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RockRangerII Refresh

I am going to be going through my 93 ranger and giving it a refresh. I bought the truck in late 2004. Other then a rancho lift kt it was an all stock stripped truck with a 4.0 manual trans and tcase. No AC cruise or power windows. The perfect basic wheeling rig.

Here are the specs of how the truck currently sat before this refresh.

4.0V6 all stock
Stock 5 speed
d.d. machine duel case setup with manual 1350 front and 1354 rear.
Front axle is a 1984 Jeep wagonner dana 44 converted to 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern 4.88 gears and an Aussie locker
Three link front suspension using 8" skyjacker TJ springs.
Rear axle is a 1992 explorer 8.8 4.88 gears and welded spider gears.
63" Chevy springs with a bellteck shackle.
BroncoII tank behind the rear axle
Warn 9.5 XP winch behind the front grill.
Interior roll cage
37" MTR on 17" steel rims

11806351705_12f3ea8e7c_c.jpg

Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

I took the truck down to King of The Hammers and few years ago and did some wheeling and managed to crush the bed good. Broke both front hubs and all 4 front axles, bent the rear driveshaft and ripped a shock mount off. Due to life getting in the way it sat on the trailer for 18 months before I even touched it again. Now I plan to give the truck some love and get it back on the trials again.
 



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Next I decided to trim the rockers and remount my sliders higher up. I marked a line about 1/2" down from the door jamb. and cut everything below off with a cutoff wheel. I used a 2lb sledge and rolled the bottom cut off section back under the cab so there would be no sharp edges at the door entrance.

Before


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

After


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

Then I made some new mounts and remounted my old sliders.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr
 






A friend of mine gave me some 6" skyjacker ranger rear springs so I tossed them on as by Chevy springs were toast. The truck sits a bit tail high right now. I will make adjustments once the bed is built and see what needs to be changed. I would like to lower the truck about 2" but I will mess with that once I finish building everything else.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

I also built some quick release mudflap mounts. They are made out of 1/8" plate cut on my cnc plasma table. Welded together and then a piece of 1" square tubs slides in and held with a pin. Hopefully it will keep the law happy.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr
 






When I was swapping the rear springs I was needing a longer rear brake line. After a trip to Napa I found one that would work. I posted the information on it here. http://therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147524

I also hate the lip on the bottom of the 8.8. It seams like I would get caught on it all the time. I really wanted to shave the bottom of the housing like people do with 14bolts. My skills and tools aren't there yet so I decided to try something different.

Here is the lip I am referring to.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

Did some cardboard cad


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

Drew them on the computer and then cut them out.


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Glued them to the axle. I just mig welded them on. So we will see how it does.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr
 






Started on a new rear bumper that will also tie into the tube bed. A few minutes with a tape measure at the truck and this a bit of computer time I made this.


bumper drawing by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

Then started assembling.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

Then painted.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

If I did it over again I would skip the receiver tube. With the BII tank there inst enough room to properly gusset it and make it strong enough to be worth anything.
 






Awesome work man. I really like the quick disconnect mudflaps design too, might need to copy that for mine.
 






Looks great. I am in for updates :)
 






Nice Matt...look forward to the build.
 






Hard to believe that this will be your 10th anniversary with this truck:eek:

Looking forward to seeing the work progress:chug:
 






Matt,
Did you put anything on the bottom of the rocker panels after you cut them off to re-seal that area? Do you have a shot from the bottom, looking up?

~Mark
 






Hard to believe that this will be your 10th anniversary with this truck:eek:

Looking forward to seeing the work progress:chug:

Hard to believe. I still would rather have my 86 back...... with my doubler, solid axle, 4.0, and bigger tires :D


Matt,
Did you put anything on the bottom of the rocker panels after you cut them off to re-seal that area? Do you have a shot from the bottom, looking up?

~Mark

No. The rangers are different then the explorers. 95% of what I cut off was just a single layer of sheet metal. The back 3" corner of the cab is a boxed area. I thought about welding a piece in to re seal it but decided it wasn't worth it. This truck is a toy that sees maybe a few hundred miles a year. I also am in a dry climate so I am not worried about road crime and rust getting in there to destroy it. Honestly rocks will probably destroy the cab before rust ever will.
 












Finished up the rear bumper. I still haven't figured out why when the ignition key gets turned on I get 8 volts sent to the brake light circuit. I will deal with that issue later.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr


Sold my old front and rear bumpers. I am committed now to having to build a new one.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

Then I started on my new lower link mounts/ transmission mount/ skid plate. My goal is to make the bottom of the truck smoother and thus easier to slide over rocks. At some point I came down hard on the passenger frame and bent it up between my lower link mounts and the skid plate. I did the same thing on my 86 ranger as well. Hard to see but it goes up about a 1/2" in the middle of the speed square.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

Here is part of the driverside mount. I added some angle in the mounts to help the Johnny Joints work at a better angle.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

Here it is mocked up on the frame rail.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

Start on the passenger side tomorrow.
 






I can't tell from the picture or put it together in my mind...where did those pieces you cut go on the bottom of the 8.8?
 






Yes I welded them to the bottom of the housing. If you look at the housing it slopes down the pinion then once it gets to the cover it goes strait down 3/4". Hopefully this 30 sec not to scale sketch shows it better from the side.

Black s the diff center section
Red is the pinion
The layers of blue are where the pieces were welded on.

Hope that explains it better.
 

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Nice clean work like usual man. I sent you my address and payment for the mud flap mounts.
 












Ah ok got it, it was the layering of the triangular pieces I couldn't see in the picture.
 



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Started the day by cutting some mud flap brackets for Midnightrebel07. They will be in the mail Tuesday.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

Then I cut, assembled, and installed the passenger side frame rail bracket.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

One thing I did on my last build was add a spacer to the link mounts when I built them. I have found if you weld a bracket with just a joint installed it it can be a bear to get the joints in and out after welding. What I have found that works perfect is a piece of galvanized roof flashing from Home Depot. I bought a roughly 8"x12" piece for $0.79. I think it is 24 gauge. It is just enough to make it easy to slide a joint in and out but when you tighten the nut and bolt it pulls in and still stays tight. I just tossed it on the plasma table and made a quick cut. have never cut the material before so just guessed at it. For its purpose it will work fine. Maybe later I will try to dial in however I don't see cutting much 24 gauge in my future.


Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr
 






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