83 Ranger 4x4 lift, tires & driveline questions

[frankyb]

I have a stock 83 Ranger 4x4 2.8 automatic.
I upgraded to Milemarker manual hubs already.

I was thinking of putting a mild lift and slightly bigger tires.

I was thinking maybe 32 or 33 inch tires and a 4" lift.
I guess I'll have to upgrade the rims too.

Who makes the best lift?
Will my small Dana 28 front be ok with that size tire?
Will the 7.5 rear end hold up as well?

If I swap and upgrade, will the driveshafts work?

The truck runs fine (I just put it on the road) and the front & rear axles are fine. How weak are the stock axles? How necessary is it to upgrade them? I do some light hauling, sometimes commuter and 4x4 camping in sand dunes every now and then.

I think after 1990 they were 8.8 in the rear and Dana 35 up front.
Would that be a prudent upgrade?
Would Dana 44's work front & rear? If so, from what type of donor vehicle?

Any advice would be appreciated!!

 

[mhughes165]

your going to be at about the limit for tire size for the axles u have, driveshafts wont have to be changed with just a 4" lift, but u might wanna look into gears and a dana 35 and explorer 8.8 if ur more agressive on ur truck then most

 

[strvger]

first, Welcome to TRS!
i have an '83. i have a 2 inch body lift and i'm running 31 inch tires. 4.56 gears in the stock d28/7.5 axles. i'm happy with my set up. decent mileage on the freeway and i only use it for light trail riding. my tires are heavy E rated, but have more than enough clearance for them. i could run 32 inch tires as it sits. one thing that i think helps me is that i do have a 5 speed tranny in it. i can use 5th gear on the freeway and my cc. i decided on the body lift because i didn't want alignment problems with a suspension lift and this is a dd more than a trail rig. it's certainly no mudder or rock crawler, but it does do exactly what i wanted it for.
good luck with your build!

 

[frankyb]

2" lift

Thanks for the advice guys... Hey, what 2" lift did you use?

 

[strvger]

mine was a PAW (Performance Accessories Warehouse, iirc) kit. you can get them here on TRS using the 'parts' tab at the top of this page. also Summit Racing and other 4x4 retailers sell them. i've heard that the 2 inch kit had been discontinued and only the 3 inch kit was being sold now, but i'd double check for sure. might find one on ebay for well under the $100 or so they usually cost. also, might as well spend another $50 or so and get new body bushings for your truck. you're already doing the work for the lift, might as well improve your ride with the bushings without hardly anymore labor involved. just a thought.
anyway, good luck with your truck.
and Happy Holidays!

 

[feellnfroggy]

You should PM r1hatman. He has an 83 ranger with 2 inch JY lift and 31's, He's about to install a 3" body lift. He has also rebuilt the C-5 and fixed some other common probs with the 2.8 that if you havent had yet you might.

B2GUY runs a bronco 2 with 35's on the dana 28. He will be breaking something soo, but for now its holding up. I been with him on wheeling trips with 33's where he hammered on it and didnt break anything. He ran 4 inch lift with 33's. Also he has never regeared...that I know of. 93 and up 4.0l rangers have the dana 35 and 8.8 but your better off getting it from a 93 and up exploder. They have 31 spline rears and usually lower gearing. 3.55 or 3.73 as opposed to the 3.27 my ranger came with. A dana 35 is rated for 35 inch tires max, but Ive seen bigger on them too. Up to 37's ( requires more wheel bearing maintenance). Your best upgrade would be 78 and older EB solid axles. Way more options.