i did some searches and couldn't find what i was looking for...

just curious... i have an 05 ranger edge 4.0 4x2..... what would be needed to convert it to a 4x4.....

 

sell it and buy a 4x4 so much easier.

I had the same problem as you..I bought a 2wd truck and decided i wanted to go muddin with it.. I sold it and bought a 4x4.

 

I'm doing that later. I'm using a solid axle, and not the independent of a donor ranger.

You need the following:

1. Full front suspension setup. Your existing control arms, steering rack, and torsion bars can be used -- but you need the front spindle/bearing assembly, brakes, differential and axles. If you use a solid axle swap, you need to fab steering box mounts linkage, and what type of front spring suspension you will use, etc.

2. Besides the transfer case, you also need the transmission from a 4x4 Ranger. The output shaft on the 4x2 transmission is longer (to reach the same differential) and there is an "adaptor cone" on the 4x2 transmission. The 4x4 transmisison does not have the adaptor -- the t-case sits there -- and it has the shorter shaft to tie into the transfer case.

3. The transfer case is most often of the borg-warner electrically shifted type. The controller for this mounts in the passenger compartment behind the kick panel on the right hand side. I'm not sure about interlocks to the engine and all. I'm either going to use my own control circuit to drive the motor, or use a manual t-case from and FX4 Ranger. Haven't decided.

4. You will not have proper speedometer indication in 4LO without connecting the transfer case controller to the PCM. I haven't looked into whether the 4x2 PCM's have the input and it's just unused, or what.

 

No fun...and you lost money in the process, lol. And you still don't have a solid axle front end and your truck costs a million dollars to lift.

If you're tolerant of the work involved, doing a SAS conversion gets you a more capable truck.

 

See above. It's a ton of work and you'd probably spend more money getting the parts than just trading in and getting a 4x4. To complete it you'd need to:

-Swap out the tailshaft of your transmission to a 4x4 one
-Retrieve and install a transfer case (BW1354)
-Retrieve and install 4x4 driveshafts, front and rear
-Switch out the upper control arms for 4x4 ones, and swap out the lowers to accept the torsion bars
-Retrieve and install a new crossmember with bracketry and mounts for torsion bars
-Retrieve and install a Dana 35 IFS front axle
-Swap out spindles for 4x4 knuckles to accept CV shafts
-Remove coil springs and replace with t-bars

That's just the basics. It's really not worth it....

 

yea, it would be too much. The easiest way to make it close to a 4x4 would be to put in a rear end locker. Thats what im doing this spring/summer. With that you should be able to goto most places 4x4's can

 

Actually I made money on my old truck..sold it for $500 more then i bought it for. I dont have tools or knowledge to do the SFA...so ya, selling and buying was best for me.

 

appreciate it guys... i was just wondering... i don't really see myself doing too much muddin.. i'd like to go and do a lil off roading... so it prolly isn't necessary to have 4x4 really...

thing is i just got this 05.... i don't wanna trade it in and lose money on it... im already paying off the crappy resale value of my past vechicle too... dont need to add ne more to it...

another thing is... all mods i see for rangers aren't for 05's... wtf... no one seems to have an intake... and im not sure which bamachip is necessary for my ranger... i've been searching everywhere and getting no luck with this 05

 

I'm wheeling a 4x2 now relatively successfully -- though not totally. Some conditions just require a 4x4...and some require a submarine...

Well, it's all in how you look at it. I'm handy and have plenty of help and can get the parts pretty cheap overall. I'm keeping this truck virtually forever and I'll just keep building it over time, so for me trading it in is not really a priority.

I don't believe you need a different rear driveshaft though. The t-case fits where the current adaptor is and is the same size from what I've seen. It's not MUCH of a savings, but it helps, lol.

It will be a lot of work for me -- but mainly because of the SAS swap. The steering box, spring mounting, etc. are all major tasks compared to swapping the tranning and wiring some kind of control for the transfer case. GETTING the tranny or getting mine modified is actually the hardest thing to do on a budget -- but I'm in no hurry.

 

Anything for a 04 will/should work with an 05. Lots of things that work for an 01-03 work with an 05, like suspension stuff.

 

for right now im just looking at bama chips, intake, and exhaust... i know exhaust isn't an issue... just dont wanna buy an intake and it not even match up... i'd figure that they'd be the same since nothing is supposed to be different...

thanks everyone.. i appreciate it....

 

actually he upgraded in many ways.

newer truck
less milage
4.0 > 3.0
etc.

and its not a million dollars for a lift. more like 1400. big difference.

 

i would use a manual t-case they are more reliable than the electric

 

I just think it's a really, really bad idea...lol...

 

It's not a bad idea. Not if you're going to SAS it anyway. At that point, trading the truck in makes less sense -- especially if you've already upgraded the axle and what not like I have. Too much swapping and you'd need the other truck first and so forth to put your old parts on -- and you still need to do all the SAS work.

Manual t-case is MUCH better if you've got room on the floor for the shifter, lol. My electronics get in the way, but I'm still mulling that over.

I look around, and the guys I see having the most fun with, and getting the most out of, their rigs are guys that have had the trucks like, forever, and just keep building on them. The guys I see always buying that "better" truck just seem to be throwing money away and starting the build process all over again. Doesn't make much sense to me.

You own a truck for a couple of years, then you trade it, and claim to "make" money off of it -- but you didn't make back all the money you paid into it, and you still end up with an extensive NEW truck payment -- for like 5 more years or whatever. I'll own this one soon, and all the money I currently am paying in loans can instead go to MODS.

And $1400 for just a "lift" is LIKE a million dollars to me, lol. I can do the whole SAS conversion for that amount of money. That's a LOT less than a new truck, and I don't throw away the money and time I've already invested in mods.

Besides which, need I say it: newer ain't always better.

 

^^ I was jus makin a little joke about me a couple days ago.

 

Well, you know me -- it only takes a word to get a thousand back, lol...

 

That deserves a footnote I think.. it all depends on what you're after. If you're after a trail/off-road only vehicle.. I think you have a very valid point. But if you're just after better snow handling and some mild off-road capabilities, a trade is probably much more economical.. especially when the question of time and effort is involved. Not everyone wants (or needs) a lift.

4x4's hold resale a helluva lot better up this way than 4x2's do.

Also a custom SAS will destroy the resale value of the vehicle.

 

Yes, you're right, Colin -- that's true. My viewpoint of a 4x4 truck has just increasingly shifted over time to more and more offroading to the point where I don't even consider it for what you just posted.

 

im doing a 2x4 to 4x4 in my 91 i picked up a 86 ranger 4x4 off cl with an 8 inch lift ( im putting those parts on my 91 well because i like my 91 :D)

btw i picked up the truck for 300 bones :D