pics of the install? sounds great man, i cant wait for mine to get here.

 

Once you get them on your gonna love the ride difference. Pics are up on my CD on page 6.

http://www.cardomain.com/profile/revinsd

 

great pics. so im guessin you bolt up the rear bracket and arm, then line it up with the front spring hanger and brackte, then drill holes, bolt up, done? Is there any kind of adjustment to them? looks like the end of the arm is thread quite a ways.

 

Wow! Yet another revision to the L-brackets since I bought mine last August. It's cool that they bolt right on to the 28-spline spring plate. But those still wouldn't fit the 31-spline Level II axles, by the look of them.

 

I installed the rear brackets first, then dry fitted the front brackets with the bar lose. Once the front brackets were lined up I clamped them with a C-clamp and removed the bar. Then center punched for the the holes. Then removed the front brackets and drilled the holes in the spring hangers. After the holes were drilled and all lined up I bolted them in place, then installed the bars and bushings.

On the rear bushing tighen it till you feel it bottom out on the inner metal spacer and then just a tad bit more maybe a quarter turn. You dont want to crush it.

On the front bushings I ran the rears up finger tight then the front ones finger tight. Then turn each one, alternating front to rear, one turn until they bottom out on the inner spacer....Thats all there was to it.

Oh double check the hardware package...I was short two half inch lock washers and had to make a mad dash to the hardware store before they closed. You will also want an auto center punch...not much room to swing a hammer. Drill pilot holes first then drill out to 3/8"

PS: if you want them blue your gonna need to paint them, which I would recommend as the the paint job from JD is not very good. I used plasti-kote old ford blue No. 205 and some semi flat black on the brackets.

 

Yeah I noticed these had the newer bracket and it looks a little shorter then the older styles. Im sure it would still need to be slotted out for the 31 splined.

 

sweet, thanks for all the great insights. Im anxiously awaiting for these babys to come in. And my luck, theyd come in at work on wednesday when im off.

I was gonna ask about the paint, i orderd black, but i was wondering about the paint quality.

cant wait, i feel like a lil virgin boy again, about to finally..........

 

Got mine today!!! In the process of installin them. My dads got the drill on his work truck and isnt home yet. ive got the spring pack bracket installed already, and everything else pieced together. Just gotta drill some holes. Anyone have interference with the parking brake cables on the driverside? The bar looks as if its going to go right ontop of them.

 

Both of my p-brake cables pass above the spring pack and below the traction bars with no interference.

 

its on like donky kong. i just finished puttin them on, gonna go try them out. woot woot

 

Was just wondering if you got those yet. As for the drivers side you can see from the pic it runs just over the cable...and they clear just fine. I took my truck out over the weekend through the outback here in east county fishing and shooting. Even camped out in my new sports tent that fits in the truck bed.



Did you remember to flatten out the front brackets?

 

i tried to flatten one, got it a lil bit, but not much, so i gave up and just threw them on. Im off tomorrow, so im gonna go find somewhere that will flatten them out for me.

But all i can say about these things, man oh man why didnt i buy them sooner!!! I was climbing stuff that use to give me hell. Soft sand up hill, and starting off in soft sand, is no problem for me anymore. I just glide right through it. And driving on the street, the shiftin has improved greatly. And the rear is jumpy now. I used to go around corners and if i hit a bump while turning, the rear would want to jump out, not no more. I love these things. Next up, 4.10s and a locker, then my rear is done.

 

Yeah, these should have been standard equipment from the factory lol. See if you can find a auto shop with a hydraulic press. Takes about 10 sec to flatten them.

Oh and if your having any problems with the shifting (M/T) change out the tranny fluid with some Amsoil. Thats another night and day difference in the shift quality.

 

yea, when i changed out my slave a month ago( the second time now) the tranny fluid looked nasty, looked like a strawberry milkshake. When i get paid next friday im going to a shop so they can flush all of the old out, and suck in the new fresh stuff. I need to do the rear too, ive sunk the truck a couple times, and im sure theres some water in there

 

Whats the major difference between 28 spline and 31 spine?

 

31 spline is in the 8.8 axle, which is a lil bit wider. So you have to modify the bracket just a lil if you have an 8.8

 

Ranger 7.5 and 8.8 axles are both 28-spline. The Duff L-brackets should bolt on to both.

The exception is the special 31-spline version of the 8.8 used only on the 2002 FX4 and the 2003~2005 FX4 level II. Duffs will require modification to fit these models.

 

Larger axles, axle tubes, bearings, u-bolts and spring plates. In the Ranger version, it comes with a Torsen limited slip differential which is not used in other Ranger axles.

 

Installed!!!!

 

Quick question for you Bob -

I couldnt tell from the pictures you posted of your duff traction bars...where did you remove material to shorten the brackets 1 in? from the top? and then if so, you had to redrill the holes lower?

Also, how did you get the second bracket made? have some machining equipment of your own? i am going to get the bars soon and want the second bracket like you have but machine shops who are willing to do 1 piece fabs are rare where i am from...

Thanks in advance!

 

to answer your question about bobs height on the brackets, look at my first pic in the post above, and then look at the pics of his below



you can see he cut his down, and rounded it a bit, then redrilled his hole.

 

Im sure you'll still need to slotted out the mounting tabs and bevel them for the 31 splined axels. You may not need to cut them down since it looks like they are shorter than the original brackets, but if the FX2 comes with 4 leafs per pack you might.

 

There is a down side to "flattening out" the front brackets.
They're heat-treated, and forming steel after heat-treat makes it crack.

In the picture above, it looks like the upper thru-bolt is too long and could hit the frame (?).

 

Na the front brackets aren't heat treated. There cold worked via machine brake and theres plenty of room...its just the pic. In fact the thru bolt is just a tad shorter than the in-board U-bolts.

 

The front brackets are made of mild steel with a very shallow bend and flattening them would not be detrimental. Mild steel is readily formed and strength is actually increased by work hardening in the area of the bend. As long as the metal is not overworked, it will not lead to cracking.

The bolt will not hit but, with some JD bars on some Rangers, the eye on the rear end of the traction bar can strike the pinch weld on the bottom of the pickup box on full suspension jounce. That's why my brackets are shortened. It is possible that the latest JD bars may not have the same problem since the last L-bracket redesign.