Removing a lift, have questions

[fourwheelford]

Hi all, first off 2000 ranger 4x4 with a 3.0 FF 111,000 on the clock.

Ok heres my issue I bought the truck a couple years ago with a lift on it, it was my first truck and at the time I liked the look of the lift but now time has passed and the ride is getting worse and parts for the lift (bushings and what not) are not being made anymore. I took it to a 4 wheel drive shop and the guy said it was a trail master lift kit. Its poorly designed and causing the ride to be really crappy. Everything is bolt on as far as I can tell, im a fabricator so im sure nothing has been modified frame wise.

Basically I want to remove all components of the lift and bring it back to stock ride height but I need to know the stock parts that are removed in order to put the lift on so I can track them down. Just a list of front end components would help me narrow it down to what I do and do not have. My steering rack needs to be replaced so thats happening along with the shocks and all front end bushings once it comes off. Also My tires are 10.5 by 31 and I put a superlift after market driveshaft for lifted rangers and I need to know if those can still be used at stock height.

I have only looked under a couple stock rangers but as far as I can tell the lower control arms bolt to the frame and there is no stock cross member under the front diff I think with new nuts, bolts, washers, bushings and shocks I can have this thing finally riding good. Any info would be great thank you everybody.

 

[railman]

to be honest, IIRC, the TM lift just relocates the diff, SLA's, and the Torsion bar x-member....all bolt on....

once ya remove the aformentioned suspention pieces, remove the TM brackets from the stock brackets and bolt the susp. parts back on...

as for the "TM bushings not bein made" .....well...it should be the stock Ford bushings or possibly aftermarket ones like Energy Susp....they will be made for a LONG time....cause as stated before, TM just relocates the factory arms, diff, and TB x-member...

as for the "crappy" ride....i doubt it has anything to do with the TM lift itself...more than likely to get that "little more lift" they did a Torsion Twist and so if ya "lowered" the truck some to regain some of the "factory" travel it would ride fine...as long as you put good quality shocks on her ( more than likely the shocks are what has helped kill the ride )

good luck with the project...

l8r, John

 

[fourwheelford]

Thanks for the reply, I know the shocks are bad and the steering rack is toast it will just be easier to bring it back to stock ride height then it will be to track down the parts I need to make it ride better. It has been getting worse and their lift is so poorly made its not even worth leaving it on, the distributor of the lift said they have discontinued all parts for it. Its eaither this or I just trade it in and take it on the chin with whatever they want to give me for it. For a couple hundred bucks and a day of my time I can pretty much rebuild the front end and maybe enjoy the stupid thing

 

[mhughes165]

Thanks for the reply, I know the shocks are bad and the steering rack is toast it will just be easier to bring it back to stock ride height then it will be to track down the parts I need to make it ride better. It has been getting worse and their lift is so poorly made its not even worth leaving it on, the distributor of the lift said they have discontinued all parts for it. Its eaither this or I just trade it in and take it on the chin with whatever they want to give me for it. For a couple hundred bucks and a day of my time I can pretty much rebuild the front end and maybe enjoy the stupid thing

lol...ur missing his point THERE ARE NO PARTS TOGO BAD, its the same concept as a lift on a IFS toyota, ur just dropping everything down. odds are ur torsion bars are shot and thats whats causing ur shitty ride, so putting it to stock wont improve ur ride quality in the least

 

[fourwheelford]

No I get the point, the point im making is that I can't get bushings for any of the stuff and the shocks are hard to get ahold of and if they follow the same quality of the rest of the stuff they aren't worth the money anyway. I Have already had to plate and weld part of the thing because of the poor design and quailty of the material. On a side note how does a torsion bar go bad? I have never owned a vehicle with them so Im not totally sure on how they work, they look pretty true though. I figured the only thing that would kill them would be to case the sucker on a rock and bend it.

 

[strvger]

torsion bars are adjustable. when you adjust them to "lift" the front end, it results in a much stiffer ride and extra wear and tear on the associated parts. as above, i'd try adjusting the bar down even if you do remove the lift kit, as that is most likely your poor ride culprit, that and the bad shocks. it should be sort of the reverse of this:
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/TorsionBar.html
there is more info in the tech library that should help you considerably. good luck with your mod.

 

[fourwheelford]

Thanks much I will check that article out

 

[whatelseisleft]

you can get the bushings for that truck because it uses all stock original equipment... but thats just something to keep in mind... unwind those torsion bars and new shocks and i can almost guarantee your ride quality will be great once again...

 

[mhughes165]

yup, torsion bar suspension lifts if done properly maintain a ride of the same if not better, due to the better quality shocks u can order (any company makes them, dont have to get them company specific) and all the bushings in the front end are stock.

anyone that tells u otherwise is a liar....


torsion bars wear out the same as any other spring

 

[strvger]

i honestly don't think that any one who disagrees with you is necessarily a "liar". they just may have different experiences with torsion lifts than you do. keep in mind that ride quality is very subjective and individualized. while you may consider it to produce a better ride, other threads here on TRS indicate some folks think just the opposite. each is entitled to their own opinion but in no way does that make any of them "liars".
just my $.02.

 

[mhughes165]

he will gain no benefit in ride quality with removing the lift then what he has now, which is the only reason he wants it stock height, if anything the ride quality will diminish because of the smaller overall diameter tire that sucks up bumps.

i just dont think someone should waste a bunch of time. lowering the truck he will have to replace all the shocks anyways, he might aswell order the correct shocks from ANY website, and the bushings that every one of thos torsion bar lifts are stock components or poly aftermarker,IE energy suspension.

i apologize for the liar comment however, it was out of line

 

[feellnfroggy]

James Duff doesnt do 98 + rangers, however some of the bushing you need might be similar tothat of other years. And the shocks you need are most likely interchangable with one of the other years rangers. I would call them. I know what their magazine says, but actually call them and talk to brian, if he doesnt know i think one of his welders drove a ranger for a while. Or maybe it was the shipping guy, either way someone their should have an answer for you.