koa's 93 ranger build

[koa's93ranger]

Keep your eyes open. Ppl post new rangers everyday. I was bumming rides for 3 months before I found this jewel. I almost gave up so many times and bought other trucks I saw on Craigslist. But I keep telling myself no, wait for the right one to come by. And sure enough, there it was. Just be patient. Don't dump money into a truck that you aren't fully satisfied with. Just fix it enough to get by till you find what you're looking for. But keep in mind, if you go sas, any ranger can be converted to 4wd

 

[87anger]

Keep your eyes open. Ppl post new rangers everyday. I was bumming rides for 3 months before I found this jewel. I almost gave up so many times and bought other trucks I saw on Craigslist. But I keep telling myself no, wait for the right one to come by. And sure enough, there it was. Just be patient. Don't dump money into a truck that you aren't fully satisfied with. Just fix it enough to get by till you find what you're looking for. But keep in mind, if you go sas, any ranger can be converted to 4wd

Haha very true. Just dont think im ready for that kind of project yet. But for the record i am getting a new truck its final. In the last month my windshield spidered, my interior door handle broke off and my muffler broke off. Im done. haha straw(s) that broke the camels back. Over a year and no fun in it only repairs, time to wipe a bad memory.

Anyway how goes the axle swappin? Did you end up extending the front frame horns for the longer springs?

 

[koa's93ranger]

Progress is slow. Haven't even started on the front. Except my frame boxes are now fully welded an ready to tack to the frame. What's been holding me up is the rear axle. Theres no way to get my ranger ebrake to fit f250 axle, so no ebrake for now. Finally replaced the wheel cylinder, hardware, shoes, clean and repack bearings. Next is to route, new hard lines, install on truck, fix pinion spline leak, and figure out my driveline options. Then I can start thr front.

Oh and I also have to build a rolling cart for my welder. Too heavy to carry 100ft every day

 

[koa's93ranger]

ok. more annoying issues on the rear axle that stopped progress. i found out the hard way that spindle lock rings are a one time use when all the tabs broke off when trying to bend them. and every shop is closed today so i couldnt get new ones. universal e brake cables are over $100, thats retarded. i might as well have done disc brake swap. so definately rolling with no e brake till i figure out something later down the road.

so after that, i gave up on the axle for now. i managed finish my welding cart, so now i can haul that to the other end of my house and tack my frame boxes on for mock up. and lastly, got my front cross member 50% finished, about to order these nifty little gussets for my front hanger.

BLING!

now i know most of you dont even use gussets on your hanger. and if you look at my sketup drawing, my hanger will be a full boxed in piece. so do you think i will have a strength issue by using this gusset? my worry is due to it only being 3/16" thick

 

[koa's93ranger]

Need help From you guys who have dug into your rear Dana 60. Everytime I go to tight the outer nut on the spindle, the lock ring tab breaks off and spins along with the inner nut. And I only got to 30 ft lbs. still gotta reach 110 ft lbs. I've broke the tabs off 4 lock rings already and these f'ers aren't cheap. Please help. This sh#t is driving me crazy

 

[Ford78]

When i did mine , i bent all the lock ring tabs flat. I then torqed the first axle nut down, put the flat lock ring in, torqed the second nut down and used a flat screwdriver to bend the tabs down on each of the axle nuts.

 

[koa's93ranger]

But when I torque the outer nut, it rips off the locating tab and spins the lock ring and inner nut at only 40 ft lbs. that lock ring is just too thin and weak. I managed to figure it out but took 2 hrs of trial and error. What I had to do was back off the inner nut till there was appox 1/4" of play in the hub. Then impact the outer but so that they lock together at the precise torque and preload on the bearings. I hope this holds up over time

 

[koa's93ranger]

On a good note, rear axle is now 99% complete. Ready for install. And once it's installed, I can apply torque to break that pinion nut loose and seal up the splines. Then it's just a matter of adding break fluid and gear oil and get a conversion joint

 

[koa's93ranger]

Ok. Last update for a while. Gonna be in Hawaii for 2 weeks, so I won't be getting much done. Got the rear axle installed. Still needs new u bolts, conversion ujoints, and extended shackle.

Also started on the front. Crossmember is cut, gussets arrived. Just waiting for welding.

Designed my rear mounts this morning.

And cut them out and got one side tacked together.

This is about the time where my lady came outside and ripped the extension cord out the wall. Looks like I've been putting off all the chores and packing what needs to be done before our flight. So the other mount will have to wait till I get back in town. Then it's off to my welder's house to get burned in. Then comes the fun part, ripping out the ttb and the d40 and mocking it up

 

[Ford78]

Looking good!

 

[Ford78]

What did u end up for the rear height?

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

Are you going to weld them on? I recommend you turn that upright support around then drill holes through it and frame then bolt it on.

View attachment 8707

Maybe even drill a hole up through the hanger and frame then bolt it there too.

 

[koa's93ranger]

What did u end up for the rear height?

Damn. I forgot to measure the rear height. It's higher than it was before and I don't even have the 3.5" block in there yet. And I also don't have the extended shackle yet. I will take a measurement tonight and post it. But it should go up about another 6" after it's done. And it only has 33s right now for rollers

 

[koa's93ranger]

Are you going to weld them on? I recommend you turn that upright support around then drill holes through it and frame then bolt it on.

View attachment 8707

Maybe even drill a hole up through the hanger and frame then bolt it there too.

I was planning on fully welding that bracket to my frame. The entire outer edge will have a continuous bead on it. If you look at my sketchup image you can see how it'll be welded on the top, sides, and all around the bottom.

 

[Rowdy Fitzgerald]

I'm just a firm believer in a couple grade 8 bolts are stronger than welds. Welding haste it's place but welds fail more often than bolts.