hard to find lift for '93-present Coil IFS

From my reading of this forum, I've come to the conclusion that the following is true:
-Lots of us have Rangers from 1993 to present with coil spring IFS.
-Of those, many of us are looking for an economical way to raise the front ends of our trucks, perhaps only a little
Of course, for the rear, the options for a minor lift are many, shackles, blocks, etc. But for the front, we're left without much hope- at least the torsion bar guys got *something*

So far, I've counted five or six threads dealing with leveling coils, spacers, spring swaps from explorers, F-150's, etc., but here's the problem- NOBODY wants to get specific!
At least one thread was posted by a member whose leveling springs gave him too much lift (reportedly 2"), and then the thread was abandoned by the OP! No word on what brand or where to buy.

In the spirit of actually HELPING each other, here's me getting specific.

I have a 2002 Ranger XLT (supercab) with a front brush guard and large UWS toolbox weighing it down, the front end sagged WAY too much for my taste. Before beginning my project:

-Driver and passenger bumpstops measured .75" from the frame.

After nobody in this forum was of any help, I went shopping for coil spring spacers. Discount Auto happened to have just the thing! In the Towing/Trailer section of the store I found butyl rubber spring spacers for under $10. They measured roughly 1.75" tall, and a little more than 6" across.
The install was a snap for anybody whose put in a coil spring- be safe, and never trust an unrestrained spring. As I told my friend (he's a saint, btw.) "We're treating this side of the truck like a loaded shotgun with a hair trigger."

The end result: The bumpstop-to-frame measurement went from .75" to 2" in a single afternoon.
All my ball joints and bushings creak like bastards from the new positioning. alignment and steering seem to have no problem.

It appears as though my shocks (along with the sway bar) are the ultimate limiting factor holding the spring in. This has led me to believe I can get another inch of lift with a longer travel shock.
Monroe Shocks' website shows stock part # for my truck is 911153, with a compressed height of 9.5" and extended of 13.5", yielding 4" of travel. By switching to part# 911220, I can get a 9.75"-14.75"
Strangely, if you check NAPA's website (Bless them for listing dimensions on shocks, nobody else does), the correct replacement part is 11.5" compressed to 17.875" extended.(NAPA part # RR 94241)
I'm going to go with that shock in the next week or so and report back on if it provides any lift.
I'm sure it will simply by virtue of the fact that the current shocks have 90k+ miles on them.

Finally- the true test will be tire time. It's coming soon- my goal is to fit 30 inch tires on this truck, which I've heard is possible on a stock (not old and sagging) suspension.
More on that if this thread takes off.
Thanks for reading all that mess!
-Ken

93-97 is twin I-beam supsension...while its technically IFS, its nothing like the SLA suspension found under 98+ trucks. just wanted to make sure there was no misunderstanding there.

im not sure what your confusion was exactly....anything with coil springs can attain a cheap 2"-or-so lift with spacers. and if your looking for more than that, there are several companies that makes kits (yes, you need to spend the big bucks for more than 2" or so in the front).

i highly reccomend having the truck aligned after the lift. your tires might look close, but i can almost promise that your camber is out a little now.

93-97 is twin I-beam supsension...while its technically IFS, its nothing like the SLA suspension found under 98+ trucks. just wanted to make sure there was no misunderstanding there.

Click to expand...

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Well, there's a bit of help right there.
But until now, I'm not aware of anyone that's actually posted where to get them, how they fit, and how they affect ride/handling.
As for the lift kits, I'm aware of Fabtech's system for raising the front end, but I consider $800 to be big money for 2" of lift.

At least one post in the forums mentions Doestch (sp?) suspension, but that company's web page includes nothing about the 98+ Rangers.
Skyjacker is another one that gets thrown around a lot, but again, an examination of the corporate site shows nothing for 2wd coil sprung Rangers.
So this was my effort to get the ball rolling for truck owners looking to get a little lift for a little cash.

coil spacers can be found just about anywhere (most auto parts stores can usually order them, most offroad shops have them in stock). twin I-beam trucks have even been known to use $5 worth of washers from a local hardware store.