95 ranger prerunner need advice from the Pros

[skitzoj]

Ok so i have a 95 Ford Ranger prerunner i newly acquired, I'm new to the world of offroad suspension and what not. I'm taking an offroad suspenison class because i would like to hook up my new truck. I don't know what suspension is on it i dont know whats best for what i want (i need something that i can drive on the road but is at home in the dirt) If you could help me out i would greatly appreciate it. One of my assignments for class is to figure out what iu want to do with my truck and for that i need some professional advice.

 

[Heavyfire14]

it looks like it has lift springs out front. in the back they took out the overload springs. it looks like stock exhaust. and it looks like they kept the rims that were actually on there. (you need some 15x8 rims with 3.75 inch backspacing and at least 31's for tires) the truck isnt quite a prerunner yet but its halfway there. also it looks like its a 4 banger.

oh also i would redo the front suspension cause those drob down brackets arnt good with prerunning. i would go with longer radius arms and bent and extended beams (and coilovers and an engine cage if you have the money)

the rear suspencion i would flip the shackels and get longer ones and get deavers and either do a canti lever setup ar a bed cage and resies. and a ls 8.8 with 4.10 gear ratio wouldnt hurt either...

am i forgetting anything???

 

[Heavyfire14]

oh and no prerunning till you cage the truck...

 

[skitzoj]

it looks like it has lift springs out front. in the back they took out the overload springs. it looks like stock exhaust. and it looks like they kept the rims that were actually on there. (you need some 15x8 rims with 3.75 inch backspacing and at least 31's for tires) the truck isnt quite a prerunner yet but its halfway there. also it looks like its a 4 banger.

oh also i would redo the front suspension cause those drob down brackets arnt good with prerunning. i would go with longer radius arms and bent and extended beams (and coilovers and an engine cage if you have the money)

the rear suspencion i would flip the shackels and get longer ones and get deavers and either do a canti lever setup ar a bed cage and resies. and a ls 8.8 with 4.10 gear ratio wouldnt hurt either...

am i forgetting anything???

Thank you, im a little new too this stuff, im not sure where to find it at a good price, or what to pull it off of, cause i know a lot of the stuff i would need i can find on other vehicles. I honestly just have no clue were to start looking haha, what do you recommend to start with first?

 

[Heavyfire14]

craigslist is great for used parts. summitracing.com is great for alot of new parts. check out the tech library to see the types of suspencion you can get.
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/2wdlifts.html

i would get bent and extended beams and longer radius arms first (i hope you have alot of money) then go and flip the shackels in the rear and buy longer ones and put on a deaver f31 leaf pack and get a bed cage and some fox resievoir shocks (also expensive) and then i would get some new rims and tires...

i hope you have money, cause thats about 3000-4000 bux just right there... and after all that you still gotta cage the truck (another 2000 bux)


or you can go the route im going and dont shell out all the extra $$ and jus do a couple things and use it for light offroading

 

[Heavyfire14]

oh btw nice truck? if you dont mind me askin how much did you pay for it? and do you live near the imperial valley or the dunes?? jus wandering?

 

[prerunnerwannabe]

It all depends on how extreme you want to go with your truck. If money is an issue and all you want is a fun little weekend warrior, you can just go to your local pick-n-pull and find a first generation (1983(I think?) to 1988) ranger and grab the I-beams from one of them, bring them to a decent off-road shop, and get them bent for about 4 inches of lift. The reason for using first generation beams is that they are forged and the ones you have are cast (hence the "do not heat bend or weld" that is stamped on them).

As for radius arms, they should have drop brackets on them already. That is not the preferred method by any means, but it you just want something to mess around in, it should work okay.
But if you want to do it a better way, you will want extended radius arms. You live in California so finding a pair shouldn't be a too big of a deal.

With stock radius arms, you will be limited to about 10 to 12 inches of wheel travel. With extended arms and bent I-beams, you should be able to get about 16 inches of wheel travel, but you will be limited by your stock coil/shock bucket. An easy way to get a longer shock to work is to use a pre super-duty F-250 shock mount.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/F250shocktower.htm

As for shocks, if you want a decent shock that is good on road and okay off, then the Bilstein 5100 series shocks are okay. If you want a good shock but don't want to break the bank, then check out FOA's shock line.

http://f-o-a.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=24_34&products_id=17

As for springs, your current spring could probably work sorta okay for a while. You would probably want a spring that is a bit softer but not too soft. I think the Skyjacker 4 inch soft-ride springs would probably fit the bill okay.

If this isn't what you had in mind that's okay. You asked for ideas so you got some
Good luck bro!

(This is by FAR my largest post ever, so if I messed up somewhere please don't flame me lol)

Edit: Oh yeah, get some 31-10.50-15 tires. Yours look kinda tiny and are mismatched

 

[Heavyfire14]

It all depends on how extreme you want to go with your truck. If money is an issue and all you want is a fun little weekend warrior, you can just go to your local pick-n-pull and find a first generation (1983(I think?) to 1988) ranger and grab the I-beams from one of them, bring them to a decent off-road shop, and get them bent for about 4 inches of lift. The reason for using first generation beams is that they are forged and the ones you have are cast (hence the "do not heat bend or weld" that is stamped on them).

As for radius arms, they should have drop brackets on them already. That is not the preferred method by any means, but it you just want something to mess around in, it should work okay.
But if you want to do it a better way, you will want extended radius arms. You live in California so finding a pair shouldn't be a too big of a deal.

With stock radius arms, you will be limited to about 10 to 12 inches of wheel travel. With extended arms and bent I-beams, you should be able to get about 16 inches of wheel travel, but you will be limited by your stock coil/shock bucket. An easy way to get a longer shock to work is to use a pre super-duty F-250 shock mount.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/F250shocktower.htm

As for shocks, if you want a decent shock that is good on road and okay off, then the Bilstein 5100 series shocks are okay. If you want a good shock but don't want to break the bank, then check out FOA's shock line.

http://f-o-a.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=24_34&products_id=17

As for springs, your current spring could probably work sorta okay for a while. You would probably want a spring that is a bit softer but not too soft. I think the Skyjacker 4 inch soft-ride springs would probably fit the bill okay.

If this isn't what you had in mind that's okay. You asked for ideas so you got some
Good luck bro!

(This is by FAR my largest post ever, so if I messed up somewhere please don't flame me lol)

wat he said ^^

and by the looks of the picture it kinda looks like you live in pine valley (or somewhere in the mountains)

 

[Bennybooster]

check out dezertrangers.com

 

[doyouquaxu]

depending on where you live, there's a bitchin swap meet this weekend in camarillo, ca if you have money to spend. you can pick up shocks, leaf springs, beams, anything really at great prices

 

[Heavyfire14]

Thank you, im a little new too this stuff, im not sure where to find it at a good price, or what to pull it off of, cause i know a lot of the stuff i would need i can find on other vehicles. I honestly just have no clue were to start looking haha, what do you recommend to start with first?

hey btw im sellin my brand new tires (have 100 miles on them) and rims off my truck. the tires are 31x10.50r15 and the rims are stock mazda 15x7 alloy rims.

ill give you a really good deal if u want them (im thinkin like 600 for all 4 including rims and there already mounted and balenced). oh and they have a 40,000 mile warranty.

ill meet you somewhere if you live close enough

 

[skitzoj]

Sorry about the lag Ive been a little busy lately. Thanks for all your help. In order to kinda answer all questions at once. I live in apple valley(high desert,victorville area) I don't have to much money so I'm kinda trying to keep it within a budget so those were some good ideas to get me started
Thanks again guys.