Hi all,
I am looking for a source to buy ring and pinion gears for my 87 Raider front diff. Way back when (early 90's) I blew up the 2.6 that was in it. Since a new motor then was pretty hard to find back then, I decided to slightly modify my Raider and put a Ford V8 302 in it. Motor went in pretty easy only problem was the trans and transfer case didn't have clearance. A 2 inch body lift took care of that problem. Bigger problem was that with the stock 4.87 gear ratio I was running way to high RPM's going down the road at 60. 0-30 was great (about 2 seconds). Bought a 3.7 ratio gear set for the back end (same as used in the Conquest Tsi) and had it put in. RPMs are no longer a problem at high speeds. I can now run it as fast as I want. Problem is I never switched out the front gears so it has only been running in 2wd since the swap. Vechicle has been parked for the last 8 years (job, wife, life...) but now it is making its return to life. I want to finally swap the front gears out and get the 4x4 working but can't locate a source for a 3.7 ratio set. Any one know of a source for a set?

Others here will know better, but I think you are going to be in trouble here. The Montero/Raiders came with 4.626 back then. Other gears from later years are possible as are 5.29s if you can locate them. But nothing lower that I've seen. But the lowest used on the later years were something like 4.22. Don't know if they will fit the GenI...

What about gears from the Pickups? D50, Mighty Max? Nathan, Cragdweller, FE, what ratios did we have in them?

BUT WHOAH! 302? PLEASE start a new thread and give us more deets on that swap! I love to hear a good engine swap story.

Welcome to the forum...

PHIL

Will start a new post on specifics of swap.

Get ready to do a lot of typing. I expect there will be many replies on it... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong...but isn't the V6 front diff the same size as the Starquest rear, and aren't the I4 and V6 front ends interchangeable..?

I could be wrong on this but... You say that you used a starion ring and pinion. What year?

From what I have gleamed off this board. The early Starion rear diff should fit the front of the 2.6 and the latter should fit the 3.0

If this is correct Lloyd will have a detroit locker ( for sale soon)in the front of his 3.0 v6 that would fit the rear of your truck.

Then you would only need to find an early Starion with LSD for the front.

Like I said I could be wrong, I have been before and I have the ring to prove it.

I have a Starion rear diff sitting on the shelf in the garage. I could measure the ring gear and see if it is the same as your front. Let me know.

More uncertainties... I think the talks on Starquest relate to the LSD unit (clutch pack, etc.) and not to the rest of the axel per se. Take that with at least two grains of salt as I am definitely only beginning to learn these things myself.

Sit tight until Lee_N, or somebody, with CAPS can chime in. Or one of the pick up guys, as Phil said...

I used the ring and pinion for a 87 Conquest Tsi/Starion. From what I could find back then the rear axle used in the Tsi/Starion was the same axle used in the Raider/Montero even with the LSD. Was really difficult back in the early 90's to find any parts or mods for the Raider. Thank God for the internet. Makes the search alot eaiser today. Had to even make my own body lift for it. I was able to lift the body the 2 inches needed for around 30 dollars. Will do a seperate post on what I used to do the lift incase others are interested in a strong/cheap lift option.

Post any mods in their own threads, so they don't get lost in other discussions.

Body lifts are popular right now, so please post!