lift kit drop down bracket info

[1986fordranger]

hi i am looking at different lift kit brands some come with a drop plate for to use with the stock i beam bracket for the passengers side axle and some come with a new drop down bracket i have herd that its not good to use the new bracket because it can bend , and i have herd that the drop plate with the stock bracket can punch a hole in the differential , i am just woundering wich type i should buy , thanks

 

[4x4junkie]

A good quality bracket (Skyjacker, James Duff) is not likely to bend.

Infact, with cheap lifts, it's the opposite bracket that tends to bend or have the mounting ears fatigue and break off.

 

[4.0B2]

everything said above it true...

but honestly, i can't complain about my rough country lift FOR THE PRICE. would i prefer the jd or skyjacker? well, YEA.. but has my RC lift help up to what i do? yes... how hard are you gonna wheel it?


NOW I'M GONNA GIVE A LOT OF "USELESS" INFO, maybe....

now if i did it all over again and wanted to stay ttb, i wouldn't buy a kit.
the best lift for ttb is not a "kit".. its pieced together from different parts.

xj coils or early bronco coils- the ttb lift coils are usually way to stiff, no matter what brand. (lift height depends on desired lift) price depends on brand and all that (search around on here for info)

skyjacker brackets- about $260 on here

stonecrusher steering- no matter what kit you buy, you'll want this, the drop pitman arm in most lifts don't really drop enough

extended brake lines (self explained)

longer radius arms (several different ways to do this. stonecrusher sells stuff to make them i think, or can mod your stock ones- search on TRS for this)

ford f250 shock towers

in the rear:

chevy 63's if you want better flex. just search around on here for this info.

or you can do a mix of:
beltech 6400 shackle

add a leaf

blocks




now i'm sure i'm leaving something out, but just some food for thought.
i'm now ditching the ttb for an sas, think about that to- don't spend useless money if you wanna sas...

 

[4.0B2]

now here is a reason to NOT have the RC lift to some people
http://therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107282

 

[1986fordranger]

thanks 4.0b2 and 4x4junkie , i plan to keep some sort of ttb in this truck d28 d35 or norrowed d44 from a f150 so i should think about buying a brand name kit , or like you said piece a kit together from the best parts i can find , by the way 4.0b2 the f250 shock towers you talked about i will look around on here for more info on the swap , thanks

 

[wowko]

Stay away from rough country drop brackets. granted i wheel it hard, and the kit has been on it for about 4 years, but it recently punched a hole in my diff sending metal chunks inside and now im in the market for a new front end, im just lucky i didnt get stuck in the woods.


go with Skyjacker all day

 

[88_Eddie]

here's what i've done to my brackets, i have the cheap ass rough country brackets. i've braced the passenger side like this

i'm also planning on tying it into the frame, so there will be another gusset going in


for the driver side, i cut it up so i wont hit the diff. i've welded it up since this pic.

 

[1986fordranger]

thanks 88_eddie for the photos , what do you think about superlift or tuff country they both come with a new passenger side drop bracket not a drop plate , it seems to me that skyjacker is pricey for what you get but maybe it would be better off to go with skyjacker , thanks

 

[88_Eddie]

thanks 88_eddie for the photos , what do you think about superlift or tuff country they both come with a new passenger side drop bracket not a drop plate , it seems to me that skyjacker is pricey for what you get but maybe it would be better off to go with skyjacker , thanks

poke around in the classfieds on here long enough and some used skyjacker brackets will turn up

 

[4x4junkie]

thanks 88_eddie for the photos , what do you think about superlift or tuff country they both come with a new passenger side drop bracket not a drop plate , it seems to me that skyjacker is pricey for what you get but maybe it would be better off to go with skyjacker , thanks

Well, what are your plans for the truck? Is the lift mostly for looks? Or are you actually planning on running some decent trails with it or maybe some high-speed prerunner desert type action?

 

[Surrey]

The cheapest option is to piece together one from the classifieds and shit, for sure.
I got brackets for $135, coils for $80(thats with shipping on both)... Explorer leafs/stock Ranger 4x4 blocks for the rear from a wrecker for $40... Still need to get a drop pitman arm though...

Eddie has the right idea, a drop plate is fine if you clearance it to miss the diff. With some added bracing, the cheap stuff can be made pretty strong, if you have access to a welder. Adjusting bump stops a bit isn't a bad idea either, but that limits your up-travel on the suspension, so that might not be ideal.

edit - the one problem I have heard about with the cheaper lifts is the holes on the bracket dont always line up nicely.

 

[Surrey]

xj coils or early bronco coils- the ttb lift coils are usually way to stiff, no matter what brand. (lift height depends on desired lift) price depends on brand and all that (search around on here for info)

stonecrusher steering- no matter what kit you buy, you'll want this, the drop pitman arm in most lifts don't really drop enough

It depends on the use as far as coils go. For a daily driver, many people would dislike how soft the XJ or EB coils are... Skyjacker coils ride really nice for a dual-purpose truck I am told.

As for steering, if you do a 3-4" lift up front, a regular drop pitman arm is sufficient - although it only drops about 2", so not ideal. The Skyjacker Extreme drop pitman arm is perfect for a 4" lift, and works well up to about 6" lift. Any higher than 6", and you can't get a drop pitman arm long enough, AND superrunner steering only works for 4-6" lifts, so at that point StoneCrusher (or home made custom) is the only real option.

 

[4.0B2]

the standard drop pitman that comes w/ my 4'' lift, is not ideal for sure.... i have crazy bumpsteer b/c of this..

and regardless of purpose- the coils that come w/ ttb lifts are to stiff, we can agree on this!

even superrunner steering needs modified to work at the best of its ability.

 

[1986fordranger]

thanks for the replys , 4x4junkie i plan to use the truck mostly offroad and some around town , by the way can anyone tell me for sure if i can use 4'' lift skyjacker brackets with 4'' lift springs from rough country i know i will need some drop down brackets for the radius arms or new arms from james duff , i think i will run chevy 63s and my 4x4 blocks in the back , the other thing about skyjacker i think there brackets have a lower hole in the i beam brackets for a 6'' lift so i can upgrade later on to 6'' or i may be thinking of tuff country , thanks

 

[88_Eddie]

not sure about TC, but the skyjacker brackets have a hole for 4" springs and a hole for 6" springs. so yeah, you could go higher later on and not have to upgrade the brackets.

i'd look into making your own extended arms. you'll spend close to $700 to get a kit to your door. go buy a welder and a chop saw and do it yourself. they arent that hard to make yourself