Need Help

[bduke23]

Hey all,
I have an 85 ranger 2wd that i have already swapped engine and everthing else it seems, and my problem is that i have put so much work into it that i don't want to sell it... but i would love a 4x4. So, is it possible to convert it to a 4x4 if i had a donor bronco II or 4x4 ranger? What would be required, would anything need to be custom made, like driveshafts? Wikipedia says the ranger and bronco II are structurally and mechanically identical in almost every way...is this true?

 

[country0001]

Pretty much, there is a guy w a 87 B2 for sale on here. Look in the parts for sale forum. Also check into the tech library for more info on the swap. Welcome to TRS.

 

[PaleBlue90]

im pretty shure you can. im speaking from experiance though, my truggy was a 90 reg cab long bed 2wd ranger, i sas'ed it and converted it to 4x4. if i could do it over i wouldve gone with a 4x4 beacuse it was easyer

 

[country0001]

I'm sure it can be done, the 88 I just bought came as a 2 wd but its 4wd now. The VIN said it was a 4x2. It made me scratch my head a little at 1st.

 

[bduke23]

Excellent. Does anyone know what type of transfer case I would need? And it would be the transfer case, its mounts, new axles front and back and driveshafts? My truck is a reg cab shortbox, where there any rangers made in this configuration with 4x4? I would like to swap in a rear axle with L/S regardless, will one from bronco II work? And would you recommend keeping the stock 3.73 gears with my 4 cyclinder or trying to find an axle with 4.10's?

 

[adsm08]

Rear axle should be fine as is. Keep your 3.73s, or if you do change gears, go to 3.45s. L/S doesn't need a whole axle swap, you just need a carrier and clutches/s spring.

I'm not 100% sure what all you need to do with your trans, mostly because I'm not sure which one you have.

Since you have a 1st gen it really should just be a matter of finding a front drive axle and bolting it in. Then you need the t-case and drive shafts. I have a 1st gen manual t-case and front shaft for sale.

 

[bduke23]

Its automatic with the A4LD tranny. I would rather not pull apart the axles and mess with the internals, I think swapping the entire axle instead would be more suited to my abilites. As a plus, in the spring I will be changing the shocks all around, so it will be only a few more bolts once those are off anyway. Would 3.73 or 3.45's be better in regards to fuel economy?

 

[adsm08]

3.73s will get you better highway mileage, but since you have a 4 banger the 3.45s will give a better balance of acceleration/better city mileage and still keep highway decent. You will want the extra gearing because you are adding some weight.

Honestly, they are so close that you probably won't notice any difference in the middle of the RPM band where you spend most of your time. The biggest differences will be at the extremes, starting off and high high (70+) speeds.