Picture diary of a 4X4 RCD to Dixon Brothers LT Conversion

[WNY964x4]

Sorry, I sold the front half of the kit almost a year ago. I still have the rear parts and am trying to get those sold. For a drop bracket lift, the RCD was a pretty nice kit and it improved the ride quality over stock. I would recommend it if you can still find one, assuming that is the direction that you would like to go. Thanks for the compliment.

yea , that is the route i want to go , i have been contemplating SAS , but i have heard it is a pain in the balls on a 98+ Ranger

 

[c_note]

yea , that is the route i want to go , i have been contemplating SAS , but i have heard it is a pain in the balls on a 98+ Ranger

its not that bad!

 

[Quasi242]

C_note, thanks for the ORTOTM nomination and vote.

 

[rangercrazy07]

yeah it sucks that you lost some height on the new kit but you'll like the travel much better than the RCD. you should lose the rear rake lol

 

[Quasi242]

yeah it sucks that you lost some height on the new kit but you'll like the travel much better than the RCD. you should lose the rear rake lol

That is what I thought before I installed the DBR kit. With the longer travel, a lower center of gravity is actually beneficial. I actually like the look of a lower/wider stance (especially with both the front and rear of the truck widened out). The rear rake issue has been addressed with the installation of the new axle. The truck is currently sitting level.

Next up: spray in bed liner, and triple bypass shocks for the rear.

 

[Scotty J.]

Man, that is SOOOO the direction I was originally going. Why are you not going with Deaver Leafs and the DBR Bed Cage?

You said that you ended up with a 3" lift after the DBR, that's what I have now and looking at the pic with the stock ranger, it looks about the same as mine. Oh, it's amazing how "Big" our trucks look next to stock isn't it. It's hard to believe they are the same size.

 

[Quasi242]

Man, that is SOOOO the direction I was originally going. Why are you not going with Deaver Leafs and the DBR Bed Cage?

You said that you ended up with a 3" lift after the DBR, that's what I have now and looking at the pic with the stock ranger, it looks about the same as mine. Oh, it's amazing how "Big" our trucks look next to stock isn't it. It's hard to believe they are the same size.

The Giant 64" leaf kit will out perform a simple Deaver swap. Deavers will pull 16"+/- the Giant kit will pull 21". The Giant kit also converts to spring under which should help to control axle wrap. People who have run this setup claim that it bridges the gap between a Deaver leaf sprung truck and a fully linked truck.

 

[RangerRocker]

So, how does the 3.0 do with the 35's and 4.88 gears? I got a set of 33s this week, finally, and my 4.10 gears makes my truck dog out like crazy. Every small hill and i drop out of 5th gear. Im thinking of getting 4.88's and a programmer to help out.

 

[Quasi242]

Mine was the same with 33's and 4:10's. 35's and 4:88's seems to be a good combo for around town. Adequate power (it's a 3.slow after all) and climbs hills with no problem. My main issue is with freeway driving. It seems that the truck struggles to stay in overdrive if there is much of a hill or headwind. RPM's are not too bad, in overdrive I will pull 2,600+/- @ 75 mph. In 3rd, I pull 3,000+/- @ 75 mph. I love my 35's but 4:88's with 33's might be a better power performance combo.

 

[84projectFORD]

The Giant 64" leaf kit will out perform a simple Deaver swap. Deavers will pull 16"+/- the Giant kit will pull 21". The Giant kit also converts to spring under which should help to control axle wrap. People who have run this setup claim that it bridges the gap between a Deaver leaf sprung truck and a fully linked truck.

yes i agree on the giant kit. and by the way, guys claiming they are gettin 18+ inches out of a deaver only leaf pack did not measure right. 16-17 inches is about max for a deaver only kit. The springs are jsut not long enough to gain the extra spring flex

 

[RangerRocker]

Mine was the same with 33's and 4:10's. 35's and 4:88's seems to be a good combo for around town. Adequate power (it's a 3.slow after all) and climbs hills with no problem. My main issue is with freeway driving. It seems that the truck struggles to stay in overdrive if there is much of a hill or headwind. RPM's are not too bad, in overdrive I will pull 2,600+/- @ 75 mph. In 3rd, I pull 3,000+/- @ 75 mph. I love my 35's but 4:88's with 33's might be a better power performance combo.

Yeah that's what im thinking. The truck does great around town and stuff, its just dogs out on the highway. The way im staring to see it though is if I spend 200 on the pulley kit, the 400 hundred for the programmer, the about another 400 for 4.88's. I'm at 1000 dollars. Might as well swap in a v8 and get a ton more ponies. Idk, just a thought.

 

[masterbrenden]

you didn't get the dbr 4x4 kit or did you?

 

[RangerRocker]

you didn't get the dbr 4x4 kit or did you?

pretty sure he did.

 

[Quasi242]

Yeah, it's the 4X4 kit. I pulled the front axles until I can have the front differential regeared to match the rear.

 

[kevinsranger]

probably a stupid question but how much wider does your front fenders extend over stock? and where do you get them from?