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Letters published in this magazine reflect the opinions of the writers, and we reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, brevity, or other purposes. Always check state regulations before modifying a vehicle with pollution controls or one that will be driven on the street. We will answer as many letters as possible each month, but due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot reply to unpublished letters or return photos. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.
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Nuts & Bolts
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704
E-mail to:
david.kennedy@primedia.com
Tech Tip of the Month:
Finally, a Locker For An F-150!
Detroit Locker (800.328.3850, www.detroitlocker.com) has just released the only locking differential for the Ford 9 3/4-inch axle. In fact, it's the only aftermarket differential for this axle at all. The new carrier should be available for your '97-and-newer Ford F-150 or Expedition by the time you read this-so any of you who were thinking of swapping a Dana 60 or Ford 9-inch axle into your late-model truck can put those plans on hold. The 9 3/4-inch locker (model number 225C-194A, PN 72147), will retail for $645. Unfortunately there's not enough left of our Ford to install one and test it out.
V-8 Ranger Swap
Question: I have an '01 Ford Ranger with a 3.0L V-6 and I was wondering if I could put a V-8 in it. If I can, what kind of rear axle do I need to handle the new power? I want to put a five-speed in it at the same time. What kind would work? And what about the wiring? What kind of stuff would I need for that?
Mike Walker
Camp Pendleton, CA
Answer: Sure, you can put a V-8 in your Ranger. The most popular donor engine is the '87-'93 Mustang 5.0L that people typically bolt in with engine mounts, headers, and radiators from Advance Adapters (800.350.2223, www.advanceadapters.com), James Duff (360.683.2160, www.jamesduff.com), or L&L Products (972.475.5202, www.landlproducts.com). Even though we've seen V-8 Rangers with the 7.5-inch rear axle your truck has, we'd rather see you swap in an 8.8-inch axle from a 4.0L Ranger for reliability. If you want a five-speed transmission, your best options are to either run the Mustang's T-5 transmission or swap the entire 5.0L engine, transmission, and transfer case out of a fullsize F-150 into your Ranger. If you go the Mustang route, Advance Adapters has two kits that allow you to adapt the T-5 transmission to your stock transfer-case kit (PN 50-1802 or PN 50-1803). As far as wiring goes, there are a number of aftermarket harnesses available from Painless Wiring (800.423.9696, www.painlesswiring.com), Ford Racing (586.468.1356, www.fordracingparts.com), and Windsor-Fox (760.946.FUEL, www.windsor-fox.com) to make swapping in the Mustang engine easier. If you choose to use a 5.0L from a fullsize truck you're going to have to salvage the factory wiring harness from the donor vehicle and adapt it to work with your Ranger's wiring. In other words, you're on your own, and you better have factory wiring diagrams for both vehicles!
4.56 or 4.88?
Question: I have a '71 El Camino that we installed the drivetrain from a '78 Blazer into. I'm running a 327 V-8, with double hump (turbo heads), a 750 Edelbrock carb, a factory cast high-rise intake, a geardriven cam, and Hooker headers. Tires are 38x12.50-15 Gumbo Monster Mudders. What axle gear ratio do you suggest running-4.56:1 or 4.88:1? I would like to have it run down the road with ease, but yet still have a little bark when I take off.
Bill Eggers
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Answer: Based on how you've built this truck we can't imagine you're going to be driving on the highway that much with it. If it were our toy we'd go with the 4.88s. We don't think you'd notice the roughly 200-rpm difference the engine would see at 65 mph, but you'd feel the difference every time you accelerated from a standstill with the 4.88s. In case you want to play with other gear ratio possibilities you can find out what your theoretical engine speed at 65 mph would be with the following formula: [(65 mph x rear axle ratio x transmission overdrive ratio-if you have overdrive)/tire diameter] x 336
Flat Leaf Springs a Problem?
Question: I have an '85 F-250. The problem is the front leaf springs are straight instead of having an arch in them. Should I change these out for new ones because they are straight instead of arched like the back ones? My buddy says change them because they might be dangerous. What do you suggest?
Eric Tidwell
Cross City, FL
Answer: Based on your description we'd say the leaf springs are fine. They don't have much arch because that is the way Ford designed them. The idea was that the flat springs provide a better ride quality than a positively arched spring would at the same ride height.