79 bronco coil on an 86 Ranger?

[ranger33s]

Hi, I just bought a 1986 Ranger four days ago. It has a four inch lift now with trxus 33s. In the front it currently has XJ Cherokee coils from Rusty's upfront. The guy I bought it from threw in a set of Superflex 4" lift coils from a 79 Bronco. He says they should swap right in. Anyone ever heard of or done anything like this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[LittleBigFoot]

The RBV coils are pretty stiff against the soft as hell XJ coils. The Bronco coils will be extremely stiff too.

I know 86ford ran XJ coils on his B2. I swapped a ford D44 out of a bronco into a ZJ and the 6" ZJ lift coils fit great in the bronco coil seat.

I'd stick with the cherokee coils if you're gonna wheel it.

 

[ThatGuy]

A FSB is a pig of a vehicle, weighing almost double a ranger. Those coils would be very stiff.

 

[CopyKat]

Far from being stiff. The superflex coil line is made by Deaver, and the 6" ones are very very soft. So I would assume that the 4" ones are not far off. I've been told that the 6" superflex coils sit at about 19" loaded on a 79 Bronco. So the 4" ones would be about 17" or so.

The 5.5 EB coils I have sit about 17"

Now the RBV coil sits about 10" in stock form. If you are using the FSB coils you are naturally going to get about 7" of lift at the coil.

It is possible but with a truck that tall the stiffer springs are a must. I had 6" Skyjacker RBV coils in my ranger and they were soft enough.

 

[ranger33s]

Well if this helps he got them from jeffs bronco graveyard and they are rated at 300 psi. I know if I swapped them in they would be much stiffer than xj springs and that FSB are WAY heavier than rangers. Also rear would need to be lifted as well (unless I decide I'm ok with my truck being star shipped). It sounds like it would be a cool idea I was just wondering what kind of ride I should expect. The truck is my dd as well as my hunting rig and I'd like to take it on the moonlight madness 4x4 run at bald mtn which is a moderately easy trail.

 

[4x4junkie]

A FSB weighs about 4900-5000lbs. A Ranger 3700-4000. Not exactly what I'd call "double the weight"...

Infact, the two may weigh right about the same up front, due to differences in weight distribution front-to-rear.


I would say if you want to experiment, go ahead and try the Bronco coils... You can always switch back. Unless that Ranger is a Supercab though, I'd say you're likely better off keeping the XJ coils under it.
Is the steering set up properly on it? (linkage down completely flat (horizontal) at ride height?)?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I've previously done research on stock coil rates as published by Moog.
'91 Ranger; all
i.d. 3.5" bar dia. 0.671" install height 10.5" load rate 1447# spring rate 430# free height 13.75"
'66-'79 F-series < 6350# GVW
i.d. 4" bar dia. 0.671" install height 13" load rate 1330# spring rate 271# free height 17.5"

'79 bronco coils have the same specs as the f-series quoted. I bought some '79 bronco coils for my race truck but haven't installed them yet as I'm going to try the stock stx highrider [from an '87 is ~ 1" taller than stock reg coil] coils first, then make a comparison. I'll also have to make a coil seat for the bronco spring, the top mount I can rework to fit.
I don't know if this info will help or hinder your decision but hopefully helps you make a comparison.
Richard

 

[ranger33s]

A FSB weighs about 4900-5000lbs. A Ranger 3700-4000. Not exactly what I'd call "double the weight"...

Infact, the two may weigh right about the same up front, due to differences in weight distribution front-to-rear.


I would say if you want to experiment, go ahead and try the Bronco coils... You can always switch back. Unless that Ranger is a Supercab though, I'd say you're likely better off keeping the XJ coils under it.
Is the steering set up properly on it? (linkage down completely flat (horizontal) at ride height?)?

My Ranger is a supercab and no the linkage is not completely flat at rest. How do I fix this, a drop pitman arm?

 

[4x4junkie]

Thats a huge reason for having drivability issues if you're running softer coils.
Take a read here, this should give some insight on why the steering geometry is critical on these things with softer coils, and shows some options to fix it.
http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2008/steering_tech.htm

Not mentioned (article was written prior to it's development) is Stonecrusher's replacement linkage, which seems a bit simpler than say, the K-link setup mentioned in the article.

That said (in addition to fixing your steering), I would probably look into swapping in those Superflex coils since you have a Supercab, I think they may be better suited for it's weight. It's possible you may need to trim them a little to get them down to a 4" lift though (I think untrimmed they'd end up closer to 6" lift on your Ranger).

Hope that helps.

 

[Tony Raine]

Not mentioned (article was written prior to it's development) is Stonecrusher's replacement linkage, which seems a bit simpler than say, the K-link setup mentioned in the article.

yeah, i really like the looks of the stonecrusher piece. i'd buy one if i was still TTB. i think there is one in the "for sale" section here.