98 Ranger Left - Stage ONE

[crakerjk]

After looking around a bit, I was disappointed to find just what it is going to cost me to add a suspension lift to my ranger. All said, for what it is going to cost, I would rather do an axle swap, change the suspension, and have better ride.

So my question is; what can I do in the mean time?

After reading around, I'm thinking of adjusting the torsion bar for about 2 inches in the front and grabbing some leafs from an Explorer for a couple in the rear. Then lastly doing a 3 inch body lift on it.

Does this sound reasonable or anyone have any advice?

Thanks

 

[99_3.0]

That's about what you can do without dumping 1500 plus on it. Cranking the bars will wear out the front end faster if you go too far. Id get the belltech 6400 shackles and a set of explorer leaves and see where that gets you.

 

[EERNGER]

After looking around a bit, I was disappointed to find just what it is going to cost me to add a suspension lift to my ranger. All said, for what it is going to cost, I would rather do an axle swap, change the suspension, and have better ride.

So my question is; what can I do in the mean time?

After reading around, I'm thinking of adjusting the torsion bar for about 2 inches in the front and grabbing some leafs from an Explorer for a couple in the rear. Then lastly doing a 3 inch body lift on it.

Does this sound reasonable or anyone have any advice?

Thanks

Sounds like you are on the right track. Like 99_3.0 said, going for too much out of your t-bars can mess up your front end, so try and keep the twist to 1.5" or less. Also, as pointed out by 99_3.0, the Belltech 6400 shackle is one of the better options for lift for your ranger, because it really wont make your truck ride more stiff, and allow for better articulation in the rear. doing these two mods and a body lift will give you a pretty comfortable ability to run 33's on your truck and is pretty much what 98% of our era (1998+) rangers have for a lift setup who are running 33's. If you still want the super-lift afterwords, keep saving your money. You can sometimes come across them used on craigslist (i usually do when i have no money lol) but there can be risk involved when buying used lifts.

 

[crakerjk]

Thanks so much. I have been looking into the different lift kits and for the money, I decided I'm gonna tear it all out next year and do a F150 Dana 44 SAS. Just need some time to gather parts and hone my welding skills to the point where I trust my front end with them.

In the meantime, I am going to go ahead and grab those shackles and a lift kit. Does a leaf lift (add a leaf, explorer pack, etc) impact your articulation a lot? Sorry if this is a dumb question...

 

[EERNGER]

Thanks so much. I have been looking into the different lift kits and for the money, I decided I'm gonna tear it all out next year and do a F150 Dana 44 SAS. Just need some time to gather parts and hone my welding skills to the point where I trust my front end with them.

In the meantime, I am going to go ahead and grab those shackles and a lift kit. Does a leaf lift (add a leaf, explorer pack, etc) impact your articulation a lot? Sorry if this is a dumb question...

There is no such thing as a dumb question. The add a leaf, explorer pack etc will impact you articulation, but not enough that you would hardly notice it, especially with the explorer leafs. the only thing is that with a truck, you have so little weight over the rear end (as apposed to an suv where you have extra structure and weight over the rear) that the stiffer you make your rear leaf packs, the more reluctant the rear end will be to articulating to the oncoming terrain. but i dont think you will have an issue with that unless you did something like an explorer leaf intertwined with like 4 add-a leaf's, but that's completely ridiculous.