2009 Sport 4x4 Lift Kit

[Bobtube]

Hey guys, looking for some advice here.

Been reading through a bunch of threads here but I'm still a little lost on what to do. I've got a stock 2009 Sport 4x4 but I want to lift it 2". I've seen some kits available online but I'm worried about messing with my suspension to the point where it's going to hurt the overall health of the truck itself. I'm wondering if I need to replace my suspension and torsion bar altogether and buy one kit that covers all or if just the simple torsion key adjustment will do.

Purpose for the lift - logging road driving. Nothing too gnarly, pretty basic stuff but, just a little extra clearance for a little extra peice of mind.

My only knowledge of these vehicles comes from reading through this forum basically so you can treat me as if I'm completely new to this.

Thanks fellas

 

[Uncle Gump]

First of all welcome to TRS...

Secondly I edited your very first post here because you dropped an F bomb. We will ask you to be mindful of the rules and keep foul language out of the forums. You can have a look at the terms and rules to use the forum here...

Terms and rules

You must agree to these terms and rules before using the site.

www.therangerstation.com

Lastly... in 2008 they altered the suspension form previous years and lowered the 2008 to 2011 4x4 trucks. So I will refer you to the Tech Library here on the site... much information for you to look through. But start with the article on the pre-key mod. It will put your 2008 front to where the previous year trucks were. I think it gains you about 1 to 1 1/2 inches. The rear lift could be accomplished using the earlier year lift blocks. This again will put the rear of your truck at the previous years height. So nothing you've done really changes a thing from a previous year ride heights... and you've gained nearly everything you're after.

2008-2011 Ford Ranger 'Pre-Key' Modification - The Ranger Station

Ford P/N F57Z5B328B Don’t feel like your 2008-2011 Ford Ranger 4×4 sits high enough? Have you noticed that it sits lower than the 1998-2007 Ford Ranger 4×4? In 2008, Ford switched to a different torsion key (Ford calls them ‘adjusters’) … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

 

[Bobtube]

First of all welcome to TRS...

Secondly I edited your very first post here because you dropped an F bomb. We will ask you to be mindful of the rules and keep foul language out of the forums. You can have a look at the terms and rules to use the forum here...

Terms and rules

You must agree to these terms and rules before using the site.

www.therangerstation.com

Lastly... in 2008 they altered the suspension form previous years and lowered the 2008 to 2011 4x4 trucks. So I will refer you to the Tech Library here on the site... much information for you to look through. But start with the article on the pre-key mod. It will put your 2008 front to where the previous year trucks were. I think it gains you about 1 to 1 1/2 inches. The rear lift could be accomplished using the earlier year lift blocks. This again will put the rear of your truck at the previous years height. So nothing you've done really changes a thing from a previous year ride heights... and you've gained nearly everything you're after.

2008-2011 Ford Ranger 'Pre-Key' Modification - The Ranger Station

Ford P/N F57Z5B328B Don’t feel like your 2008-2011 Ford Ranger 4×4 sits high enough? Have you noticed that it sits lower than the 1998-2007 Ford Ranger 4×4? In 2008, Ford switched to a different torsion key (Ford calls them ‘adjusters’) … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

Thanks there,

Sorry about the cussin' didn't mean to break the protocol on here - haven't used a forum since I was 17 I think.

Thanks for redirecting me, clearly have much more research I've got to do till I can come up with a way to make my truck happy, with a new lift. I'm just curious if it should be advised to upgrade my shocks while I'm at it. If I'm maxing out my shocks, I feel some rough roads might do a doosey on my vehicle. Again - I'm new and this is the first pickup I've ever owned so I have a million and one things to learn right now.

 

[JohnnyO]

Thanks there,

Sorry about the cussin' didn't mean to break the protocol on here - haven't used a forum since I was 17 I think.

Thanks for redirecting me, clearly have much more research I've got to do till I can come up with a way to make my truck happy, with a new lift. I'm just curious if it should be advised to upgrade my shocks while I'm at it. If I'm maxing out my shocks, I feel some rough roads might do a doosey on my vehicle. Again - I'm new and this is the first pickup I've ever owned so I have a million and one things to learn right now.

The pre key mod and rear blocks will not require longer shocks. I've done it to one Ranger and one Sport Trac. Just keep the lift to no more than 2''. After 11 years I would get new shocks. Monroe Sensa Tracs or Magnums are fine.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Thanks there,

Sorry about the cussin' didn't mean to break the protocol on here - haven't used a forum since I was 17 I think.

Thanks for redirecting me, clearly have much more research I've got to do till I can come up with a way to make my truck happy, with a new lift. I'm just curious if it should be advised to upgrade my shocks while I'm at it. If I'm maxing out my shocks, I feel some rough roads might do a doosey on my vehicle. Again - I'm new and this is the first pickup I've ever owned so I have a million and one things to learn right now.

It's all good...

There are many pretty knowledgeable folks on here that will help you find the answers you need. As JohnnyO said... stock length shocks will work just fine.

For reference... here is a picture on my 06 at stock suspension height on 32 inch tires and factory length KYB MonoMax shocks. This should be roughly where your truck would sit using pre 08 parts.

 

[Bobtube]

It's all good...

There are many pretty knowledgeable folks on here that will help you find the answers you need. As JohnnyO said... stock length shocks will work just fine.

For reference... here is a picture on my 06 at stock suspension height on 32 inch tires and factory length KYB MonoMax shocks. This should be roughly where your truck would sit using pre 08 parts.

View attachment 44674

Man that thing is clean... that canopy is insane looking, never seen one like that. Jurassic Park looking ranger right there.

That's pretty much exactly what I'm trying to achieve. If the 32s fit on the lift I'm going to do, I'll be pretty stoked on that. Thing I'm going to do the pre-key mod, I'm going to replace my shocks just because I may as well and I'm considering maybe changing the torsion bars as well.. but that's a maybe - not sure what real benefit I'll achieve by doing that other than preventative maintenance.

Thanks for sharing that! it makes me pretty pumped to go ahead and do the lift!

 

[Uncle Gump]

Man that thing is clean... that canopy is insane looking, never seen one like that. Jurassic Park looking ranger right there.

That's pretty much exactly what I'm trying to achieve. If the 32s fit on the lift I'm going to do, I'll be pretty stoked on that. Thing I'm going to do the pre-key mod, I'm going to replace my shocks just because I may as well and I'm considering maybe changing the torsion bars as well.. but that's a maybe - not sure what real benefit I'll achieve by doing that other than preventative maintenance.

Thanks for sharing that! it makes me pretty pumped to go ahead and do the lift!

LOL... Jurassic Park Ranger. I don't know if it's all that... but she's mine and I love her... I call her Bird Dog 1.

Just today when I walked out of Walmart... there is a guy laying on the ground under the front of my truck. I really thought it was going to be ON. But when I yelled at him he came out and just said he was checking out my bumpers. This is the second time it's happened there. They don't give them away... but they are super functional and they sure do draw attention.

Just want to say... your results may vary... but you should be close. If you have a 4.10 gear... a 32 inch tire will work pretty good... probably not optimal... but pretty close. I do plan to turn the front bars up a bit... but I've had a lot going on and it's been pushed down the list.

 

[Bobtube]

LOL... Jurassic Park Ranger. I don't know if it's all that... but she's mine and I love her... I call her Bird Dog 1.

Just today when I walked out of Walmart... there is a guy laying on the ground under the front of my truck. I really thought it was going to be ON. But when I yelled at him he came out and just said he was checking out my bumpers. This is the second time it's happened there. They don't give them away... but they are super functional and they sure do draw attention.

Just want to say... your results may vary... but you should be close. If you have a 4.10 gear... a 32 inch tire will work pretty good... probably not optimal... but pretty close. I do plan to turn the front bars up a bit... but I've had a lot going on and it's been pushed down the list.

crap, looks like I’ve got a 3.73 ratio. Maybe have to consider a smaller set of tires it’s looking like.

 

[JohnnyO]

crap, looks like I’ve got a 3.73 ratio. Maybe have to consider a smaller set of tires it’s looking like.

I'd be surprised if it doesn't have 4.10's. I ran 32's on my old '05 Sport Trac with 3.73's (torsion twist and Warrior rear shackles lift) and it was fine but you just had to remember 1) the speedometer was reading 10% slower than you were really going and 2) all off-roading will be done in low range.

 

[97RangerXLT]

my 97 came with 31's from the factory and with 3.73 gears. it does just fine with them, but if I went to 33's or larger I would consider regearing...

AJ

 

[sgtsandman]

3.73:1 and 31" inch tires puts you in the best fuel economy section of the gear vs tire size chart. 33" tires will still be in there but just barely. I imagine it would be a lot like the 1998 I had with 3.49:1 gears was. It struggled to get out of it's own way and didn't really get any "legs" at highway speeds until it was moving at about 70 mph.

Check this chart out in the Tech Section to see where you want to be and what you want to do. https://www.therangerstation.com/how-to_pages/gear_ratio_tire_size_chart.shtml

 

[Bobtube]

Sorry to bring this thread back up guys, but I've got a little bit of extra info.

My ride height is currently sitting at 34" in the wheel wells. I can't seem to find the stock ride height (I remember seeing a thread somewhere).

I've definitely got a 3.73 gear ratio. I've got the stock 16 alloys on there. My torsion bar code is 11CC and from what I'm reading that seems A-OK. Ive got ranchero 5000 shock absorbers.

I've got 255/70/R16 Duratrac's in there right now, but I want to size up. 285/75/R16 would be amazing if I could make it happen with my stock alloy rims. But I'm thinking I probably still need to a small lift somehow, maybe like a 1" body lift or something just to get the clearance needed. TO BE CLEAR - this truck will be going on trails and quite often already does - just want a little extra clearance for a couple of spots I've encountered and I'm almost thinking that the bigger tires will be all I need to get to the spots I'm looking to go to. Any advice here? Are those tires too big for my gearing? Am I going to rub in a real crappy way?

Also thinking I'll probably need to change my rotor size for my brakes? I've got to redo my brakes/rotors and my drums as well anyways, just need to know what to do.

Apart from that, I've got a couple of other strange issues:

1. My vacuum reservoir fell out of place and melted itself against my engine. Going to replace that, but it also melted my vacuum lines, guessing some easy connectors and vacuum hose will do the trick. Just looking to see if anyone has anything to say on this before I go ahead and do it.

2. My A/C clutch rattles around when it disengages - it's like scrapping forks on a plate to me. I figured part of the disengaging problem I was having was do to low refrigerant, so I topped it up. It certainly stopped the clutch from engaging and disengaging constantly and my A/C is icy cold. But the problem is, it'll still rattle around when it disengages, eventually it stops rattling after like 10-15 seconds. I feel like there's some weird residual magnetism that's not leaving the coil and causing it to slightly engage. I checked the airgap, and that doesn't seem to be an issue at all. However, I noticed that the clutch plate seems to be bent or, rather sitting at a bit of an angle, so the air gap isn't consistent the entire around. Any advice on this? I'd like to try and fix it with one or two pieces, rather than the entire assembly as it seems to cost $200 up here in Canada.

 

[sgtsandman]

It's your thread. You can revive it anytime you want.

For the lift, look at the pre-2008 lift. The torsion keys, and axle blocks set the ride height taller than the Rangers from 2008 on. They will give you about an 1.5" of lift and it's all stock parts that won't need anything special to make them fit other than getting a set of longer u-bolts for the rear axle.

The tire size you are looking at is about 30". Depending on the terrain for where you live (hilly, flat, mountainous), it might be ok. That puts you right at the top of the Daily Driver, Best Overall Performance range. You will have to decide.

Increasing the rotor size will require changing the caliper brackets and possibly the calipers along with the rotors. You'll have to see what is out there and what might fit. There might be something in the tech library on it already.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I think the 285/75/16 is considered a 33 inch tire... IMHO... way to tall for a 3.73.

I think your plan for the vacuum repairs will work... just ensure you are routed properly away from heat sources.

You can replace the clutch on the compressor. Sounds like it just worn out... mine is starting to make a bit of racket lately.

I posted the link to the Tech Library pre key information in my last post... it is what sgtsandman also refers to also. I know folks on here with pre 08 trucks crank the t-bars max and fit the 285/75/16's... but I believe they rub a bit. They also typically run them on an 8 inch wide wheel. However... you still have the 3.73 gear. If you need 33's... you should truly consider a re-gear.

I run 32's (265/75/16) with a 4.10 gear... I feel it is totally livable but I do feel the difference from the factory 31 inch tall tires.

Here is the link to the Tech Library to help understand gear ratio to tire size changes.

Gear Ratio Guide For Larger Tires (therangerstation.com)

Spend some time poking around the Tech Library... there is 20 plus years of helpful information to help you with many things you would like to do.

 

[09fx4guy]

Hello Bob,

It sounds like you have a nice setup on the truck so far, pretty similar to what I run except I am still on 31's. I would echo UncleGump as far as 285/75/16 being too big for your 3.73 gears. If you are currently running 255/70R16 Duratracs, you should probably size up to 265/75R16 tires. That is about 32 inches and would probably be the max for your gears without making you miserable. I ended up with 265/70R16 because I fell into a good deal on my tires. BFGoodrich also makes a 275/70R16 if you wanted to look at them.

I had almost an identical problem with the AC clutch on my truck about 5 years ago. It rattled when engaging and disengaging, and cycled often. I ended up having a puncture in the condenser from some type of road debris. I ended up replacing the condenser, compressor, hoses, and receiver dryer, while only flushing the evap. It cost about three hundred dollars (IIRC), but the system has worked flawlessly since. The only reason I replaced the compressor is because the compressor was $110, while the clutch was $70. I could not justify replacing everything else and not the compressor as a whole. Check out Rockauto for parts, they are usually cheaper than local parts houses by quite a bit. I don't know if it will make a big difference as far as being in Canada, but hopefully it won't.