2002 Ford Ranger Sean's Ranger Build/Update

[Brody]

Good idea with the stiffeners. I did that with mine way back in the mid 80s.

The Ford stock shock mounts are a pretty common cheap upgrade for extended mounts on Toyota when doing an SAS. People forget to add stiffeners back to the frame rails on these fairly often. You, like me, would rather overkill something more often than not. Doesn't take too long and saves on trail fixes.

Looking good, Sean! You are actually going to be able to wheel that this season!

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Pete, up to about 15 minutes ago everything was going smoothly with finishing up the rear shock mount until I went to install the shocks that was on there before this adventure began. Low and behold the shocks now are too damn long! I have about 1-1/2" of up travel before they are compressed completely. Also the vent line is in the way too, so I will have to plug that hole and relocate the vent. I know when I do the shackle reversal that will help but still won't get me the upward motion needed. So back to the drawing board. But here is pics of the work today.

[Brody]

Looking good Sean. When I did mine, I moved the front axle 1" forward from stock

Thanks, Adrian. I suggested this to Sean way back when he was first talking about the SAS. I had just assumed that he was doing it. One of those 'everything to gain, nothing to lose' deals.

On the rear shocks. Why don't you move the mounts at the top as close together as you can and at the axle as far apart as possible. This let's you run longer shocks and allows your suspension to move it's full travel. I don't know where you are mounting the shocks on the axle but the best place is right on top of the axle tube.

If this picture is of your upper rear shock mount, then Adrian is again right. I don't know if you remember, but we talked about this a long time ago and I essentially said the same thing that Adrian did for the exact same reasons. I had also assumed that was what you were doing on the rear axle. My guess is that if you were to mount the shocks at an angle, the shocks that you have would fit just fine.

The second picture is approximately the angles that you want the rear shocks to be at without severely limiting the dampening of the shock while at the same time providing the most travel that you can. It isn't rocket science, although you can find pictures of various rigs with the shocks set at so much of an angle they actually bind the axle up, limiting wheel travel. At any rate, the picture of this shock set up /angle on a Toyota is pretty damn close to what you want to end up with. Setting the shocks up in a vertical orientation with a greater distance between the shock mounts, just means that you will have to buy longer shocks. Setting them up angled as per the picture, you will get a LOT more travel and flexibility.

[Cr33p3r]

Yes to both of you on the upper shock mount, that is what I determined after taking a nap, that is what would be the best plan is moving the upper mounts in closer to each other. The bottom mounts are actually located on the axle truss running even with the axle shafts. it is in one of the early on pics. Now that I am back from Kansas I will be hitting it again to get more done. Also where I am mounting the coil buckets actually does move he front axle 1-1/2" forward from stock so the wheel base will now be 127-1/2" rather that the stock 126". Tomorrow I will be ordering new radius arm mounts that are has a little bit of drop to them and if everything else goes good I might order the new flex joints and go ahead and extend the radius arms a foot.

[Cr33p3r]

I got the rear shocks taken care of yesterday, I moved both mounts in 7" on each side which gave me 6" of exposed shaft so I should be good to go now. I then got back to work on the front end and worked on the drivers side getting the stiffener plate welded in and today the plan is to get both coil buckets permanently welded in and the shock towers.

[Cr33p3r]

Well I did get the coil buckets done and decided to wait on the shock mounts until the coils are under it so everything gets set up right the first time. Plus the D44 is within 1/16th of an inch for being centered now, so I think that is plenty close enough. Also talked with Scotty (addicted offroad) this afternoon and got some goodies ordered which should be her Friday so there is a surprise in the works now for the build. Thanks Scotty for all the info and assistance!

[scout man]

Sean, if your going to be working on this later this week and I still have some freetime I would love to swing by and check out what all you are doing. I am seriously toying with the coil idea when I get around to working on my scout again. Needs something done with springs, and this is creeping into my head.

[Cr33p3r]

Steve I will be going at it daily except for Saturday & Sunday. You and anyone else are welcome to come on by, Just let me know and I will PM my address or give me a call 303-289-5787 and if I do not answer leave me a message and I 'll call back.

[Ardent]

I'm excited to see this swap! The radius arms should definitely angle down toward the axle. Your caster can be adjusted by using different bushings at the axle.

If you ever bend your radius arms or get tired of the flex-limiting rear bushing, you can do something like this:

Hardest part about these is bending the .25" wall DOM...



Double tube: Top is 2" x .25 wall DOM. Bottom is 1 3/4" x .25 wall DOM. All new 3/8" C's (No you don't have to reuse the front factory C) 1/4" gusset plate (between the tubes)

They will come with 2.5" (1 1/4" threaded) Johnny Joints

https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/833581/fullsize/arms-1.jpeg
https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/833582/fullsize/arms-2.jpeg
https://www.supermotors.net/getfile/833583/fullsize/arms-3.jpeg
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/833584/fullsize/arms-4.jpeg

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Nate, I am getting excited for it to be done and see how it does. Here is a pic of the coil bucket welded up and gusseted along with the shock tower tacked.

[Cr33p3r]

Well my parts did not show up on Friday nor on Saturday so I am stuck on the surprise part of my build. But I did finally get most of the rear brake part picked up Friday, and dang that is getting expensive to even do a brake job anymore. I do need to get just two more parts and I can install the rear brakes woohoo progress!

[Cr33p3r]

Woohoo the new parts finally showed up yesterday while I was out n about in 4 junk yards. Now to get the cherokee of my sisters running today (new starter) then I can get back to my truck with doing a new bumper for our oldest sons Ranger before he leaves back to his unit in Kansas.

[Brody]

Good to hear! Hopefully the parts didn't get the 'travel the northwest coast' routine my last parts did...

[Cr33p3r]

Well some of the parts made it in now waiting for the ones from Ballistic Fab. I have not been upto doing any work on the ol ranger for a week now too damn tired after work. But on an up note I ordered my new shoes for it and paying for them this morning, going with the Goodyear Wrangler MTR Kevlar Tire 35X12.50R15LT which was not my first choice but the pricing is right. Anyone like them or hate them?

[Brody]

Todd is running them on his Yota. he seems to happy with everything except the mileage he is getting out of them as they are already showing quite a bit of wear.

ANY of the soft, sticky rubber compounds that are being used, coupled with the bigger voids and tire size, are simply not going to offer a high mileage tire, so don't expect to get big mileage out of them, especially if it gets used as a daily driver.

In wet traction the Goodyear Wrangler MT/R (http://r.popshops.com/r/THpiTTFhYzBtbUZ4RGl1STEydlA0QUp0V1R6SER5WUFSTzdQbF dkNE41dz0K) with Kevlar is the highest rated tire in its category out of 8 other tires according to user surveys at one major tire retailer. It’s the 3rd highest rated tire overall behind the BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM2 and the Firestone Destination M/T. With a Kevlar 3 ply sidewall, you can feel pretty safe in areas with sharp rocks as most other tires are 2 ply.

Goodyear spent over 2 years developing the MTR with Kevlar which is a lot longer than they usually spend on developing a single model of tire. And in case you didn’t know MTR means Maximum Traction/Reinforced
Goodyear partnered with Sandia National Labs to perform computer modeling of the perfect tread design. They digitally modeled various tread patterns, seeking the right balance of rock crawling grip with the ability to quickly flush mud out of the tire’s deep grooves.
Nobody likes getting stuck and or flats which was the driving force behind the design of this tire.
The reviews are 99% positive about the new Goodyear MTR with Kevlar.



Basically, you are buying an off road, rather than a highway tire, much like any of the rest of us that have gotten a high traction tire....with all of the highway disadvantages: noise, high wear factor, etc. But you are putting it on a wheeler that is going to see a lot of off road use....

[Cr33p3r]

Yesterday while waiting for my son Tim to finish grinding my welds on his newly fabbed pre-runner/stinger bumper we built, I decided to mount up the new 35s on the rear of the Ranger and WOW what a change! After re-setting up the D44 to the proper height to fit the 35s it is now apparent that the Ranger is going up another 3-1/2"s to fit the coils in. That now puts the lift up a total of 12" from stock. Might have to modify the garage door opening now to get it out once its ready :lmao:.

[Cr33p3r]

Well after fighting that virus that has been going around for the last three weeks and it turning into one nasty sinus infection while building Tim's pre-runner bumper, I actually got something accomplished yesterday. I got the beginnings of the new radius arms started. I used 1-1/2 DOM tubing with 1/4" wall thickness cut to 46" in length with Trail Gear's joints mounted,That I got from Scotty. Here is a couple pics for you guys. I made two passes on the welds for extra assurance of no breaks. Next is to figure out my bend locations and get the radius arm ends cut and welded in the other ends. I also had to do a repair to my welder's power cord, no big deal there. Today I should be working on changing my bender over to electric/hydraulic so I can get the bends done up.

[Cr33p3r]

Well here is that latest update, one radius arm in done and almost done with the second one. Measurement set to 51-1/2"s in length for now. That alone should give me around 24"s of flex. And the frame mounts for the radius arms being modified.

[Cr33p3r]

Yes, figured that would be the best way to gain as much extra strength in it all the way around.

[Brody]

That is going to be sweet, Sean!

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Pete, I am really looking forward to seeing how it plays out when its done. Yesterday I finished up the second radius arm and tomorrow will be getting them under the truck and welding the mounts to the frame and axle for mock up to locate the shocks then tear it all down so I can get the parts over to the powder coaters. Still need to decide what color I want them coated.

[Ardent]

Looking good. Our powdercoater has a glow-in-the-dark powder he's been wanting to try... :D

[Cr33p3r]

Thats when a nice Mill would come in handy. I think it would have been a 20 minute job with one. I don't have my "machining" certification yet, but once I do I would be more then happy to do that kind of stuff at the Club Workshop for people.

I have a milling machine but it is not set up right now, and yeah I agree it would have been a ton faster. Josh what is your schedule like?

[Cr33p3r]

Well this morning I get the last two tires mounted up and will get to see what the Ranger looks like with 35s under it for the first time woohoo! Also noticed another problem with the radius arms and lower coil buckets & retainers they are the wrong ones, D*MN! I never thought about Ford using two different sets, meaning the bolt holes are either close together or further apart. Not sure why the did this but now I have to come up with a solution before I can install the coils. I will do up pics later this afternoon on both.

[Cr33p3r]

Ok here is the pics with tires on it, and how the longer radius arms look done up

[Mporter]

Sweet Sean. Exo cage looks real good

[Mporter]

Looking good Sean. Small suggestion. Mount the tie rods on top of the steering knuckle. Otherwise you will surely bend it on rocks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I also meant to say something about the tie rod clearance, that's just begging to get tweaked

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks guys, and yeah the tie rod will be going up on top and I will be using the Chevy 1 ton ends too. The stock one is already bent up and out a bit, Plus it hits the diff cover when wheels are fully turned so the new one should clear pretty well.

[Cr33p3r]

The last 2 day presented a couple of challenges but I got it worked out.
The radius arm mounts to the frame like I had hoped would not work. It caused the steel wedges to sit offset which would have prematurely worn out the wedge bushings (pics 1 & 2). So back to the thinking process! What I came up with was that the mounts needed to sit just inside the frame rails so now to come up with a way to make a solid mounting point since the rails are basically a "C" channel.

Walla! I used some flat plate to box in the frame and then used some architectural steel angle iron 3x6x 1/4". Which is fully gusseted. Here are the pics:

[Cr33p3r]

The passenger was a piece of cake to do, but on the drivers side all the fuel lines run on the inside of the frame (1 steel line & 2hard black plastic lines) and of course there is the fuel filter there too not to mention a major wire harness.
So I had to re-bend the steel line out of the way and then wrap all the lines w/ fire proof material so I could weld in the boxing plate. Then today I can weld on the angle iron and mount. I HATE welding near fuel lines! The next time I have to change the fuel filter I will be relocating the fuel line & filter location.

[Cr33p3r]

Have not been able to get any work done since the last posting due to helping Val get ready for her trip. Hoping to get more done in the next two weeks while she is gone. Would be nice to get to where front end is buttoned up and steering box is installed. We'll see how it goes.

[Cr33p3r]

Well last week I did get the driverside mounting braket 95% welded up except where it is next to the fuel filter, I did not want any stray spatter burning thru it and going BOOM! Also got the arms primered, now to thow some paint on them and figure out the best way to clean the rust off the coil springs so I can get them painted and then installed. Missed a few days work due to doing some landscaping as a surprise for Val before she comes home on monday.

Anyone want to lend a hand getting the steering gear box mounted next weekend?

[Brody]

If you have rust on the coils and are either going to paint them or get them powder coated, them you should be able to mix a solution of muriatic acid up and simply drop the coils into the bucket and let them get cleaned. Use a regular 5 gallon plastic bucket, about a half and half mix of muriatic and stick them in the bucket. If they are not too rusty, a couple of hours submerged should get them clean. If they are really rusty, then you may have to leave them in longer. When you take them out of the bucket/mix, hose them off right away, and dry and prime them right away as the metal will flash rust pretty damn quickly. Any of the self etching primers do a really good job on bare metal that has been cleaned like this, too. One of the things that helps with drying stuff done like this is to have a spray bottle of Acetone, Lacquer thinner, or de natured alcohol handy and spray it with that before you prime. It will get rid of any water residue very fast.

Just a suggestion..

[Cr33p3r]

I picked up a 2nd bottle of muratic acid yesterday so I will be letting them soak while I do an oil change and new fuel filter on the Focus this morning. Hope it works good enough to get paint on them in the afternoon, if so I will get pics of it.

[Cr33p3r]

Well after 3hrs of soaking one coil was pretty clean and the other is soaking overnight as is the lower brackets. The coil that is clean has been primered and painted and should be plenty dry by the time I get home from work this morning. I did get some pics of it from start to finish but ran outta time to get them uploaded yesterday.

[Cr33p3r]

Yesterday was like watching the grass grow with waiting for parts to get clean. I started out soaking one of the coils and mounts in muratic acid & water to clean off the rust, it took about four hrs. Unfortunately the second coil had to sit over night in there to get cleaned. The first coil has been primed and painted w/ Gloss black hammer paint. Hoping sometime today to get the other one painted.
Pics in order
1- 1st placed coil in, look how clean the mix is
2-mix starting to work & change color
3- a little wire brush work
4-All painted up
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j70/scwinddancers/my%20truck/CuttingtheTransfercaseskidplate6.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j70/scwinddancers/my%20truck/CuttingtheTransfercaseskidplate8.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j70/scwinddancers/my%20truck/CuttingtheTransfercaseskidplate10.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j70/scwinddancers/my%20truck/CuttingtheTransfercaseskidplate12.jpg

[Cr33p3r]

Finally it is sitting on its own weight again.I did see a couple things I need to correct like to passenger side coil is compressed more than the drivers side, the bolt holes for the retainer up top do not line up at all (bronco graveyard's parts), still need to cut a few more brackets off underneath for clearances, and finally move the radius arms inward around 1" to straighten the coils as well as keep the 35s from rubbing in full turn.

Here is the skid plate notched for the long arms to clear, it will be re-inforced soon
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j70/scwinddancers/my%20truck/CuttingtheTransfercaseskidplate4.jpg

Bolts that do not line up
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j70/scwinddancers/my%20truck/0142.jpg

Possible clearance issue with the diff & motor mount
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j70/scwinddancers/my%20truck/0123.jpg

On the ground finally all this actually only raised the frame 4-1/2" from where it was before and a little more than 7" from stock you can also see the coils bowing outward
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j70/scwinddancers/my%20truck/0163.jpg

[Funrover]

HUge and mean looking.

[Cr33p3r]

Today is the only day I accomplished anything on her and that was ordering my new 1 ton cross over steering kit, FINALLY!:D

[96blkbeauty]

Looking good Sean

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks James, you should come by sometime since you are not but a mile or so away from me.

[Rob]

Sean, you need to change the name of this thread from "a lil update done" to "a union ****load of update done." :)

[Cr33p3r]

Should have just started a new build thread! LOL

[Cr33p3r]

Well the new steering kit arrived but I can't do any work on it until my hernia settles down, going in the 8th for surgery consultation. Will at least open kit open and take a pic of it to post up here. Next I need to get the reamer to ream out the knuckles from the top side to fit this kit.

[Brody]

Good luck with the hernia stuff. What I hear is that they are not too much of a good time...

[Cr33p3r]

You are right on that Pete, actually its the initial impact of it that is bothersome after that it is the recovery from surgery that was the worst part. After my last hernia surgery I was out of commission for 6 weeks, sure hope it isn't that bad with this one. This one started out as a result from my vasectomy 22 years ago as a Direct inguinal hernia and is now a Indirect inguinal hernia.

An inguinal hernia (pronounced /ˈɪŋɡwɨnəl ˈhɜrniə/ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English)) is a protrusion of abdominal-cavity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdominal_cavity) contents through the inguinal canal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inguinal_canal). They are very common (lifetime risk 27% for men, 3% for women[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inguinal_hernia#cite_note-0)), and their repair is one of the most frequently performed surgical (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgery) operations.
There are two types of inguinal hernia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernia), direct and indirect, which are defined by their relationship to the inferior epigastric vessels. Direct inguinal hernias occur medial to the inferior epigastric vessels when abdominal contents herniate through the superficial inguinal ring (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superficial_inguinal_ring). Indirect inguinal hernias occur when abdominal contents protrude through the deep inguinal ring (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_inguinal_ring), lateral to the inferior epigastric vessels; this may be caused by failure of embryonic closure of the processus vaginalis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Processus_vaginalis).
In the case of the female, the opening of the superficial inguinal ring (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superficial_inguinal_ring) is smaller than that of the male. As a result, the possibility for hernias through the inguinal canal in males is much greater because they have a larger opening and therefore a much weaker wall for the intestines to protrude through.

[edog]

Looking good Sean.

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Erik,

Well as with any project they all seem at some point to take a turn in plans, such is the case here and I think this is turn #50 haha. Since I got my new 1 ton steering kit and it is what I wanted to go to, there is a minor problem it won't work as planned with the stock knuckles w/o having to go down to a 3/4 ton TRE on the passenger side which I really do not care to do based on everything I have been reading. So next month I will be ordering new knuckles from Reid Racing that will give me true High steering. Then sometime the in October it will be selectable lockers both front and rear. And in December will be the transfer case swap decision. So as it sits now plans are to get this whole shibang done in time for wheeling next spring This is after healing up from the hernia surgery next month!

[Cr33p3r]

Did a little trimming.

1-Fender well before
2-What I cut out
3-What I ended up with
I did fabricate some wheel well liners to enclose the gap and hold up the plastic wheel well but have not taken a pic of that yet. I will get one once I grind down the welds and paint it.

[Cr33p3r]

After seeing how much the stock FS Bronco springs compressed it was not what I wanted. There was only 5"s of clearance between the 44 and the frame so today I ordered some 4" lift coils from Wild Horses. Now that should help out a lot and the better part is they are Progressive Rate Coil Springs.
Can you guess what color Val picked for the Green Leprechaun?

[Fordguy77]

I am gonna go with the black haha, but maybe yellow?

[Cr33p3r]

Well here is the pics of the wheel well chopped and some of the new steering setup started.

1) is from the bottom side
2) is of the void on top having been filled in
3) Factory steering shaft & knuckle
4) New F150 steering box and Flaming River Joint

Still need to fabricate and mounting spacer for the new box so it will mount to flat to the frame.

[Cr33p3r]

The new springs came in early this morning and I got them installed. 2 things though, 1) the springs I ordered were 4-1/2" lift, what was delivered was 5-1/2" lift, 1" taller no biggie
2) To get them installed I had to remove both tires and drop the axle to 2"s off the floor w/ my 6ton stands on top of 8" high stacked 2x12s
Now that they are installed wow sure looks like more than 5-1/2"s taller but I do have frame clearance now almost 10"s. The sure are softer than the stock springs.

Pics
1) New Spring next to 35" tire
2) Spring comparison
3) new height
4) size comparison to me, I'm 5'9" tall

[Rob]

Damn, Sean, that looks like about 14 inches of lift! Looks good, though.

[Mporter]

That is coming along quite nicely Sean.

[Brody]

Nice! You might just be able to get that out on a run this year!

[Ardent]

So, uh. Can you get it out of the garage? :D

Adjustable coil buckets?

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Rob, Matt and Chris. It is close to 12"s of lift total over stock and now the 35s look puny, HAHAHA!



Nice! You might just be able to get that out on a run this year!

I am trying too!


So, uh. Can you get it out of the garage? Adjustable coil buckets?

Uh it doesn't look like it!:lmao: I will have to put my 32s on the front to clear the door, so I guess i won't be parking it in the garage once it is all done. Oh well that leaves more room to work on the '57:D I wish I would have seen the adjustable coil buckets before I bought these and welded them on. Hmm maybe another mod down the road sometime!

[Cr33p3r]

Yesterday after several sprays and soakings with PB Blaster I tried relentlessly to get one of my upper shackle bolts broke free. Well the only things I broke was 3 sockets and 1 wrench. So After looking at a bunch of options I decided to go buy me a good set of impact sockets and give'r hell today. If that does not work then it will be cut the mounts off the frame and order or fab new shackles and mounts.

[Popsgarage]

That's one mean looking Ranger, Sean.

[Cr33p3r]

Thank you Jonathan, its been a fun and sometimes aggravating build over the last 4 yrs.

Yes that bolt was getting the best of me even yesterday. I wasted 6-1/2hours on it yesterday before I finally said screw it and cut the shackle to which when it was said and done I looked at it and went ah cr@p I just screwed up!!! As it worked out I did not screw up other than now I had to fabricate twice the parts but at least it will be twice as strong as the factory stuff!!! I got the plates cut and drilled for the new shackles, I set them up so they are adjustable for height. Working out the details of the shackle mount and think I am going to make it fully adjustable too once I get the spring bolt out and grind off the remnants of the original mount from the frame. I did discover that my newer rear shocks are no where long enough so add those to the list of parts to buy. Does this list ever stop?:lmao:
I will get pics of it all when I am done fabbing the mounts.

[Brody]

If you end up with left over shocks that you want to get rid of, PM Chris as he needs some for Frank...

[Cr33p3r]

Here is some more updated pics from today's progress. The new shackles are almost 3 times thicker material than the factory ones, Also measured the height of the truck and to the top of the exo-cage is 7'2" and the garage door height is 7'.

1) Splitting the sleeve open to remove the bolt
2) The crud on the bolt
3) Checking the new shackles to where the mount was cut from the frame
4) The new shackles are done just needs a coat of paint

[Popsgarage]

Also measured the height of the truck and to the top of the exo-cage is 7'2" and the garage door height is 7'.


Air down, maybe all the way down.:lmao::lmao::lmao: I hate it when I do that kinda crap.

[Rob]

the height of the truck and to the top of the exo-cage is 7'2" and the garage door height is 7'.

Jack up the garage and add six inches of footers. :)

[Popsgarage]

Even better, rob. We all need a bigger garage, if only to hide from the wife.

[Cr33p3r]

As of yesterday when Jon came over it is apparent that YES the garage is going to need a lift kit of its own to get the monster out- here is why;

On a crazy note one thing that we have been noticing with the WildHorses springs is the damn truck keeps growing higher and higher. In the pic where I am standing next to it look where my chin is in comparison to the top bar of the exo on the fender, well as of yesterday that same bar is almost nose height to me and we have changed nothing.

Here is the link for the update on the rear shackle mounts that Jon came by and help fab up yesterday, and great work Jon, thank you!

http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?14254-Please-Help&p=162780#post162780

[Popsgarage]

No problem, was a fun day. Will try to get by tomorrow. Looks like I might only have a partial day at work, so I'll let you know.

[Cr33p3r]

Sounds good Jon.

Last night Val & I was out in the garage looking things over and WOW she floored me, she grabbed the impact and started removing the blocks between the leafs and axle for me and then remounted the axle. She really does rock sometimes! It was fun to see her back out there helping out in the garage. The Ballistic parts showed up yesterday afternoon and wouldn't ya know it the don't fit together like they said they would so they needed modified of course, just some time with a cutoff wheel and grinder but they are ready to be all welded up and in place then the rear is done except hooking up the driveshaft once I see if it needs lengthened or not.

Pics of the parts

1) Side shot of Ballistic Joint doesn't fit the mount
2) The mount is too wide for the Ballistic Joint

[Popsgarage]

Sean's opened them up and narrowed them with the grinder and then welded them up. When I got there tonight, we just welded in the DOM portion of the joint, welded up the end caps, and burned them to the frame mounts. Got there around 6:30/7:00 and didn't stop burnin' metal 'til 9:00. Doesn't look like a lot of work, but there are a bunch of little short joints and some slightly longer ones down each side that took a lot of fill. Should be able to finish them up Sunday. Would be sooner, but works going to be a little crazy this week.

[Popsgarage]

Yeah, tell Sean that. But we made it work.

[Cr33p3r]

I don't mind modifying parts as long as I know going in to it that they need to be modified, and hate spending money on stuff that companies say works together only to find out they don't. But any way thanks again Jon for coming by and throwing some help at this, I am going to get them painted up today and installed then post up pics of it.

[Popsgarage]

Awesome! Can't wait to see it on its own 4 feet.

[Cr33p3r]

I got them painted last night but figured I would let them dry overnight and mount them up this morning as well as get the pics. Hopefully it will be on all 4s again today and we'll see how much lift the rear has now with the block/bumper stops out.

[TNT]

Very cool build!!! Always good to see a ranger getting some love!

[Popsgarage]

Always good to see a ranger getting some love!

You should really see it in person so you can really gauge how much love it's really gotten.:thumb:

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks you guys(Austin & Jon)!

Here is the latest; Total lift after the SAS is 7 inches which is actually 9-10 from stock. The lift is complete as of 5:30 this evening and all that is left to do now is the new shocks on all 4 corners, driveshafts, steering gear box mount, steering links, and modify the Xranfer case skid plate,modify the Xransfer case to manual shift, make new skid plate for the lower radiator & then test drive it. Huge Thanks to Mike, Mike and Jon for the help making the swap a reality you guys are the best!:thumb:
Total frame clearance now at the lowest point is 22-1/2 inches and the fuel tank skid is 20-1/2 inches, this should work out pretty good.
here are the pics,

1&2) new shackle mounts done
3) Shackle mounts mounted up
4) shackle angle
5&6) Side shots from rear showing levelness now

[Rob]

all that is left to do now is the new shocks on all 4 corners, driveshafts, steering gear box mount, steering links, and modify the Xranfer case skid plate, make new skid plate for the lower radiator & then test drive it.

Sean, you forgot "flatten all the tires and roll it out of the garage." :)

Looking great, guys.

[Cr33p3r]

Sean, you forgot "flatten all the tires and roll it out of the garage."

Nah Rob we decide to do a 10 inch lift kit on the garage!:eek::rolleyes::D

[Rob]

Nah Rob we decide to do a 10 inch lift kit on the garage!


:lmao: Wise choice, and I could help with that, though it's been a long time since I strapped on my tool belt.

[Hypoid]

The lift is complete as of 5:30 this evening and all that is left to do now is the new shocks on all 4 corners, driveshafts, steering gear box mount, steering links, and modify the Xranfer case skid plate,modify the Xransfer case to manual shift, make new skid plate for the lower radiator & then test drive it.Did I miss seeing the track bar mounted up? Now, I am getting pumped about your progress!

I'm glad Jon was able to make time and help you out! Thanks Jon! :)

[Brody]

So nice to see it come this far!

[Brody]

HaHa....ask Chris and Matt how well that works....Seems to make for a lot of unnecessary work....Matt just recently showed me how he 'test fit' the FJ62 roof rack and rain gutter repairs on his garage...oooops...

We have been looking for a shop/garage and one of the criteria is to either have a high enough garage door or to be able to raise the header and/or re truss to get a 7' door opening. I have lived in places and owned rigs that were lifted a lot and have had to air down the tires to get them in and out of the garage to work on them. PITA. Can't say that I have ever been in a position where I have lifted a rig and found the garage door to be too low.

[Popsgarage]

One of these days I'm going to go to the City of Arvada and pull a permit for a garage/shop int the backyard. I've seen so many of them going up around here that I don't think they could argue about what I want. 10' tall double wide door, 12' tall 2x6 walls, with a second story loft for camping/fishing gear storage. 48" footers, and a 10" slab for a 2 post clear top lift. Best part is I've been collectin' the material for years, so the cost to me would be permit, concrete and shingles. We'll see.:thumb:

[Popsgarage]

we'll see how much lift the rear has now with the block/bumper stops out.

How flat did it end up sitting, Sean? And are we doing anything to it Sunday?

[Cr33p3r]

Did I miss seeing the track bar mounted up? Now, I am getting pumped about your progress!

Not yet Mike, and me too, cant wait to get it out and drive it!


How flat did it end up sitting, Sean? And are we doing anything to it Sunday?

It is actually sitting pretty darn level after we had to put the blocks back in (which made up the difference) as for Sunday sure if you are up to it we can work on the steering & gear box.

[Popsgarage]

I'll call Chris and get over there around 7:00.

[TNT]

Looks awesome!! I'm diggin the exo cage(I'm in need of some serious need of protection on my rig)! What an extreme ranger!! BTW I have to disassemble my garage and deflat my tires to 5psi to get my lil ranger out of my garage. Kinda sad because I hate parking it out side... Just curious what leaf spring step up are you runing? The mounts look really nice!

[Popsgarage]

ooks awesome!!

You ought to ask Sean about comin' over on Sunday. Going to be over there workin' on it.

[Cr33p3r]

Austin you can swing by if you want, We don't mind folks joining us for a visit, just send me a PM for address & #. I am running the stock ranger leafs for now but have the capability now to run the 63" GM leafs when I get time down the road.

I am taking today to relax since last night was my 1st night back to work since the surgery as well as driving the car wow that clutch was kicking my a##.

[Cr33p3r]

Jon & I got a good jump on the steering gear box mount today, I had a basic idea and Jon expanded upon that and WOW this is one stout mount. It has to be 100 times better than any factory mount that Ford ever put out and the best part is we made it a totally bolt on mount. Just few more minor details and it will be ready for paint and permanent mounting. This will have 6 bolts holding it to the frame 2 on top and bottom and 2 threw the frame on the sides.

1&2) Basic design layout
3) Checking inside the frame clearances
4) From outside of the frame
5)Top bolting mount

[Brody]

Damn if you aren't going to get close to being able to get on a trail before 2014....oooops.....I mean 2012..:lmao::lmao:

[Cr33p3r]

:lmao: With Jon's enthusiasm and help it just may happen! We are both getting excited to do its maiden voyage on the trails to see how it performs. Everytime he comes over I am surprised at how much closer it comes closer to a reality that it is almost drivable again.

[Brody]

You aren't to know what to do with all the extra room in the garage....

[Cr33p3r]

Val has already said nothing is happening in there until it gets better organized and cabinets & shelves put up:eek:! Got to love a women that thinks like that!:D

[TNT]

Looks great! Sorry I couldn't make it out on sunday... But we for sure need to meet up! I'm thinking my truck should be finished(for now) with in 1.5 to 2 weeks... You have any estimation on your date of completion? Looking pretty close!

[Popsgarage]

With Jon's enthusiasm and help it just may happen!

Awww, shucks. Twer'nt nuthin, man.

[Cr33p3r]

You have any estimation on your date of completion? Looking pretty close!


No not yet but soon I am hoping. Approaching the biggest hurdle now with what we are going to do with the steering and knuckle situation, I need to make a final decision and soon.

[Cr33p3r]

Well today I made a lil progress, I just got finished making the new tie rod, once all the holes are reamed for the chevy TREs I will make the new drag link up. I also need to modify where the bolts for the steering gear box go I have 5" long bolts and they are too short by 1/2" so I am making up some recessed tube pockets for them to sit in and this will have a solid tube running thru the frame as added strength. Also just spoke with Dave and Bill looks like next week will be a busy one getting a new rear drive-shaft built @ Englewood Drive-shaft and possibly reaming out the holes too for the steering. Its getting closer WOOHOO!

1) Tie Rod made up
2) Difference in diameter between the two tie rods

[Popsgarage]

Lookin' good Sean. Got the bolts this evening, came to like $8 and change. Will try and drop them off tomorrow or the next day when I pick up the seats from Bruce up in Loveland. That tie rod should rock well enough for now, and you"ll have a spare you can keep in the truck.

[Cr33p3r]

you"ll have a spare you can keep in the truck

I will actually have two spares now but after the holes are reamed they both will be too small in dia. to fit.

[Popsgarage]

after the holes are reamed

Well, duh. I forgot about that. :confused::p

[Brody]

Quote Originally Posted by 1freaky1 View Post
after the holes are reamed

Well, duh. I forgot about that.

There are companies that sell the taper hole insert that allows you to not have to drill the taper out of the knuckle and use a regular bolt. Supposed to work well. You will just have to look around in the builders/fabrication shops to get them. It is possible that if they sell one version, they will sell the flip, letting you use the taper in a straight hole. Just a thought.

Are you going to set that up as a single or double shear?

[Cr33p3r]

Pete it is Ball joints so it will be single shear. I will have to look for one of those kits too, thanks.

[Popsgarage]

Ball joints

Tie rods, correct? Does anybody know if anyone sells a taper sleeve for downsizing from one tons to stock? I don't think I've ever seen them, but that doesn't mean someone doesn't make them.

[Cr33p3r]

Well technically a tie rod is a ball joint when you open em up !

[Brody]

Here are a couple of places to start looking for the taper sleeve:

http://cmc.speeddirect.com/items.asp?Cc=TIERODS&Tp=&iTpStatus=1

TeraFlex makes some:

http://www.teraflex.biz/large-insert-sleeve-tapered.html

http://www.teraflex.biz/large-insert-sleeve-tapered.html

http://www.trailquest.com/teraflex/steering.shtml

Jack It also has some:

http://www.jackit.com/steering/high_steer_kits.html

So does Ballistic Fabrication:

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Tapered-GM-TRE-insert_p_1706.html

These guys may have something, but they are primarily an industrial supply:

http://www.midwestcontrol.com/part_family.php?id=8&gclid=COyLnbmN6KsCFcoBQAodwDvaIA

Another maybe:

http://www.totalcontrolproducts.com/bumpsteer.html

Another. This one has a nice Bronco set up:

http://bulletproofsteering.com/steeringsystems.html

Summit Racing is another place that you may want to look at.

[Hypoid]

Tie rods, correct? Does anybody know if anyone sells a taper sleeve for downsizing from one tons to stock? I don't think I've ever seen them, but that doesn't mean someone doesn't make them.I'm not sure what stock application you are trying to fit, but an outfit called goferit makes an inserts to fit the taper on a D-30.

http://www.goferitoffroad.com/products.htm

Looks like they have expanded the line. :)

[Cr33p3r]

I'm not sure what stock application you are trying to fit,

Mike, what Jon was referring to is the new 1 ton TREs I have and once the knuckles are reamed I would need to use a tapered sleeve to use the old Bronco tie rod as a trail spare.

Well I did forget that I have a short check this week due to missing two weeks worth of work so I opted for now to used a combo 1330x1350 U Joint for the rear driveshaft and will get the new one fabbed up later. I also ordered the rest of my steering parts today and they should be in Monday sometime.

On a interesting note the Ranger came from the factory w/ the 3/4 ton (1330) u joints which was a cool deal. Only took me a couple hours researching to find that out.:thumb:

[Brody]

Could have called Bill at Englewood Drive Shaft and he could have answered your questions on the phone....

[Cr33p3r]

Could have called Bill at Englewood Drive Shaft and he could have answered your questions on the phone....

Questions about what Pete? I spoke with Bill a couple of days ago and he is going to be building me a new driveshaft once my pay schedule is get caught back up.

[Cr33p3r]

I love dealing with Jegs, they always come thru on time if not early, meaning my steering parts and new combo u-joint showed up an hour ago. I just ordered the reamer and it should be here tomorrow too! This way i will have one if and when I upgrade my knuckles. Well off to the garage to get the new goods installed! C-YA!

[Mporter]

I love dealing with Jegs, they always come thru on time if not early, meaning my steering parts and new combo u-joint showed up an hour ago. I just ordered the reamer and it should be here tomorrow too! This way i will have one if and when I upgrade my knuckles. Well off to the garage to get the new goods installed! C-YA!

I'm jealous of all the garage time you can get in....i just wish I could build a crawler. But alas, no funds :(

[Cr33p3r]

Matt that is why it has been down most of the year $$$ the lack of that is, been getting parts as I go mostly the ones I didn't think of.

[Popsgarage]

Need to see pics of the progress. And again, sorry about Sunday.

[Cr33p3r]

I'll get some pics today while I am out there, and no problem about Sunday flash burns are NO FUN!

Yesterday I did get both drive shafts done, the rear diff filled, Steering box bracket painted and the top 2 mounting points drilled & tapped, Rear brake lines completely finished--made new mounting tabs to secure them to the axle, discovered that the factory track bar is too long and needs to be shortened about 5-6"s (this after having cleaned and painting it) & I don't remember what else I did!
Today will be reaming the 4 holes for the steering links (reamer should be here sometime today) then it will be mount steering box, tie in steering shaft from column to box, cut down the track bar and weld it up then get it located on the axle and weld the brackets up for it.
After all that all that is left is do the front brake lines and power steering lines which will need to be modified or a new one made up for the high pressure side, then weld the wedges on the front axle and set the rear pinion angle and adjust the rear brakes and then it should be drivable unless I am forgetting something.

[Popsgarage]

Can't wait to see it move under it's own power!!!

[Cr33p3r]

Wow yesterday was a long one 13 hours and it does not seem like I accomplished much but when you figure I just about tore the front of the motor off just to get to the hi-press. steering line (MPIA) and doing just that part ate up a good 4hrs to get it undone and another 1 hr to put it all back together. I learned the the FS Bronco D44 knuckles actually accept the 1 ton Chevy TREs w/o mods if put in the stock location, but since I am going over the top reaming the holes out meant that I had to order the tapered sleeves that Pete posted up to which only two dealers had them in stock and after Ballistic messed up my shipping last time I went back to RuffStuff to get them.

Any way the power steering is done now, I had to mate two hard lines together to make it work, Welded the two lines together as you'll see in one of the pics. Steering is all mounted up and the shaft to the column is done too. Met a new guy that is basically do the same build on his 2000 Ranger, he came by wanted to check out my front bumper but we spent 1-1/2 hours talking about everything else on the truck LOL. The reamer finally showed up at 6:45pm last night so I will use it today and get that stuff done. Then that leaves the track bar mounts and front brake lines and front shock mounts, I also need to finalize the pinion angles and weld up the wedges.

1& 2) Box mounted up
3) Surgery on cable hold down strap & the Nasty gash in my finger that just kept on bleeding (all the way into the meaty tissue)
4) New steering shaft and knuckles installed
5) Rear billet steel 1350 yoke
6) two hard lines welded together for hi-press. steering line

[Popsgarage]

Sweet! My only question is, what the heck am I going to do Friday night If you get it all done before I get there.:lmao::lmao::lmao: The steering shaft looks killer, as does the billet yoke. both b@d@$$!:thumb:

[Popsgarage]

Didja talk to Dan F. over at Ruff Stuff. Way cool guy, by the way, folks. I'd buy parts from that man anyday. Glad he had them in stock.

[Cr33p3r]

My only question is, what the heck am I going to do Friday night

Jon don't worry I will leave the track bar & mount for you to do hahaha, and the brakes will need bled too.

Can you bring you plasma cutter with you?

I didn't talk with Dan but the guy I spoke asked Dan about something to do with my order. They are good people to do business with!

[Popsgarage]

Can you bring you plasma cutter with you?

Absolutely. The bed of the truck is now empty, or mostly so. I'll bring my welder as well, and my new hood. You might get a kick out of it. Pulled the gang box out at work today, and of course I have to go to another job tomorrow. Do you still have 220 coming into the garage. Was thinkin' about welding those C's. Need to get good penetration on them.


They are good people to do business with!

Never had a single problem with any order I've ever placed with them. And Dan is a super friendly guy.

[Cr33p3r]

The 220 is not hooked up. For the life of me I don't remember why I was asking you to bring the plasma cutter, I had something in mind before I got side tracked with the front brake line issue. Which took up 5-1/2 hrs to get completed, 4 hrs looking parts up online and calling around only to be told that Autozone& Advanced Autoparts didn't carry the banjo bolts, O'riellys had 4 different ones but did not know which one was correct and wanted me to disassemble the calipers and bring them in, plus the guy kept asking about bringing the other side in after I told him I did not have any at all. Napa came thru on the banjo bolts but had no crush washers and the kid behind the counter did not listen either after I tried to explain that the washers were made from copper and NOT steel and still tried to sell me stainless steel washers:whatAreYouThinking:

[Popsgarage]

You'll figure it out. I'll bring it anyway, better to be safe than sorry. And my welder and hand tools. Oh, and my new hood. Don't need a repeat of last weekend. From my forehead to just below my nose looks like I have the worst case of suriosis. We just need to make sure on those C's. And it doesn't suprise me about the washers. Some people you gotta just wonder about.

[Brody]

Yeah, like when you mention 'crush washer' (As an example: I was in some parts auto store asking about a standard to metric brake line fitting. The person I was talking to said they didn't make anything like that. I finally got him to walk me back to the specialty brake fittings rack and showed him where they were.) and the people you are dealing with at the store at too ******* dumb or too ******* proud (or dumb AND proud) to let you know that they don't have a clue as to what you are talking about.

[Popsgarage]

Amen, Pete.

[Cr33p3r]

You hit that right on the head Pete!!!

Jon as soon as I walked into the garage I saw what it was that needed cut w the plasma, the new plate for the skid I was talking to you about last time you was over. Today dad came by for a while and helped out keeping me on track since the last two days I seem to have been bouncing all around the garage. Got the wedges welded on now, the front brake lines are finished, and the tapered sleeves showed up shortly before quiting time which I was late stoppping and getting to bed and dragging azz now. To save the heart burn of trying to figure out the degrees of caster I just used the factory lines from when the wedges were cutoff to move them in about 3 inches /side. Will paint the axle once the track bar mount is done. Funny thing when rolling the D44 out from under the truck It actually rolled right out under the bumper w/ the tires on the axle.

Jon another guy (Eric) might stop by tomorrow evening and lend you a hand where he can, he is doing the same swap on his 2000 Ranger. Depending on what time you come over maybe we can get the brakes bled since it is a two person job as I don't have a brake bleeder to make it a one person job.

[Popsgarage]

No problem. What time am I supposed to come over tonight?

[Cr33p3r]

Well she is finally out of the garage. A huge thank you to Jon for working all night long on it Friday night to get the track bar shortened and mounted, he also shortened the upper mount and relocated the bottom mount, got the drag link done and mounted, also cut out the mounts for my new skid plate that will protect the lower part of the radiator. Drove it out yesterday morning and noticed the brake pedal was a bit soft and then once trying to move it over to the upper part of the driveway the rear brakes locked up so I will look at those tomorrow but here are the pics;

1) Brake line clips I made up
2) Drag link & Track bar lines up pretty close on angle
3) Looks huge next to the 1 ton moving van
4) Side view

[Rob]

That's looking great, guys. :thumb:

[Brody]

Wow! I didn't think this was ever going to get done!

Looks good and you even have a chance of getting it out on a trail if you don't **** around too much....:D

Now you can reciprocate and spend a little time helping Jonathan get his rig rolling!

[Popsgarage]

Mine's gonna take a bit yet. $349 for the rebuild kit, $400 in labor for the machine work, $650 if I get it balanced, which I might as well do while I have it apart. That's boiling the block clean, 8 holes bored a minimum of .020 over, align boring the block, new cam bearings, and balancing the reciprocating assembly, and decking the block. When it's time for it to go back in, though, I'll call ya Sean.:thumb: Don't worry bout it 'till then. Maybe your garage will be empty by then.:lmao: I had a good time this weekend and it was nice meeting all you folks.

[Hypoid]

I dug through my pile and found a couple track bar bolts. It's a 3/4-16 with a really thick castle nut. I managed to keep one in the extra D-44 housing, so, both are here. :)

[Cr33p3r]

Cool thanks Mike, I'll call you this evening and see about coming by, plus I need to take Jon some of his tools he left behind.

[Popsgarage]

Anybody have any ideas as to why the right rear wheel cylinder is locking up? Sean says there is no sign of it rubbing, but when you start it it gets tight. I'm off today, so I'm going to do some research on Ford 9" swaps into 2000ish Rangers. Any input would be welcome.

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Jon for asking about it, I took the drums off it yesterday and did some checking on the parts and found some weird things going on,
1) swapped drums side to side and the sticking drivers side turned freely on the passenger side but had to fight it to get it back off.
2) Both drums are sliding on crooked now meaning big gap @ front and no gap @ rear of drum to backing plates until they get to the shoes and slide on straight.
3) Both drums hanging up on the centers so I ground about 1/64th" out and they both clear now
4) Drivers drum is now turning free'er than it was before, while pass. drum was off I placed a 2x4 between the lug bolts and blocked it with the tire to prevent the axle from turning and fire it up and put it in gear and the drivers side turned freely forward and reverse, hearing a slight squeal from the bearing on that side too.
5) Put everything back together and ran it while on jack stands and put 2 miles on it with no more sticking, no clue what caused the problem to begin with. But did notice while adjust the brakes that at first while rotating the tire both directions the adjust and shoes would slide when changing direction until they were adjusted then it quite sliding.
6) Need to bleed the brakes again as they are still soft and drop pressure after sitting and cannot find any leaks!

[Popsgarage]

Good to hear, Sean. power has been flickering on and off all day so I went to see my old boss, Jeff. So I haven't had much time to do any research.

[Brody]

Anyone thought to simply replace the slave cylinders in the rear drums? Neither hard nor expensive to do and would be one less thing to have to check. It was a used rear axle, right? The squeal in the rear bearing doesn't sound very promising, either...

[Fordguy77]

Did anyone ever check the proportioning valve? Did you ditch ABS 100%?

[Cr33p3r]

Here ya go guys all the rear brake parts are new except the drums, backing plates, and the spreader plates and I am still running thru the ABS module. I am thinking that might be where the soft pedal problem is coming from. The bearing will be getting replaced as will the driver side front axle seal as I must have torn it when installing the axle because it is leaking when the axle is tilted on an angle. Thanks for the ideas too!

[Cr33p3r]

Today I got the front skid plate for the lower radiator welded up and ground down, painted and installed. Jon cut the parts out for me last Sunday while he was here, we actually got a lot done that day. Jon was doing the cutting and I was welding things up. The brakes got bled and seem to work great now too. Here are the pics of the skid plate, still need to finish the xfer case plate which we narrowed almost 3"s/ I need to make some extension wings for it and weld them on and get it painted and mounted.

1- xfer case skid narrowed
2- side shot of radiator skid
3- front shot of both side plates
4- punching hole for mounting bolt access
5- skid all welded up
6-skid painted
7- front shot of skid mounted
8-Lower track bar mount boxed
9-lower track bar mount

[MelloYello]

looking good Sean!

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Keith!

[Popsgarage]

Sean, that skid plate turned out better than I thought it would. How much room did you end up with between the radiator and the inside of the skid?

[Brody]

Looks great! Happy to see all the progress. You are going to have to do a snow run to see how it works on the trail. Anything works well on the road.

[Cr33p3r]

Jon after trimming the bottom lip on the radiator frame I have about 1/2".

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Pete, I am curious as to how well these new tires will do in the snow.

[Cr33p3r]

Well yesterday I finally got my front shocks ordered and paid for they should be here around the 21st, I ordered the Rancho 8000s for a 6-8" lift on on a 78-79 Bronco. Now to just wait and hope for good weather once they get here so I can weld up my brackets and get them mounted.

[Cr33p3r]

The front shocks came in Thursday afternoon and I actually got a heck of a deal on them $44 total and delivered to my front door. Today was her maiden voyage after 8 long months of doing the SAS & rear axle swap, she did good but needs to get an alignment for sure it pulls to the right and also the brakes need some work as the front passenger rotor is running super hot and the rear driver brake is still dragging for some reason. When stopping it pulls to the left. but other than that wow how I missed driving her! I know we won't be driving her to the turkey run tomorrow but we will be there in the Focus!

[Brody]

Why don't you do a simple alignment yourself? Might as well get used to doing these unless you like giving money to the alignment shops. If you don't plan to take it off road, no need to learn how to do these, though. Big tires and trails, best get dialed in. First trail you do that is more than a dirt road and your alignment is going to be off. Simple as **** to do with a straight axle rig.

I have posted a lot of information in the tech section on doing these and it is all over the internet.

Here are some more:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4641061_align-jeep-cherokee-driveway.html

http://www.quadratec.com/jeep_knowledgebase/article-48.htm

http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f178/how-to-set-your-toe-alignment-at-home-365904/

http://www.yotatech.com/f128/driveway-alignment-write-up-163666/

http://bb.bc4x4.com/showthread.php?137062-Driveway-alignment-write-up-%28LOTS-of-pics%29

http://www.f150online.com/forums/articles-how-tos/418488-alignment-how-diy.html

Good to hear that it has moved out of the driveway ornament arena.

Might just get it up to some speed some empty and nail the brakes a couple of times hard, both forward and reverse. Might seat the brakes and get them to quit the ****. Don't lock the tires up or you will for sure flat spot them, just nail them pretty steady from 35-40..forward, of course.

[Cr33p3r]

Yeah gonna do it as soon as I get a chance. Thanks for the links Pete!

[Brody]

You are welcome.

If I can add one thing: If you are planning to wheel it on some harder stuff, you might consider putting a small tack weld on the jam nut to 'hold' everything in alignment. It helps a lot.

[glacierpaul]

Killer Sean!

[Popsgarage]

Can't wait to take a ride in that thing, man!:thumb:

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Paul, true there Pete. Jon let me know when you want to take it for a ride!

Here is a picture of the new shocks prior to paint and install these thing measure 17-1/2" compressed and 29-1/2" extended. I thought I took some after the install but evidently it was on my cell phone so still need to do that.

[Cr33p3r]

Well after making some steering adjustments I took the truck out for a test drive and all be damned if it didn't pull even harder to the passenger side, so home again and get out smell brakes burning and look sure as hell the rear drivers brakes are smoking. So I re did the adjustment on it and Brandon tells me the front passenger one is super hot, ok so round two out for a spin around the block and wouldn't ya know it the front pass. brake is locking up and barely could get the truck to move. I am stuck at the opposite end of the block, Sit and let it cool down enough to get it freed up and have to go down 2 blocks due to 1 way streets and pull into the driveway and smoke is pouring out the front pass. caliper and cannot even put your hand above the tire things are so hot. This explains why it was pulling so hard to the pass. side.
Well someone on another site mentioned something that is making a ton of sense now; "if the brake line is old the inside will swell over time so fluid can be pushed through but it cant flow back out, so basically the brake is locked until over like 24hrs the pressure bleeds off".

Only problem is the brake lines are new steel braided lines from Rusty's, it is possible that the rubber liner is bad though. So I am going to get another new steel braided line and also a caliper too just in case, at least one way or another I will have a trail spare part.

[glacierpaul]

Good luck Sean, I hate problems...

[Brody]

Use some air and back pressure the brake line. The new steel lines wouldn't be the problem, but that the older hard lines could be where the problem is. I would take off the line (new steel) at the calipers, take off the bleeder valves, pump air through the caliper line fittings to make sure there isn't junk in the caliper. The air will go right out the bleeder valve fitting. You can also check the caliper the same way,you just need to reinstall the bleeder, pump air into the caliper and the caliper with move. If you do this, remember to either crack or remove the bleeder afterward to let most of the air escape.I would then start from the master and blow air down the hard lines, with the lines disconnected at the brakes and/or junction block. I would then do the same for the existing hard lines, removing them from the rear brakes and then doing the same on the fronts.

Have you gravity bled the system at all? It would be a good way to find out that you actually have a good uninterrupted flow of fluid to all four corners. This sounds very strange unless you have managed to get water in the system at some point and now have rust inside the lines. My rig has almost 250k on the original frame hard lines and I have had no problems. It is pretty damn hard to screw up the inside of brake lines unless you have managed to get them contaminated.

Since you are probably more used to the smell and mess of brake fluid by now than you ever wanted to be, I think that if it were my rig, I would take the lines off the master, pour brake fluid through the master to make sure it was clear, then basically start flushing the lines from the master back. At least you would find out if the hard lines were the actual issue and be able to eventually isolate where the problem is.

You also have to remember that the brakes were working just fine before you started the SAS, another thing that would eliminate the 'hard line' problem....unless they got contaminated. The only time I even had any issues even remotely resembling what you are dealing with was when I tore off a brake line wheeling, had no brake fluid with me, no extra oil or anti freeze and had to use water in my brakes to have any brakes at all to get home. Worked well enough and got me home ...this was years and years ago...but I had to replace damn near everything having to do with my brakes to get them working right again....It takes quite a bit to screw up the hard lines.

You can also simply isolate the brakes. Use some vice grip to clamp off the soft line(s) to the rear brakes, then take it for a small drive. See what happens with the front brakes. Do the same for the fronts and see what happens with the rears. You aren't going to hurt the steel lines and this is pretty much what you would have to do for a trail repair if you managed to trash a brake line on the trail. This would also allow you to isolate exactly where the problem is.

One other thing:

You may or may not have toasted the pads beyond redemption. At the very least, take some 150 or so sand paper to the pads and de gloss them as you have sure glazed them over....Also look for any cracks....

[Popsgarage]

We bled those brakes so clean we could have reused the fluid, Pete. And they flowed nice and easy. My guess is the passenger caliper has some debris in it that did not come out when we bled the brakes, or the new fluid loosened something inside one of the lines. We never let the fluid get low enough to starve the ABS module.

[Hypoid]

I think Sean installed new cylinders in the rear axle, maybe the front as well.

I think it's odd that diagonal brakes lock up, even if it is coincidental. Maybe it's time to research an ABS delete.

[Popsgarage]

I don't think it's the ABS module, though, Mike. The rears are new and was free when we bled them, and now it's binding again. The weird part about the rears is the single line to the splitter. You'd think both rears would be locking up, right? But they don't. Just the drivers side. I don't know about the calipers.

[Brody]

Wow...I kind of figured that all the stuff had been gone through pretty well. I was throwing stuff out as I thought of it.

This is simply weird...

[Cr33p3r]

I readjusted the rear drum on the driver side prior to the last test drive when the front caliper locked up on it so the rear seems to be ok at this time now to figure out the caliper issue. One thought I was looking at yesterday is all the factory bends in the steel line and length of it compared to the one on the drivers side, 14 various bends compared to 4 (seems a bit restrictive). After I get back from the junk yard run tomorrow I am planning on trying to do what Pete suggested with blowing out the caliper with air. I also picked up a new brake bleeding kit today that is the 1 person kit.

[Popsgarage]

You're going, Sean? Sweet!!! See you in the morning.

[Cr33p3r]

Yep see around 8:45 or so.

Well I cannot win for losing on this brake problem, thinking the rear drum was good to go, while outsidethis afternoon I seen brake fluid dripping out of the bottom of the drum!:bang::bang::bang:

[Popsgarage]

Time to return a drum slave. We'll get it figured out yet.

[Cr33p3r]

Well found out why the front caliper seemed to be locking up- it actually was not the caliper. The cup inside the caliper was rusted and sticking out just far enough that the new shoes was heating up and glazing thus stopping the truck from moving.
I am just going to get a replacement caliper for the time being and eventually clean this one up and rebuild it for a trail spare.

1) rusted caliper
2) broke out the old cup from inside the caliper
3) shinny glazed shoe
4) sanding the glazing off the shoe
5) clean shoe ready to go
6) rust that came out of the caliper before tearing apart

[Brody]

I think everyone was working off the assumption that you had good or new calipers. I know I certainly was.

[Popsgarage]

Wow. Had to break the cup out of the caliper. Haven't had to do that in a long, long time.

[Fordguy77]

I think everyone was working off the assumption that you had good or new calipers. I know I certainly was.

So was i.

[Cr33p3r]

They appeared to be new, when I bought the axles, at least the shoes were new until driving it the first time. I found new (reconditioned) calipers for $15 so this one is goin in the scrap pile.

[Popsgarage]

Makes you wonder how long the PO had the axle sitting outside uncovered with no plugs on the brake lines for it to draw in that much moisture.

[Cr33p3r]

Well I go the brakes bled yesterday and took her out for a drive and wow what a feeling to bo on the road again kinda! I do need to make adjustments to the steering gear box as I have 1/2 a turn of the steering wheel in play in it and get a steering stabilizer hooked up and then its on to see what the highway drive brings!:woot::woot:

[Brody]

Sounds great and good to hear the progress. I would wait on the steering stabilizer as you shouldn't need one at all.

[Popsgarage]

Is something flexing or is the box just loose?

[Cr33p3r]

Is something flexing or is the box just loose?

No it seems to be just too much play in the gears that needs adjusted, box is good and solidly mounted!

[glacierpaul]

Hope you get her tackled soon!

[Brody]

You know how to do this, right? Easy to tighten the box, easier still to overtighten it and dick it up....

[Popsgarage]

No it seems to be just too much play in the gears that needs adjusted, box is good and solidly mounted!

Whew! Good to hear!

[Cr33p3r]

Whew! Good to hear!


LOL we made a pretty stout mount there Jon and I do not think it will be any issues there.

[Popsgarage]

Good. Wondering about the wandering. Started to work on the box yet? I watched my dad tighten one up when I was younger, but haven't ever done one myself. Post some pics when you're done.

[Cr33p3r]

I have not started on it yet thanks to having another cold again for the third time since October, a guy at work will not wear a mask or stay away while he is sick and has to be by my side all the time. I will do that tho. And yeah its been a while since I last adjusted one so I am looking it up first.

[TNT]

Just curious are you still running the oem ranger steering box? I'm planning on swapping my box for a jk f150 and doing a hydro assit. My ranger box is super loose!!! Glad to hear you got it out on the road!~

[Cr33p3r]

No my ranger came with rack and pinion so I had to go up to the Ford F150 box that is pretty universal among the Ford trucks and vans. My box is loose to on steering like 1/2 a turn of the wheel, I found that it can be adjusted to help take out the slop in the box. Here is how to do it and maybe this will help on yours too so you don't have to fork out more $;

Adjust your steering box! The bigger tires have put more stress on it and made the ware more noticeable.
Use a 5/8 wrench and crack the lock nut on top of your steering box loose. Then take a flat screw driver and turn the stud in the center of the nut clock wise 1/4 of a turn. Then tighten the lock nut and test the truck. If it need more repeat with 1/4 " turn and test increments.

[Cr33p3r]

Well the truck is now 100% back together and getting ready to take her out on her first highway drive since the swap. Only thing left now is to finish one of the mods that I started during the build and it is done until next winter!:D

[Funrover]

Good luck! I hope it works great for you!

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Aaron, it did not go to bad it has a bit of a wobble to it that you can feel threw the floor board. I just talked with w teenager that lives a couple blocks away and he mentioned taking it up here to Pullman Tech and having them do an alignment on it at either no or a low cost, so once they are back in session I will be heading over there. One thing I should have done was like Larry was telling me, I should have went with the 5:13s rather than the 4:88s, not enough power on the highway but there is enough to spins those 35s easily around town.

[Popsgarage]

Drive pretty good other than that, Sean? Congrats man, lookin' good! Bet you're stoked!!!:thumb::thumb::thumb:

[glacierpaul]

Cool Sean!

[Brody]

That's good to hear, Sean!

[Cr33p3r]

Wouldn't ya know it after driving the truck @55mph according to the speedometer and then stopping at a light and making a right hand turn running up to the 35mph speed limit and heard a loud metal pop sound and then DEATH WOBBLE! Scared the crap out of Val and the dog, I just hit the brakes and it locked them up without a bunch of pressure. I limped the truck around the next corner and into the parking lot to check things out and could not see anything loose or broken so I have Val turn the steering wheel back and forth and BAM there it is the track bar is moving the same direction as the steering link side to side. The bolt that mounts it to the axle is rocking back and forth and the frame end is compressing the bushing by 1/2".

So now I get to cut out the box Jon and I made up to stiffen the axle mount and be a bottoming point all so I can see what is going on with the bolt(looks like a broken weld possibly). The thought of fixing it and then just selling the truck is really crossing my mind today!

[Cr33p3r]

Well Monday Val, Gizmo and I take the truck out for Val's 1st ride it was going good upto 55mph (according to the speedometer), we come to the stop light and I decide to make a right hander heading back upto 35mph we hear a loud metal pop sound and then DEATH WOBBLE! Scared the crap out of Val and the dog as for me I just put on the brakes and it locked up with little pressure being applied. I limp the truck to next light make another right and into a parking lot to look things over and find nothing loose or broken. I have Val turn the wheel back & forth and BAM there it is-- the axle mounting bolt for the track bar is rocking with every turn of the wheel(same direction) also compressing the frame mount bushing 1/2". I nurse it back home and now I have to cut out the re-enfocrement box Jon and I did up for the axle mount on the track bar, looks like the welds on the bolt broke.

At this point I am seriously considering fixing it and then just sell the truck, which is not making Val overly happy with that thought! If that is what happens I will just get a stocker to wheel to the lakes and camp grounds and call it good.

[glacierpaul]

Sorry to hear Sean:(.

[Brody]

I nurse it back home and now I have to cut out the re-enforcement box Jon and I did up for the axle mount on the track bar, looks like the welds on the bolt broke.
At this point I am seriously considering fixing it and then just sell the truck, which is not making Val overly happy with that thought! If that is what happens I will just get a stocker to wheel to the lakes and camp grounds and call it good.

Seems like one bolt and little bit of welding repair is quite a small bit of repair work to make someone decide to sell a rig that they did so much work on...After all, how many miles have you put on it since you got it all together? Doing that amount of work to any rig is going to show up small faults that need to be fixed after you start driving it...Your rig, of course, so do what you want. I am just saying it seems a silly thing to do for the cost of a bolt and welding wire...Not to mention the fact that you are never ever going to get the money back from the SAS , exo or all the other work you did...

[Hypoid]

At this point I am seriously considering fixing it and then just sell the truck, which is not making Val overly happy with that thought! If that is what happens I will just get a stocker to wheel to the lakes and camp grounds and call it good.
Wait a minute! It's not April 1st.

Don't weld the bolt. Make a bracket to hold the bolt in double shear.

[Rick]

here is a picture of my dads ranger in Arizona

[Brody]

That is a tight looking Ranger your dad has...I hope that Sean decides to fix and wheel his rig rather than sell it when it is this close...

[Funrover]

Don't sell it, You are so close!

[scout man]

I dont know Sean, after today I am about at the same spot with my rig. Maybe we should trade!!

[Popsgarage]

Sean, did the bolt inside the bumpstop box break a weld? I agree with everyone else don't get rid of it, if you need a hand, call me. I'm free Sunday. I'll load the plasma cutter and we'll cut the box apart and re-weld the bolt, re-enforce the $h!t out of it and figure out some kind of double shear setup.

[Cr33p3r]

Thank you guys for the words of encouragement about this. There actually is more to this than I had posted up but only because that stuff is more of a personal nature. At this point I am totally frustrated with the truck and what has been happening with this part of the build not to mention tossing money at it. It just aggravates me that I have not put more than 10 miles on it since it has been back and more stuff is happening to it to keep it off the street. Double shearing the bolt is what I was thinking when I first found out what was happening with it but not too sure there is enough bolt to do this and still put a cotter pin in the castle nut unless I use 1/8" plate and trim the height down on the nut a bit.
Yes Jon the weld did break on the head of the bolt is what I am thinking from the way it was rocking under pressure. Thank you for the offer to swing by and help get it fixed.

Rick that Ranger of your dads is sweet, does he use it for wheeling or more prerunner stuff?

Steve what happened with your rig? And I think I will pass on the trade;)

[Cr33p3r]

Well Jon came by Sunday and brought his plasma cutter, what a life and time saver those are, anyway we got down to the nitty gritty and cut the box open to find that the welds I did had not broke but the 1/16" plate the factory used behind the 1/4" mount and torn and caused the bolt to wobble so we took it out out and used the longer bolt that Mike gave me with a 1/8" thick fender washer. I got creative and used one of the stabilizer mounts I had laying around and bent it to match the angles of the box and placed the track bar end in place them sandwiched it with the new 1/4" and welded the plate to the mount. Jon cut the new holes in the bottom of the frame for the Cherokee bump stop cups and I got them welded in, then we welded the box back together and made a access plate so the bolt can be tightened or removed if needed. After hooking everything back up Jon had to take off and I need to get cleaned up and in bed before going to work. Yesterday I got a few minutes to take it out for spin around the neighborhood and upto about 45mpk and no real problems, still have a lot of play in the steering wheel. Will need to get it out for a longer drive and higher speed to make sure everything is good to go.:)

[dannanw]

looks nice, alot stronger too. I just wanted to say your rig has been amazing to watch come along! I hope to have the fab skills you have one day.

[TNT]

I sure hope you don't sell the ranger!! I still need to check it out in person!

[Cr33p3r]

Thanks Dannan and Austin, so far it is staying put for now that was a moment of frustration that hit like a brick to the head. Dannan just keep at it and you make great progress on the fab stuff, look what you have already done with the jeep it has come a long ways since you bought it and it is wheeling great from seeing your pics!

[Cr33p3r]

Well after a two week wait for my new offset TREs from Ruffstuff they are supposed to be delivered today. It would have been nice when I ordered them that they would have emailed, called me or what ever to let me know they were out of them and had to order some. Anyway so now I need to shovel the snow out from the front of the truck so tomorrow I can install them and see if this fixes another part of my steering issues.

[Fordguy77]

Well after a two week wait for my new offset TREs from Ruffstuff they are supposed to be delivered today. It would have been nice when I ordered them that they would have emailed, called me or what ever to let me know they were out of them and had to order some. Anyway so now I need to shovel the snow out from the front of the truck so tomorrow I can install them and see if this fixes another part of my steering issues.

That's pretty interesting that happened to you. I've never had an expereince like that with them at all, and everyone I know says nothing but good things.

[Cr33p3r]

Yeah its a first for me too! I have nothing bad to say about them but it would have been nice to hear that the parts were out of stock and would take a bit longer to get them to me. They came in yesterday afternoon so hopefully I get done early with my daughter so I can get them installed.

[Popsgarage]

How'd the install go Sean? Get 'em done? Just got back from my second trip up to 76 Placer in Aspen, so I've been a little out of the loop.

[Cr33p3r]

Here is the pics I took yesterday after installing the offset TREs. Where the drag link mounts to the tie rod now there is plenty of clearance, as for the pitman arm it is still a bit short as the drag link still crosses over the tie rod but going to drive it and see how this works out for now before I do anything else.

[Popsgarage]

Sweet. Let me know how it works out. If the weather improves I might head out to the junkyard tomorrow. If I do, I'll get you a size, spline count and length if they have any Superdutys in stock.

[Cr33p3r]

I picked up a rebuilt steering gear box yesterday and installed it in the truck and made a new battery hold down for the front battery since the old one was corroded so bad I didn't trust it to hold the battery. Here are some more pics,

1) shows the adjusting screw differences between the 2 boxes old on left almost fully screwed in
2) new vs. old
3) new pitman arm won't work w/o modifying the keyways, 1/4 offset between the two
4) Battery hold down

Getting ready to go for another test drive and see how it drives now.

[Brody]

Nice to see Sean!

I ground down the splines on the 69 Bronco I had when I swapped all the major stuff from a 77 Ford onto it. I don't really remember what the issue was, but must likely it was turning more one way that the other and I needed a bit more. Didn't seem to be an issue and I drove it like that for 2 years or so.

There wasn't much of an internet when I had that, so it may be worthwhile to do some online research...

[Cr33p3r]

Yeah Pete that is most likely what I will end up doing if I need the newer pitman arm. As for the test drive it went pretty good for just running around a couple blocks by the house, I have removed the steering stabilizer since it kept hitting in a couple places, will reconfigure that later. I also need to adjust the drag link now so the steering wheel sits straight. and then it should be good to go (fingers crossed).

[Popsgarage]

Bad luck on the pitman arm. Let me know how it goes.

[Cr33p3r]

Well my daughter and I did the alignment on the truck and drove it, goes straight down the road w/ no wandering ++++! I got it to 3/16" which should be good enough. Trying to figure out why my rear brakes are dragging again AARRGGGHHH! Next is to change out the speedometer gear to one that will read more accurate speed, but that is going to have to wait as now I need to change out the clutch master cylinder on the Focus. It started leaking three days ago and is in a not so friendly location Under the dash, any mechanics want to earn a few extra dollars?

[Cr33p3r]

I had some time today and tinkered with the truck, had this idea as for the ABS light staying on since the three sensors are no longer used I would put a jumper wire on each of them and see what happens. That did take care of the light but also had another effect on the truck it released the rear brakes from dragging like they have been doing! So this tells me that the ABS module has to have a constant signal to allow the module to relieve the pressure from the brakes when the pedal is not pushed. Now wondering what will happen when the brakes actually do lock up since the sensors are removed from doing the SAS.

[Brody]

Your answer is yes. No big deal to straighten out. Just remind me the next time you are here...

[dannanw]

I too wonder about my abs missing, let us know what happens.....never would of thought abs would cause that, hope it don't mess with me on my turd.

[Popsgarage]

Nice fix on the brakes, Sean!

[Hypoid]

I too wonder about my abs missing, let us know what happens.....never would of thought abs would cause that, hope it don't mess with me on my turd.

Get rid of that shite! Your ABS computer is a stand-alone unit and won't affect anything else that makes your XJ run. But, that is a topic for another thread. :)

[Hypoid]

Nice fix on the brakes, Sean!

Xs 2! :D

[Cr33p3r]

I was surprised to see how much taller the truck sits when parked next to my daughters Mercury Mountaineer so he it is in a parking lot side by side. To give some perspective of height differences the tops of her windows are sitting about the middle of mine on the doors, funny to think these both sat the same height when stock.

[Popsgarage]

How's the shakedown driving going????

[Cr33p3r]

As you saw this past weekend I did not drive it, actually have not driven it in a few weeks now, for some reason I just don't have the desire to drive it as much these days like I was hoping too.

[Brody]

Well, I was assuming that you had built it for a trail rig more so than a daily driver. Your good road manners went out the door with the lift, bigger tires and straight axle. I am quite happy to not drive mine every day.

[Rick]

Well, I was assuming that you had built it for a trail rig more so than a daily driver. Your good road manners went out the door with the lift, bigger tires and straight axle. I am quite happy to not drive mine every day.

X2!!!!!!

[Cr33p3r]

Well, I was assuming that you had built it for a trail rig more so than a daily driver. Your good road manners went out the door with the lift, bigger tires and straight axle. I am quite happy to not drive mine every day.


X2!!!!!!

Yes I did plan on it as a trail rig but it should be street friendly too at least so I can get it to the hills or to pull the trailer when I need to go to the lumber yard or steel yards. I think I just need to get out there and drive it and they would change my mind a bunch as well as hit a trail with it too!

[Rick]

trail rig but it should be street friendly too mine took a lot of getting used too on the street.When I first got on the freeway in Az. to bring it home I didnt think it was gonna happen ,then about an hour later I just started getting the feel for it.Now no big deal at all. 70 down the hwy all day long

[Brody]

Yes I did plan on it as a trail rig but it should be street friendly too at least so I can get it to the hills or to pull the trailer when I need to go to the lumber yard or steel yards. I think I just need to get out there and drive it and they would change my mind a bunch as well as hit a trail with it too!

You pretty much summed it up. It is going to drive more like an old scholl truck that a perky IFS truck. It just takes some getting used to, especially the very basic handling. The bigger tires are going to want to track more, the lift and springs are going to cause body lean and diving in corners, and the soft nice handling charastics of the IFS are long gone. Just think 'old school' 70s F 150 4x4 and you will be on the right track. You made it back into a truck....and a capable one at that.

[Cr33p3r]

Ok so here is the latest as for the steering wheel floating 1/4 turn (issue) as it turns out there is another knuckle on the column behind the firewall and that w/ the two I installed this is causing a bunch of movement in the steering shaft between the firewal and gear box. To remedy this I am going to fab up a mount to put a 3/4" pillow block bearing on this will stop the deflection of the shaft. Also made a up a new upper mount Saturday for the stabilzer and got it welded in, now to paint the shock and finish installing it. Hopefully this will cure all the steering issues once and for all.The first picture show the steering shaft & knuckles and the second pic shows where the rear yoke cap bolts stick out too far and are rubbing on the driveshaft yoke when flexing the rear axle.

[Popsgarage]

Looking good Sean!!!

[Cr33p3r]

Here is the pics of the new mounts and location for the steering stabilizer, still need to do something about the steering shaft, may just get a 3/4"rod end and make a mount for it. That seems like it would be the simplest way to go.

1- new fabbed frame mount
2-side shot of stabilizer
3- front shot of stabilizer and repainted the rest of the steering again.

[Popsgarage]

Looking good, brother!

[glacierpaul]

NICE!!

[Brody]

I love it when you seemingly start off with all this room, then by the time you get down to the nitty gritty finish junk, you are fighting for 1/8" wiggle room here and there!

Looking better and better!

[dannanw]

I love it when you seemingly start off with all this room, then by the time you get down to the nitty gritty finish junk, you are fighting for 1/8" wiggle room here and there!
I am glad I aint the only one like this. And yes looks sweet! I should paint mine, yours looks to good....

[Cr33p3r]

I have to agree on the room thing mid size trucks suck for that part but make up for it in other ways. Thanks guys for the compliments on it looking better. I had a hard time locating a 3/4" rod end yesterday here in town but after several calls Brian @ Hillside4x4 hooked me up at a really decent price too. Nice guy to talk with also! Now I need to finish the steering shaft stabilizer (going from the firewall to the gearbox).

[Popsgarage]

Lookin' forward to pics on this part and hope to hell it works for ya. Then you can start to get some serious seat time in it. Keep us posted.

[Cr33p3r]

Here is what I came up with

Some angle iron bent to 90* and welded, welded to shock mount and 3/4" hole drilled to mount the Joint. Nut welded to the back side of angle so I only need 1 wrench to remove if ever needed. Tested it out last night @10pm in the griveway and it has removed a ton of the play in the wheel down to maybe 1/64th of a turn compared to the 1/4 turn play. Going to take it out here is a bit and see how she plays on the roads now!:thumb:

[dannanw]

Holly no room batman! But looks like it should work good.

[Cr33p3r]

Holly no room batman! But looks like it should work good.

Yeah I tore up my arms pretty good trying to work in that small space. But its worth it as long as it works.

[Cr33p3r]

Well drove the truck around earlier and it is better, amazes me how one fix clears something up but makes something else apparent. Anyhow did a lil flex test on the driveway next door here is the pics. I definitely need to get the flange eliminator kit for the front driveshaft because the ball portion is rubbing the sides of the socket when flexing.

[Brody]

Nice, Sean!

Love those no room, leave flesh behind, and blood works well as a lubricant work situations.

[Funrover]

Glad that worked for you, that is one tight area!

[Popsgarage]

Love those no room, leave flesh behind, and blood works well as a lubricant work situations.

X2!!!! And I can attest to that in person.

[Cr33p3r]

It is amazing how the older we get the thinner our skin becomes and peels away so easily.:eek:

[Cr33p3r]

Well since the ranger is pretty much done and my daughter has moved all her stuff to storage I have been busy re-organizing the garage and making room to get back on the 57. Also a shot of the grandkids and Gizmo driving the 57.

[Funrover]

SWEET!!!! I wanna see that rig a movin!

[Cr33p3r]

Aaron you and I + a few others! It is my plan to get it hopefully streetable by the end of summer or at least down to where I will be finishing up the wiring on it.