HP 44 into a ranger

[p575]

right now i have a 44 out of a 79 f250 under my 92 ranger. its way too wide, i want to cut it down to get the tires at least partly under the truck (to make it roadworthy) its already tight underneath that truck, especially with the HP, it puts my driveshaft into my exhaust and shifter linkage on the transmission. if i just take out a few inches on the long side and shift the whole axle towards the passenger side to center it back up will it be possible without putting an insane amount of lift on the truck? i dont wanna go too high with it. right now im kind of teetering on scrappin the whole project or trying to keep workin on it. any ideas are welcome...thanks

[mad_boi]

I wheel with 2 guys who have that very axle under their trucks...Explorers to be exact. One guy cut his down about 6" on the long side and other guy runs it full width and it doesn't look as bad as you would think. He runs backspacing in the 4.25-4.5" range I believe so that keeps the wheels tucked in as much as possible, but they do still stick out. Some fender flares would easily take care of that.
As far as lift goes, I would say 6" over stock is the safe minimum unless you come up with a new engine crossmember to replace the old which tends to get smacked by the diff.

Edit: the axle is actually from a 78-79 full sized bronco, but you get the idea.

[WHITE RHINO]

why not keep it full width and run back spaced rims

[p575]

the reason i dont have backspaced rims is that i bought 15 inch tires, and had to sit the wheels way out to clear the brakes on the front. is that a full width axle, what is the backspacing on the wheels, and how far out from the body do the sit? i gotta keep it within 4 inches to be legal. thanks, looks like i might keep this thing going...

[WHITE RHINO]

well if you ment 15" rim i would go with 16"s i run 16.5s with 3.75 back spacing they stick out about 8" but i have 38x14.5s run a heavy back spacing with a 12.50

[Mpossum]

If you don't have to have the high pinion why not go with an early Bronco 44? It is already 6" narrower than the full size.

[p575]

Originally Posted by Mpossum

If you don't have to have the high pinion why not go with an early Bronco 44? It is already 6" narrower than the full size.

ive already got this axle "built" and geared with high steer and all that, i was trying to avoid the expense of building another axle.
what about hummer rims, would they clear my brakes and/or sit my tires in a good bit? if i remember correctly they have a ton of backspacing, or no backspacing at all, i cant remember which way it goes...thanks for all the ideas, i got it runnin again today so hopefully i can wheel it a little this weekend

[mj]

cutting one down looks easy

[redranger4.0]

hummer rims have 7" of backspacing IIRC, which would tuck them very nicely. I dont know about them clearing your brakes and highsteer though

[Stic-o]

P, I wheel with Mad boi. Leave it alone and run it. I'm really happy I did! The tires will stick out, but not that far.




I'm running the most Back Spacing I can right now.



Then you could run spacer in the rear or a FW rear. I'm runing a FW 8.8.

[WHITE RHINO]

that explorer is siccccck!!!!!!

or you could just buy big fender flares and be done with it

[p575]

thanks for the ideas. anybody know exactly how far to cut this axle down, to use an already made shaft? i.e. 5.7 inches and it will take a shaft out of X vehicle (to make sourcing a replacement easier).

[toykilla5150]

i dont know the lenght to cut, but u need the long side shaft from an early bronco dana44. ill find the amount to cut out and get back to you.

[Eric the Red]

you could cut it so that it takes an EB length longside shaft, but the EB's all had smaller 260x u-joints so you'd be taking a hit there. you might find a good length for a wagonneer 44. Mr. N's site has listings for a lot of shaft lengths: http://77cj.littlekeylime.com/web_rs44.html

I narrowed a 44 for my truck and sent the original shaft out to be shortened and resplined. doing this eliminated the weakest area of the shaft (the extreme neck-down next to the carrier). however, I just exploded a u-joint in mine which took out the ears on both shafts, so maybe i would've been better off with that weak link still in there. you can get a shaft shortened and resplined on the order of $50 from dutchman motorsports (i recommend them over moser).

[Mr.N]

Originally Posted by Eric the Red

you could cut it so that it takes an EB length longside shaft, but the EB's all had smaller 260x u-joints so you'd be taking a hit there. you might find a good length for a wagonneer 44. Mr. N's site has listings for a lot of shaft lengths: http://77cj.littlekeylime.com/web_rs44.html
).

I recommend sticking with a "OEM" lenght shaft. Easier to find replacements, and usually cheaper.

My Chart with all Dana 44 front shafts from 67-2005
http://77cj.littlekeylime.com/Spicer...afts_Mr.N_.gif

[MudOnTheTireS10]

If you are actually going to wheel it, keep it fullwidth.

[FROADER]

I'm the other one that wheels with mad boi with the cut down axle. It's cut 6" and I have 15x8 wheels with 4" back spacing and no brake clearance issues. I'll trade you axles.

[CornbredNE]

Originally Posted by p575

ive already got this axle "built" and geared with high steer and all that, i was trying to avoid the expense of building another axle.
what about hummer rims, would they clear my brakes and/or sit my tires in a good bit? if i remember correctly they have a ton of backspacing, or no backspacing at all, i cant remember which way it goes...thanks for all the ideas, i got it runnin again today so hopefully i can wheel it a little this weekend

I run the Hummer rims on my Tacoma with a full width 60 (from 78 F250 snowfighter). As you can see in the pic below it ends up being fairly narrow...in fact it's only about 3" wider than my wifes Tacoma with stock axles and 10" rims.

I love the Hummer rims, being beadlocks is just a plus to them...

David

[Stic-o]

Originally Posted by FROADER

I'm the other one that wheels with mad boi with the cut down axle. It's cut 6" and I have 15x8 wheels with 4" back spacing and no brake clearance issues. I'll trade you axles.

awww Colin...do you have full width envy

[BroncoShawn]

Just sell your rims and tires and get 16's. It will be way cheaper and easier. Also if you bust a shaft you can get a replacement.

[MudOnTheTireS10]

I don't mind full width axles. In fact, with the heighth of the truck I'm glad I have the extra width.

[fordxranger]

hey white rhino, how do the 63" chevy leaves flex? I thought about doing the exact same setup with my truck when I drop bigger axles under it. and how is the d44 holding up with 38's? I havent found a front 60 yet and im about to either give up and get a d44 or just say fuck it all and get rockwells.

[WHITE RHINO]

I love the 63's they flex insane. the 44 is holding up well i still need to truss it to make sure it doesnt break in half i havent had any problems ive been beating on it lately in the mud on the rocks . i did the rubicon, frank reines, hollister 4 or 5 times and random places by my house no problems i thought i was going to be snapping shafts with 38s and the H1's because of their weight, but nada i might post my build up cuz ive been getting alot of questions about it Pm me if you have any other questions

[FoxFan]

what are these 63" springs i keep hearing @?

what do they come off, and how do i ID them?

[WHITE RHINO]

they are 63" Chevy leaf springs they come off of newer chevy silverados mine are off of an 05' 1/2 ton you can find they pretty easy for under $100 i paid $50 you can ID them by measuring them from bolt hole to bolt hole