Pete M

I'm no help with the various gizmos, but that should be an AX-5 trans. :thumbsup: the AX-15 is the bigger brother found behind the 4.0L. Unless the previous owner did the dakota bellhousing swap too (which adapts the ax15 pattern to the 2.5 pattern).

it was in fourwheeler's top truck challenge back in 1998. man was it ever impressive! didn't win, but they ran out of time in the tank trap (lost a lot of time in the canyon being a big truck) and decided to finish the course anyway, just for fun. :D

be prepared. nothing you're contemplating is cheap or easy.

:drool:

it's been done. :thumbsup: to varying degrees of success/failure. be prepared to spend tons of money, and then fight to keep the beast cool even after spending tons of money (mjs and xjs suffer from a small radiator opening and a tiny engine bay).

2wd is 462074A I think www.transtar1.com/catDownload.asp?ID=604

easiest way is to send the fullsize image to me. :thumbsup: the forum software doesn't always work the way it's supposed to. :( petermontie@hotmail.com be sure to include your screen name in the email

4spd manual? 5 spd manual? auto? more importantly, you'll need to find out what ratio you have. -jack up one rear tire and put the trans into neutral. then rotate the tire around exactly twice while counting the number of times the driveshaft rotates around. -if the axle has a posi, then jack up both tires and rotate one of them just once. if the driveshaft rotates a bit over 3 and a half times, then it's a 3.55. if it's a hair over 4, then it's a 4.10, etc. if you've only got 3.55s, then you might want to scale back on the tire size a bit because that little 2.5 is really going to struggle. :(

which engine/trans do you have? which gear ratio in the axles?

Ya and not the rest of the other team is even more pissed off and has an icon to rally behind....... still kinda weird to me that they would rally behind someone that's been hiding like a coward in caves and back rooms for 10 years. :dunno:

just an fyi, but when you go to any forum out there and bash that which the members hold dear, be prepared for some flak.

not a clue. :dunno: I'm in suburbia. the nearest hotels I know of are out by the freeway, airport or in detroit.

all of it.

couple thoughts: -used gears and bearings might never run quiet. they might be fine. or they might not. -are you setting them up yourself?

:rotf:

be prepared that 2.5L + 4spd manual trans = 3.55 gears, and that can cause the truck to become painfully underpowered when you bump up to 31" tires. :(

no. For every inch in extra shackle length, the truck only goes 1/2" higher. and in reverse, that would mean to get 3.5" of lift the a shackle would be 7 inches longer than your current ones. that's ~12" in total length.

or you can simply email the full image to me and I'll take care of the rest. :thumbsup: petermontie@hotmail.com

keep in mind that vehicle height and tire height will adversely affect handling. if your truck is a daily driver, please give some consideration to how you will be spending 99% of your time in that seat. :thumbsup: I wouldn't get any lift that didn't include lower control arms and extended swaybar links. but you can also piece together a decent kit. just make sure it's complete. completely custom with ford axles

I'd rather have a complete 3" lift than half a 4.5" lift. 31s fit much better in the wheelwells and have less affect on ride quality. I hated my 3.07s and just 30" tall tires. you couldn't pay me to be undergeared again. how much road travel will the truck will see? freeway?

got a haynes shop manual yet?

the gear size determines how fast the speed spins. any gear should work, but only one wil be accurate for any particular tire size. there's a chart somewhere showing which one goes with what tire. the important thing is that any gear should give you a reading of some kind (assuming everything else is working properly). the speedo housing you installed has markings on it and you need to rotate it to the appropriate side. The rotation brings the gear closer or further away to the main shaft inside and affects tooth engagement. if you clean up the metal speedo housing, you should see little numbers on it.

gearing costs hundreds to change. a better choice is to find a junkyard axle with better gears already installed. 4.10 gears is a pretty common choice. look for 2.5L MJ/XJ/YJs (a warning though, that 2.5/4speeds came with 3.55 gears so you need to check) or some Explorers came with 4.10s in their 8.8 rear axles. what is the intended use for the truck?

what do you mean you think you need a new one? what's wrong? when adapting a late model t-case in my 90, I had to swap the shafts on the speedo gears.

3" and 31s are a good compromise for stock gearing. being 2wd or 4wd doesn't matter in this discussion. gearing is key. :thumbsup: either way, don't go cheap on the lift. :wrench: