Python86
10-20-2011, 11:44 PM
I've seen and heard many opinions and ideas on how to lift the rear end of a ranger for cheap including combining leaf springs, swapping to explorer leafs (not much lift to be had there by the way) and of all things putting 64" chevy leafs (ugh!)
When I installed my 4" Rough Country lift kit and put those 3" blocks under my rear it still sat lower than the front and I wasn't pleased with the amount of axle wrap I was getting.
I was told by a friend of a buddy of mine that f-150 leafs would work because a buddy of his tried it once and it seemed to fit so with this ever-so-reliable information I went to my local bone yard armed with my tape measure and a mountain of doubt to find out if it was possible and to my surprise they seemed to be the right size to bolt into the stock hangers on my Ranger.
I took my leaf springs out of a '94 F-150 and kept the whole spring packs intact. I was installing them on my '89 Ranger and the only difficulty I had putting them in was *EDIT*the mounting points are a little closer together on the 150 than on the Ranger*EDIT* and so with the help of my brother we used a ratchet strap to pull the end of the leaf spring out to the shackle until they were the right length then just slipped the bolts through and did them up. The only other work required is either getting shorter U-bolts made or getting the u-bolts and plates from the f-150 you are stealing the leafs from. *NOTE* the u-bolts from an f-150 will be the proper width for an 8.8" axle. If you have the 7.5" you can use them though I don't recommend it because they will be a very loose fit around your axle housing. The F-150 U-bolts are thicker and beefier looking than the ones on the explorer so I recommend them in any case.
Did this mod help and would I recommend it?
Yes and yes. I recommend this to everyone I meet who owns a ranger. You can get away with using your stock ranger u-bolts and plates and block and you will have yourself a rear end lift for less than 60 bucks. The end result for me was about 6" of lift which was enough that I could take not only the lift blocks out but the stock ranger blocks as well and have the leafs sit right on the axle. When combined with the belltech 6400 shackles I can tuck my 33's right up into my bed so far that they touch the top of the wheel well. I have also had over 1600 lbs (weighed on a highway scale) in the back with just minor sag.
I have included before and after pictures of the swap as well as a picture of the arc of the leaf springs installed
I hope this article is helpful to someone else and if this needs any editing or clarification just let me know and i'll try to clean it up a bit.
Also I think this would be a great idea to get posted in the Tech Library section of the site as explorer leafs and chevy leafs are both there which are neither as effective or as easy a swap to do.
When I installed my 4" Rough Country lift kit and put those 3" blocks under my rear it still sat lower than the front and I wasn't pleased with the amount of axle wrap I was getting.
I was told by a friend of a buddy of mine that f-150 leafs would work because a buddy of his tried it once and it seemed to fit so with this ever-so-reliable information I went to my local bone yard armed with my tape measure and a mountain of doubt to find out if it was possible and to my surprise they seemed to be the right size to bolt into the stock hangers on my Ranger.
I took my leaf springs out of a '94 F-150 and kept the whole spring packs intact. I was installing them on my '89 Ranger and the only difficulty I had putting them in was *EDIT*the mounting points are a little closer together on the 150 than on the Ranger*EDIT* and so with the help of my brother we used a ratchet strap to pull the end of the leaf spring out to the shackle until they were the right length then just slipped the bolts through and did them up. The only other work required is either getting shorter U-bolts made or getting the u-bolts and plates from the f-150 you are stealing the leafs from. *NOTE* the u-bolts from an f-150 will be the proper width for an 8.8" axle. If you have the 7.5" you can use them though I don't recommend it because they will be a very loose fit around your axle housing. The F-150 U-bolts are thicker and beefier looking than the ones on the explorer so I recommend them in any case.
Did this mod help and would I recommend it?
Yes and yes. I recommend this to everyone I meet who owns a ranger. You can get away with using your stock ranger u-bolts and plates and block and you will have yourself a rear end lift for less than 60 bucks. The end result for me was about 6" of lift which was enough that I could take not only the lift blocks out but the stock ranger blocks as well and have the leafs sit right on the axle. When combined with the belltech 6400 shackles I can tuck my 33's right up into my bed so far that they touch the top of the wheel well. I have also had over 1600 lbs (weighed on a highway scale) in the back with just minor sag.
I have included before and after pictures of the swap as well as a picture of the arc of the leaf springs installed
I hope this article is helpful to someone else and if this needs any editing or clarification just let me know and i'll try to clean it up a bit.
Also I think this would be a great idea to get posted in the Tech Library section of the site as explorer leafs and chevy leafs are both there which are neither as effective or as easy a swap to do.