fairman's ranger build

[nb11]

I think there's a thread on here somewhere that was several pages long, discussing the pros and cons of each locker.

 

[tmaxxman]

nice build cant wait to see more

 

[fairman86]

Ive found a few threads on the subject, and what i think Ive come out of it is the air/elec lockers are great but are either open or locked depending on the switch, where as the LL's (lunchbox lockers) are very easy to install, and unlock during cornering, which would be a huge tire saver and significant amount of less strain on the drive train. now there are a few LL's that i have stumbled across, and as far as i can tell my options are between the lock-right, and the no-slip. i have read a lot of good things about the lock-right, but the no-slip is newer technology, and is a lot quieter in disengaging during cornering. so i think i have made a decision of the no-slip with 4.56 gears, now will the stock 8.8 open carrier hold a 4.56 gear and can i just install the LL into my current stock open carrier, or will i have to invest in a locker carrier?

 

[fairman86]

nice build cant wait to see more

thanks, i appreciate the positive feedback. i have put a lot of hrs into this truck.

 

[fairman86]

after more research i think Ive answered my own question, yes the locker can be installed into an open carrier, the only issue i noticed that people were running into were that the higher the ratio of gearing you go the thicker the ring gear is. the thicker ring gear makes it impossible to remove/install the pin without having the carrier out and the ring gear off. i have seen the revised pin with material cut away from it to allow it to be removed. but that in turn would sacrifice strength in the pin itself. another way is to shave down the inside of one tooth allowing the pin to come out as well. thankfully i am rebuilding the diff prior to installing the new gears and locker. so it wont be as big of an issue until i go to take things apart. lol

just ordered my front spindles and spacers and rear shackles from canuck. im going to call around and see if i can find a good place to order my locker, gears, and rebuild/shim kit. any suggestions from people who have ordered them in Ontario?

also looking for poly bushing for my leafs, anyone know of a company that makes them for the 98+

 

[06RangerXLT]

after more research i think Ive answered my own question, yes the locker can be installed into an open carrier, the only issue i noticed that people were running into were that the higher the ratio of gearing you go the thicker the ring gear is. the thicker ring gear makes it impossible to remove/install the pin without having the carrier out and the ring gear off. i have seen the revised pin with material cut away from it to allow it to be removed. but that in turn would sacrifice strength in the pin itself. another way is to shave down the inside of one tooth allowing the pin to come out as well. thankfully i am rebuilding the diff prior to installing the new gears and locker. so it wont be as big of an issue until i go to take things apart. lol

just ordered my front spindles and spacers and rear shackles from canuck. im going to call around and see if i can find a good place to order my locker, gears, and rebuild/shim kit. any suggestions from people who have ordered them in Ontario?

also looking for poly bushing for my leafs, anyone know of a company that makes them for the 98+

ive got 4.56's and my gear comes right out. dont run a 4.56 unless you have ATLEAST a 33. or your highway rpm will be 2800.

cannuck is great to deal with, if you need help i have the same spindles. do the bearings and BJ's while you have it appart. as for locker... try summit?

 

[fairman86]

ive got 4.56's and my gear comes right out. dont run a 4.56 unless you have ATLEAST a 33. or your highway rpm will be 2800.

cannuck is great to deal with, if you need help i have the same spindles. do the bearings and BJ's while you have it appart. as for locker... try summit?

with your 4.56's the pin comes out? does it have a side shaved down to allow it to pass by the ring gear? everywhere is saying you must have the revised pin with the 4.56's.... i have a 2.5l with 31's right now, and plan on going to 32's or 33's, so i am hoping that the 4.56's will be what im looking for, rpm might be a little high but at least ill be able to use 5th gear, lol plus the 4cyl might gain some power from having a taller gear, allowing me to tow and/or really pack a load.

i found a local place that will order the gears and locker (richmond) think the total for gears and install kit was 750ish. then a locker on top of that, so may hold off on the locker untill the diff is in, have other things to worry about first, and the locker is drop in so that will be easy.

you aren't kidding when you say cannuck are easy to deal with. the lift should be here any day one of the easiest things to order so far!

now ill try to find spring eye bushings before i end up replacing them with stock ones.

 

[fairman86]

havnt had alot of luck with vise's lately. tghis is a 3" vise

this is a 4.5" vise.

grabbed a brand new 12 ton shop press for a sick deal. the stickers make it stronger

also was thinking about my spring eye bushings for the leafs, don't think any company makes a poly bushing, so instead of going with a stock rubber bushing, I'm thinking about some Poly "T" Bushings. has anyone done this? or know the size? just havn't had a chance to measure. The fronts are smaller than the rears, so id be looking at 8 "T" bushings total 4 in each size and 4 sleeves. Polybushings makes custom "T" bushings, so if i can figure out the exact size that's probably what I'll do.

 

[fairman86]

figured out that the leafs are the same pretty much all years, just the hangers change, so the poly kits for the older ranger leafs will work for the newer rangers. ordered a set, some bump stops as well.. replace the factory crap looking ones. also fond out the red poly isn't Graphite Impregnated, but the black is. im going to have to look into the positives of adding it to the poly. more updates soon

 

[fairman86]

need to order my rear gears ASAP, decided to order them from summit, have everything lined up, is this all correct for my 95 explorer 8.8 31 splin axel?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RMG-8002791/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RMG-8310431/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RMG-F88456/


let me know guys! thanks! i just have to get the approval from you all and push order

 

[06RangerXLT]

need to order my rear gears ASAP, decided to order them from summit, have everything lined up, is this all correct for my 95 explorer 8.8 31 splin axel?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RMG-8002791/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RMG-8310431/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RMG-F88456/


let me know guys! thanks! i just have to get the approval from you all and push order

looks good to me. but use rvt not that gasket for the diff.

 

[fairman86]

looks good to me. but use rvt not that gasket for the diff.

done, and done! ordered, have a place in town that will rebuild it for 500$ with a 3 yr warranty. sounds good to me

 

[fairman86]

truck is 80% done, only thing left is an alignment on the front, and then the rear end still needs to be put together. so after installing the lift and suspension on the front, here are some things i found

4x4 ranchos will not work. 0" lift and 2.5" ... no way possible, unless you were to cut a length out of the shaft and weld it back together, on a 4x4 the axle would need clearance past the shock but since the 2wd has no axle there is no need for that clearance, but that would mean chopping the brand new shock apart, for what? might as well buy something good. i have the 3" spindles and 2" coil spacers, only shock i could get to fit was the stock shock. any longer and the top of the spindle makes it impossible to turn the steering without grinding the top of the spindle into a circle and using a shorter bolt/nut for the ball joint. but then we are talking about seriously affecting the strength of the spindle. plus the mounting plate on the bottom of the shock that would mount to the bottom of the lower ctrl arm is smaller on the 4x4's. the plate is still long enough to have the holes stretched to retain the bolts,

another thing i found was you have to grind a fair bit on the lower ctrl arm and spindles for clearance when using the 2"coil spacers as well.

and lastly i have read about people using the spacers under the coil, and having isues of the coil popping out....... the spacers from doetch fit perfectly on top of the coil. i used an old tire tube and cut out some pads to reduce the metal on metal contact noise. 2 pieces of ele tape to hold the spacer onto the coil while it was put in place, and with it on top of the coil it still allows the bottom of the spring to go into its holder on the lower ctrl arm.

i wanted to see if the spacers would install under the coil, and allow everything to be bolted up.... and they do, it is a PITA to keep the coil and spacer in one place when putting it under the coil. the spacer wants to stay in the lower ctrl arm, but the coil doesnt. i did it by using a ratchet strap holding the coil in place from the opposite side of the truck. it was safe, and worked great, but the coil didn't completely seat on the spacer, and once again, a good bump and it would run the possibility of the coil/spacer trying to pop out. so ONLY install them on the top of the coil. they seat nicely. wrap some eletric tape around the spacer, which would never affect anything and it holds everything in place nicely for an easy install.

front brakes were a slight issue, i guess they make 2 types of calipers for the 98 2.5 2wd. the one has a larger span between the mounting points on the caliper bracket. this is the one that the part store gave me. tried it didn't fit, took it back, and it turns out that there is a part number with an A on the end pulled that out and its exactly what i needed, maybe it because i have REAR ABS, the A stands for ABS? i dunno just a guess, any way, fronts together and sitting on the tires, rear is still a bit away. will have more progress soon with more pics

 

[fairman86]

 

[fairman86]

i have a question about the rear end, everywhere i look there is always mention about marking the pinion flange in relation to the drive shaft, and as well as the drive shaft to tranny to maintain factory balance. but shouldn't the drive shaft only go into the transmission one way? and if the drive shaft is balanced from factory, as long as i don't remove any weights it should still be balanced even when not marking it and just bolting everything up. it would seem impossible to me to keep the relation between the drive shaft and pinion flange after a full rebuild.... i like to think its like balancing a tire, installing it, then removing it, rotating it, and installing it again. the tire is balanced off the vehicle, allowing it to be installed and removed several times. i will check in the am if the drive shaft can be installed into the tranny in a different position, as well as line it up to the pinion flange and see if it accepts different bolt holes.