Ranger Lean questions

[MSGia]

Good afternoon all, had a question about the rear leaf springs in regards to the ranger lean. I was going to lower my truck 4/5 with the DJM kit, and right now I have the DJM rear leaf spring hangers. My idea was maybe I could run no hanger on the right side for a 5 inch lower, and the DJM hanger on the left side set at 4 inches to cancel out the ranger lean. I was thinking about leaf spring blocks but those don't really work on flip kitted trucks. And then in the front I'd just use a washer. Is this a good idea or dangerous? Thanks

 

[stmitch]

Lets be sure that we're using proper terminology here just to be clear.
Part #3 above is the front spring hanger. Part #4 is the rear spring hanger (these like to rust out). Part #5 is the shackle, which connects the rear leaf spring eyelet to the rear spring hanger and is what DJM and most lowering/lifting kits include.

I'm not super clear on what your plan is, but do you want to remove part #5 and bolt the spring directly to #4? That's a bad idea. The leaf spring needs to be able to change lengths as it compresses/droops which is what occurs when the shackle is able to pivot.

The DJM shackles actually lift the rear end ~2". Their 2/3 drop includes a flip kit for the rear (which lowers it ~5") and then the shackle lifts it back up 2" for a total of 3" of rear drop.

Not sure what you mean about using a washer for the front?

 

[MSGia]

Lets be sure that we're using proper terminology here just to be clear.
Part #3 above is the front spring hanger. Part #4 is the rear spring hanger (these like to rust out). Part #5 is the shackle, which connects the rear leaf spring eyelet to the rear spring hanger and is what DJM and most lowering/lifting kits include.

I'm not super clear on what your plan is, but do you want to remove part #5 and bolt the spring directly to #4? That's a bad idea. The leaf spring needs to be able to change lengths as it compresses/droops which is what occurs when the shackle is able to pivot.

The DJM shackles actually lift the rear end ~2". Their 2/3 drop includes a flip kit for the rear (which lowers it ~5") and then the shackle lifts it back up 2" for a total of 3" of rear drop.

Not sure what you mean about using a washer for the front?

I guess I was just a bit confused on how the kit in the rear works if you were going to lower it 5”. So would you keep the stock shackles if you didn’t want to lift it back up 2 inches? I don’t want to do it because it’s sketchy I just thought that was how the kit worked. My main question I guess is can you run the different sides at different heights? With the DJM Shackles, there are two sets of holes, the one furthest away from the bushing is 3” and the one closest to the bushing is 4” (I think), so my thought was I could run the leaned side at 4” of drop, and the passenger side at 5”. I attached the photo of the coil spacer.

 

[stmitch]

DJM, and any Ranger flip kit will put the axle on top of the leaf springs, which lowers the rear about 5". The DJM 3" rear drop kit uses that 5" flip kit, and then adds lift shackles to raise it back up 2" for a total of 3" of drop vs stock.

So if you're currently stock height, and want to lower the rear 5" the least expensive way to do that is with nothing but a flip kit. You don't need to touch your shackles. If you already have the DJM 2/3" drop kit, then removing the DJM shackles and installing factory ones will give you 5" of rear drop.

If it were mine, I'd start with a flip kit and stock shackles just to see how bad any lean might be. If it's severe and really bugs you, then you may be able to raise the lower of the two sides with a small lift shackle or add a leaf to the pack, etc to get it closer. In most cases the lean isn't extreme enough to be worth the effort, or it's small enough that getting .5-.75" of lift to level it out isn't really feasible without something like adjustable coilovers.

 

[MSGia]

Thanks for the reply. I have 2/3 lower now. I’m a little bothered by the look, I’m more just worried about like rubbing over bumps on one side and not the other. The difference between left and right sides for fender gap on my truck is 1 1/4 inches.

Driver Front: 1 and 1/2
Driver Rear: 2 and 1/2
Passenger Front: 2 and 3/4
Passenger Rear: 3 and 3/4
But I’ll definitely see how bad it looks before adding a leaf or lifting one side etc. Thanks!

 

[MSGia]

I was installing a rollpan on my truck today and I was looking at the leaf spring hangers and turns out the new DJM lift hangers have 4 settings, not 2 and I believe one of them is just stock height. Works out because my stock hangers are no good.

 

[stmitch]

I've heard that the DJM shackles are shared with a full size Chevy kit. On the Chevy, they lower the rear and in a Ranger they lift the rear. The pic you posted is probably for a Chevy application (Hence the text about "drop"). Just something to keep in mind that was probably contributing to your confusion. The DJM shackles will provide lift in a Ranger, not drop.