i am looking to get a 95-97 ranger, supercab, shortbed, 4.0V6, auto tranny, 4x4, loaded out! i want to immediately put on a 4 inch skyjacker class II and soem 32 inch bfg muds, i will also regear front and rear and add a detroit to the rear at this time. the reason i am not going to add a locker in the front is because i want to swap in a solid axle ASAP as money permits! please give me some opinions on this matter

wes

why waste teh money on the lift and re gearing everything just to do a SAS a little later. Save teh cash and do it right the first time. You listed close to 2k in parts and most of that you will just throw away when you da a SAS anyway. Here is some info to get started on info for doing a SAS cheap and general ranger stuff. www.therangerstation.com www.offroadrangers.com www.rrorc.com www.explorer4x4.com and www.explorerforum.com

Matt

I second that. You will spend more money and effort modifying the ttb than doing a SAS. Save the money and do it right the first time. I know, I didn't do it right the first time. You waste a lot of money that way.

will a dana 30 out of a YJ stand up to 33s or 35s in this application? i think it will judging by the people who use them in the rockcrawl series, jason bunch in his yj runnin 37 inch mt/rs, and randy ellis runnin one in his sami with 37 inch mt/rs, so is that a good judgement for my application? i dont know if i will do the sas first or not, depends on the cash-flow i will need to do it all the right way! thanks for the input

wes

you also have to understand that i am only 17 and that i have a long ways to go! in between the suspension lift and the sas i will be adding lots of other stuff, such as bead locks, and lots of other upgrades, such as maybe an atlas II, and a few other goodies, that way the SAS will perform like i should right out of the box!

wes

Trust me on this... do the sas... is it hard? No harder than getting a mass production lift for an IFS on the truck. It will require some fab work but it is well worth it. The 30 will do 33s but I would not do much more than that unless it is mostly street and left open. I wheel with several people with a d30 in the front with as big as 36's and they do break once in a while but most of our rocks have mud on them so traction is the problem not breakage. There are tons of sites as listed above to help. And plenty of people who have done it before. My wife always says, "do it right the first time, and you won't have to do it again" I wish i listened to her sometimes.

C

A 4.0V6 Ranger will have a Dana35 for a front axle. Its quite strong (stronger than the D30) and can hold up well as a frontend if built right, but if the TTB suspension is whats intimidating you, then I agree with the others here and would also say don't bother spending money on it and go straight for a D44 SAS. Its not hard to do, especially using an early Bronco axle.
The eB axle will have smaller knuckle joints than the Ranger axle, but is upgradeable by changing axleshafts.

You are making a mistake Wes, Rangers are too narrow, you would be better off with a F-250 diesel, you have asked this question XXXXX times!!! What do we keep telling you???

Hey Wes,

I HAVE WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ALREADY!!!
My '97 Ranger is for sale right now. It already has a 3/4 ton Dana 44 front axle, Dana 60 rear, coil-over shocks, dual transfer cases and more. It does only have the puny 3.0L V6, but with the 5:38 gears and dual t-cases, it will crawl slower than a turtle!
You could swap in a 4.0L relatively easy.

Here is a link to it on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1867996359


And here is a link to my web site:
http://www.grapeapedesign.com/Transformation.htm

Email me or call me if you're interested.
grapeaperanger@yahoo.com
336-434-6076
Dean

too bad i cant afford that, nor can i drive that far to get it, and i need something i can drive right off the bat! too bad you have to sell your pride and joy?!?
:confused:

wes

find an EB D44.... you will find them floating around here for under 400, then get some wilde horse springs, shocks, pitman arm, trac bar mount, and new radius arm mounts and u'll be set... i spent the arm and a leg for the ranger extended radius arms and all that and i kick my self every time i think about it...... I wish i knew now back then..... i was in you place.... not long ago.... listen and do the SAS save you an A$$ load.... and IN MY OPINION the SAS was easier than lifting that junk factory

How many times are you gonna ask stupid ass newbie questions like this? People on this board don't buy "lift kits" everyone makes their own shit. Go sas or go home.:rolleyes:


wes