dhkonrad's 93 ford ranger

[dhkonrad]

man just read the whole tread and you have done some serious work good job man truck looks great cant wait till i sas mine lol

Thanks man! I couldn't wait either, so I started. Well see how well it finishes though haha

Good looking build you have going. Those are some long links. My three link lengths are around 36" long. I can max out my 14" shocks. That 8274 winch is a beast. I miss mine.

Thanks! Yeah, I figured if kinda long is good, longer is better right?
I like the winch, the only downside I can think of is that the line speed is almost too fast haha

IMHO, the links are WAY too long. If you're planning on keeping them that long, sleeve them or get 3/8" wall DOM. 1/4" wall dom at that length will bend like melted plastic when a rock hits it.

Truthfully I didn't really think about it that much. In talking to the owner of WFO concepts (4wheel drive shop around here) previously, he didn't express any concern and I told him I was going to shoot for 5 feet. IIRC are not KyleM's links longer and 1/4 wall? And hes not exactly known for sissying his truck.
It is something to think about, but I already have the tube, so I think it would be easier to get new inserts and replace the tube to something bigger IF I have problems, rather than try to move the mount on the frame...

 

[Grunizzle]

I can't quite tell from the pic but where is your frame side mount in relation to the transfercase or transmission? Forward or aft?

 

[dhkonrad]

I can't quite tell from the pic but where is your frame side mount in relation to the transfercase or transmission? Forward or aft?

Barely aft of the transfercase

 

[Grunizzle]

Damn those are long lol. Are they welded on already?

 

[dhkonrad]

Damn those are long lol. Are they welded on already?

No not welded on yet. Im just using pvc to lay out clearance and length, and the link mounts are just clamped to the frame. I tend to clamp everything up and then obsess about it for a couple days. Makes it real hard to get anything done...

 

[RockRanger]

I think you would be fine with shorter links. This with 36ing links roughly. The coils and shockd limit travel before the links bind.

 

[FordRanger89]

lol they are pretty long! but I like it! I think you will be just fine as far as strength goes (just don't mash it haha), + you already bought the weld in bungs. Just do like you were saying. If you bend them down the road just upgrade. Everything is looking good!
Hurry up and get that thing on the trails!!!!

 

[dhkonrad]

I think you would be fine with shorter links. This with 36ing links roughly. The coils and shockd limit travel before the links bind.

Is that a 3 link or wedge style?

lol they are pretty long! but I like it! I think you will be just fine as far as strength goes (just don't mash it haha), + you already bought the weld in bungs. Just do like you were saying. If you bend them down the road just upgrade. Everything is looking good!
Hurry up and get that thing on the trails!!!!

Thanks! Im trying as fast as I can. I leave for school in less than a month, and I still need to get it smogged before I leave...
I think thats what ill do. A little experimentation never hurt anyone right? weld in bungs are a cheep risk I guess

 

[dhkonrad]

Got a couple more goodies and a lot of random pictures


This was definitely OSHA approved...

Kinda going press happy...


My rear axle has been giving me absolutely horrific fits...
I was having a change in backlash around the ring gear, so I checked my runout: I have no lateral runout on the carrier, and no axial runout on the ring, but I have about .007 lateral runout on the ring gear (I think I have lateral and axial right). The funny thing is though that the spread of backlash was not constant though. I mean if It was real low, I would have a spread of like 5-7 thou, but If I took it up higher, I would have as much as 8-15 thou. It also seemed like I brought the pinion in ALOT compared to the original set up. Either way, I did what I could, and talked to a couple 4 wheel drive shops and settled on the best I could do. Both shops I talked to told me to run the backlash a little tight, so I ended up with 7-12 thou.
Gears ground down for the cross pin



me being anal with keeping track of changes to shims...

final pattern at two extremes:
coast:


drive:


Not super happy with everything, but good as its gonna get I guess. I was tired of being told I was being too anal...

 

[brinker88]

That looks far too deep IMO. What's the pattern on the pinion look like?

 

[2004xlmiller]

Have you considered rosette welding those bungs?

 

[dhkonrad]

That looks far too deep IMO. What's the pattern on the pinion look like?

too deep? Truthfully I thought it was still too shallow... Im not really sure on how to read the pattern on the pinion, but it seemed pretty centered peak to valley, but off center towards the base of the head a little. Towards the fatter part if you will. I guess that would indicate too deep? But it wasn't close enough to the base to worry me at the time IIRC.
Maybe you were referring to this picture?

This picture was NOT the final pattern, and was before final pinion depth adjustments. Up until what I have the pattern to be now the pattern was on the peak of the ring gear, which to me meant it was too shallow. Is that wrong?
here is a side view to see how deep the pattern is


seems to be the pattern is far enough out towards the peak? maybe?

Have you considered rosette welding those bungs?

These are just pvc at the moment...

But honestly, I wasn't planning on it no. I normally just make sure I pull the bungs out a little bit so that I can get all the way to the root without cold lapping and TIG weld them. I was talking to one of my friends who races quite a bit including KOH, and he said that's all he ever does and has yet to see any fail. He said if he's pushed for time hell even just MIG them, and still has yet to have issues. Figured it was good enough for me too.

 

[brinker88]

Yes. That sharp line inboard tells me so.

http://www.ringpinion.com/Content/HowTo/TechnicalInstructions/Yukon_Installation_Kit_Instructions.pdf

Page 15

Also,what is your backlash set at?

 

[dhkonrad]

Yes. That sharp line inboard tells me so.

http://www.ringpinion.com/Content/HowTo/TechnicalInstructions/Yukon_Installation_Kit_Instructions.pdf

Page 15

Also,what is your backlash set at?

I have that booklet in my hand and I was looking at it the whole time, and that line made me hesitate as well, but the sharp line was present even when it was obvious that the pinion depth was WAYYYY to shallow. Also this guy didn't seem to think it was a problem:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/articles/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup (scroll down 3/4 the way)
Also my 44 had that same line and I was told by a professional that the pattern on it was "perfect". Could it possibly be a byproduct of just making sure there was a lot of load when I rotated the pinion?

.........Both shops I talked to told me to run the backlash a little tight, so I ended up with 7-12 thou...

 

[brinker88]

You make a valid point. You've gotta remember that I'm basing my suggestions on photos. I like to run my 44s and 30s slightly deep to fight deflection under load.