'85 Ranger Restomod

bobbywalter · Jan 9, 2018

depends on chassis and where you want it.

I clocked mine a little flatter when I put the diesel in because I had to set the diesel lower to get to my boa goals and body lift equivalence targets.

the 208 is so easy to work with I ran it to get going, figuring a doubler or atlas before 10 years went by.... :icon_rofl:

...... come august it will be 10 years my platform has been diesel.. been on front leaf 11 +.... :dunno:

I have tore quite a few up. so I suggest to get a pile of them.

if you find a jeep unit or two that are drivers drop, with a 2 in lift it is a cake job to fit.

but the bronco case will likely require you to roll the engine a bit and bias it to the passenger side 3 in off true center.

85_Ranger4x4 · Jan 9, 2018

Figuring on putting it on the back of the trans between the frame rails :icon_thumby:

Hard to believe you have had a diesel in yours for 10... also hard to believe I have had a V8 in mine for 7.

I am pretty easy on my truck, the 1350 hasn't whimpered yet.

bobbywalter · Jan 9, 2018

3 issues were caused from not refitting the belly protection. logs/rocks/dirtbanks got me....

system wise, if you flat belly the fullsize case, you have to go off of the longitude center. unless your planning on putting custom k members in so the frame is wider. pushing the whole drivetrain to the passenger side 3 inches usually accommodates it. but if your engine is already fairly center and you don't want to remount it, you will end up pushing just the back of the trans over. this can be done but it is a compromise with consequence.

when you cock it...past .8 to 1 degree it causes phase issues with the drive shafts. past 1.25 and even a dc has a shortened life.

vibes are only at certain rpms for the most part. so as long as it is not in your regular working rpms its nothing to worry about...just keep joints handy.

like if I cruise extended periods at 80 mph going from mi to fla or the other way and feel it when I let up on the pedal, I know I will need to put joints in when I get home. load is the variable there.

your not driving it hundreds of miles per week so I know your not worried, but engine and trans placement can make or break overall longevity and whether or not it sux to drive..

85_Ranger4x4 · Jan 9, 2018

While I won't necessarily do it I want to be able to drive this thing anywhere when I get done with it.

I do appreciate the driveline advice.

85_Ranger4x4 · Jan 10, 2018

Dang, it is going to be tight.

Put a tape to things for the first time. Just guestimating where it is going to end up with the longer M5OD. The frame does start swooping up back there but I don't think the t-case is going to get back quite far enough to take advantage of it.

It is roughly 17" from the center of the rear output to the very farthest point.

17" from the vertical part of the frame the center of the output on the 1350 in the truck now.

EDIT:

Looks like the 208 has a lot more droop than the 1350. My trans is still sitting on the stock crossmember that was slightly trimmed and slid ahead to the farthest ahead set of bolt holes so left to right it should be pretty close to stock.

bobbywalter · Jan 11, 2018

I been swapping v8,s into these since the 80's.

I have revised techniques a little over this period of time.. but a f/s t case usually wants a body lift.

of course its now common knowledge for 20 years
initially...c4/d20 was really the only way it got done if you were using the 302 or 351. they were everywhere cheap...whole eb frames and others rotting in fields around here ... then some c6 205 action on big trucks. those days are gone.

350/350 350/400 350/700 combos were happening allot. but tv cable issues sucked with the 700 like the aod.. they got a bad name quickly.

I have used transmissions ranging from a tremec t5 robbed out of amc eagle to 4l80 gm,s.

believe it or not the 350/700/241 is easier to fit then a 351/aod/f208. and at one point was usually cheaper.

your about to find that out :thefinger:

with a typical 302 a manual trans really helps. compared to todays engines they are nutless wonders.

seriously....I am dicking around out here right now. looking for some storage solutions...and tripped over a 205

... but I am pretty sure there is a j 208, and I know a few f208 in the garage. maybe a 241... I will try to get a comparo pic.

this is an old pic of a j.....fit great...on an aod/302. it will be worth looking around to find one if you can.

and some pics of the f 208 like you have on a 4l80 and the diesel. if you look carefully at the drivers side rail, you can see some trim up top where it has been reworked.. you can see where it was cut and replaced previously from years past with 1356. if it was a virgin rail I would roll the rail lip up and down for the clearance if possible like where the rail is clearance for the catalytic converter... ....no cutting. but its been through the grinder. so it is what it is. the 205 even clocked is not any better. but behind a doubler opens things up a bit more.

85_Ranger4x4 · Jan 11, 2018

bobbywalter said:
I have revised techniques a little over this period of time.. but a f/s t case usually wants a body lift.

I have a 3" bodylift on the truck now.

Do you have your powertrain rolled to the passenger side or is that how it naturally wants to sit? I thought they angled down more than that (but it has been 5 years since I pulled this one)

bobbywalter · Jan 12, 2018

it is clocked up. would sit about 5 inches lower not reclocked.

the chevy pattern is like 40 deg out from the ford/jeep. so you have to use a ring either way.

you have it harder because your still running ttb. the massive k member limits you moving to the passenger side. but its doable.

85_Ranger4x4 · Jan 12, 2018

I had pondered going to V6 engine mounts with plates... so I could maybe get more side to side adjustment with the entire powertrain that way.

As far as hanging down the front driveshaft still has to get thru the radius arm crossmember too so that probably won't be much of an answer.

Dunno, reinventing the wheel enough, maybe I ought to just keep an eye out for a different case. Of course I am already like $200 into this one. AMC Jeeps have rotted out and gone away a long time ago to try to track a case down from one of those (having put no seals in the front of mine yet that would be ideal though, just reseal the Jeep one with my speedo parts and go)

Just fullsize Jeeps have the 208 or any of the little guys?

bobbywalter · Jan 12, 2018

fullsize..

usually in the j trucks. think 81 and up....don't remember when they went driver drop.

I have a hard time paying more then 100 bux for one, or i would have a few.
better then what I have now. I don't mine putting a bearing set and chain in them if I get it for 75 bux or traded for something.

I went to pick 3 up some months back and they were all 229,s. I run into a few out in pa but they were all over 200.

one of my buds told me there was one for 175 bux at nagy in good shape.

very tempting to go look at it. if its good enough that i can just inspect and reseal, 175 is a fair price I suppose. but if it needs bearings and fork work and stuff.. stay on track for a doubler. damn 205 is a heavy bastard though.

85_Ranger4x4 · Jan 22, 2018

If you can use it for future referance there is 5/8" of output shaft sticking out of my M5OD. Any idea how close the Jeep t-case is when it bottoms out on an AOD? I am tearing my trans down to change the 3-4 slider and input shaft, if I am going to have to trim a shaft now would be the time to do it.

Anyway, started on the teardown last night:

Points are ground off the slider, some dink had a gooseneck in his 4.2L truck... so I am betting he bounced between third and fourth a lot. :icon_bounceblue:

Syncros look great though.

Gotta look at the wall-o-pullers at work and see if I can find one to get that back top bearing off. And get the trans off my engine stand and take out the slave (just sitting there, it is loose) and the input shaft bearing retainer.

85_Ranger4x4 · Jan 24, 2018

First attempt failed. It was the kind that bolts together behind the bearing. Countershaft was too close, wouldn't fit at all.

So I got Tiny, Tiny worked great.

Bolts are out of the input shaft bearing support, I need to grab a prybar to pop it loose as it is glued on pretty good. Already had four trips to the garage last night, by the time I got to needing the prybar it was getting late and I was at a good stopping point.

BlackBII · Jan 24, 2018

The easy way to get the input shaft bearing support off is by threading some bolts into the slave cylinder mounting holes. Once they contact the case, turn them one turn each and alternate back and forth between the two. Once the silicone pops it comes off easy. :icon_thumby:

adsm08 · Jan 24, 2018

BlackBII said:
The easy way to get the input shaft bearing support off is by threading some bolts into the slave cylinder mounting holes. Once they contact the case, turn them one turn each and alternate back and forth between the two. Once the silicone pops it comes off easy.

Yeah, that is actually how the book tells you to take it off.

85_Ranger4x4 · Jan 24, 2018

adsm08 said:
Yeah, that is actually how the book tells you to take it off.

I went and checked and sure enough 20 pages after "remove retaining plate" there is a picture showing how to do it. It would have been easier to notice flipping thru a real paper book rather than an online one.

Thanks for the pointer BlackBII!

'85 Ranger Restomod

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