Safari Pacific MX2 Build

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

ohh i see. thats cool

i think coils would give you a better ride. cant u use the stock coil buckets?
i m thinking about doing a new crossmember for mine when i get to do this, since i dont want it to sit too high, since i wont go bigger than 31" tires.

im also curious to see if a 97 or older steerig box works with this setup.

 

[r1ch999999]

I know it's not exactly a Ranger, but I did see someone who did an SAS on a Sport Trac, in Iceland or something like that. If you're looking for pictures I seem to remember there being a lot.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

well i would like to see on a truck with my exact frame type.

thanks anyway!

 

[schanusa]

Updates. Before I parked the truck I began working on the axle. I have decided to go ahead and use the D30 for now. The plan to have it ready so I could do the motor and axle swap in one shot. Then later on, if needed, build a D44.

First thing I did was yank the axle apart.

Then set all the pieces aside for now.

Next I sent both axles next door to the sand blaster.

The newly cleaned axles set around the shop for a month so I could finish up some other projects. I decided to at least paint the axle knuckles and housing in the mean time to keep from rusting. I'll have to weld on some parts later though.

 

[schanusa]

Here's that link for the guy with a 2008 ranger SAS.

http://www.ranger-forums.com/f82/08-ranger-sas-build-up-98921/

 

[schanusa]

I masked off and painted the axle shafts as well. Then pressed in new u-joints. Also picked up some new wheel assemblies.

I also painted the wheel assemblies to prevent rust.

 

[Maverick]

Do yourself a favor and swap in a set of TJ shafts. They have bigger joints and will get rid of that problematic CAD setup. It's a straight forward swap with no mods, the bigger joints alone are worth the swap.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

I would also gusset the top of the inner C's on the ends of the axle housing. They have a bad tendency of bending inwards.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

nice update! and thanks for the link

 

[schanusa]

Well, I got a bit of motivation to finally pull the motor.

I pulled the valve cover off just after for a quick peek. Very clean for 250k miles.

Looks like very minimal wear as well on the cam shafts. I may get lucky and be able to do a basic overhaul. Next I need to disassemble the head and bottom end. I know I'll need piston rings and some new rods as there was a rod knock.

 

[Flash Gordan]

How bad was the rod knock? Small knocks can be fixed with new bearings. Large knocks means a new crank, bearings, and quite possibly a couple new rods.

 

[schanusa]

Well, new year and new direction with the build. I stopped working on the truck and basically stared at the truck for a few weeks. I started figuring out what really needs to be changed and fixed before I did anything else. So I thought about it and think I have a the solution. The biggest problem is weight. As it sits I'm pushing 5000 lbs. The truck stock was 3200 lbs. So first and foremost is weight reduction. I've looked over my gear many times and its time to ditch a lot of it. So far I have compacted all of my necessary recovery and cooking gear into one heavy duty case and all my clothes, documents, cameras and etc into one backpack. Something I've dubbed the "Universal Overlander Kit." I'll talk more about that later.

All of the fixes I have done over the past year has only fixed the symptoms. The core problem is the chassis down cannot handle the loads I'm placing on it. So even with a solid axle the chassis will not be able to cope. Which means the Dana 30 isn't going under it. I would have to completely rebuild the chassis to keep up with weight demands, not to mention having to dumping tons of money into upgrading all the drivetrain components. In short I'm going back to what worked for me before. Simple and light. All of the modification costs are starting to rack up and basically mean I will have a cool truck but no money to take the trip, which repairs have already taken a nice gouge. More to come.

(If anyone is interested in buying the Dana 30 shoot me an email. Asking ($600) only what I have into it in parts. Its ready to roll minus gears unless you want the stock set. Have the Ford 8.8 on the table as well for $200.)

 

[88_Eddie]

why not ditch the ranger altogether? you can do a FW SAS on an f150 (or something else fullsize) and then you'll be able to carry more of your gear.

i'd be hesitant to try and ditch gear, especially when travelling that far from home. after all, everyone knows the only time you need something is when you dont have it.

 

[schanusa]

why not ditch the ranger altogether? you can do a FW SAS on an f150 (or something else fullsize) and then you'll be able to carry more of your gear.

i'd be hesitant to try and ditch gear, especially when travelling that far from home. after all, everyone knows the only time you need something is when you dont have it.

Thats pretty much what I'm doing in a certain kind of way. The only reason the truck hasn't "burst into flames" is because of sponsors. The truck will only make part of the planed trip. Everything else will be a "fly and buy" approach. Saves money overall, less shipping costs ($2500 each way), documentation and etc. The universal overlander kit is made for that. Enough gear but compact enough I can hop on any airline and fly to wherever. The big items such as a winch, tires and so on will be purchased in the country I land in and installed on what ever vehicle I find. Then once I'm done, I sell the vehicle and make back some of what I've spent.

I thought about doing this for a while now, but had to uphold certain promises. Also I recently bought a 1996 Land Rover Discovery for $2100. Got it as a daily driver, but its also spurred how cheap and quick you can build a vehicle for travel. I do have to admit, I did get carried away with the ranger.

 

[meatheaded nucklebuster]

I have been following your work for a long time on here and on your website before that. I love your work and how clean you keep your builds. I have to agree with you when you say simple and light is what works. Personally I would stay with the ranger because of the sweet setup you have so far. Keep the drivetrain pretty much stock and focus your attention on overlanding needs. I know you have WAY more experience than me but I would personally say for your intensions a SAS is not needed. I have seen the pictures of where you go with 2x4 and I was impressed so I think mostly stock drivetrain would suffice. The main problem I suffer from is building a rig that can go anywhere offroad, and still drive thousands of miles comfortably. I chose to go pretty extreme with my build (FW d44/d60) but I do not plan to drive it around the world.