Lift question

[killj0y]

I have a rough country 4 in lift right now on my 96 2wd ranger. Was thinking could I legitimately get away with a 2 inch billet aluminum spacer up front and adding a 2 inch lift shackle in back coupled with this lift? That would be awesome since it nets me about 2 to 1.5 in more lift for under 100.

She needs another alignment so that's not an issue...

 

[straycat]

Unless your suspension is sloppy I would leave it alone. You have a nice lift kit as it is. Post a photo of it.

 

[killj0y]

Unless your suspension is sloppy I would leave it alone. You have a nice lift kit as it is. Post a photo of it.

I figured why not unless it's gonna really F something up.

 

[straycat]

The truck looks great, Bro. You have a sharp ride!!

 

[nathanielstewart]

I have a 94 ranger 2wd with a 3 inch bl and just put on a 4 inch rc 4 inch aswell. i had 2 inch coil spacers and liked the truck level ofcourse because it looks better so i am waiting a little bit for the coills to compress so i can put the spacers back in. with this being done tho the brake lines are going to be stretched to the limit. With that being said do what you want but in my opinion more lift the better and if you want the truck level go with just spacers in the front but the leafs in the back will add more strength for loads but you prob have to get skyjacker 6inch shocks. or for a couple bucks but you can get body lift with gap guards but alot of ppl dont like the way it looks.

 

[nathanielstewart]

btw spacers make the ride a little stiffer but not a big difference allignment with camber caster bushings needed

 

[killj0y]

The truck looks great, Bro. You have a sharp ride!!

Thanks man! I try!

I have a 94 ranger 2wd with a 3 inch bl and just put on a 4 inch rc 4 inch aswell. i had 2 inch coil spacers and liked the truck level ofcourse because it looks better so i am waiting a little bit for the coills to compress so i can put the spacers back in. with this being done tho the brake lines are going to be stretched to the limit. With that being said do what you want but in my opinion more lift the better and if you want the truck level go with just spacers in the front but the leafs in the back will add more strength for loads but you prob have to get skyjacker 6inch shocks. or for a couple bucks but you can get body lift with gap guards but alot of ppl dont like the way it looks.

Well i would def need to extend the brake lines that is fine since new ones wouldn't hurt but It sits level now so I'm thinking of adding the spacers and shackles in addition to whats already on it since my springs have settles already. I figure 2in in front and back would still sit about level. The leafs the back would stay as they are so no worries about that. And more lift def always SOUNDS better lol. I don't mind the BL but I dont want to mess with the cab mounts and frankly why not just go suspension for the same overall cost in my case since I already got the 4 in lift 2 more would be perfect.

btw spacers make the ride a little stiffer but not a big difference allignment with camber caster bushings needed

Don't care it's a damn truck it supposed to be stiff, a soft riding truck just isn't the same especially when offroad!

 

[jamie4ltr]

If you are talking about the Belltech 6400 shackles I don't think you will get 2" of lift. The shackle is 2" longer then Ranger shackle but you will only get 1"-1.5" of lift. I got a bunch of big washers that I used to have stacked under/over my 3" body lift. I removed ALL the bodylift and stacked 1.25" of washers under my coil springs. They fit perfect over the coil retainer stud. ALOT cheaper then buying coil spacers! Like others said - Watch your brakelines and make sure it can still be aligned. If not, then remove 1 washer from each side until you are within alignment range. I just noticed you have a 2x4. Mine is a 4x4 - I'm guessing the coils/mounts are the same size? Also, the further you drop your steering away from the pitman arm the worse Bump-steer you will get. Try and keep the steering linkage as "flat" as possible.

 

[killj0y]

If you are talking about the Belltech 6400 shackles I don't think you will get 2" of lift. The shackle is 2" longer then Ranger shackle but you will only get 1"-1.5" of lift. I got a bunch of big washers that I used to have stacked under/over my 3" body lift. I removed ALL the bodylift and stacked 1.25" of washers under my coil springs. They fit perfect over the coil retainer stud. ALOT cheaper then buying coil spacers! Like others said - Watch your brakelines and make sure it can still be aligned. If not, then remove 1 washer from each side until you are within alignment range. I just noticed you have a 2x4. Mine is a 4x4 - I'm guessing the coils/mounts are the same size? Also, the further you drop your steering away from the pitman arm the worse Bump-steer you will get. Try and keep the steering linkage as "flat" as possible.

Thanks but I was figuring after all is said and done spacers and shackles will net me 1 to 1.5 inches total abs I should be good. I guess my question should be would doing that be relatively safe with my current lift? Basically 1 to 2 inch lift for under $100 sounds cool, normally that's not all that great but in addition to an existing 4 inches would be awesome.

 

[jamie4ltr]

All the Ranger coil spacer's I've seen are 2" tall. Maybe others are available? You will get more lift in the front then the back with 2" spacer's and BT6400 shackles. With the washer's you can fine tune the amount of lift AND alignment!
Can you post a pic of your steering linkage now, with the 4" lift?

 

[killj0y]

All the Ranger coil spacer's I've seen are 2" tall. Maybe others are available? You will get more lift in the front then the back with 2" spacer's and BT6400 shackles. With the washer's you can fine tune the amount of lift AND alignment!
Can you post a pic of your steering linkage now, with the 4" lift?

I'll do that first chance I get since I'm exhausted, just got finished putting the bed back on from changing a fuel pump. I do have the rough country lift with the drop pitman arm and front sway bar brackets.

 

[killj0y]

I'll take the picture tomorrow but assuming everything is good what is the likelihood this can be done? Even if I have to lift 1/2 an inch in the front using washers?

 

[jamie4ltr]

I'm just curious how flat your steering linkage is right now? If there's already a good angle to it now, I wouldn't add any spacers or washer's. Your truck will pull and grab everywhere when you are driving like the alignment is out - which it is as soon as there is ANY wheel travel.
Have you thought about a 2" body lift at all? I bet your truck would be a nicer ride with a 2" body lift instead of coil spacers. Especially if you change the 17 year old rubber body mounts that are probably half rotten!

 

[killj0y]

I'm just curious how flat your steering linkage is right now? If there's already a good angle to it now, I wouldn't add any spacers or washer's. Your truck will pull and grab everywhere when you are driving like the alignment is out - which it is as soon as there is ANY wheel travel.
Have you thought about a 2" body lift at all? I bet your truck would be a nicer ride with a 2" body lift instead of coil spacers. Especially if you change the 17 year old rubber body mounts that are probably half rotten!

Yea I have but I hate the gaps, I don't want to have to mess with rusted on body mount bolts, or extensions for the shifter etc. Plus I'll take suspension over body lift any day.

 

[jamie4ltr]

I used to have a 3" body lift. You can see the gap in the rear wheel well yes. Ranger frames don't hang down below the cab like GMC frames do, so it's not that gross looking! I've got a Hurst shifter (shorter then stock) and never used a shifter extension. I do like the length better now that I removed the body lift though.
Would you prefer suspension lift over body lift even if it means significantly sacrificing your ride quality?!
IMO if you want more suspension lift - buy the Extreme Drop Pitman arm from Skyjacker. Unless your steering linkage is angled down towards the ground now, which I doubt it is.
I've done body lifts on 3 Ranger's. If you do a body lift I can tell you all the troubles I ran into and how I dealt with them. Might save you some time and frustration!