4WD BEAMS

[Motorider]

I tried to ask this question with John's post, but I'll try to get it going again. Does anybody know how I can get more travel out of my 4x ranger. I've heard about going with f-150 I beams, but can you really do that. Right now I just have turned beams, but would like more travel. I also was told that you could legnthen the I beams, but I would have to find someone who would make me some custom axels. thanks in advance.

[John_Bitting]

Have the beams lengthened and get new axles made and you will get a lot more travel.. Donahoe says you can get 20+ out of a 4wd bronco with widening.. I am sure Rangers are very close. Maybe 18" He can get you axles too. If you setup the stock beams right you should have plenty of travel to go real fast. Look at Eduardo in the green 7s he hauls azz in his ranger with 4wd with stock width beams. Just get a good shock and get it valved properly and you should be set.. I think you can get 16" travel with stock beams..

[singlehanded]

Hey john, are the beams on the 7s really stock I know that most 7s have a lot of fabbing done, even though they say they are "stock length". What would it cost to get some fabbed 7s beams compared to extending them like most trucks? What is done to beef up the 7s beams and how much? Just curious!!!

local

[Kritter]

If they are on a 7s they are stock width. You can have +/- an inch total width The beams are beefed up by plating them. Extending the beams is a whole different story. Also a race truck usually has dialed in race shocks on each corner which give it the ability to haul arse.

Kris

"Revenge is best served cold"

[Motorider]

John, is that 7s truck able to use the stock mounting position? because right now i have 6" lift coils with dual bilsteins, but I have drop down brackets, and would like to go back to stock mounts. Can you just bend the ends to make the tires ride straight, and keep the axles stock?

thanks

[John_Bitting]

You move out the lower balljoint in order to get your alignment back.. Hopefully eduardo will login soon and answer all of our questions..

[jarreptolson]

John at autofab can modify dana 35, and probably dana44, beams in two separate ways; one would be the standard cut and turned. The second being plated and beefed up i think the second one is around 750 dollars and these can take anything you throw at them. Yet both of these are at standard lengths

[rdc]

Would a set of F150/Bronco beams (dana 44, maybe dana 44hd) cut-and-turned for 4 inches of lift mount up to an Explorer? I don't want just width, I want the stronger diffy too.

David - No one of consequence.

[rdc]

In a 2wd Ranger is there any advantage, strength, etc. to using 4wd beams that have been beefed,but without the 4wd hardware vs. I beams that have been beefed up? Is there much weight difference? Pro's, cons? This would be for a truck that does not have to meet any sanctioning bodies rules. Thanks. Richard

[Kritter]

I dont see any advantages to using 4wd beams unless gaining 0.5 inches in track is worth it. They do you give you a little more area to work with as for mounting shocks etc, due to their larger housing.

The 2 wd forged beams are plenty strong and if they are plated the way I have seen, they are stronger vs an equivalent plated set of 4wd beams. If you go out and beat it hard enough to bend or break your beams...the beams are going to be the least of your problems. Your pivot bracket bolts should shear before your beams break or bend or at least thats how most designs appear to me but without me doing the calculations it is just an assumption.

I was told from a friend at a reputable shop that he has never seen a set of beams cast or forged come back to him that were bent or broken regardless of what people say about them being weak. i use forged beams just because personal preference. I prefer the forged because you can weld on them, which on the cast beams you cant.

Kris

"Revenge is best served cold"

[John_Bitting]

I know some 7s teams use to run the 4wd housing because I think the spindles and stuff were stronger.. This is just a guess.. I cannot remember the exact reason but a couple of teams use to do it..

[V8Ranger]

kris,
To me it seems pretty tough to break an I-beam because they don't see too much stress. Most of the stress exerted on an I-beam suspension setup is exerted on the radius arm and the radius arm mount (mainly compressive forces). There is of course a moment (torque) exerted on the I-beam mount (horizontally by the terrain and vertically by the shocks) but that seems to be pretty insignificant compared to the force exerted on the radius arm. That's just my opinion, feel free to ignore it, after all I'm failing my M.E. classes.

John,
I have also been told that the 4wd spindles are quite a bit stronger than the 2wd ones so I think your assumption is correct

[GMS739]

JOHN ON MY 4X4 RANGER THE BEAMS ARE STOCK ,RENFORCED AND THE BALL JOINT IS MOVED OUT A LITTLE FOR ALINGMENT AND ALL MY PIVET POINTS ARE STOCK. I USE HEIMS ON MY RADIUS ARMS . I HAVE 12 IN TRAVEL FOR MY CLASS BUT I COULD OPEN IT UP TO 16 IN. I HAVE ONE 12IN KING SHOCK IN FRONT AND IT WORKS FINE.
EDUARDO GONZALEZ

[John_Bitting]

Gracias amigo... What is the next race for you??

[Jason]

ok....i know an average cost to building up a 2wd ibeam truck...(especially when weve built all our race trucks in our shop out back) but whats the cost for 4wd i beam(widend beams, 3 inch coilover, arms, axles) ??????....interested in building up a 93-96 f1504wd....curious on a price.....

hey john....u going to the vegas race this weekend..

[John_Bitting]

The only cost difference I found is in the Axles, Everything else is the same. Buy extended Radius from a reputable shop and it is the same you will pay for widened and plated beams. Coilovers and radius arms are the same.. Axles are $450 from Donahoe and about $800 from Currie.. I dont know the difference.. Oh and you will have to gear the front too... Its almost the same as a 2wd.. Why more people dont do it, I am not sure. I am glad I did.

[Motorider]

eduardo, are you running a king coil over, or just a resivored shock?

[Kritter]

He runs a 7s and thats why he limits it to 12" or at least thats what i would think. No coilovers in 7s.

"Revenge is best served cold"

[GMS739]

motorider
irun a 2tubebypass shock i cant run a coilover in 7s or at least right know how rules change who knows what we could do in class 7s.new rules this year lets see what we can do maybe more travel it would be nice know that we have more power with this bigger engine. but for now its just bypass shocks.


john my next race is in december in ensenada it a local race from ojos negros to san felipe its about 250 mile race. its on dec 14-16 2001.

thank eduardo gonzalez

[singlehanded]

What about Jim Wimmers 01 tocoma its a 7s and has coilovers? Its in the december issue of off-road. Is this common on toyotas in 7s any others out there? I would assume it has an advantage over the noncoilovered trucks. It looks sort of on the questionable side being able to have the stock bucket location, but then cut thru it for the coilovers. But I guess thats all up to the person checking it at the race.

local

[GMS739]

i belive toyota tacomas come with a coil over from the dealer but they are still limeted to 12 in travel.

[John_Bitting]

Yes they do come with a coilover factory that is how they are able to run it.. And yes they still have to limit to class rules 12"