1.6" of front travel?!??!??! (with pic)

[Slim]

Okay, maybe i'm exaggerating a little.

It's really more like 1.625".

I suspected the front springs were sagging a bit much, but didn't think it was this bad! I'm in the middle of replacing the ball joints on my truck and freaked out when I saw this. I thought maybe the truck fell off it's stands or something, but it's not. The front end is sitting on stands on the i-beams in this pic and that socket you see is 1.625" tall.

Between this and the fact that my lower shock mounts are ****ed i'm NOW considering a lift kit to replace all this crap. Not ideal to be honest. Not sure the truck is worth the effort.


Any words of wisdom or ..... anything?!??!??! Approaching my wits' end here.

 

[ckblum]

My beams are pretty close to the bump stops. Maybe not that close I never measured. You have more than 1.625" of travel. The beam still has to travel down right? Heck even my 4x4 had its beams pretty close. I think they only have about 6-8" stock, but I've seen some "mid-travel" kits for other vehicles only provide that much travel after being installed.

 

[kmack]

i think thats normal. it sucks but i had the same thing happen to me with some quads.

my friends dad bought some quads for us to ride and we thought they were amazing and then when i checked the website they only had 100mm of travel.

im used to my bicycle having 200mm front and 230mm rear and race quads having more than this.

my ranger has the same travel as yours.

 

[wahlstrom1]

If your serious about a lift, talk to TEE REV who's a member here that has a 6" Class II skyjacker 2wd kit for sale.

 

[Slim]

Thanks for the replies fellas!

Okay, so apparently my springs have sagged. My truck has a bit of a rake to it, the front obviously being lower than the rear. I wish to fix this because it's really annoying being bounced out of your seat when you hit a dip in the road and bottom out the suspension on the highway (let alone being dangerous!).

I have decided to purchase a SkyJacker 132 spring lift kit. Not sure if I wanna get the SJA-132K or SJA-132XK yet. According to SJ and Summit Racing one must purchase new upper alignment sleeves and this is where I get confused (not used to this type of suspension).

From what i've read so far this upper sleeve on 2wd and 4wd suspensions is supposedly the same piece? If so then why does SJ list different part numbers? Heck, even Rock Auto and Summit say the same thing. I'm confused here, can anyone shed a little light my way please?

Also, what's the difference between getting this sleeve as a one piece unit or one of those "adjustable" units? From what i've seen so far the one piece units don't have the tab, or fin, to fix it in a certain place, so one should be able to twist it into the right place to get a certain alignment setting anyway, right?!??!?

Help, please, anyone?

Thanks!

 

[canyoncritter]

the 89 and newer ranger 2wd's with cast beams, and the dana-35 4wd use the same "upper alignment sleeves " also known as camber bushing, or ecentric bushing.


the adj, vs the fixed is just that, the adjustable ones you can adjust to many diffrent settings. where the fixed is the setting that it is, and that's it.

Id suggest buying the adjustable ones,might be a few bucks more now, but will save you some money when you take it to the alighment shop,since you can install the bushing yourself,no labor or mark up at the shop..

 

[Slim]

Thanks for the clarification and the names. Very helpful.

As for the adjustability - if the "fixed" bushings don't have that tab then are they not infinitely adjustable? All the pics I see of these things do not show that tab (tab has a notch in it for the pinch bolt to pass through).

So far it looks like i'll go with the SJ 132XK spring kit.

 

[Slim]

Thought i'd update and ask a question .....

Update - I have purchased the Sky Jacker 132-XK kit. I also have a set of Rancho 5000 series to install as well. Install will hopefully be soon. Yes, i'll take pics (before, during and after ). Hopefully the 6" c-clamps I picked up will be enough for the AAL install. Also hoping to install the adjustable eccentric upper bushings.


Question - I might be picking up a '94 Ranger 4x4 parts truck. I'm wondering if it would make sense for me to re-use the pitman arm fron this truck (the one that comes right off the steering box - is that correct?), since I would be raising the suspension to the same point where it would be on a 4x4. Makes sense, yes?


As always - PATIA!

 

[RangerRyan88]

Since the kit's just coils and an AAL you shouldn't need a "drop" pitman arm.. The only time you get a dropped pitman arm with a lift is when you lift, for example, 4 inches with a kit that includes drop brackets for the I beams and radius arms. The whole point is with the drop brackets, the axle beams pivot from a lower fulcrum and the dropped pitman arm lines the tie-rods back up with the pivot point of the axles, so they all pivot together.

So after the rambling, basically no you shouldn't need the dropped/longer pitman arm. Actually the 4x4 arm should be the same size IIRC. Hope that answered your question!

 

[Slim]

Cool, at least now I know what to look for. Thanks!