any advice?

[sarahsterzenbach]

hey i just bought an 88 ford ranger. Its got a 4 inch suspension lift with 31 inch tires. Im thinkin of putting 35 inch tires. Any advice on what to do to make that work?

 

[99RangerKrazy]

Wellll, what are the rest of the specs? Engine, gears, what axles does it have, etc. ?

 

[Hahnsb2]

What are you planning to use the truck for?

 

[sarahsterzenbach]

my brother says its got dana 28s.... im sorry im 15 year old girl i dont really know what im talking about....

 

[sarahsterzenbach]

its my first truck, im just gonna use it everyday to get to school and work, go mudding sometimes

 

[Hahnsb2]

It has a D28 front, 7.5 rear. Unless you plan on upgrading axles and gears I'd leave it alone.

 

[Sunk]

The 31s on it should be fine for what you want to use it for. 35s would require a long list of mods, or would get you a long list of broken parts.

 

[97BlackBetty]

I will give you a quick list of the modifications I am doing to my 97' to allow me to comfortably run 35's.

Front Axle-D35
Rear Axle-8.8
6 inch suspension lift
4.88 gears

That is the bare minimum, I am looking for performance as well so I have a lot of little things added.

 

[sarahsterzenbach]

what would be the cheapest brand for a 6 inch suspension lift?

 

[97BlackBetty]

Well, the cheapest route would be to add a Body Lift. You can get a 3" body lift for less then $200 I think from Performance Accessories.

Most suspension lifts are going to cost you $1000 or more for a decent lift. If you are patient you can piece them together for a lot less than that. You should also find out what lift you have on there currently, depending on the model, most of us here can help you set it up in a way to perform better and give you more height (which it seems is what you are looking for).

 

[sarahsterzenbach]

a body lift would work? alot of people have told me that body lifts are not a good way to go... why is that? yeah your right, I am looking for height haha. Im just not looking forward to paying 1,000 to switch it from a 4 inch suspension lift to a 6

 

[97BlackBetty]

Body lifts are great, not all would agree with me and we have had the arguments on here before on the pros and cons of BL's. You are 15, you most likely do not have a large expendable income. A body lift is a great way of lifting a vehicle, cheap, and it helps keep your center of gravity lower.

Personally I am trying to avoid the body lift when I finally go up, I am willing to trim body panels however to compensate.

And like I said, find out what lift is already on there. You may be able to raise it up to 6 inches very easily. If the kit has the 4 inch drop brackets for the front axle, then it is possible to put 6 inch coils in there. It also has some added benefits, but there are a few other things that you need to account for like the angle of your steering arms.

I would suggest going through a few of the build threads and the lift sections of the site. There is a lot of info in there that would be beneficial to you.

 

[sarahsterzenbach]

so when you say that its possible to put 6 inch coils in there, does that mean i dont have to buy a whole new lift kit? like i said i dont anything about this stuff...sorry

 

[97BlackBetty]

Yes it is possible that you may not have to buy a whole new kit. If you have a 4 inch lift with all of the associated hardware underneat already. You may be able to put 6 inch coils in place of the 4 inch. However, I would highly recomend that you invest in an extreme drop pitman arm from Skyjacker as well. To help with any steering issues that may arrise. For the rear you can use shackles to lift the rear roughly 2 inches. Belltech 5400 shackles are designed to lower a chevy 1500, however, they will lift a Ranger due to the different setup of the rear suspension.

I am also wondering if you have extended radious arms or not.

You really need to try and find out what is underneath the truck now so that we can help you better.

 

[sarahsterzenbach]

ok. what exactly are you wanting to know about whats under it?