Bit by the Lift Kit and Big Tire Bug

Research Rat said:

So I was bit by the lift kit and big tire bug. More accurately, I have a good friend that's real into offroad and has been feeding me advice since he learned I bought a truck. In hindsight I never should have told him I bought a truck....

I recently purchased a stock 94 b3000 2wd with stock sized wheels. It has decent street tires, but they aren't going to cut it for North East winters. My overall goal would be to introduce more clearance and beefier tires. Realistically, I'm not going to be doing any prerunning or major off roading. The extent of the offroading would likely be driving down bombed out sand roads when hauling my bike to the trails.

So what I'm thinking is perform a 2inch lift to limit any negative aspects to steering geometry and other more involved work (longer driveshaft, etc.) Add 32 tires. And I know that I should do something with the gearing to account for larger diameter wheels.

4wheelparts.com has 7 or 8 different skyjacker kits with shocks. I'm assuming that along with various nitro and hydro options, also brands within. And I know there are hundreds of tire options.

I did a b3000 specific search on here, but it didn't turn up too much specific info. I'm curious where to get started and appreciate feedback on specific brands. Which kit? Which tires? Will I need new rims for 32 sized tires? What needs replaced in gearing? Can the suspension and gearing work be done by the casual mechanic?

Thanks in advance.
-Scott

Click to expand...

Original_Ranger84 said:

Well seeing as you are not going to be doing anything major that eliminates your need for something really expensive such as a class 2 lift or anything like that. You could probably get away with a body lift if all you are going for is more clearence for large tires. And seeing as you are going for about 2" of lift I would just get a 2" body lift. It adds the extra 2" of height you want (and solid height, no flexing and hitting fenders) and you maintain stock ride properties on everything including handling. If you absolutely must have a Suspension lift as most on this site will say, I would say either Skyjacker or Rough Country (or maybe its tough country...?) lifts and just the basic lift would do you fine.

Another option would be to get explorer leaf springs in the back and 2" coil spacers up front.

As for tires and gearing... Well with the 3.0L and 32's? I would just save some money and go with the 31's because a whole inch really isn't that much... And there are alot of tires you can get in a 31" size. Also seeing as you are not going to be doing any off roading besides basic trails, I recommend a Decent set of A/T tires. I have had a set of Bridgestone Dueler Revo2's and they were by far the best tire I have owned (besides my Mickey Thompsons), The only problem with them seems to be tread life is not what most expect, There is another company that has similar tires that get my approval called Wild Country XTX's they have a similar design to the Dueler revo's with more siping and are winter rated. Another good Option that is in close second would be Firestone Destinations A/T's, BFG A/T's are also popular as well as GENERAL Grabbers A/T's.

You will more then likely need a new set of rims for the tires as I assume your stock rims are 14" rims and the biggest size you can get in a 14" rim is a 28" tire. You will want a set of 15x8 rims thats 15 inches diameter and 8 inches wide. with a 4.5" on 5 bolt pattern and 3.75" - 4" backspacing. Also alot of people here run theirs on stock ranger 15x7 rims.

Gearing and axle wise... well... If you want 31's or even 32's I guess would be fine you will probably want to go with a 4.10 Gear ratio in the rear end and seeing as you have a 2wd you only have to pay for and install one set of gears! I would also recommend getting a locker or a powertrax for your rear end as L/S is really nice until it fails.

Another option would be to just get a whole axle from another vehicle. I recently picked up an Explorer 8.8" with disc brakes and the better L/S option for 100 bucks. You have a 7.5" rear end which is good but many will say it will become weaker with larger tires. An you can save the trouble of buying gears or a L/S if you vcan find an axle with 4.10's already installed in it.

A basic shop that does mechanical work should be capable of doing all you need it to do, and all you need for a gear install is the gears and either a master or basic install kit which will come with new shims and seals or the master kit which basically rebuilds your entire Axle.

Click to expand...