• Garage Projects

    The Mighty Merc – Moving the VSS and Tone Ring Math

    In 1999 (and newer) Explorers and Mountaineers use a tone ring in the rear differential to give a signal for the VSS. This signal is used for the automatic transmission inputs as well as the ABS and speedometer. While my autotragic and ABS is going away, I still wanted to have a working speedometer and cruise control.

  • Garage Projects

    The Mighty Merc – Shifting The Mess Part 1

    So now that the NWF doubler has been put together, it was time to start figuring out how to shift this mess. After listening to my janky shifter setup rattle going down the road in the Ranger, I decided that I wanted something that made a lot less noise. Some time spent with the plasma table at work during lunch and came home with a pile of parts: And grabbed some scrap ½” rod with 1.25” OD DOM tube for…

  • Garage Projects

    The Mighty Merc – Building the NWF Doubler

    After having a D&D Doubler in The Lone Ranger, I knew that I wanted another crawl box in this build. Especially since I intend to run a manual in this rig. After nearly getting burned on Behemoth Drive Train on another project (thankfully I got my money back out of that deal) I started looking for another supplier. Enter North West Fab (NWF) with their Eco Box:

  • Garage Projects

    The Mighty Merc – Shaving the NP205

    I knew I was planning on running a doubler setup in this rig (more on that in a later post). I wanted an economical, and robust transfer case for the rear that could be twin sticked. There really are only two options when it comes to this, either the D300, or NP205. The D300, while available cheaply, tend to get expensive once you start needing to beef them up. Considering that this this will likely be a 6,ooo lb rig…