Magazine article

[JFA_Spyderman]

Yo,
I was reading the March 08' issue of petersens and saw a article about axles you should not get at the junk yard. They mention both the Dana 28 and 35 as axles to avoid. The thing that gets me though is that they do not describe the axle accuratley. Here is what they say about it.

Dana 35 Front - This 93'-97' Ford Ranger four cylinder axle is built with the smaller, weaker Dana 28 ring gear. It comes with 1 inch diameter, 23-spline axleshafts, which arn't strong enough for high performance vehicles on oversized tires.

Now I do realize that petersens primarily caters to the D60/14BFF crowd, but still. That is just poorly researched.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Well, the 4-cylinder Ranger Dana 35 did use Dana 28 components..........

Why mention it in an article though?

Who ever went to a junkyard and thought 'Damn, that there is a mighty impressive axle! I must find a way to swap that in to my ________!'

The only people buying Dana 28/35's in junkyards are those who already have the axle and broke it.

 

[JFA_Spyderman]

Yo,
Yeah, but he is calling it a Dana 35, when it is really still a Dana 28, it just happens to have some extra space inside the housing and the bolt pattern of the the 35. I just think there is a lot more to the Dana 35 than he mentions. At least say that the Explorers and 4.0l rangers had a real Dana 35 and not a hybrid.

 

[Roger]

So my 90 Ranger 4x4 with the 2.3 and a 5 speed has Dana 28 parts in it instead of a real 35?

Swapping to a D30 from a Cherokee isn't such a bad idea afteall then.

 

[JFA_Spyderman]

Yo,
This will help you identify which axle you have.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/4wd_Front_Axles.html

 

[Jim Oaks]

So my 90 Ranger 4x4 with the 2.3 and a 5 speed has Dana 28 parts in it instead of a real 35?

Swapping to a D30 from a Cherokee isn't such a bad idea afteall then.

That link he gave you will tell you how to tell, but I believe those hybrids with the D28 parts only appeared from 93-97.

 

[Danger-Ranger96]

weird, my issue of petersen's that i had not to long ago said that TTB is the thing to have? yet the trannies are weak? I've never really had a problem with either, they both take abuse fairly well, i can say my 96 has went to hell and back.

 

[Roger]

I'll check anyway, the 93-97 is what I read into it too. I will eventually go with the D30 because it will be cheap. As soon as my friend swaps his D30 for D60. I swapped in a Tuff Country extended arm kit, so the rad arm brackets ought to be a good length for some y-link arms with the D30.

 

[Ranger44]

Actually, the hybrid axle does use the D28 ring and pinoin, but the shafts go from a smaller shaft to fit into the D28 carrier to the full D-35 axle shafts all the way out to the hubs. This is the reason you use the 27spline hubs on D-28/35 hybrid axles. In my opinoin they are a big step up from the D-28 axle, because in has the thicker shafts of the D-35.( The D-28 is notorious for breaking outer shafts.) The tt beams are the same as the d-35 too. Like Jim said, I doubt anyone would want the whole axle except for the hybrid guys who want to keep it, other than that the 28 guys can salvage the ring and pinion, carrier set, and the D-35 guys can use the outer shafts all the way out to the hubs.
I don't think they did write the description right though. They did say 4cyl models, but I think they still got the wrong idea about the axle.

 

[Jspafford]

I saw that article too. It made me happy I am letting my subscription lapse. They cater to the jeep and million dollar SUV crowd.

I am much happier with the free version of the 4-Wheel Parts magazine.

 

[Ranger44]

Jspafford, I agree. I think my subscription will lapse also. I'll be continuing with the free 4wheel parts mag also, they seem a little more down to earth.

 

[4x4junkie]

Odd that they got the year range correct, but screwed up on the rest... Most who haven't researched it seem to just say '90-'97 (thinking it was through all years).

Jspafford, I agree. I think my subscription will lapse also. I'll be continuing with the free 4wheel parts mag also, they seem a little more down to earth.

The "Old Iron" articles in there are occasionally interesting to read, but the rest of it seems to be mostly just 4wheelpart's advertising (many articles are often written to look like a product review, but rarely is anything negative ever mentioned about it).

The "Wheeling with Finesse" articles also might be good for the beginners.

 

[Jspafford]

Odd that they got the year range correct, but screwed up on the rest... Most who haven't researched it seem to just say '90-'97 (thinking it was through all years).



The "Old Iron" articles in there are occasionally interesting to read, but the rest of it seems to be mostly just 4wheelpart's advertising (many articles are often written to look like a product review, but rarely is anything negative ever mentioned about it).

The "Wheeling with Finesse" articles also might be good for the beginners.

I just can't see subscribing to a magazine that is supposed to be about "4 wheel and offroad" when they pick lexus 50K SUV's as 4x4 of the year... Sure I will rush right out and buy one to take it offroad and rip it to shreds.

Or maybe it's because I am cheap and am trying to pay for a wedding so that $20 a year is money I don't need to spend.

I will get my fix from the free stuff.

 

[milje]

I just can't see subscribing to a magazine that is supposed to be about "4 wheel and offroad" when they pick lexus 50K SUV's as 4x4 of the year... Sure I will rush right out and buy one to take it offroad and rip it to shreds.

Say what? That's pretty sad


I'm not really a fan of any off-road magazines anymore. ORA isn't too bad (I think that's the 4WP one), other than that, they're all the same.

 

[holyford86]

I used to read them for the tech, but the tech is less and less about what you can do to improve "_____." and more about what you need to buy to make "_____" better. I understand that there is an aftermarket for the stuff and it is massive but its not what the sport is about and it takes alot of the fun out of it. Theres just something satisfying about finding something good, and making it fit in something it was never meant to fit in, then pounding the crap out of it. I don't find anything special about finding something in a catalog that is designed to be a direct bolt in and putting it in.
Thats pretty much the reason that I don't read the off-road mags much anymore. In recent history the only mag I buy is Diesel Power, its a very interesting read.