Brand spankin' new

[SmurfBlu97]

Hi all, on the east coast, from North GA, living in East NC now. Just stumbled into Ranger ownership not too long ago, and have decided to delve into the depths of internet knowledge, so here I am! I am not all that new to off-roading, I did have a straight 6 '84 CJ7 in high school, but I haven't been on a trail in a few years and this is my first ranger. I got my 1997 ext cab XLT 4x4 the day I saw it sitting in a lot for a couple grand. It's got a 5.0 out of a '96 Mountaineer, along with the Merc's steering wheel, gauges, dash and console. It's currently on a shoddy 2 1/2" (ish) lift with worn out shocks in the front and stock 215/75R15 tires. With the 5.0, I have the 4R70W trans, 3.73 final drive 8.8 rear, and the full time AWD transfer case however there is no driveshaft, axle shafts or diff in the front so it's just 2WD for now. In my head I am envisioning a 6" James Duff suspension kit, 33"s and I'm thinking regearing to 4.10. Finally I want to use a BW4406 from an F150 with the electronic shift to make my truck a 4x4 again. I'm excited to be here and see what some of y'all have built, and to get sound advice and info. Anybody that could steer me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Hi all, on the east coast, from North GA, living in East NC now. Just stumbled into Ranger ownership not too long ago, and have decided to delve into the depths of internet knowledge, so here I am! I am not all that new to off-roading, I did have a straight 6 '84 CJ7 in high school, but I haven't been on a trail in a few years and this is my first ranger. I got my 1997 ext cab XLT 4x4 the day I saw it sitting in a lot for a couple grand. It's got a 5.0 out of a '96 Mountaineer, along with the Merc's steering wheel, gauges, dash and console. It's currently on a shoddy 2 1/2" (ish) lift with worn out shocks in the front and stock 215/75R15 tires. With the 5.0, I have the 4R70W trans, 3.73 final drive 8.8 rear, and the full time AWD transfer case however there is no driveshaft, axle shafts or diff in the front so it's just 2WD for now. In my head I am envisioning a 6" James Duff suspension kit, 33"s and I'm thinking regearing to 4.10. Finally I want to use a BW4406 from an F150 with the MANUAL shift to make my truck a 4x4 again. I'm excited to be here and see what some of y'all have built, and to get sound advice and info. Anybody that could steer me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated!

FIFY and welcome!

 

[Dirtman]

 

[Curious Hound]

 

[SmurfBlu97]

FIFY and welcome!

Ha! I see you have a manual transmission too. I'm not super savvy on forums and from what I could find, it seemed the offroad V8 guys were mostly using auto trans. I'll have to check your truck build thread, I would rather have a manual trans. Any reason why the manual shift tcase is the way to go? My console is the extended one without any room for sticks to come up through the floor, so that was my reasoning for going with the electronic one. With the merc dash, I don't have any switches for 2H/4H/4L since it's "supposed" to be full time AWD. I will get some pics up as soon as this week long rain ends!

 

[SmurfBlu97]

View attachment 55677

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[SmurfBlu97]

View attachment 55683

Howdy! A submariner? Met some while I was in yorktown, cousin was a nuke, takes a certain type of balls for that job!

 

[Curious Hound]

Howdy! A submariner? Met some while I was in yorktown, cousin was a nuke, takes a certain type of balls for that job!

Mine still glow a nice flourescent blue.

 

[SmurfBlu97]

Mine still glow a nice flourescent blue.

Sounds about right! I was thankful the Corps kept me on land most of the time.

 

[dvdswan]

Welcome to the site.

I'll have to check your truck build thread, I would rather have a manual trans.

Grab a six pack, lounge chair, and snack food. I already went down that rabbit hole and 85_Ranger4x4 has a great build page but it will take a bit to get through.

 

[Dirtman]

Welcome to the site.



Grab a six pack, lounge chair, and snack food. I already went down that rabbit hole and 85_Ranger4x4 has a great build page but it will take a bit to get through.

Getting drunk and going through everyones build pages is a great way to come up with ideas...

 

[Curious Hound]

Getting drunk and going through everyones build pages is a great way to come up with ideas...

And a great way to spend time if you're holed up inside waiting for the world to thaw.

 

[Dirtman]

And a great way to spend time if you're holed up inside waiting for the world to thaw.

That's on you southerners... i still went fishing today. Caught 4 pickerel, and two crappie through the ice. Lots of throw backs, but got a great meal in my deep fryer. Heat isn't even on, its 22 degrees, using the octopus burning mail and old pallets its 58 degrees inside... aka northern t-shirt weather.

If if hits 40 inside i may stoke the fire. But my wool blankets are good to about -20.

 

[SmurfBlu97]

Welcome to the site.



Grab a six pack, lounge chair, and snack food. I already went down that rabbit hole and 85_Ranger4x4 has a great build page but it will take a bit to get through.

Think I'll do just that! Although Eastern NC seemed to miss the ice storm, it was 68 here today. Feel like I've read 500 threads today, and now I'm realizing this is going to turn into a bigger project than I originally set out for. I'm sure the fiance is going to be so thrilled. Ha!