The Horse with no name...

[Snoranger]

Driving it in front wheel drive shouldnt hurt anything. I had to drive my 89 around FWD for over a month when I snapped the rear output shaft on my (hard to find) STX T-case.

 

[Flash Gordan]

Thanks for the info. I need to get to work tomorrow morning a little early and break the driveshaft flange bolts loose. Should I just remove the carrier bearing crossmember while I'm under there? Or can I leave it in place for now?

 

[Flash Gordan]

Update on THWNN, swapped in some new sparkplug wires and a new ignition coil. The truck runs a whole lot better but still seems to have a miss somewhere. Also replaced the 4cyl radiator with one from a 93 4.0/5sp Explorer. I swear the truck hardly gets the temp needle moving on the dash. The only downside is that I think the 2.9 blew a headgasket. I have a feeling that the 4.0 I already have is going to be replacing it sometime in the near future. Just need to figure out whether or not I'll be giving the 4.0 a junkyard rebuild or just drop it into the truck and cross my fingers. Any suggestions?

 

[Flash Gordan]

Tried taking THWNN through the NJ inspection today at lunch time. Failed the emissions test horribly!! Anybody know of a quick and easy way to bring down the HC amount?

 

[jhammel85]

Hmm...

From what I understand that's usually ignition related (to combustion issues).

You did the wires but did you do plugs, cap and rotor too?

Also, Make sure the timing is right and all Vac lines are good. I guess you can do a compression test too. That'll tell you if you have bad rings or burnt valves giving you HC troubles. It'll help you if you suspect a Head Gasket or Cracked head too, per your prev post.

 

[Flash Gordan]

Haven't updated in awhile so here goes: Still haven't gotten THWNN through inspection. Found out that the heads are cracked and I basically killed the 2.9. Oh well, I've still got the 4.0 waiting to go in. The wife and I closed on a new house a couple weeks ago. I'm so glad we bought this house. It's got a attached two car garage and a second two car garage out back. As soon as I get the honeydo list knocked down to something that the wife can live with, I'll be starting the engine swap. It'll be nice to be able to do the swap in my own garage out of the weather.

 

[Flash Gordan]

New direction??

Another update: Still haven't gotten anything done on the truck. Still trying to scrounge parts and other stuff together to get it done. Going to do a SAS on this thing, and really need to call Dan at Ruffstuff for the pieces I need. But I'm curious, should I find a set of front Dana 30 3.73 gears to match the 8.8 gears in the rear and use the 31's I already have? OR should I pull the trigger and jump to a set of 4.10's and fit 33's on it? At first I didn't want to go crazy big. Just a little lift to go have some fun. But trying to find used 3.73 reverse cut gears is not happening in my area. I can find 4.10's on craigslist all day long. Pretty cheap too. But I'm wondering what 4.10 gears would be like with 31's. Opinions??

 

[86MUDRCJ]

4.10 and 31s would be perfect. But why sas when youre running such small tires?

 

[Flash Gordan]

4.10 and 31s would be perfect. But why sas when youre running such small tires?

Because I've been out with the TTB and it never felt "right". Anyway the SAS swap is just a stepping stone to bigger lifts and tires that will eventually come. Better to do it now and get it out of the way.

 

[86MUDRCJ]

Gotcha if you have the axle already then go for it. Personally i would run 35s max on a d30 though. Are you gonna regear when you go up from 31s?

 

[Flash Gordan]

The way I see it, certain tire sizes should get specific gear ratios:

31's should have 3.73 gears.
33's get 4.10 gears.
35's get 4.56 gears.
37's get 4.88 gears.
And 40's need 5.13 or deeper gears.

After that, it's probably the owner's preference.

 

[kryptonitecb]

I played with a gear calculator before and found that 5.13 or 5.38 put the rpm's closer to stock than the others for 37's for a 4.0. When I do my axle swap that's what I will be running eventually. 4.10's did well when I had 33's. I'd look at build threads to see what real world experience people had with their gearing, tire size and engines to make sure it works for what you plan on running in the future.

Sent from the road while ignoring traffic

 

[dhkonrad]

I just finished my sas and I have 5.13s for 35s.

 

[Flash Gordan]

I just finished my sas and I have 5.13s for 35s.

Got pictures or a write up?

 

[dhkonrad]

Got pictures or a write up?

Link to the build thread is in my sig. I did a d44 but im happy to answer any questions I can.