Did the search, not too much on what I need to know.
I'm looking to buy this truck with a bad cylinder and a hole in the front dif (which I found out why in the search). Anyway, here's the skinny:

2.9 L one cylinder low on compression
Auto trans - a strong or weak trans?
T-case - a strong or weak unit?
What about the front dif? Is it the good one?
What about the rear?
Body is in good shape, hardly any dents, good paint
Single cab long bed
a/c, ps, pdl, pw, cruise
about 220k miles

I was thinking of cutting the roof off and cutting the cab to bed panels out to make it similar to a 4-runner. I would like to get at least 37's under it and cut the fenders out as much as possible to keep the lift to a minimum. Bob the bed and add protection. Not too worried about being streetable, but want it to have a plate if I can.

I want to avoid having to upgrade axles, motor, trans, t-case, and steering - I already got one of those Samurais!

I am obviously not familiar with this model, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

try here ....
http://www.therangerstation.com -all things ranger...and b2
www.rrorc.com --ford ranger \ b2 club

It should have a Borg-Warner 1354 T-case. Its pretty stout, although its no NP205. Its an aluminum chaindrive unit with a 2.48:1 low. It also has a fixed rear flange (no slip-yoke). Manual (lever) and electronic shifted versions were made. Not much offered in the way of creeper gears for it yet.

I don't have experience with the auto tranny (A4LD, I think it would be). Some have lots of problems, others not. Might be maintenance related, I dunno. The M5OD 5-sp stickshifts are very reliable.

You need to ID the frontend it has. If its a Dana35, it can be made to hold up pretty well (although, I'm not sure I'd trust it with a hole in it:eek: ). It uses mostly Dana44 axleshaft hardware and is high-pinion. They are picky as to wheel offset, though. Wide wheels that stick way out tend to stress the wheelbearings (37s may be a problem, even on an 8" wide wheel). The locking hubs will also need to be upgraded. Warn makes hubs for Jeep FF kits that will fit and should hold up well.
If its a Dana28, this is a real POS and is not worth putting a dime toward.
4.0 V6 trucks ALWAYS had a D35, but the 2.9L came with both during '90

Its not hard to swap a Dana44 solid axle in, also. This would eliminate the wheelbearing issue, and has a larger diff and R&P,although it would have little strength advantage in the axleshafts over the D35.

Rearend should be the Ford 7.5". Its an OK axle only if equipped with a Detroit Locker. Its not as strong as the 31 spline 8.8" found under Explorers. These are an easy swap.

Hope this helps.

Check out the links Shifter posted. LOTS of info.:D

How much $ is the truck?

1990 Ranger with a 2.9L.

A4LD Auto tranny. Total junk. The best tranny swap for a Ranger based vehicle when keeping the motor is the C5 found in late 84 and early 85 Rangers and Bronco IIs.

T-case should be a BW1350. Same internals as a 1354 but the front output is a slip yoke style which makes it less desireable. Available in manual or electric shift.

Front axle will probably be a D28. 6.75" ring gear. Notorious for blowing axleshafts and hubs. Crappy wheelbearing and hub design. No upgrades available. 33" tires are about the max. It could be a weird D28/D35 hybrid which uses the D35 beams and pumpkin, but has D28 internals. Uses D28 inners and D35 outters.

Rear axle will be a Ford 7.5." While it's not an 8.8" it is strong in it's own right. C-clip axle. 33" tires are about its max.

Most common thing to do is swap in D44s and 9"s from Early Broncos. Everything pretty much bolts in. The upper retainer in the coil buckets may need to be modified and a custom trac-bar bracket will need to be made. New steering links will also be needed.

Since you don't want to swap everything, I'd skip it. Max tire size is only a 33" on those axles and the tranny will probably die soon anyhow.

The auto is junk.
The IFS, well any IFS is junk.
The motor is junk, you know that though.
The front and rear's will not hold up to 37's unless you keep the motor as is.
Why do you want to match big tires with P'sOS running gear?
Keep looking, unless you want to spend a ton of money to make it something other than a mall wheeler.

buy a 1979 F-150 reg cab short bed that would be a
good project

The A4LD got a bad rap when first introduced. The later ones, Explorers '94 and up are a bit better, but it's always a weak link.

If the front is Dana28 = junk, if Dana35 = you'll be burning bearings even with 33's.

The rear end, if 7.5= skip it, Ranger 8.8" = 28 spline, Explorer - 31 spline. The 8.8" should be OK to 37's if you're easy on the stupid pedal.

Unless you are getting this thing CHEAP and are planning swapping in a d44/9"/C5 then I would say pass.

I'm gonna skip it. If anyone is interested I could probably get it for $500 - $750. Thanks for all the "bad" info! I checked those links and searched thier forums as well, and came up with similar results.
Thanks again!

We'll I'll be go to hell.....
A fawking newbie that ask's an honest question, read's the responses and take's the god damned advice without a bunch of sniveling, whining and bitching. You are a stinking rareity my friend, welcome indeed to the PBB. Now fuck off newbie :flipoff2:

If you're specifically interested in a Ranger, I would look at the '93-'97 4.0V6 models. These will have the better driveline parts than the earlier ones and lend themselves much better for a trail rig buildup.
'93, '94 were the best for small-item reliability (Dome light circuits, sensors and have no airbags or OBDII.

BTW I ran 33s on a D35 for three years with no bearing trouble. As I said, wheels seem to be the big factor here (they were 15X8s w/3.75" offset).