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New 98 4.0 Pre-Runner project


Baja Noobie

New Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2008
Messages
1
City
Colorado
Vehicle Year
1998
Transmission
Automatic
Hey all, im fairly new to this forum so i wanted to start be saying hello.

Now for the good part. I have recently been bitten by the baja bug, and now im starting a long term build on my 1998 ranger, 4.0 ohv.

i have lists of questions for anyone with experience, but i want to start with the basics.

First, the motor. I already have k&n cold air, but i no that the OHV motor doesnt even push 200 hp. One of my contacts at camburg instructed me to mess with cams and chips, any other ideas or thoughts on this?

Secondly, suspension.

I no that most pre runners opt for a possy traction 2wd set up, yet my truck is a 4x4. Would you recommend stripping the 4x4 for weight issues, or going with the dixon bros 4x4 long travel kit?

As far as the back goes, 3 link is obviously my dream, but very pricey, and 4 links bind to much under small trucks. So would deavers with some 16" coil overs work well?

Any hints are great, like i said, im new to this.
 
Hey buddy, I can answer a few of your questions but I also got a few for you that might help you out so I'll ask first.

Do you have a big budget? If so just buy 4x4 long travel and have the best of both worlds.

Do you ever wheel in other places other than high-speed desert? Anywhere likely to get stuck bad? A 2wd with a locker and good tires can go a surprising number of places, so if you really wanna save weight go ahead and strip the 4x4 stuff out and lighten it up while also having beefier suspension like spindles and all that jazz.

You talked to Camburg so of course they are gonna say the 3 link is better than the 4 because they only sell 3 links and want you to buy theirs. I would say they are about even, but I hear the 4 link is supposedly more adjustable, I hope someone with more knowledge can comment on this because I personally have not dealt with linked rears. Not bashing Camburg either as they do make quality stuff, but at a considerably higher price. But I guess since your not going with a link set-up neither of these matter.

Now on to the engine, don't worry about trying to get too much power. Guys roll around in 4 cylinders and go plenty fast, concentrate on good suspension to soak up when you start moving. Then after that I would consider mods to make you get over those bumps faster. I got a 3.0L 2wd reg cab and I plan on doing my suspension first and maybe a few light mods after like exhaust and intake, maybe some ignition too.

Well thats about all I got to say. I like the little "bitten by the baja bug" comment, was the pun intended lol?
 
trying to build the ohv 4.0l in to a fire breather is going to cost alot.And befoer you reached $$$$$ 200 hp in the ohv, you could have had a stock sohc that puts out 200hp.

3 or 4link, your going to hear pro and cons to both. Newline use to build a 4link system that had no bind.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmK4ZFmx5NA&feature=related

no a fan of posi's they burn out after time.And will burn up pretty quick in the desert.lose sand, hard pack and silt is easy to lose traction on.So your always going to be buring on the posi.

a spool would be the best bang for the buck...even on a street driven truck.You just have to learn to drive with them.no sharp u turn on the street, and rock the truck back and forth when you park to let the stress off the shafts....

then a locker....


thats just my personal opion.

for a "prerunner/desert truck multi use truck I would keep the 4wd. 2inches of travel dont mean crap.rather have the 4wd drive in case of a ahhh crap.


To link a truck dose cost a good penny. but good leafs and shocks are not free by any means.....

if your going to run leaf springs, you have no need for a coil over back.a smoth body or bypass shock would be just fine.But there is no reason not to run a threaed body shock if you do plan to run a link system someday.

And yes, there have been more than a few 100 good working trucks on leaf springs with a 16inch shock.
 
yeah your budget will play the biggest part in your build. I agree with everyone on not building the motor just yet as the suspension is what you want to get right first plus the 4.0 can get expnesive and a 302 may be a better bet.

front suspension wise if you got the cash for the dixon bros kit buy it. travel numbers are not all you should look at, its the vavling of the shocks that counts. total chaos had a race truck if 13"s of travel up front that could pass rangers with 16+ travel up front like they were standing still.

If you dont hav ethe cash and are really worried about weight, drop the 4wd but make sure you got a buddy out there with another truck to pull ya out should you get stuck. i personally like lockers over a limited slip (burn up quick) or spools on a street driven truck (the restricted turning radius just pisses me off lol). Im going to try out a lunch box locker out in my race truck and see how long it last in there, let alone how long the 8.8 will haha.

rear suspension wise, i have seen 4 links out do 3 links and vise a versa. it comes down to how they are put on the truck (if they are position right and so forth) and again shock valving. Im doin the Giant Motorsports 64 leaf kit with a 16" bypass shock from Giant that will give me 21"s of travel and work close to a link kit. now this aint cheap either, with shocks and the psring kit im in around 2,700 bucks. the way i see it is you can have limited travel in the front but you want the rear end to stay on the ground as much as possible, this is where travel numbers can play a role but valving is key. You want eh front end to "dance" over the tops of whoops and rough terrain and the rear end to follow it so you can keep that forward movement.

again this is my theory and there are many out there. take bits and peices of info that you need from everyone on here and other places and put them all together and you will turn out with a damn good truck
 

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