Did you lift your 1998-2011 Ford Ranger 4x4?

[Drw0392]

I had planned on going with both aftermarket torsion bar keys and a 2-3" body lift. My question is what's the advantage of aftermarket torsion keys vs cranking the factory T-bars? Thanks y'all!

99 X-cab 4x4 4L/auto

 

[Craig0320]

When the factory ones are fully cranked the suspension/angles are pretty much maxed out. The aftermarket ones gives a little more than that. Which in turn is even more stress on the front end.

 

[sgtsandman]

I thought about a suspension lift until I read about the front drive shaft issues. I am considering getting earlier Ranger torsion keys and spring blocks or after market ones but that is about it. I wouldn't mind a lift but I don't want to hurt reliability doing it and I do not like body lifts.

 

[MyBrother'sRanger]

I'm curious how many of you 1998-2011 Ford Ranger 4x4 owners lifted your Ranger, and whether you:

• Bought the Superlift kit
• Cranked the torsion bars
• Bought torsion keys (and cranked those)
• Just used a body Lift
• Did a Superlift & body lift
• Did a torsion bar crank and body lift

And if you don't mind, click on the poll, but also post why you did or didn't go a specific route.

Thanks

I've had the 1999 Ranger XLT 4X4, 3.73 LSD, 4.0L with tow package for 4 years and have just started to go off-road with it. The truck is showroom stock with the exception of manual lockers on the front replacing the vacuum hubs. How capable is this vehicle?
Should I start with skid plates or bumper and winch?

 

[gw33gp]

Your 99 Ranger should be fairly capable but will be limited in clearance. That limits where you can go to a degree but you can still go many places. You just need to be careful. I think it is better to start with taller tires like 31". That got me over a lot of stuff for many years but my 89 STX had the factory 1.5" lift also. I never used a winch but it can get you out of trouble if needed. Skid plates (and rock sliders) will help protect vulnerable areas, which you might need as you try rougher stuff. Learning where your differentials are and keeping the big rocks away from them is very important.

BTW, the term lockers is normally reserved for locking differentials. What you have is locking hubs which is a different thing.

I don't have a winch or rock sliders. I do have factory FX4 (Level II equivalent) skid plates which are not heavy armor but are better than standard factory skid plates. I also have 33" tires and 4.56 gears. That has just let me get into rougher stuff and I still have a few light scrapes on the bottom. I have not hit the differentials because I pay close attention to where the big rocks are.

 

[MyBrother'sRanger]

Your 99 Ranger should be fairly capable but will be limited in clearance. That limits where you can go to a degree but you can still go many places. You just need to be careful. I think it is better to start with taller tires like 31". That got me over a lot of stuff for many years but my 89 STX had the factory 1.5" lift also. I never used a winch but it can get you out of trouble if needed. Skid plates (and rock sliders) will help protect vulnerable areas, which you might need as you try rougher stuff. Learning where your differentials are and keeping the big rocks away from them is very important.

BTW, the term lockers is normally reserved for locking differentials. What you have is locking hubs which is a different thing.

I don't have a winch or rock sliders. I do have factory FX4 (Level II equivalent) skid plates which are not heavy armor but are better than standard factory skid plates. I also have 33" tires and 4.56 gears. That has just let me get into rougher stuff and I still have a few light scrapes on the bottom. I have not hit the differentials because I pay close attention to where the big rocks are.

Thanks for the info. I just bought new tires two days ago. I should have asked this question first. The truck needed them as the spare was the original, 20 years old never on the ground. The other 4 tires were made in 2011 and showing signs of rot but still with plenty of tread.
Thank you for helping with the terminology on 'lockers.' I guess my rear diff is a locker with the LSD option.

 

[jimd1050]

It's been a long time Jim... here's the write up from my web site on my 2007 Ranger Sport 4X4!

​ I had a 4" Superlift kit and also ran a set of BellTech 6400 rear shackles installed. I replaced the 3" Superlift rear blocks with a pair of Skyjacker Softride 4" lifted leaf springs and had them installed with the original 2" factory blocks and my BellTech Shackles. These leafs offer a little more lift and a much more pleasant ride than the blocks. The ride was further smoothed by four ProComp ES-9000 Nitrogen Gas shocks!

​ For tires, I ran LT285/75R16 (33") ProComp Xtreme M/T's. I had them mounted on my 16x8 American Racing Outlaw II aluminum wheels. With the Superlift, everything fit neatly under the truck and in the wheel wells with no clearance issues. The increased circumference however, affected the gear ratio. For that reason, I had new 4.10 gears installed at both ends and a Ford Racing "TrakLock" limited slip carrier in the rear. It pulled nicely now, even with the taller tires. That's it... for the suspension!!! (Oh, and as per the insert, she had a Ronald P. Caster M90 Supercharger Kit to help turn those muds!)

​

I'm now driving a 2019 F-450 dually 6.7l Powerstroke to carry our Arctic Fox AF1140 slide-in truck camper...

​

 

[Ramcharger90]

I felt my 98 with the 3.0 manual transmission wasn't really worth lifting. I had replaced the switches and the motor on the transfer multiple times. But I did level the front end with the keys.

 

[MaicoDoug]

Here is one of my suspension guru's toys..... or maybe it belongs to the title loan shark next store.

My yellow banana Ranger came with the carfax saying "minor right front damage", and everything was "re-done" but the frame is bent, about 5 turns difference between the left & right torsion bars. I have about 2 inches of height below the rear now, was a way too low in the front. Torsion bars are shot?? Thought I had an "Add A Leaf" in the rear, but saw a FoMoCo part #. Running the stock size tires, 31" on stock Alcoa wheels. I want to go coil over on each corner and toss this worn out (140,000 miles) suspension eventually. The brackets are fairly well documented on the front axle (RCD) and hopefully will entertain the existing design for an on & off road friendly 3 inch or so lift. I am attempting to raise the front end to reduce the negative camber from -5° to more like -1 or -2°.

 

[ttrucks]

needed some room because factory tire size rubbed a little bit plus I wanted it level and I use it for work

 

[thcscubajohn]

Bought the Solo Motorsports stage 2 long travel kit because, well, it's the best "bolt on" kit. Cut and turned 4" over per side TTBs. If you didn't need an engine cage I'd have got the stage 3

 

[Wcastellanos68]

I'm curious how many of you 1998-2011 Ford Ranger 4x4 owners lifted your Ranger, and whether you:

• Bought the Superlift kit
• Cranked the torsion bars
• Bought torsion keys (and cranked those)
• Just used a body Lift
• Did a Superlift & body lift
• Did a torsion bar crank and body lift

And if you don't mind, click on the poll, but also post why you did or didn't go a specific route.

Thanks

I cranked torsion bar with key from 4x4 parts store. I was looking to level the truck. I did have an issue. I was told that i cranked them to much, which caused a clunking i my front drive side axe or cv joint. My alignment guy at bull dog tire. Backed off a little and took a bit of air out of the tire and i was good. It accomplished the leveling, but i was hoping for a higher and tougher look !!!!!
PS. the entire stock suppension was rebuilt. Plus added ranchero 5000 stocks

 

[Mars]

Im really needing help. I love my ranger the way it is. But I want new tires and my gear ratio 3.73 stock ratio still. I dont want to change the gears out but i want to get smaller but good rim and tires for it. Do yall have any suggestions or links i could look at possibly getting that would fit my girl here? Im really wanting a good looking set of 225/75R15 But i cant find any like the ones i got on rn. The tires and rims i got on rn are 31/10.5R15. I need yalls help. Thanks you.

 

[Mars]

Btw i got a 2 inch lift in the front

 

[sgtsandman]

30X9.5R15 might be a good compromise for you. It will keep you in the best overall performance range and will open up some tire options for you. 31" tires and 3.73 gears puts you in the 'economy" range. I'm there myself. Since you don't want to changes gears, moving to 30" tires will be the best move for you. If you are looking for more low end grunt and over all power, a gear change is really the only good option you have. Here is a link to the gear ratio vs tire size chart in the Tech Library: https://www.therangerstation.com/how-to_pages/gear_ratio_tire_size_chart.shtml