What is the cheapest way to lift my truck good?

[Daven]

I have a '89 Ranger that i am looking to raise it up a bit. Already lifted a bit in the leafs, but i am wanting to do some sort of suspension lift. My truck sits pretty good off the ground now (if i were to guess i would say maybe 3-4" lift?). I didnt do thew lift myself, it was on the truck when i bought it. I just saw that the leafs are modified. But as always i would like to out-do myself, and ofcourse, my friends as well.

Problem is... i look on here for the lifts and see them going for over a thousand dollars. I know the whole "you get what you pay for" thing, but i am a student so therfore not rolling in any money larger than 20s and maybe the odd 50

Basically, if possible, i would like to acheive something around a 4" and up lift. Would obviously need to be able to stand up well in "rough situations" lol. And have the height raised in front and back so the truck does not look lopsided . Idk much about suspensions, just starting to figure all this out myself. I will eventually be putting on around 31" tires, currently running 235/75/R15s

My price range could be about 400? Idk. I would love to get a actual lift instead of just getting f-150 springs or something like that lol, but understand that this is a fairly unheard-of find.

Please let me know what you guys think my options are and what you would do. I work parttime making about 300+ biweekly while fulltime in school. Any suggestions are welcomed. Just trying to figure this out and go from there.

 

[99RangerKrazy]

Cheap and good do not go together, especially in vehicles. As you said, it is definitely a 'get what you pay for' type of hobby; however, there are ways that you can lift for cheap.

To fit 31s, you really don't need much lift.

You can clear 31s with either a coil spacer or leveling springs (2" lift, essentially) up front. Maybe minor fender trimming on the corners, but I don't think you'd need to.

For the rear, you can do a few things. A 2" block is cheap. You can make a bastard leaf pack, using Explorer leaves (interweaving some Ranger and Explorer leaves into one pack). Also, you can use an extended shackle (like Belltech 6400 shackles) to achieve 1 to 2" lift.

You could also avoid all of the suspension lift, leaving it all stock, and throw in a body lift. You could clear 31s with a body lift.

As I said, it doesn't take much to clear 31s. You'll need an alignment afterwards (if you start messing with the suspension, not a body lift), for sure.

Hope this helps.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Yeah your not really gonna be lifting for sheap but if you want some good ideas then you can go over to the tech library under the lift section for the lifting on a budget ideas...?

Otherwise your goin to want a body lift cause they are cheap but if your doing anything majorly rough I would not do it, infact I'm probably gonna take mine off.

 

[Daven]

Like i said, my truck has a body lift on it. I'm pretty sure 31's would be no problem. I'm just looking for a cheaper way to actually be able to do some good offroading and not break lol. I'll keep looking, but if you guys have any ideas lemme know.

 

[ThatGuy]

A friend of mine has a 4" Duff lift for sale.

Axle drop brackets
4" coils
Radius arm drop brackets

He's wanting $180 for it.

 

[Lrpalo]

^^^^^^ Buy It^^^^^^^

Duff is the best stuff in my eyes you can beat it like it owes you money and just keeps coming back for more and this is a dirt cheap price. I have stated it may times on here and you said it first thing in this post you get what you pay for. Hold off on the lift, save some coin and buy the best because it will cost you less in the long run. I am a college student and cant afford to be replacing stuff since it is also my dd. Go with skyjacker STAGE 2 parts and or James Duff they will set you back a little but when everyone is breaking brackets and tabs you can bash yours off rocks and keep on moving. Heck thats what I did last weekend

 

[Chevelle Kid]

A friend of mine has a 4" Duff lift for sale.

Axle drop brackets
4" coils
Radius arm drop brackets

He's wanting $180 for it.

%%$#$%# Why when I'm broke????? LOL

 

[Daven]

%%$#$%# Why when I'm broke????? LOL

i second that... lol

Yes i know what you guys all mean, but im looking at it this way... I am a fulltime student that makes around 300 bi-weekly. I still am just running little 235/75/R15s and need to upgrade that also. (Know any cheap tire places online?)

 

[strvger]

http://www.treadwright.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=240&tabindex=1

excellent tires and prices that are hard to beat.

.

 

[K-Slice]

i second that... lol

Yes i know what you guys all mean, but im looking at it this way... I am a fulltime student that makes around 300 bi-weekly. I still am just running little 235/75/R15s and need to upgrade that also. (Know any cheap tire places online?)

Didn't you say before you had a budget of $400 for a lift?
Buuuut. If you want to life for cheap, different coils will be your best option. I got some F150 springs out of a 4x4 and some AAL's for the back. Put in some Moog +-3' camber bushings to straighten the front out and an allignment.
For under $200 I went up 2-3" and that includes the cost of the allignemnt. Just took it off road yesterday and had to pull my buddys 98 stock 4x4 out several times...

 

[feellnfroggy]

Your absolute best option hands down is the duff lift being offered by THATGUY. Otherwise go the junkyard and get a set of f150 coils and retainers. also get a set of explorer leaves and 2 inch drop shackles, this will give you 2-3 inches of lift. For about 100 bux.

I will say this, if you dont buy the duff lift then you dont belong in college. Those kits are 600+ brand new.

 

[Daven]

Didn't you say before you had a budget of $400 for a lift?
Buuuut. If you want to life for cheap, different coils will be your best option. I got some F150 springs out of a 4x4 and some AAL's for the back. Put in some Moog +-3' camber bushings to straighten the front out and an allignment.
For under $200 I went up 2-3" and that includes the cost of the allignemnt. Just took it off road yesterday and had to pull my buddys 98 stock 4x4 out several times...

Well i was trying to be realistic with expenses and give myself some room. The 400 was a safer number based on about a month lol.

Right now i am thinking that i should just save up and go completely all out. "If your gonna do something, do it good" . But saving up over a grand or so on a lift seems a bit uneasy. Say i got a 8" skyjacker lift... on top of the lift i would need shocks, so about 1500-1600 w/o shipping... What else would i need? What all needs to be considered when lifting that much? Is it really worth it? I dont like cheaper brands, thats why i looked to skyjacker as they are a pretty well known and used brand

 

[Bennybooster]

DONT get the 8in, get the 6

 

[RavoHimself]

Like i said, my truck has a body lift on it. I'm pretty sure 31's would be no problem. I'm just looking for a cheaper way to actually be able to do some good offroading and not break lol. I'll keep looking, but if you guys have any ideas lemme know.

are you looking to replace the body lift with all suspension or just add more suspension lift to the body lift. because if thats the case go with some leveling coils and either an AAL or some extended shackles. all together it will get you around 5" of lift and should even be enough to clear 32's.

on the other hand if you don't want the body lift anymore you could start with a rough country 4" lift for about $400-$500 and then when you get more money you could swap the RC parts with say skyjacker or duff parts for more durability.

or you could do the RC lift and leave the body lift for 7" of lift which is more than enough to fit 33's under there

 

[Daven]

are you looking to replace the body lift with all suspension or just add more suspension lift to the body lift. because if thats the case go with some leveling coils and either an AAL or some extended shackles. all together it will get you around 5" of lift and should even be enough to clear 32's.

on the other hand if you don't want the body lift anymore you could start with a rough country 4" lift for about $400-$500 and then when you get more money you could swap the RC parts with say skyjacker or duff parts for more durability.

or you could do the RC lift and leave the body lift for 7" of lift which is more than enough to fit 33's under there

I am looking to add to the body lift. I just want it as high u as i can get it and to be able to actually do stuff with it without having to worry im gonna wreck something because its just stock. What all will i need to get done for it to be able to withstand hard hits and stuff? I'm not talking speeding down a desert at top speed, but basic offroading stuff. Also, adding some flexing potential would be great.

I got a message from someone that lives pretty close to me about a 2" lift. Acording to him it comes with some expo springs and spacers for two inches lift. theres an old bastard leaf spring pack also for the back.

As i have stated before, i dont know very much at all about suspensions and stuff as i am only in highschool still. So i need the info on what all i need to lift it durably. Stuff like spaces and leaf packs sound to me like basically just putting a peice of metal or rubber between 2 parts to make it stand taller... is this correct? If so, i dont really understand what this has to do with suspension and sounds more like a body lift. What parts am i going to want to replace so i can offroad some?