B3200 PreRunner Build.
- Thread starter Shawn@BMS
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Hope that works out for ya.
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After some more research i think i finally nailed down my suspension delima. I knew i was going to do more than i originally thought. I planned on Explorer springs but going over some pros and cons with a knowledgeable pre-runner fabricator i think i iv got it covered.
Im going to get some 97+ish F150 leaf springs and remove the over load spring. Im going to flip and relocate the rear shackle mount. This is provide a lot of travel. I will need to make some new shock mounts and move the right side shock to the back of the axel housing. That should do the rear. Once i cycle the suspension ill get some limiting straps.
The front is pretty much the same plan but im going to go with the F250 shock tower mount. The stock shock mount makes for a very small amount of travel. The F250 shock towers need to be welded to the stock coil buckets but will provide a lot of room for larger shocks.
Well its going to be a LONG day at the salvage yard Saturday. Theres is pretty big "U-Pull-and-Pay" in town. Im hoping to pick up some -88 Ranger spindles/hubs/rotors/calipers. F150 leaf springs. Some newer Ranger seats (something thats not a bench). Maybe a rear end (LSD with 410s) which im crossing my fingers on a lead. A few other parts. I hope to get this suspension sorted out and on the truck in the next two weeks.
More soon....
~Shawn
Im going to get some 97+ish F150 leaf springs and remove the over load spring. Im going to flip and relocate the rear shackle mount. This is provide a lot of travel. I will need to make some new shock mounts and move the right side shock to the back of the axel housing. That should do the rear. Once i cycle the suspension ill get some limiting straps.
The front is pretty much the same plan but im going to go with the F250 shock tower mount. The stock shock mount makes for a very small amount of travel. The F250 shock towers need to be welded to the stock coil buckets but will provide a lot of room for larger shocks.
Well its going to be a LONG day at the salvage yard Saturday. Theres is pretty big "U-Pull-and-Pay" in town. Im hoping to pick up some -88 Ranger spindles/hubs/rotors/calipers. F150 leaf springs. Some newer Ranger seats (something thats not a bench). Maybe a rear end (LSD with 410s) which im crossing my fingers on a lead. A few other parts. I hope to get this suspension sorted out and on the truck in the next two weeks.
More soon....
~Shawn
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Good luck Shawn.
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I've just installed 64" chevy springs in my low buck short course truck. I looked at the '97 up f-150's but not for springs...for the frame mounts. At the same time I put the spring under the axle, and didn't flip the shackle mount because I would have lost all my up travel. I still had to use the 2" bell extended shackles to bring me back to exact shock mounting that I had before, and no that wasn't planned, just lucky. But I wish I could have used the front and back spring frame mounts, it would have given me back just about all the height I lost doing the SUA, and maybe I could have done the shackle mount flip as well. The way I did it gave me 12" of travel which is all that I'm allowed in the series I'm racing. Sorry for babbling. All I was going to say is grab the spring frame mounts when you grab those springs, they will give you options.
Also , IIRC, in some race series you are limited to 57.5" rear springs.
Good luck,
Richard
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Hey Guys sorry for the delay in updates. Iv been busy with work and supermoto racing. This post will be about my personal experience with extending my beams. Remember this is not a "How to". Its just how i did it. I dont not want to be responsible for anyone who tries this and dose not have the proper know how or tools and your suspension fails. on another note, there is a few ways to extend your beams. After a lot of research and talking to some knowledgeable beam/suspension fabricators/builders this is a safe and reliable way to do my first set.
Ok, here are some facts and tips on building beams. I know this is common knowelege but it is hard to find solid info. I went to a local junk yard and picked up some 1988 (or older) Ranger Spindles, Rotors, and Tie-rod ends. I bought some close out bent beams from FabTech. They use to sell a kit for older Rangers. Remember you want 1988 (or older) Forged Beams. I believe 84-88 are forged. Anything newer is Cast. You can always check if there cast by sliding under your truck and if your beams read "DO NOT BEND OR HEAT" than they are cast. I planned on bending my beams myself by making a pie cut in the arms and bending them with a hydraulic bender but after some conversation and some searching i found that it creates a very weak point. Especially when you are extending them as well. The less cuts in the arm the stronger. So thats why i went with some Fabtech bent OEM arms. They cold bend them for 4" of lift. They use (or who ever did it from them) uses a very high pressure press to bend them.
OK on to the build. I forgot to snap a pic of the beams by them selves before i cut them but i forgot. We all know what they look like.
Here is a pic of the passenger side beam after i cut it with a band saw. I made sure to cut it parallel to the spindle side and not the radius arm bolt hole. I cut on the spindle side of the radius arm bolt hold because im running coil springs. If your running coil overs you will want to cut and extend on the other side of the radius arm bolt hole. I made my cut about 2.5" from the inside of the spindle side of the beam. I cut the divers side arm the exact same way.
There are several different ways to make your extension. I chose to recreate the "I" beam. Its strong and simple. Iv been told going overboard makes it weak. Again there are several different was to extend beams, this is just how i did it. So i went to my local metal yard and picked us some 4" wide by 1/2 thick plate to build my extension from. Buying it 4" wide made my life easier as i planned on extending my beams 4" on each side. Cutting 1/2" plate straight is not an easy task. Just makes for less cuts. The pic below is the 1/2" plate set into place to show you where its going to go. Be sure the plate is straight and "square" (in builders terms) as if its off any it will mess with your caster/camber. Its not showned in the pic but be sure to bevel any edge that you will be welding on. This will ensure a solid weld. Im using a high powder Miller. Your entry level welder from HF wont be able to weld 1/2" plate.
The next pic i kinda have two jobs going on at once. But the beam extension is welded in place. Dont weld too much at once on the beam as it will warp on you. It also helps to have a make shift jig (which i made). Again this needs to be SOLID. As you know this holds your truck up. If you dont know what your doing DO NOT DO IT!. Also in the pic i used my plasma cutter and cut some 1/4" plate steel. to box the beams. In the pic i have one for the right and left side of the beams. I boxed in both side of the beams.
Here are the beams all welded and boxed up. I still have some work to do on them. Im going to plate the tops and bottoms of the beams and add some 1/8" plate in the extended areas only. After that some fresh powder coating and there good. I feel pretty good about them.
Here is a pic of my collected parts for the front end. The Fabtech kit i got was a good deal. It came with coil springs and modified radius arms. I plan on building or buying some extended/heimed radius arms. The rotors i got from the junk yard were pretty rusty, i went to a brake shop and had them turned. Im going to powder coated the spindles and calipers (black) to make sure they stay fresh. Iv been trying to keep my eye out from some Camburg coil buckets but i cant seem to find any as they dont sell them any more. So im going to modify mine and adapt the F250 shock towers. All i need now is some extended brake lines that im going to have made in stainless locally, mod my coil buckets and finish up my beams. Once i cycle my suspension ill measure and get some limiting straps.
As of right now im trying to hunt down some factory 4.10s with a LSD (let me know if you have one for sale), find some F150 leaf springs, get some decent off road racing seats (let me know if you have some for sale). Any info on a set bracket would be nice. More to come....
~Shawn
Ok, here are some facts and tips on building beams. I know this is common knowelege but it is hard to find solid info. I went to a local junk yard and picked up some 1988 (or older) Ranger Spindles, Rotors, and Tie-rod ends. I bought some close out bent beams from FabTech. They use to sell a kit for older Rangers. Remember you want 1988 (or older) Forged Beams. I believe 84-88 are forged. Anything newer is Cast. You can always check if there cast by sliding under your truck and if your beams read "DO NOT BEND OR HEAT" than they are cast. I planned on bending my beams myself by making a pie cut in the arms and bending them with a hydraulic bender but after some conversation and some searching i found that it creates a very weak point. Especially when you are extending them as well. The less cuts in the arm the stronger. So thats why i went with some Fabtech bent OEM arms. They cold bend them for 4" of lift. They use (or who ever did it from them) uses a very high pressure press to bend them.
OK on to the build. I forgot to snap a pic of the beams by them selves before i cut them but i forgot. We all know what they look like.
Here is a pic of the passenger side beam after i cut it with a band saw. I made sure to cut it parallel to the spindle side and not the radius arm bolt hole. I cut on the spindle side of the radius arm bolt hold because im running coil springs. If your running coil overs you will want to cut and extend on the other side of the radius arm bolt hole. I made my cut about 2.5" from the inside of the spindle side of the beam. I cut the divers side arm the exact same way.
There are several different ways to make your extension. I chose to recreate the "I" beam. Its strong and simple. Iv been told going overboard makes it weak. Again there are several different was to extend beams, this is just how i did it. So i went to my local metal yard and picked us some 4" wide by 1/2 thick plate to build my extension from. Buying it 4" wide made my life easier as i planned on extending my beams 4" on each side. Cutting 1/2" plate straight is not an easy task. Just makes for less cuts. The pic below is the 1/2" plate set into place to show you where its going to go. Be sure the plate is straight and "square" (in builders terms) as if its off any it will mess with your caster/camber. Its not showned in the pic but be sure to bevel any edge that you will be welding on. This will ensure a solid weld. Im using a high powder Miller. Your entry level welder from HF wont be able to weld 1/2" plate.
The next pic i kinda have two jobs going on at once. But the beam extension is welded in place. Dont weld too much at once on the beam as it will warp on you. It also helps to have a make shift jig (which i made). Again this needs to be SOLID. As you know this holds your truck up. If you dont know what your doing DO NOT DO IT!. Also in the pic i used my plasma cutter and cut some 1/4" plate steel. to box the beams. In the pic i have one for the right and left side of the beams. I boxed in both side of the beams.
Here are the beams all welded and boxed up. I still have some work to do on them. Im going to plate the tops and bottoms of the beams and add some 1/8" plate in the extended areas only. After that some fresh powder coating and there good. I feel pretty good about them.
Here is a pic of my collected parts for the front end. The Fabtech kit i got was a good deal. It came with coil springs and modified radius arms. I plan on building or buying some extended/heimed radius arms. The rotors i got from the junk yard were pretty rusty, i went to a brake shop and had them turned. Im going to powder coated the spindles and calipers (black) to make sure they stay fresh. Iv been trying to keep my eye out from some Camburg coil buckets but i cant seem to find any as they dont sell them any more. So im going to modify mine and adapt the F250 shock towers. All i need now is some extended brake lines that im going to have made in stainless locally, mod my coil buckets and finish up my beams. Once i cycle my suspension ill measure and get some limiting straps.
As of right now im trying to hunt down some factory 4.10s with a LSD (let me know if you have one for sale), find some F150 leaf springs, get some decent off road racing seats (let me know if you have some for sale). Any info on a set bracket would be nice. More to come....
~Shawn
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2009
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- 98
- Points
- 3,101
- Vehicle Year
- 95
- Transmission
- Manual
Some updates.
I got some parts from the powder coaters today. Im all about having clean parts and i powder coat everything. Plus i want to go though everything to make sure it was in good shape.
Powder coated my calipers, spindles, gun metal and my rotor shields black.
I needed to make some steering extensions. I extended my arms 4" so i needed to do the same on them. It was easy, just thought id show you how i did mine.
Here are the stock adjusters. The bottom one i cut in half.
Next i cut some 90wall DOM tube 5" long and set the adjuster 1/2" in on each side (to make my 4" extension.
All welded up. I ran out of gas and had to flux it up. I made sure to slit tube i added in the same area the adjuster were.
Then i had them powder coated gun metal and the clamps black. Easy as pie.
What a weekend.... My ass is offically kicked. FYI always rope a buddy into helping you with a major project....
Now on to the good stuff. I took some process pics. Most of you know how to do some fab work or have made or installed a front end. But some havent.
I removed all the stock suspension on the drivers side. I removed the beam, radius arm, spindle, brake, and tie rod. So i was just left with the coil bucket. The best way i found to remove the rivets was just a angle grinder with a 40grit sanding wheel.
Get all the way down to the metal on the bucket. Dont forget about the 2 rivets under it. I used a big pry bar to remove the bucket.
Grind the bodies of the rivets down to the frame.
Then knock them out with a hammer.
I cut my the shock side of my coil bucket off and mounted it to mock up my shock tower.
I wanted to have more travel so i added a F250 shock tower. I just cycled my suspension to get the right spot and welded the F250 shock tower to my original coil bucket. Next i drilled some new holes for the shock side. I used 1/2" bolts. The F250 shock tower is pretty long (i cut about 6" off). So its great for much bigger shocks. The pic below i kinda jumped ahead. You can see the shock tower welded to the stock coil bucket them bolted to the frame. In the pic as you can see i have everything bolted in on the drivers side.
Another shot with the wheel installed.
Here it is in all its glory. I have positive camber because i was checking the droop for limiting straps that i need to order.
I also cut off the frame brace / pitman arm guard. Looks 100 times cleaner.
I finally painted my fenders.
Some of you guys were asking about the tire gate i made. Sorry for the bad pics it was dark. Ill take some better pics of the truck and tire gate in the day time.
Well all in all it came out nice. Rides good. Im going to get and allpimgment tomorrow. Im pretty proud that i built my front end. I think its going to do just fine. But i think im going to go with some coil overs in the next 6 months and make some nice radius arms. Next is the rear. Im going to do the shackle flip with some F150 leafs. Im going to make new shock mounts and relocate the passenger side to the rear of the axle. I wish my tires would wear out so i can get some 33" Grabbers. More soon....
~Shawn
I got some parts from the powder coaters today. Im all about having clean parts and i powder coat everything. Plus i want to go though everything to make sure it was in good shape.
Powder coated my calipers, spindles, gun metal and my rotor shields black.
I needed to make some steering extensions. I extended my arms 4" so i needed to do the same on them. It was easy, just thought id show you how i did mine.
Here are the stock adjusters. The bottom one i cut in half.
Next i cut some 90wall DOM tube 5" long and set the adjuster 1/2" in on each side (to make my 4" extension.
All welded up. I ran out of gas and had to flux it up. I made sure to slit tube i added in the same area the adjuster were.
Then i had them powder coated gun metal and the clamps black. Easy as pie.
What a weekend.... My ass is offically kicked. FYI always rope a buddy into helping you with a major project....
Now on to the good stuff. I took some process pics. Most of you know how to do some fab work or have made or installed a front end. But some havent.
I removed all the stock suspension on the drivers side. I removed the beam, radius arm, spindle, brake, and tie rod. So i was just left with the coil bucket. The best way i found to remove the rivets was just a angle grinder with a 40grit sanding wheel.
Get all the way down to the metal on the bucket. Dont forget about the 2 rivets under it. I used a big pry bar to remove the bucket.
Grind the bodies of the rivets down to the frame.
Then knock them out with a hammer.
I cut my the shock side of my coil bucket off and mounted it to mock up my shock tower.
I wanted to have more travel so i added a F250 shock tower. I just cycled my suspension to get the right spot and welded the F250 shock tower to my original coil bucket. Next i drilled some new holes for the shock side. I used 1/2" bolts. The F250 shock tower is pretty long (i cut about 6" off). So its great for much bigger shocks. The pic below i kinda jumped ahead. You can see the shock tower welded to the stock coil bucket them bolted to the frame. In the pic as you can see i have everything bolted in on the drivers side.
Another shot with the wheel installed.
Here it is in all its glory. I have positive camber because i was checking the droop for limiting straps that i need to order.
I also cut off the frame brace / pitman arm guard. Looks 100 times cleaner.
I finally painted my fenders.
Some of you guys were asking about the tire gate i made. Sorry for the bad pics it was dark. Ill take some better pics of the truck and tire gate in the day time.
Well all in all it came out nice. Rides good. Im going to get and allpimgment tomorrow. Im pretty proud that i built my front end. I think its going to do just fine. But i think im going to go with some coil overs in the next 6 months and make some nice radius arms. Next is the rear. Im going to do the shackle flip with some F150 leafs. Im going to make new shock mounts and relocate the passenger side to the rear of the axle. I wish my tires would wear out so i can get some 33" Grabbers. More soon....
~Shawn
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awesome work man! looks really cool!
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- The fun begins where the pavement ends
Looking good Shawn, I was starting to wonder what happened to your truck.
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Holy crap, this is SWEET!
Did you say 0.90 wall on the steering extensions?
I know the stock clevis is pretty thin but now its almost twice as long.. I'd sleeve over them again or build new ones..
I know the stock clevis is pretty thin but now its almost twice as long.. I'd sleeve over them again or build new ones..
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Just curious, but I thought that the reason people used the f-250 shock mounts was so that they could put in longer shocks. Maybe I didn't look at it quite right but are the top mounts you put in lower than the stock ones?
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You are correct. Its just taller than the stock location. Im running 6" travel Fox 2.0 shocks. The F250 shock tower also converts to a standard style eyelet as apposed to the stock bolt style. I bought the 6" shocks when i had my 2" lift but i plan on moving my 8" shocks on the rear to the front and buying some 10" shocks for the rear.
~Shawn
Shran
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Nice looking truck!
BTW, if you end up with a 28 spline 8.8, I have a limited slip carrier for that application. I believe it had either 3.55 or 3.73 on it and was out of a Crown Victoria. Anyway, if it will work for you, you can have it for shipping costs... I was going to throw it in my next scrap load but I ran across your thread here.
BTW, if you end up with a 28 spline 8.8, I have a limited slip carrier for that application. I believe it had either 3.55 or 3.73 on it and was out of a Crown Victoria. Anyway, if it will work for you, you can have it for shipping costs... I was going to throw it in my next scrap load but I ran across your thread here.
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