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SeanC
Member
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2015
- Messages
- 13
- Vehicle Year
- 1993
- Transmission
- Manual
SeanC's Arizona '93 Ranger 4x4 Project: The Evolution of Mr. LaBeef
I've posted here a few times before, but wanted to take the chance to formally introduce myself and my project truck Mr. LaBeef (think True Grit). I'm an electrical engineer by day, and an automotive hobbyist and tinkerer by night. I bought this 1993 Ranger 4x4 single cab long bed back in 2014 to use as a hunting truck. It's evolved into more of a weekend warrior since then.
When I first bought it, mismatched passenger tires, lame steps, and sweet factory alloys
It immediately needed a new slave cylinder, so I tore into the drivetrain to fix that. While in there, I discovered that the clutch disc was also badly worn, and the rear main seal was leaking. After taking care of all those issues, I slapped on some 31x10.5 Goodyear Authority meats and rocked it like that for a while.
First off-roading trip into the Pinal mountains near Globe, AZ.
Four Peaks recreation area. Sweet flex, brah
After a few adventures, i got tired of the squirrely frontend behavior. I tore it all apart, and replaced all of the suspension bushings and u-joints. The frontend was sagging almost 3" compared to the rear, so I added a Superlift 2" coil kit, homemade 1-1/8" coil spacer, and reattached the frontend with Tuff Country 4" drop bracketry. Oh, and while the front diff was out, I did the c-clip eliminator mod and installed an Aussie locker. I also robbed the factory manual hubs from my '93 Explorer to replace the shitty, malfunctioning automatic hubs. The extended brake lines are chevy truck pieces as outlined in the tech articles.
Testing out the new lift, locker, and hubs in the Salt River channel near my house.
Once you start doing mods, you can't stop
I knew I wanted to fit some 35x12.5 mud terrains, and on an initially unrelated note, I had removed the factory fender flares because they were dry-rotted. Therefore, the following shenanigans ensued:
I traced the outside of the factory flares, and went to town with a jigsaw and a cut-off wheel. I fitted some plastic door trim to the fenders to eliminate the sharp edge and clean up the look. The tires are 35x12.5R15 Maxxis Bighorn MTs on 15x8 Pro Comp steelies. I'm elated with the look and function of low lift, trimmed fenders, and 35's. The tires give me plenty of clearance and grip, and combined with the front locker, it's the cat's ass off-road.
Here are a few pics from this morning, playing around near my house. This thing is so much fun now
So that's my story for now. I think as far as mods go, I'm done for a while. But then again maybe not
I'm still trying to root cause the spark knock I get while climbing long, steep hills on the highway. The M5OD-R1 drips a bit more than I'm comfortable with. I'd like some sort of additional gear reduction for both the street and the trail. I could solve most of those problems with a 5.0/NP435 swap. And that spare divorced Dana 24 in my garage is begging to be used... 
Peace. Thanks for reading.
I've posted here a few times before, but wanted to take the chance to formally introduce myself and my project truck Mr. LaBeef (think True Grit). I'm an electrical engineer by day, and an automotive hobbyist and tinkerer by night. I bought this 1993 Ranger 4x4 single cab long bed back in 2014 to use as a hunting truck. It's evolved into more of a weekend warrior since then.
When I first bought it, mismatched passenger tires, lame steps, and sweet factory alloys
It immediately needed a new slave cylinder, so I tore into the drivetrain to fix that. While in there, I discovered that the clutch disc was also badly worn, and the rear main seal was leaking. After taking care of all those issues, I slapped on some 31x10.5 Goodyear Authority meats and rocked it like that for a while.
First off-roading trip into the Pinal mountains near Globe, AZ.
Four Peaks recreation area. Sweet flex, brah
After a few adventures, i got tired of the squirrely frontend behavior. I tore it all apart, and replaced all of the suspension bushings and u-joints. The frontend was sagging almost 3" compared to the rear, so I added a Superlift 2" coil kit, homemade 1-1/8" coil spacer, and reattached the frontend with Tuff Country 4" drop bracketry. Oh, and while the front diff was out, I did the c-clip eliminator mod and installed an Aussie locker. I also robbed the factory manual hubs from my '93 Explorer to replace the shitty, malfunctioning automatic hubs. The extended brake lines are chevy truck pieces as outlined in the tech articles.
Testing out the new lift, locker, and hubs in the Salt River channel near my house.
Once you start doing mods, you can't stop
I knew I wanted to fit some 35x12.5 mud terrains, and on an initially unrelated note, I had removed the factory fender flares because they were dry-rotted. Therefore, the following shenanigans ensued:
I traced the outside of the factory flares, and went to town with a jigsaw and a cut-off wheel. I fitted some plastic door trim to the fenders to eliminate the sharp edge and clean up the look. The tires are 35x12.5R15 Maxxis Bighorn MTs on 15x8 Pro Comp steelies. I'm elated with the look and function of low lift, trimmed fenders, and 35's. The tires give me plenty of clearance and grip, and combined with the front locker, it's the cat's ass off-road.
Here are a few pics from this morning, playing around near my house. This thing is so much fun now
So that's my story for now. I think as far as mods go, I'm done for a while. But then again maybe not
I'm still trying to root cause the spark knock I get while climbing long, steep hills on the highway. The M5OD-R1 drips a bit more than I'm comfortable with. I'd like some sort of additional gear reduction for both the street and the trail. I could solve most of those problems with a 5.0/NP435 swap. And that spare divorced Dana 24 in my garage is begging to be used... Peace. Thanks for reading.
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