I have a 98 ranger with the 2.5 and 5 speed. Like the tittle says I'm wanting to do a 4wd conversion with a sas. Im not a complete idiot but I'm by no means an offroad guru. I have a few questions I'd like to answer before I jump in this project. I've done some research and I've seen a bunch of people using jeep running gear. Is there a reason I don't see anybody running toyotas? Reason I ask is I know where I can pick up a toyota already on 35s and 4.88 gears pretty cheap. I know it would be cheaper and easier to just fix the yota but I'm pretty attatched to my ranger and I just want to do something with it. I'm also curios which t-case world be best for the job. I know I'm going with a divorced just not sure which is best for me. I don't plan on running anything bigger than 35s. I want to build it to be road worthy and offroad capable but nothing extreme. Any suggestions on a goid suspension setup? Im thinking about runnjng a coil setup but not set on it yet. When it comes to steering I just may be an idiot. Any advice there would be great. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

It's been awhile since I've done a lot of research on the subject, but I think Yota axles are Passenger side drop in the front. Ford Axles are Driver side drop, so it requires an all new t-case, which probably requires a new tranny, which probably requires a new engine.

It just makes things more complicated.

Simplest is the Jeep stuff from what I remember.

My take would be just keep reading through SAS build threads. Whatever you are thinking, it's been done and they'll probably have some good info for you as well.

 

Yea I jumped the gun. Little on my first post. The toyota stuff is all wrong. Lol. I think I'm going to use a wagoneer d44. As far as the tcase goes my ranger is only 2wd right now. I'm leaning towards a dana 300 tcase to make it work. Now my biggest decision is coils or leafs. And 4.88s or 5.13s.

 

Yeah. I'd personally say 4.88 if you want to drive it on the road. 5.13s are steep.

Like I said though, hop over here and look through some of the build threads.

https://www.ranger-forums.com/solid-...hreads-105259/

Just ignore the SniperX103 build since lord knows, I'll never actually finish that thing. :)

 

I been reading those. Lol. Some very informative threads. Thats actually where I got the idea for the 5.13s. Outdoorsman is running them on his with 35s and seems to like it. I wont be making any very long trips on the highway with it. Couple hours at very most. Its mainly just a fun ride that I can dive to go hunting and stuff. I need to research the difference in gear ratios between a standard and auto transmission. I feel like the auto will be a little higher. If that's the case I'll have to go with 4.88s.

 

I've done a lot of research and I've defiantly used the search function. My problem is this. There isn't much information about doing a 4x4 conversion sas on a 98-2000 single cab with a 2.5 and 5 speed. I know that the best choice for a front axle is a d44 out of a wagoneer but I'm not sure which year range I need. Im also considering a d30 from a newer jeep simply for cost. Its going to be driven often and not strictly a toy. I just want it 4x4. I'm also having a hard time deciding how to make it 4wd since they don't make a 4x4 transmission for my engine. I know I could do a motor and trans swap but I kinda want to keep the 4 banger. I also know I can have a 4wd tail shaft put in my Trans but that would make future repairs a nightmare. Would I have enough room to run a divorced tcase like a Dana 300 considering the truck is so short? Sorry for all the stupid questions but I know you guys have some great knowledge to share. Thanks in advance for any help.