Source for Ranger STX ibeam/ttb pivot mounts.

[philofab]

Anyone have a source for Ranger STX ibeam/ttb pivot mounts? I went to Ford today and they said they are discontinued. I need a set for my truck.

[1450-ranger]

JY Time

[Brandon_Charley]

I think i've read that Autofab's mounts are based off the STX pieces.

[steveG]

I've bought a couple sets from Autofab. They're very nice pieces. Well designed and stronger than OE.

[philofab]

I'll call John tomorrow. Thanks.

[steveG]

By the way, also not cheap, but well worth the money.

What are you building?

[tre5]

If your willing to drive to phx there is one in craigslist. I called him and he was going to email some pictures, but he hasnt sent them yet. I was going to pick them up to check them out, but they are yours if he still has them. I dont need them that bad. Steve do you have a picture of the stx pivots, I want to compare them to the ones that I have. I dont know if the ones I have are stx pivots or not. That was another reason I wanted that guy to send me some pics of the pivots he had.

[philofab]

I got rid of my broncos, so now I need to build something for the dezert again. I scored a low mileage 85 ranger 4x4 thats been unmolested and in storage for ten years. I'm putting some of my bronco stuff under it. D44 TTB and a 9". I was going to use a factory STX pivot because it's like an inch lower than the stock one and way stronger. Foutz used to use them on this 7s. I know they will be expensive... John is a smart and talented guy... and he deserves to get money for his time and effort. What the going rate on his brackets before I waste his time tomorrow?

[philofab]

I just got back from Phoenix... blew up the trans in my Caddy on the way back in wickiup, stupid unreliable Turbo 400s. What part of Phoenix is he in?

[philofab]

Pics of STX high rider brackets:

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=363&highlight=stx+brackets

[steveG]

A couple pics showing the Autofab brackets.

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/266286/fullsize/ex-front-under.jpg

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/314865/fullsize/f150exp-(8).jpg

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/322534/fullsize/reinforced-pass-beam-d35-(2).jpg

John also builds brackets for the D44 TTB conversion which he had originally planned on selling separately, but he decided to only sell them with the "Foundation Kit". I don't blame him. They've got a ton of work into figuring out the pivot points.

Are you using D44 housings modified for lift on a Bronco?

[philofab]

My plan was to modify a fresh set of TTBs to fit the ranger pivots with uniballs and then build a healthy set of radius arms to fit the truck w/ a D44. I'm planning on running 35 inch tires and lengthening the wheelbase a bit. I havent started building it yet but it looks like it will work with a little length added to each side of the TTB D44. I haven't gotten it in there to cycle and see where the ujoint maxes out yet but I expecting a clean 18" of travel. The eventual plan is to put a spare 302 and C4/toyota transfer case setup I have in it. For now I'll just sport the 2.8/5 speed until it breaks.

Not willing to share how much John gets for his brackets huh? I'm thinking like $250-$300 a set.... but I couldn't find anything on his website. Am I close? I'll probably be better off if I just build my own pivots... It should only add 8 to 12 hours to my build. Yay.

[steveG]

Honestly, It's been years since I bought the last set. The first set came as part of a complete front end kit and were not priced individually. I traded some work for the second set so I got a good deal on them (still not cheap). Instead of me guessing on what they cost today, I think you're better off getting a price directly from Autofab. I will say that I think your estimates are low.

18" of travel will be no problem with the D44 beams even at stock length. I think John got almost 19" of travel out of his D44 TTB conversion using a coil-bucket.

[philofab]

I tend to go on the conservitive side when measuring travel, 18 is still a lot on a ranger. I just called John... he quoted $600 for the pair. I have no problem with that price, I'm just not sure if I need to go that route yet.

BTW, I didn't know you had a ranger... I thought you just had a bronco. Have any more pics of the ranger?

[tre5]

Keep us posted on the build. One of these days I'll get mine going as well.

[steveG]

The Rangers I've owned were all 2wd. The 4wd kit was for my old Explorer. Not much bling, but it was damn fun and still netted 20 mpg on the freeway. I miss that thing!

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/289268/fullsize/explorer-d-day-(5).jpg

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/297382/fullsize/explorer1.jpg

[tre5]

I just got back from Phoenix... blew up the trans in my Caddy on the way back in wickiup, stupid unreliable Turbo 400s. What part of Phoenix is he in?

Missed this one before, sorry. I emailed him yesterday, and still havent heard back from him. I do have his phone number from last week in an email somewhere. He is in AJ.

[philofab]

If you pass on those mounts I'll have my cousin pick them up... he's down in Gilbert. He owes me since I gave him a Bronco :).

[Brandon_Charley]

How much lift do you get from the STX/Autofab mounts?

[tre5]

I think around 2"

[inmymind]

Steve that explorer looked great- vary solid. Just a cuple of questions. I've aquired a 92 explorer 4x4 and was wondering if the STX pivit bracket would fit on my explorer. Also I was wondering what you ran for the rear suspenion.

[steveG]

Steve that explorer looked great- vary solid. Just a cuple of questions. I've aquired a 92 explorer 4x4 and was wondering if the STX pivit bracket would fit on my explorer. Also I was wondering what you ran for the rear suspenion.

Yes they'll fit. That's what was on the Explorer. The rear was actually a stock leaf pack flipped to the top of the axle and 2.5" shocks. It sucked compared to the front, but worked surprisingly well until you hit the big stuff.

[Brandon_Charley]

Steve, did yours just have the brackets, or is that pic cut and turned also?

[steveG]

Steve, did yours just have the brackets, or is that pic cut and turned also?

It had both. The Autofab D28 and D35 kits use the STX-style pivot brackets and modified beams. The beams are modified for use with the STX brackets. Doing this alleviates a lot of the axle-shaft and axle-joint issues associated with kits that use stock brakets. Plus it adds bump and droop wheel travel to boot.