Anyone ever lower the Ranger Edge?

[Ranger850]

My Bad. I was confused. I thought You wanted to lower the truck, as in " a lowered Ranger". It seems you want to keep the off road appearance, but just lower it ONE inch. A lot of work for one inch, IMO. Why not just replace tires with smaller diameter, since it looks like you might have to do that after you "lower" it anyways, and skip the smaller blocks.


FWIW I'm an idiot when it comes to 'lifted" trucks and the purpose of a 2wd truck lifted with +30" tires is baffling to me. I'll just sit and watch from afar from now on.

 

[Lefty]

My Bad. I was confused. I thought You wanted to lower the truck, as in " a lowered Ranger". It seems you want to keep the off road appearance, but just lower it ONE inch. A lot of work for one inch, IMO. Why not just replace tires with smaller diameter, since it looks like you might have to do that after you "lower" it anyways, and skip the smaller blocks.


FWIW I'm an idiot when it comes to 'lifted" trucks and the purpose of a 2wd truck lifted with +30" tires is baffling to me. I'll just sit and watch from afar from now on.

Well brother, I certainly understand the confusion.

It seems as though everybody wants a "lifted" truck even though it provides no real benefit to the daily driver who never goes off road. No wonder why they made the Edge! It looks bad ass. And yes, it seems like other manufacturers have done the same. So we drive those "lifted" one wheel wonders to the grocery store and put in an occasional appearance at the local Dairy Queen on a Saturday night and feel "studly" when we do.

No offense at all you four wheel drive owners. Truth is, I'm jealous. I looked for one for a very long time. It seems as though you guys don't want to sell them either.

The lift on the Edge is not a true lift, of course, at least for those without 4WD. The drivetrain remains at normal height. The center of gravity is therefore somewhat lower (and maybe safer). The "lift" does offer some advantages. It provides an opportunity to install bigger tires, gain more traction, and allows for better visibility in traffic.

Still there are inconveniences. It's difficult to reach into the bed area. My wife, who is a self professed clutz, has difficulty getting in even with the nerf step I installed last year. So I'm going for the small convenience of (maybe) better handling and easier access.

My hope is that a two inch lift block along with a crank or two on the front torsion bars will help, that it may not stiffen the ride too much or even require new shocks.

As soon as the weather warms, I'm going out to the boneyard for a limited slip axle anyway, maybe a Ford Explorer or a recent model Ranger with disc brakes. Whatever is better! I might as well pull some shorter 2" blocks.

And I am not looking to go counter trend either, no "truxarosa," nothing lowered all the way.

Thanks again for your comments. They got me thinking!

 

[sgtsandman]

To me, there wasn’t much of a difference before and after. There is a difference but not that much of one. That may or may not make a difference to your significant other.

Now comparing the truck height to my 2019 Ranger. There is a significant difference getting in and out of it, especially getting in the bed compared to my 2011.

I hope the project works out how you want it to.

 

[Uncle Gump]

The shock length won't change... any shock that fits now will fit after you turn down the front a bit.

You can certainly turn the torsion bars down... even one turn... and see where you're at. If you find an 08 or newer 4x4... I would grab both the rear blocks and the torsion keys as @sgtsandman said. You probably have the thread space on your current keys for a turn... but the later keys were designed to specifically lower the front of torsion bar trucks.

 

[Lefty]

Very helpful! Thanks!

 

[Lefty]

I would imagine the change is small, but well worth doing, especially this year. I plan to remove the tub and swap rear axle anyway.

I am no mechanic, but I would also expect that shorter lift blocks might soften the effect of axle wrap. It should also reduce drag, make the bottom side a little more streamlined. I do have larger tires: Cooper 255-70-R15. A little lift is good. Perhaps even with a little luck I could go down by 1 1/2 inches without having to replace shocks and other suspension parts.

 

[pjtoledo]

Well brother, I certainly understand the confusion.

It seems as though everybody wants a "lifted" truck even though it provides no real benefit to the daily driver who never goes off road. No wonder why they made the Edge! It looks bad ass. And yes, it seems like other manufacturers have done the same. So we drive those "lifted" one wheel wonders to the grocery store and put in an occasional appearance at the local Dairy Queen on a Saturday night and feel "studly" when we do.

No offense at all you four wheel drive owners. Truth is, I'm jealous. I looked for one for a very long time. It seems as though you guys don't want to sell them either.

The lift on the Edge is not a true lift, of course, at least for those without 4WD. The drivetrain remains at normal height. The center of gravity is therefore somewhat lower (and maybe safer). The "lift" does offer some advantages. It provides an opportunity to install bigger tires, gain more traction, and allows for better visibility in traffic.

Still there are inconveniences. It's difficult to reach into the bed area. My wife, who is a self professed clutz, has difficulty getting in even with the nerf step I installed last year. So I'm going for the small convenience of (maybe) better handling and easier access.

My hope is that a two inch lift block along with a crank or two on the front torsion bars will help, that it may not stiffen the ride too much or even require new shocks.

As soon as the weather warms, I'm going out to the boneyard for a limited slip axle anyway, maybe a Ford Explorer or a recent model Ranger with disc brakes. Whatever is better! I might as well pull some shorter 2" blocks.

And I am not looking to go counter trend either, no "truxarosa," nothing lowered all the way.

Thanks again for your comments. They got me thinking!

does this mean you have a 2wd Ranger??? with torsion bars up front???
if yes on both counts look into 2001 Sport Track 2wd knuckles. check the distance between the lower ball joint and the center of the axle shaft.
Rumor has it they lower the front about 1/2 inch.
I have a set to take measurements on.

HOWEVER...... those knuckles have 12" front rotors, great unless you have 15" wheels because they (15s) won't fit over 12" front brakes.

the 2010/2011 Rangers have standard rear disk brakes
HOWEVER....they don't have the speed sensor on the center housing.

 

[Lefty]

Yes. This is a two wheel drive open axle 2003 Ranger Edge with torsion bars up front and those lift 3" blocks in back. I do have 15" wheels too.

I was planning to hunt down a Ford Explorer rear axle with limited slip and rear discs, find some 2" blocks, a modest change that would require a minimum of other new parts.

This summer I hope to pull the tub off, restore the back half of the old frame, and work on changing the suspension. I am a rookie.

 

[rubydist]

When you lower the 03 by 1.5" in the rear, it gets to the same ride height as the later 4x4 models where they used the smaller lift block, and set the front about 1" lower. Removing that lift block, or replacing it with the smaller one from the later Rangers and lowering the T-bars on the front will not affect the ride stiffness at all, unless you go so far in the front that you are bottoming out on the bump stops. I did the lowering you want on my 03 FX4 when I had it, and loved it. I didn't lower the 09 because it has those smaller lift blocks from the factory.

 

[Lefty]

You just made my day! I was hoping this idea would work. Now I know! I would imagine that there is some improvement in handling along with accessibility: reaching into the pickup bed,loading and unloading, along with some ease in getting in and out. My partner, for example, is just 5'1"

 

[Lefty]

Did you need keys? Or were you able to crank the torsion bars down?

 

[rubydist]

The torsion bars can be adjusted so the ride height is lower without any parts changes. However, the adjusting bolts will tend to move on their own, so I suggest you put some loctite on the exposed threads before you adjust them so that once set they will want to stay in place. I have to raise the front of my 09 up periodically because the bolts won't stay in place and it gradually creeps down so its bouncing off the bump stops. (And of course, one moves more than the other so I have to work to get it all square again each time.)

 

[Lefty]

Once again, you made my day!

 

[Stumblefoot]

Axle wrap? even with a 4.0 they don't and you have larger tires? No axle wrap..this ain't NHRA it's low power mini trucks Ford Rangers 2.3L 3.0 and 4.0L none make enough HP to worry about axle wrap.

 

[Lefty]

A video showing axel wrap:

A second video showing one way to reduce the effect.