Need some help with my ‘94

[94purpleurkle]

Hey guys I’m new to this forum but I see that you are all much more knowledgeable. I just inherited my grandads ‘94 purple Ranger XLT .. she’s going got 36K on her and nearly everything is original. She runs like a dream.
Anyways I’m wanting to throw a bigger set of tires on it but I’m not looking to do suspension on it just yet.
Does anyone possibly know the biggest tire I can use with out rubbing?.. and do you know of a good looking tire I could use.

 

[Uncle Gump]

You're going to have to give us a bit more information.

What engine... what gear ratio... 2wd or 4wd?

There is also a bunch of information in the Tech Library that addresses tire sizes... have a look there and it may help your decision.

 

[Curious Hound]

You could probably fit 31” tires without much problem as long as they aren’t too wide. The issue is that with larger tires, the truck will start to feel sluggish and underpowered. To counteract this, it is often wise to change the gear ratio in the differential (both if 4x4). You may also need to change the speedometer cable gear so that your speedometer reads correctly. As asked above, if you give us more info, we can help you better.

there is a lot of great info to study HERE

 

[94purpleurkle]

You're going to have to give us a bit more information.

What engine... what gear ratio... 2wd or 4wd?

There is also a bunch of information in the Tech Library that addresses tire sizes... have a look there and it may help your decision.

Thank you for all your info.
It’s a 2WD with I believe the 3.0 in it. I do not know the gear ratio on it.. whatever it comes stock with I would assume. There has never been an upgrade to the truck except the radio. Haha

 

[94purpleurkle]

You could probably fit 31” tires without much problem as long as they aren’t too wide. The issue is that with larger tires, the truck will start to feel sluggish and underpowered. To counteract this, it is often wise to change the gear ratio in the differential (both if 4x4). You may also need to change the speedometer cable gear so that your speedometer reads correctly. As asked above, if you give us more info, we can help you better.

there is a lot of great info to study HERE

How would I go about changing the gearing in it to counteract that feeling? And I guess ultimately that doesn’t really bother me much because I don’t drive it everyday

 

[Uncle Gump]

Thank you for all your info.
It’s a 2WD with I believe the 3.0 in it. I do not know the gear ratio on it.. whatever it comes stock with I would assume. There has never been an upgrade to the truck except the radio. Haha

Open the driver door and you will see a tag and you can get your axle code from there.... look in the Tech Library and you will find a list of axle codes and then you will know what axle you have.

 

[sgtsandman]

I suggest you check out Eric the Car Guy on Youtube on regearing a 8.8 axle. That will show you what is all involved with a regear, whether you choose to do it yourself or not.

You need to get into the tech library and do some research.

First, you need to figure out what axle you have and what gears are in it. The code is on the sticker on the door jam and there should be a metal tag bolted to the axle cover that will well you what the code is. From there, you can look it up in the axle section where the codes are listed.

Then, you can look up the chart that shows how each gear ratio interacts with each tire size. From there, you can decide if you want to regear or not and what size tires you want to go with.

There is also a section that shows what size tire fits with what configuration of Ford Ranger you have.

 

[racsan]

Its much easier & a bit cheaper to swap out the whole rear axle with a used one, I paid $200 (I think, been a few years) for a used axle with 4.10’s because my original gearing of 3.45 wasn’t suited to my needs. Youd pay around 200/250 for a gearset, plus the specialty tools youd need, and the other setup parts such as the pinion crush sleeve and the shims. It is a good idea with a new-to-you rear axle to change the gear oil , change axle oil seals and go over the brakes. I think when all was said and done I had $300 in mine. I replaced axle & pinion seals, put on new wheel cylinders, new brake shoe spring kits, oil & a rear cover gasket. (and spray paint of course) regearing can be one of the best things for performance you can do , and is certainly nessasary when going to bigger tires, esp with a 3.0 as they make their power higher in the rpm band. I have no Idea what a shop would charge for a regear, swapping a axle out is pretty easy if your used to doing your own work, setting up a differential is a little more technical but doable, just needs to be done right or it wont last long.

 

[94purpleurkle]

Open the driver door and you will see a tag and you can get your axle code from there.... look in the Tech Library and you will find a list of axle codes and then you will know what axle you have.

Got it! thank you for all your info

 

[94purpleurkle]

I suggest you check out Eric the Car Guy on Youtube on regearing a 8.8 axle. That will show you what is all involved with a regear, whether you choose to do it yourself or not.

You need to get into the tech library and do some research.

First, you need to figure out what axle you have and what gears are in it. The code is on the sticker on the door jam and there should be a metal tag bolted to the axle cover that will well you what the code is. From there, you can look it up in the axle section where the codes are listed.

Then, you can look up the chart that shows how each gear ratio interacts with each tire size. From there, you can decide if you want to regear or not and what size tires you want to go with.

There is also a section that shows what size tire fits with what configuration of Ford Ranger you have.

i will be doing this research tonight to see what i can come up with.

Thanks again

 

[94purpleurkle]

Its much easier & a bit cheaper to swap out the whole rear axle with a used one, I paid $200 (I think, been a few years) for a used axle with 4.10’s because my original gearing of 3.45 wasn’t suited to my needs. Youd pay around 200/250 for a gearset, plus the specialty tools youd need, and the other setup parts such as the pinion crush sleeve and the shims. It is a good idea with a new-to-you rear axle to change the gear oil , change axle oil seals and go over the brakes. I think when all was said and done I had $300 in mine. I replaced axle & pinion seals, put on new wheel cylinders, new brake shoe spring kits, oil & a rear cover gasket. (and spray paint of course) regearing can be one of the best things for performance you can do , and is certainly nessasary when going to bigger tires, esp with a 3.0 as they make their power higher in the rpm band. I have no Idea what a shop would charge for a regear, swapping a axle out is pretty easy if your used to doing your own work, setting up a differential is a little more technical but doable, just needs to be done right or it wont last long.

ive been wrenching for many years now.. but im so used to building and modifying 4cyl turbos.

i inherited this truck so im not looking to completely change everything on it.. but i do want to make it more... me hahah and since im no longer boosting and lowering everything i own i would like to give this truck some proper upgrades.

i will be looking into the gearing on my truck and gonna shop around for axle.

Thank you again for all the insight.

Any chance you know of a hack to do the headliner in these?

 

[94purpleurkle]

well what I did was remove mine, ran it bare with no headliner for a year, didnt mind it really. Then I ended up spraying it with grey flex-seal. (most of the cloth was gone when I removed it, mine is a 94 also) Ive put it back in and Im happy with it, I didnt want to mess with material and glue. The white “things” are magnets, the wires you see are for my roof clearance lights.

View attachment 55633View attachment 55634

Dude that doesn’t look half bad completely torn out... ...

Also will the headliner come out in one piece? I’m thinking about putting custom fabric on it

 

[racsan]

yes, it will come out in one peice, its not a easy thing to do, a second set of hands will help. The bad thing about no headliner is the possibility of condensation on the inside of the roof, then youd get dripped on. I had that happen with a jeep hardtop.

 

[94purpleurkle]

yes, it will come out in one peice, its not a easy thing to do, a second set of hands will help. The bad thing about no headliner is the possibility of condensation on the inside of the roof, then youd get dripped on. I had that happen with a jeep hardtop.

hahah ive has that problem in one of my lexus race cars too hahah

ok i will attemp to remove my headliner this weekend to see if i can get something done with it.. all the cloth is gone and the remaining pad type shit is deteriorating something fierce haha if i touch it, it turns to dust.

 

[Shadowrider6661]

I don't know if you're interested, but LMC Trucks carries a replacement headliner made of black ABS plastic. I think it even has speakers, or just the preformed spaces for mounting 4 speakers. It might be worth looking into.