapered inserts, threaded bungs/adapters, 1 ton TREs, F250 shock mounts!!

Ooooo!!! Very nice!

 

[AgPete139]

DUDE! I just now found your thread. Subscribed.

Hey, if you want some help the weekend you do the swap, I can lend you a hand sometime and bring my tools. However, I will warn you that I am just now getting back into welding as well (it's actually embarrassing).

I've got some friends that live by Parmer & 35. Where are you located?


.

 

[armadillon]

Dude! Nice! I'm like right there on Dessau Rd and Parmer Ln (Dessau runs parallel to 35)

And absolutely I could definitely use help. Could get you, my brother, and plenty of beer and we could probably finish the thing in a weekend.

Still collecting parts at the moment. I don't have gearing or lockers, but I can always get those later on. I still need a transfer case, driveshafts, shocks, possibly a drop pitman, and DOM tubing for steering.

 

[armadillon]

Quick update: I know I haven't gotten crap done, but it's from a few lack of tools. I just picked up the arc welder from my parent's place last night and it's sitting in my garage. Also not as big of a deal, but I couldn't remove the castle nut keeping the trackbar onto the D44 since my largest socket was 1". Just picked up some sockets ranging from 1 1/16 up to 1 7/16 so I should be ok now for that.

I also snagged two more sets of large jackstands. It's always the little things preventing you from doing a project. I saw in another build thread a guy used a furniture dolly to postion his axles under the truck, so I stole that idea too.

On Wednesday I'm going to finish brushing down and painting the axles. There is SO much dirt and shit caked on the 44 . It was from Maine so I was really worried about rust, but it looks like just a metric butt-ton of dirt and old paint. The 9" was nowhere near as bad and it's pretty much cleaned up.

I think first thing I need is to get a drill (I seriously don't have one! ) and drill out the TRE holes, then weld in the tapered inserts. First gotta get my practice in welding so I don't F any S up.

So...drill, DOM for the radius arms and steering, tracbar bushings, trackbar mount are the things I probably need to focus on.

Dang! Typing it out on this thread sure helped me sort out what needs doing. Lemme know if y'all have any random advice on this. Especially welding advice. I'm wondering if the arc will be more difficult for the tapered inserts...

 

[AgPete139]

Dude! Nice! I'm like right there on Dessau Rd and Parmer Ln (Dessau runs parallel to 35)

And absolutely I could definitely use help. Could get you, my brother, and plenty of beer and we could probably finish the thing in a weekend.

Still collecting parts at the moment. I don't have gearing or lockers, but I can always get those later on. I still need a transfer case, driveshafts, shocks, possibly a drop pitman, and DOM tubing for steering.

Sounds fun. I have a drop pitman arm that I'll never use again. It's not the Skyjacker extreme pitman arm of 6", but just a "regular" drop of 4". Still better than 0" drop. Ha. I also have an old Chevy driveshaft that is (IIRC ~48" weld-to-weld), but it would still need end flanges since I salvaged those. It's a larger OD steelie, so you might just want to run a 98+ Ranger Extended Cab 2WD aluminum driveshaft instead.

 

[armadillon]

I'll definitely take you up on the pitman. I was talking to wahlstrom1 and he pm'd me about drop pits and steering. I'll really know once it's all mocked up which I'll need, but I think a 4 would be perfect.

I'll most likely do the ghetto 4wd with no transfer case or front driveshaft for a bit. I haven't started any research (or searching in general) on driveshaft lengths so I'll definitely find out soon enough on that.

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

Ha ha ha ghetto 4wd. I call that pseudo 4wd. Like when the city boys lift their 2wd 1/2, 3/4 tons and put 35's under them. I ain't lumping you in that category cuz your truck isn't gonna stay that way but it is still funny.

 

[RangerSVT]

Use 7018 (low hydrogen) rod when welding to the knuckle. And whatever you do, stay away from aluminum driveshafts...

SVT

 

[AgPete139]

Use 7018 (low hydrogen) rod when welding to the knuckle. And whatever you do, stay away from aluminum driveshafts...

SVT

What's wrong with aluminum driveshafts? (serious question) They will handle the torque he is going to be dishing out, and unless he is rockcrawling over some crazy gnarly shiz, he should be fine. Besides, as a cheap alternative to a custom shaft, he can pick one up for $50 around here. Custom shafts, like Woody's, can run a few hundred dollars, plus shipping.

He has a 2WD '93. He'll just need to get rid of the carrier bearing and crossmember to fit it (after making room for the transfercase, which he will need to cut anyways). Also, with a 1-piece shaft, his driveshaft's pinion angle
will not nearly be as wonky. Less angle = less vibration at cruising RPM, even if it IS properly counter-balanced.

SVT, on our Rangers with stock 4x4, we have a steel gas tank plate that protects the gas tank. However, on single driveshafts, the plate interferes / grinds with the driveshaft under major articulation. So, the solution is to grind/shave our gas tank skid plates by about 0.75" - 1.00". He doesn't have that problem.

Alum shafts have less mass than steel, but hold the same structural integrity and capacity of the latter. In some cases, like 2WD applications, aluminum shafts have a larger OD and a thin wall to accommodate more torque despite how light they are. This is an engineering aspect of diameter, material strength, material mass, and force that the shaft is subjected to. I have the calculations on hand that show this relationship. Pound for pound, aluminum is stronger than steel in any case.

Steel is usually more "ding resistant" than steel, but aside from that, there is no other advantage. Armadillon, how much are you gonna be high centering your rig?


NOTE: SVT, not causing an argument. I'm just curious why you are so pro steel. I'd go with whatever is cheaper and works. You've got 225 ft-lbs going through your drivetrain, the OP has a 3.0L. Good call on the low hydrogen, BTW.