Hey guys,

In my truck I have the 4.0 mated to a c4 auto and a 1350/1354 doubler with a DD Machine kit. Right now I'm running on stock suspension (2" spacer lift in front) because I'm waiting for a deal on a set of axles.

here's a link to the truck
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2430192

Ok, here's the deal: I have a set of 38x14.5x15 super swampers, I found a guy in town who wants to trade me for a dana 44 (low pinion wagoneer axle) and a ford 9" (f100 28 spline axle) . Both axles have 5.13's and full spools, they were on a cherokee, but he's going full width 60's.

I can get the axles for my tires plus $500, which is about a $900 investment for me, a great deal I think. (with high steer arms I might add)

The problem is I have a set of 33x12.5x15 that I was gonna throw on after the SAS until I could buy some 35-36ish tires, but with 5.13's and no overdrive, I'm thinking I will lose my DD status until I get bigger tires.

Is anyone running that combo, how does it work? can you get it over 60 on the highway without hitting redline?

The truck is my dd, I do have another car, but who wants to drive a crown vic and leave the ranger at home everyday, plus I want to be able to drive to the trails as I don't have a rig/trailer-Lamar is a long way from the mountains

anyway, what do you guys think?
as soon as I get the axles, I'll start an SAS thread.

 

holy crap ya with 5.13 you might as well get some 39's

 

If you're going to run spools then you lost your DD status right there, dont need to look at anything past that. You will HATE spools on a daily. Not to mention you'll burn up those tires in a matter of weeks.

 

I don't know about weeks, but for sure you'll be burning through tires, lol.

It'll handle like a dog. I mean, the price is good if you're going to use it for wheeling only and it would wheel like anything I would think.

 

i would sway away just cause of the spools..

 

My explorer is 'spooled' front and rear with drive flanges and i still drive it every day

 

i know when i live with my rents in houston, i could get d44 f/r for 300bux, rear had a locker, front had limited slip, and 4.10s. all i need was new brakes... i was gonna put that on my jeep but never did... there are better deals out there no doubt. if ya want to run a GM 12bolt... i got one with 3.07, no brakes, and no axles... 50bux and its yours hah

 

Does a c4 drop in?

 

he wants 900 for two axles only geared and with spools????

HUGE rip off...

 

No, actually you have to Lift it in

depending on the motor and current tranny, bolt on mods may have to be performed, flex plate and so forth

 

Well, the original deal was to trade my super swampers for the axles straight across, but he was gonna find some 4.11's and open diffs. but I guess he had trouble finding them cheap. He was gonna go full width dana44/9" and keep his 5.13's for those. then he found a deal on some 60's so he offered the gears, which he just had bought and installed like last year.

As far as driving with spools, I'm not worried about the rear, heck I drove a samurai welded for awhile with no probs, lots of tire chirping with short wheelbase though. It's the front I'm worried about being spooled and driving in snow and ice.

I was just wondering about the gearing aspect, would 5.13's and 33's and no od be impossible for highway travelling.

Personally, I'd rather go with 4.11's or maybe 4.56's, with a doubler I don't need that low of gear, as I'll probably never go over 36" tires on this ranger. The 5.13's would be great for my 38's, but I want to WHEEL this thing, not baby it.

and the c-4 is a bolt-in if you gather the right parts.

 

Anyway, thanks for the replies.

well, lets see, if I had to do this from scratch:

new gears front and rear = 300-350
spools front and rear = 100-150
installation 200-400, or 50 bucks if you know the right person, which I do.
high steer arms 150-200
tie rod with heims 50 (i believe it's the stock waggy tie rod, so that's for 2 heims)
so if I got just the axles, I would spend.........about 650, on the low side, but if I went that route, I would find some open carriers and put in lock-rights or similar, which would be another 150 min over spools.

I'd also need a heim for the draglink, but maybe I can talk him out of his (its off a cherokee, though, so I may need a tre for the pitman arm to make it work on the ranger)- the high steer arms are for heims (straight holes)

so from the cost of buying new, it looked like not a bad deal. Plus I need new rims, forgot about that, but I need those either way.

But I'm trying to go the cheapest route possible for now, in fact, I'm going front shackle leaf springs, even though it's my least favorite setup but it's the cheapest way to go. the axle is 3-linked already, but then I gotta buy heims/joints, DOM tubing, springs, etc.

If I could find some dana 44/ford 9 4.11's and open carriers for cheap, I could get the axles for nothing (well, for my 38's I mean) and I'd be ok for now until I can get some lockers.

 

Ok, so I decided not to go with the 5.13's/spools. I found a used lockright for the dana 44 and a ford l/s for the 9".

Now I just need gears, preferebly used 4.11's. I was gonna get the axles this weekend, but there's 8" of snow down here so I'll wait 'til next week.