hey guys, this is my first post i guess ill introduce myself, my name is Dan and i just bought an 89 ranger, 4x4, 2.3, 5 speed, standard cab for a winter beater. anyways when i got the truck the guy had taken the front driveshaft out because it was bent. ive been looking all over junk yards for one and cant fint the exact same truck, so i pulled one out of a 85 ford ranger. the setup looked the same so i thought it would work. well it looks like the driveshaft doesnt want to go into the transfer case. am i doing somthing wrong or do i need the same year and what not?

thanks for any help, Dan

 

front driveshafts are the same between those years because the transfer case is the same........you have to make sure the splines is lined up correctly for the driveshaft to go into the t-case...

 

also confirm that it is the correct length because there were a few different transmissions between 83 and 89 that were actually different lengths.

 

yeah the one i got is too short. back to the bone yard i go. thanks for the help guys