My 85 B2 w/4.0 swap and more...

[rookieshooter]

May be wrong, but that's the year they went with the front IFS not ttb.
Just make sure the rear has the 10 bolts in the cover and not 12.

 

[4x4junkie]

The D35 you want is under '91-'94 Explorers, '90-'97 4.0L Rangers, and '91-'92 Rangers (all engines). Watch out if you try to pull one from a '93-'97 non-4.0L Ranger, there's a pesky D28/35 'hybrid' axle that lurks under some, but not all of them. Ways to I.D. them are here.

The '97 Ex you found is good for the rear axle though, so grab that (grab the P-brake cables too, they can be adapted to your BII's pedal cable relatively easy... I did mine using some pieces of strip steel, threaded rod & nuts, and a couple clips from the old cables, two pics: 1, 2).


Check out this post in the 1st-gen Ex section. Lots of good links to info on these truck's suspensions all collected together in one spot:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=348810
If you're planning on Jeep coils, pay particular attention to ones for steering (I wrote this one, but all are worth reading). Good flexible coils tend to quickly make bright daylight out of any issues you might have with your steering linkage angle.

Hope that helps.
And thanks

 

[janderson4010]

If you're planning on Jeep coils, pay particular attention to ones for steering (I wrote this one, but all are worth reading). Good flexible coils tend to quickly make bright daylight out of any issues you might have with your steering linkage angle.

haha seriously, my xj coils are awesome on the trail, but they take a very stiff shock to control them on the road. I used to know what ppi they are, and it was under 300

 

[janderson4010]

lol I guess they are 150ppi, and they are very soft

 

[4x4junkie]

150 sounds like a TJ coil (in fact I thought TJs were around 190PPI) :scratch:

Mine are 240PPI XJs, which I don't think is far off from what OEM XJ coils are rated at. They seem dead-on perfect for use under a BII.

Good shocks (even duals) no doubt will make it more pleasant on the street, but bad steering makes it do all sorts of weird & crazy **** when you try to accelerate (like the frontend going 'boing' to full extension lol) good shocks or not. It's like a different version of craziness you'd have if your draglink and trackbar angles are totally askew with each other.

 

[ceirsik]

Figures, I got the hole truck. It was hit in the front and it was a 93 Ranger. I got it for the Motor and harness. Mines a 4sp auto and it was a 5spd. anyway it had only 39K on the truck so I drove to KC and got it for $700. That was a over a year ago. I striped it down and kept the motor, trany, dash and harness. Then sold the rest. Ooops... I wasn't thinking of changing the drive train or even lifting it at that point. But I have a good U-Pull yard here and he has a few EXP and rangers to get parts from. And he likes me so cheap parts.
I did go play with it yesterday, i went with 2 other trucks, one 78 Dadge ram and a 80" chevy. they are both lifted and running 33's I think. Anyway they got stuck at least once and I didn't. I went through the spots that they said where truck killers...The B2 Bomber did great. I dont like to do mud cuz it's messy. but I thought it would be a good trial for the new 4.0.

And then I pulled the Dodge home! What a day.

Thanks for a the info, looks like I got some reading to do tonight.

 

[ceirsik]

Sorry it doubled post..

 

[janderson4010]

150 sounds like a TJ coil (in fact I thought TJs were around 190PPI) :scratch:

Mine are 240PPI XJs, which I don't think is far off from what OEM XJ coils are rated at. They seem dead-on perfect for use under a BII.

Good shocks (even duals) no doubt will make it more pleasant on the street, but bad steering makes it do all sorts of weird & crazy **** when you try to accelerate (like the frontend going 'boing' to full extension lol) good shocks or not. It's like a different version of craziness you'd have if your draglink and trackbar angles are totally askew with each other.

yeah rusty's offroad xj and tj coils are interchangeable. I have procomp remote reservoir 14" travel shocks, I had stock jeep steering on it all last year with a grand cherokee tie rod, it sucked in just about every way, even though the drag link matched the angle of the tracbar. I just went to a 1 ton steering kit from ruffstuff specialties. the angle of the drag link and tracbar are about 3deg off but it drives a lot nicer on the road than it did before, with no noticeable bumpsteer. Good steering makes a huge huge difference, what manufacturer did you get your coils from Junkie?.

Sorry to hijack your thread ceirsik, your rig looks *****in, the 4.0 swap isn't a big deal really, and it livens up a BII pretty significantly. 4x4Junkie should look into it, still running that 2.9 right man? haha i'm jk, if my 2.9 had been running really at all it wasn't a slouch in a rig that light, plenty of motivation for a crawler for sure.

 

[ceirsik]

janderson4010 no worry's.. I dont mind if people post good info on my post gives me more to read and learn about. My 2.8 died slowly. the last week it had a bad rispin and started to loose water and smoked like a train.. but it did move on it's own to the shop before i pulled it out. And it donated some good parts so other 2.8 could live on!

 

[ceirsik]

Here's a local site a few of my wheelin buddy's started. I have posted some of my swap pics and other pics on here. If you guys want to check it out when you aint got anything going on. LMK what you think or post some of your own. Thanks..

http://ricecountywheelers.boards.net/index.cgi
My user name is B2Bomber

 

[janderson4010]

what did you do to get the fuel up to the 4.0? did you use the fp from the donor?

 

[ceirsik]

Yelp, I had to put a new tank in due to pin hole leaks under the straps. I used the pump and sending unit form a 90 B2 and put a new pump in the tank that gives me 48psi to the 4.0. Also used the fuel lines from the 90 to the 4.0.

 

[ceirsik]

Added some lights under the hood.. Much better!

And I built me a different steering wheel. The 93 was in bad shape. Had this one laying around at the shop so I cut the center out and put this one in. I like it.

This is everything that I removed from the B2... I also weighed it, 3680 with me in it.

 

[4x4junkie]

I did go play with it yesterday, i went with 2 other trucks, one 78 Dadge ram and a 80" chevy. they are both lifted and running 33's I think. Anyway they got stuck at least once and I didn't. I went through the spots that they said where truck killers...The B2 Bomber did great. I dont like to do mud cuz it's messy. but I thought it would be a good trial for the new 4.0.

.

Good test of those little axles too. Something about mud seems to give the smallest of axles a chance at survival lol.

yeah I can't stand mud either (been there done that, like 25 years ago). I got sick of having to wear safety goggles every time I go to do something underneath (change oil, etc.) because that **** gets crusted onto everything and falls down into your face. (not to mention sucks the life out of all your ball joints, u-joints, bearings etc.) Nasty stuff. :roll:

Sorry to hijack your thread ceirsik, your rig looks *****in, the 4.0 swap isn't a big deal really, and it livens up a BII pretty significantly. 4x4Junkie should look into it, still running that 2.9 right man? haha i'm jk, if my 2.9 had been running really at all it wasn't a slouch in a rig that light, plenty of motivation for a crawler for sure.

Believe me, I know all about the 4.0L, I have one in my Ranger I've owned since new.

My XJ coils are Skyjacker #JC-60F. They sit 16.25" compressed height under my BII (or 5.25" lift).

 

[janderson4010]

Good test of those little axles too. Something about mud seems to give the smallest of axles a chance at survival lol.

yeah I can't stand mud either (been there done that, like 25 years ago). I got sick of having to wear safety goggles every time I go to do something underneath (change oil, etc.) because that **** gets crusted onto everything and falls down into your face. (not to mention sucks the life out of all your ball joints, u-joints, bearings etc.) Nasty stuff. :roll:



Believe me, I know all about the 4.0L, I have one in my Ranger I've owned since new.

My XJ coils are Skyjacker #JC-60F. They sit 16.25" compressed height under my BII (or 5.25" lift).

good info on the coils man, I need a stiffer coil when I sas my explorer. I hate mud, for exactly the same reasons you said. clean up sucks, rather get sideways on some rocks for sure. :roll:

 

[ceirsik]

Have a question for you guys, I am having trouble getting my Brake,Turn lights working. 85 B2 with the dash and wiring from a 93 ranger. I got hazards and brakes but when I hit blinkers both rear flash but the front work fine. and they flash kinda fast. Do I need to run new wire to the breaks or blinkers? Thanks.

 

[4x4junkie]

I assume the '93 steering column too?

It might be possible you need to use a '89-'92 Ranger (or '91-'94 Explorer) multifunction switch on the column, however that is just a guess.

What I do know is, your BII has combination brake light/turn signal lamps, whereas a '93 Ranger had separate (amber) turn signals and brake lamps. You would have to trace through your '85's wiring and that for the '93 Ranger and find where the differences are and rewire it accordingly. I don't see needing to run new wires all the way out to the back though, everything you should be able to accomplish under the dash/on the column.

 

[ceirsik]

No the column is a 91 Explorer. That's what is messing me up. I thought if I use that column it would work but guess not..

 

[ceirsik]

Got the new winch in and on.. I moved the trany cooler back a little bit and I dont like the solenoid for the winch to sit on top, so I removed the cover and put it out of the way. I'll let the pics tell the story.

 

[ceirsik]

Now for the remote button plug. Sorry guys, but I removed the FORD emblem and put it there. I think it's a perfect spot for it. I also wanted to be able to run the winch from inside the cab without having to run the remote trigger from the grill through the window. So I installed a on/off button to power the winch and a on/off/on momentary switch to run it. I'm loving it. Now to hide the wires..

Now how to keep the wires from falling out from behind the grill and make it so I can remove the grill.. "LIGHT BULB"

I used a rubber vac line and push it between the grill so it would hold the wires in and not be permanent.

And I have enough wire to remove the grill and put it above out of the way.

Looks good I think. I hate to see wires all over the place. Clean!!

Here is the inside cab button and switch. I'll make labels for it later.
LED light is ON it's ready to go.

LED light is Off and it's... well OFF!

More to come.. have to put my D rings on and get my stinger made and welded..