question

[Do0meR]

so i bought a 96 ranger that was in an accident with a 4.0L engine to put in my 93 ranger (just hydrolocked my engine). so i plan on making this '96 ranger a project (huge mud truck). the frame is fine, etc. Now, im not too familiar with SASing, and to me, the way it sounds is you sas only with 2wd trucks? I think im just getting confused with some of the questions asked on prior threads. But, I plan on putting both front and rear axles off a 1990 ford f-150. This a good idea? I may lack information here. Not to sure what axle rhey are, but the f-150 is a 4x4.

The plan is to create a big mud truck out of this 96. I have a 351W i plan on dropping in, and have a scrape 1990 f150. I plan on taking the transmission from the f150 also. This is my first huge project, I know Im in over my head, but I can weld, cut and measure. So i figure if i can do that, i should be ok. I'm just not too familiar with suspension systems and how to set this up. Im looking for a lot of height (I have 40" boggers to put on the ranger).

Any hints, tips, anything to push me forward would be awesome.

 

[bcost882]

well, wow. that is alot you have there and you need to do alot of research before you do this. but people so sas on any truck whether 2 or 4wd. it just depends where you wanna be it will be abit easier for you since you have a pre98 truck and the frame should work a bit better than post 98 2wd. you have to make sure the tranny bolts up to the 351 cause the f150 might have had a 5.0 unless thats where you got the 351 if so ignore that one. the other problem you are going to have is the f150 you have is prolly not solid axle. it is a d44 ttb axle. which you can make work with your truck but is a PITA. so research into this stuff a bit more and see if you can make it work. have fun. and you might want to think about strengthening the frame a bit if you are gunna put that engine in and sas cause rangers werent made to handle those kinds of stresses

 

[Do0meR]

Ok,
The 351W did come out of the F150... So I should look for solid axles. I know its going to be a HUGE project, but a good learning curve also. And I never thought about strengthening the frame. I had some people tell me I would be better off putting a ranger body on an old f250 frame. I thought about it, but I thought in the end it may end up being just as difficult no? Because the 250 frame is longer than a ranger, so some cutting and re-locations are required for both. But I will do some more research. I feel pretty comfortable with the whole engine swap. Not that I've done one, but I've been planning this for years and I think I know most of what needs to be done. We put a 351W in a bronco, replacing the stock 302, which is a completely different swap, but required some mod's also. Im more worried about the suspension and SAS conversion. Not to famliar with these, so this is where the project is gonna take a lot of time.

 

[bcost882]

or you could put the ranger on the f150 since pretty much everything is coming out of it. but you can find alot of people on here that have done the swap, no worries

 

[351Mazda]

If you plan on leaf springing the front it'd be fairly easy, just a matter of making mounts and finding the right leafs. Personally I'd run coils, they ride better and flex on the trails a lot better. I have a 3 link set-up in mine, I'd never want to do leafs again. Do lots of reasearch, there's a lot of wrong ways to do what you are talking about. Also if you are wanting to run 40's don't get a dana 44, it will break soon and often. Dana 60 front is the only way to go.

 

[gwaii]

the ranger frame is plenty strong enough for what you are doing.the suggestion to go d60 front is a wise one.coils are strongly recommended,70's d44 radius arms can be modded to work with the 60 or if you want to get adventurous go 4 link with panhard bar.once you get into it it's not as difficult as it seems.go with the minimum lift you can get away with(unless you want a mall crawler-then a d28 with 54s and 72" of lift will do)to keep it stable-you can cut away things that get in the way of the tires,like the fenders.theres lots of opinions about the rear,but i like the 10.25 or 10.5 sterling-beaten them hard,haven't broken one yet.why not go 4 link there too?looks cool,works good......have fun.

 

[351Mazda]

I forgot to mention in my earlier post about you wanting a lot of height, but gwaii said to keep it as low as possible. For refrence I have 4 inches of lift, 60's front and rear, and 42's. It's possible with lots of trimming. I moved the front axle foreward 6 inches also, that helped a lot to get the axle in front of the crossmember rather than under it. When I'm at full stuff either end of my truck is actually a little bit lower than stock and everything still clears.

One thing I wish I would have done is when you're done pulling everything out of the Ranger, pull the cab also. By the time you have the drivetrain out there's only 6 bolts left for the cab.

1.Pull it, set your suspension up, set the motor in. Don't make it permamant mounted yet.

2. Set the cab back in and see how it fits. I ended up putting a 3" BL on to clear the trans tunnel.

3. pull the cab back off and finish mounting everything.

4. set the cab back on and start cutting to fit.

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

Im looking at the same as you in a way except I already have a 302 in the truck and its been up and running for a while.
I just scored the 1 ton running gear to swap into my truck.Im going to wimp out and run a leaf spring set up because its my first go around with a full swap like this and I want to keep it simple.