Need some advice regarding first gen front and rear suspension.

[JoshT]

Awesome help!
I like all three.
1. As I read above I would need the second gen spindles, correct? Is this a junk yard item only?
2. A coilover with beams sounds real good too. I would have to fabricate an upper mount I think, and perhaps modify for a lower mount too. Any pictures of this on this site?
3. AJE appears to give me a fox spindle and brakes, and this gives me lots of options to adjust ride, height, etc. Do you lose the inner fenderwell sheet metal?

1) Generations can be a sticky subject. Many around here, myself included, would place second generation as 89-92. We would say that you need third generation 93-97 spindles, but that's not entirely accurite either. To save some confusion let's dispense with the generation thing and look at the years.

To do this double piston caliper upgrade on your 86 you will need beams from an 89-97 Ranger. This is because in 89 they moved the balljoints from the beam to the ssteering knuckle (aka spindle). You will need steering knuckles from a 95-97 Ranger, because in 95 they moved from a slide pin mounted single piston caliper (same thing you have now) to the bolt-on dual piston caliper.

Yes, your best bet for finding knuckles would be in the used market whether that is a junkyard, ebay parts, or someone on the forums parting out a truck.

2) For running coil overs with beams check out RicksRangerz. IIRC Rick got his start in the Ranger world enthusiast, selling V8 engine swap plates. People liked his product, wanted more, and he branched out from there. He's a member of various Ranger forums (maybe even here) and Facebook groups. He sells kits for running coil overs front and rear on your truck. Even if you don't use his parts, the pictures should give you some ideas for making your own.

3) AJE uses Fox or SN95 steering knuckles, brakes, etc. I'm not certain what that allows for ride height adjustment, or what is required for clearance of the inner fender wells. The place to ask would be the AJE suspension thread that is also near the top of this section. They may be a bunch of fools playing with bowtie motors (I say that with my tounge firmly planted in my cheek) but they've got more collective experience with the setup than any other place I am aware of.

At this point, I feel that I would be negligent if I did not point out that you have more options than just the dual piston caliper upgradeif you stick with beams. It is to adapt other brake setups without too much difficulty. These include:

• 12" Explorer Sport Trac Rotors with the dual piston calipers
• 13" Rotors and calipers from 03-04 Mustang Cobra (maybe*)
• 13" Rotors with Cadillac CTS-V 4 piston calipers

*I say maybe because the kits haven't been produced in a long while, but the machinist that was making them surfaced on Facebook a few weeks ago after being radio silent for almost as long. Apparently he's working on pulling his Ranger out of hibernation and is looking at possibilities of creating anew kit with updated components.

More information on the first two is in the tech library. Mounting kits for the third, and brackets for the first IIRC, can be purchased from a machinist that sells through some of the Facebook Ranger groups. If interested I can try to find and post his info tomorrow.

Rather than deal with a wider Explorer housing, if you've got a good rear end, why not just weld a set of spring pads on the bottom of your axle and bolt it to the top of the springs?

Or if you're buying Dream Beams, DJM sells a kit that includes flip brackets that make it a bolt in affair. In my 20+ years of following Ranger stuff, I've never heard of anyone having issues with the flip brackets even making pretty decent power. Not saying not to weld on perches, just letting the options be known.

 

[stmitch]

S&S Engineering is operated by a couple of members here, and they have offered a kit to do ATS 4 piston calipers on 12 or 13" rotors for I beam trucks

S&S Engineering LLC

S&S Engineering LLC. 4,679 likes · 15 talking about this. Performance brakes

www.facebook.com

I've not seen many pics of squarebody Rangers with the AJE, so it may be a little different, but in the 93+ trucks the plastic inner fenders are removed to make room for the Foxbody strut towers:

 

[JoshT]

S&S Engineering is operated by a couple of members here, and they have offered a kit to do ATS 4 piston calipers on 12 or 13" rotors for I beam trucks

S&S Engineering LLC

S&S Engineering LLC. 4,679 likes · 15 talking about this. Performance brakes

www.facebook.com

I had to go check. Thise are the guys I was thinking about, didn't know they they were members here. Was going off memory and got the wrong Cadillac.

They are offering the kits with 13" rotors and also brackets for the 12" rotors swap listed in the tech library. They make in batches, so if they don't have any now, they will in the future.

If I didn't already have Tee-Rev's kit and all the brake components sitting on a shelf, I'd likely go for that ATS kit instead. Probably still could get those calipers since they also sell adapter bushings for putting them in place of the PBRs on the Cobra. I'll give the PBRs a shot first though, I think they'll be more than enough for me.

 

[ndmp40]

1) Generations can be a sticky subject. Many around here, myself included, would place second generation as 89-92. We would say that you need third generation 93-97 spindles, but that's not entirely accurite either. To save some confusion let's dispense with the generation thing and look at the years.

To do this double piston caliper upgrade on your 86 you will need beams from an 89-97 Ranger. This is because in 89 they moved the balljoints from the beam to the ssteering knuckle (aka spindle). You will need steering knuckles from a 95-97 Ranger, because in 95 they moved from a slide pin mounted single piston caliper (same thing you have now) to the bolt-on dual piston caliper.

Yes, your best bet for finding knuckles would be in the used market whether that is a junkyard, ebay parts, or someone on the forums parting out a truck.

2) For running coil overs with beams check out RicksRangerz. IIRC Rick got his start in the Ranger world enthusiast, selling V8 engine swap plates. People liked his product, wanted more, and he branched out from there. He's a member of various Ranger forums (maybe even here) and Facebook groups. He sells kits for running coil overs front and rear on your truck. Even if you don't use his parts, the pictures should give you some ideas for making your own.

3) AJE uses Fox or SN95 steering knuckles, brakes, etc. I'm not certain what that allows for ride height adjustment, or what is required for clearance of the inner fender wells. The place to ask would be the AJE suspension thread that is also near the top of this section. They may be a bunch of fools playing with bowtie motors (I say that with my tounge firmly planted in my cheek) but they've got more collective experience with the setup than any other place I am aware of.

At this point, I feel that I would be negligent if I did not point out that you have more options than just the dual piston caliper upgradeif you stick with beams. It is to adapt other brake setups without too much difficulty. These include:

• 12" Explorer Sport Trac Rotors with the dual piston calipers
• 13" Rotors and calipers from 03-04 Mustang Cobra (maybe*)
• 13" Rotors with Cadillac CTS-V 4 piston calipers

*I say maybe because the kits haven't been produced in a long while, but the machinist that was making them surfaced on Facebook a few weeks ago after being radio silent for almost as long. Apparently he's working on pulling his Ranger out of hibernation and is looking at possibilities of creating anew kit with updated components.

More information on the first two is in the tech library. Mounting kits for the third, and brackets for the first IIRC, can be purchased from a machinist that sells through some of the Facebook Ranger groups. If interested I can try to find and post his info tomorrow.



Or if you're buying Dream Beams, DJM sells a kit that includes flip brackets that make it a bolt in affair. In my 20+ years of following Ranger stuff, I've never heard of anyone having issues with the flip brackets even making pretty decent power. Not saying not to weld on perches, just letting the options be known.

In running coil overs with beams, would you use the drop beams to get the 3 inch or so lowering I am shooting for? Seems to me a coilover would improve ride and is adjustable for tuning.

 

[ndmp40]

I had to go check. Thise are the guys I was thinking about, didn't know they they were members here. Was going off memory and got the wrong Cadillac.

They are offering the kits with 13" rotors and also brackets for the 12" rotors swap listed in the tech library. They make in batches, so if they don't have any now, they will in the future.

If I didn't already have Tee-Rev's kit and all the brake components sitting on a shelf, I'd likely go for that ATS kit instead. Probably still could get those calipers since they also sell adapter bushings for putting them in place of the PBRs on the Cobra. I'll give the PBRs a shot first though, I think they'll be more than enough for me.

This is the way I would go if I keep the beams. Great help, thanks!

 

[JoshT]

In running coil overs with beams, would you use the drop beams to get the 3 inch or so lowering I am shooting for? Seems to me a coilover would improve ride and is adjustable for tuning.

Yes. You might be able to get an inch or two of lowering out of the coilovers, but they are intended as a direct replacement for the stock coils and shocks. In regards to lowering the coilover would be no different than a drop spring. You can get an inch or two with drop springs, but beyond that the alignment is out enough that it can't be corrected. If the coilover could be used to lower, any more than about two inches would have the same effect.

That's why drop beams exist. They raise the mounting point of the steering knuckle relative to the rest of the truck, this lowers the truck 3 inches while keeping the alignment in specification. Then you can likely add 2 more inches of drop with springs and still be alignable. That is 2"drop comparedto new stock height springs, not old worn springs.