99 Ford Ranger XLT Lift

[FordRangerBoy]

Hello, I have a 1999 Ford Ranger XLT 2.5l. I really want to lift it and convert it from a 2wd to a 4wd. What should I do? I dont want to spend a terrible amount of money, but at the same time I want my truck to be a 4X4 and lifted a little bit. Any suggestions?

 

[kmack]

sell yours and buy one that has 4x4, and then lift it.

that would be the easiest/cheapest. unless you dont mind getting your hands dirty and have plenty of time on your hands along with a secondary vehicle.

 

[BlackBII]

Well, you could buy a 4x4 truck for say, 4-6 grand?? Depending on where you live..

Or, you could do a SAS for not even half that...

New tranny, Tcase, Driveshaft, Solid Axle, and some fabwork.

How mechanically inclined are you?

 

[99RangerKrazy]

98+ Rangers and not wanting to spending a terrible amount of money to lift it don't go together. Do what the others have said; sell it and buy a 97 or older Ranger, as they are significantly cheaper to lift.

 

[FordRangerBoy]

Thanks for all of the comments guys I really appreciate it. Lets say that I dont make it a 4X4 and I just lift it and put big mudding tires on it? Do you all think that will be worth it? If so, around how much do you think that it will cost and also do you think that it would be good offroad?

 

[RangerFabWorks]

2wd and offraod dont mix well. mudding tires will cost about 700$ lift will be about 1500$

i dont think its worth lifting a 2wd truck. if anything, lower it about 2 inches, throw wide tires on it, and make it a sick street machine.

 

[99RangerKrazy]

There have been many capable 2WD offroading rigs on here (Colinrmitchell is one of them). Must be locked in the rear. But 4WD is definitely nice to get you out of sticky situations. You can probably squeeze 33s by just cranking the torsion bars, but if you want bigger than that you're going to have to get a lift kit, which aren't cheap. But hey, it's your rig, build it baby!

 

[kmack]

yep look around the forum some more for information on these trucks.

 

[FordRangerBoy]

What does it mean to be locked in the rear?

 

[kmack]

your rear wheels spin together no matter what happens.

 

[FordRangerBoy]

How do you make them do that? And does that give you alot better traction?

 

[MusicManiac]

Go to this site and read all of the pages. It will help you understand differentials and how they work.

 

[FordRangerBoy]

Ok so I am confused, does my truck have a differential right now or not? If it doesnt I would like to put one in so I can be better offroad. When I was reading an article it was saying that if I had both of my back tires locked in the rear than it would be hard to make turns and it would be hard on the truck. What should I do to overcome that?

 

[FordRangerBoy]

Ok ignore the part on the previous comment. I found out that my truck has a limited slip differential.