lift virgin... HELP!

[westcoastnavy]

hey yall, first off love the site, hard to find some information because there is so much of it! but ya its great!

so that being said.
im a jet mechanic. i have spent most of my life working on bikes but im getting stationed up in whidbey island and theres a ton of 4 wheeling up there and thier riding season isnt very long. so ive decided to jack up my 2001 4x4 ranger xlt.

id like to run 35s.
so far based off what i have read, i belive that I need to go up atleast 5`` and fender work.
so my set up.

fender cutouts probably from parts train?( any other ideas?)
4`` suspension lift from super lift.
3`` Body lift ( still need to pick a vendor).
and ill need to re-gear to 4:56? ( i think?)
and im not sure which tire to get yet.

anyway im still very new to all of this. so if there are any guru`s out there i sure could use the help!
im sure there are some basic stuff that i have not included because i just dont know about it. so any suggestions/ info would be very very appreciated.
thx for reading!!!

 

[westcoastnavy]

oh and i have roughly 3100$ to work with. and since im military and on a fixxed income, money is a huge factor, but im a welder/ metal faber so i can make just about anything. so if theres some way that can help me save some $ lemme kno!!

 

[beaujt]

well check fabtech or however ya spell it. they make, or used to make, a 5.5" lift i think for those rangers, and if not, your plan sounds good. Unless ya wanted to do a SAS.

but you could try a 3" body lift, and crank your torsion bars for then you'd get about 5" of lift. i bet you'd be able to run 35's for sure then.

 

[westcoastnavy]

that sounds a hell of alot cheaper!! is there any detrimental effects with 'CRANKING UP" my torsion bars as opposed to getting a suspension lift?
and what is a SAS?

oh and ive only found 2wd kits from fabtech

my biggest worry is that i will get all this stuff and put it on, just to find out i need to buy this or that to make it all fuction. basically in 46 days ill be home and ill have 4 days to do what ever i need to. then i need to drive it 300 miles lol.
so is there anything im missing from my setup?
like do i need any other parts?

 

[crawlin91]

SAS= solid axle swap, as in removing the independent front suspension and swapping in a leaf or coil sprung solid axle. If youve got fab skills and that kind of cash thats the way I would go! There are lots of threads on this in the RBVs under construction forum as well as "how to" articles in the tech library.

 

[crawlin91]

Ive heard of people running 35s with just cranked torsion bars but I dont own a newer gen ranger so I couldnt really say. Kinda depends if your wheeling it or if its just for the street.
as far as gearing goes I would recommend
at least 4:56 with a 4.0
Id say 4:88 with a 3.0

 

[westcoastnavy]

im very new to all this and there seems to be SOO many options. what is a dana? what is the purpose of a torsion bar? can i go bigger than 35`s? is SAS better than independent? i understand gear ratios, but can you do it yourself?

im begining to understand im in completely over my head. i build things that realy on compression ratios and have wings and use thier own fuel as a coolant system!
as i look around and read more and more about this (ive read over 600 forum posts easily and seen literally hundreds of pics and diagrams) the more i understand just how out side of my playing field i am.
it seems to me i need to find someone to Tell me what i need to do in order to do this right the first time and not spend a TON of cash fixxing stupid mistakes.

it will be my DD and i still wanna crawl/ mud the hell out of it. it needs to be as big as a ranger can get. and it needs to be done safely and correctly. so if anyone would be willing to mentor me a bit i would be greatful.

and as soon as i figure this all out, im going to write a 12 page "intro" on here for people like me that are just getting into 4x4`s and are as lost as i am!!!

 

[crawlin91]

read up more check the stickies in the suspension forums
read the tech library articles... and realize that there are many other good sources on the web
Pirate4x4.org
Explorerforums
etc.

if you have to ask about changing gears have it done by a shop or buy an axle with the ratio you want already in it. (if you can find it anyways)

If you have a few months than youve got some time to do some research and find out what project would be right for you to take on, as well as what would be the best for the type of wheeling/driving that you will do with it.

Dana makes axles ie. Dana 44, Dana 35, Dana 60 all refer to different axles

with the stock dana 35 ifs (ranger front end) I would say 35s are maximum tire size if your going to be wheeling it hard.

This site is one of the best sites for information and if youve got questions try the search bar, and if you cant find what you need Im sure someone here has your answer.

 

[Chris112783]

I have an 04 and i had to go with the suspension, body and torsion bar lift and my work 35's still rub the front bumper when i back out of my drive way. i stuck with the 4.10 gears for now but looking at going with the 4.88 or 5.13 so i can tow better.

 

[4x4junkie]

IMO, I wouldn't run tires bigger than 33s on the torsion bar IFS frontend, but 35s can be done if you don't bash on it too hard. A Dana44 SAS would allow 35s no problem however (and would get you a lot more flex), but this requires you know something about suspensions.

4.88:1 gears would be best with 35s if you got the 4.0L. If you have the 3.0L, then you're still stuck with 4.88, as that's the deepest gear offered for the IFS D35.

 

[c_note]

so im assuming ur a metalsmith airframer. i managed to do alot of personal projects in my old shop.

if you can find a RCD 5.5" coilover conversion lift kit, id grab that. ebay might have some but they might be hard to find since RCD stopped making them. new they go for about $2300. i wouldnt waste my money of the Superlift kit and not only is Fagtech garbage but they dont make anything for 4wd. since a SAS is so popular nowa days, you might be able to get a used RCD kit from someone for cheap.
the best advise i can give you is just wait it out till u find something good but cheap. its just a matter of time before someone sells one for cheap.

if you wanna save a bit more money, id go for the DixonBros long travel kit. when all said and done it might be around $5000 bucks but you will be able to beat the hell out of your truck and haul ass through rough stuff. if i didnt do the solid axle swap on my truck, i would have dont the DixonBros kit.

good luck brother

 

[westcoastnavy]

thx crawlin91. and i have been reading forums for roughly 2 weeks now. theres just alot of parts whos use and fuctions i just dont know. im more of a hands on learner but because of my job i cant really go chill out at a 4x4 shop and learn.

i dont plan on going all out just yet. i weld for the military so i can do just about every alloy that a normal person would come across ( and some that you dont!! ) so im not too worried about fixxing parts, but until i understand more ill take her muddin but im not goona get crazy just yet!

my biggest worry is basicly the basics.
if i lift my truck do i need to buy shocks?
how much lift does it take to clear 37`s?
god dang i have a 100 questions, crawlin91 u mind if i message ya?
i have 37 days to plan this all out, then i have a week to do it all (roughly).
i just do not know my limitations or the importance of small things. are there other parts ill need? where can i look to learn how to modify torsion bars?

right now superlift 4`` sus lift or rcd 5.5`` sus lift 1900$ OR SAS but not sure how much or where i get it for a 201 ranger!!
tweaked torsion bars ( do i need parts?) not sure on $
37`` wheels
3` body lift (from?? need a vendor name!!!)
and fender cut out kit from bushwacker 255$
i need to regear it but i doubt ill have the money...
so yall anything else you can think ill need to buy?

 

[LBCaterson]

hey there navy, whatever help you get, can you forward it on to me? I'm thinking of doing something similar with my 2002, maybe...AND IM IN THE SAME BOAT!!!

I also know that you can the leafs springs out of a chevy 1500 to get about 3" of lift, there's an article on the main page about it. I've also heard that F-150 lift coil overs work in rangers up front too....just some ideas to save some money.


let me know!
God Bless
L-Cat

 

[westcoastnavy]

Thx c_note!
and i was indeed an airframer, now a mech but i was a refinery welder/pipefitter before i joined.

well ill definatly look around n try to find a dixon bros, but i think i need to start figuring out the solid axle thing since ppl keep talking about it.

if i convert to sas can i still change over to 4wd from 2wd while driving? or would that mean id need to get out n lock em?
also even if the superlift kit is cheaply made, is it possible to re-enforce it? or maybe scratch fab one later based off there design?

also im limited in time because im going to a closed base. lots of 4x4 room but i cant just go out n buy parts after i get there not sure if i can order parts n have them mailed there, so ill find that out.

 

[westcoastnavy]

hey there navy, whatever help you get, can you forward it on to me? I'm thinking of doing something similar with my 2002, maybe...AND IM IN THE SAME BOAT!!!

I also know that you can the leafs springs out of a chevy 1500 to get about 3" of lift, there's an article on the main page about it. I've also heard that F-150 lift coil overs work in rangers up front too....just some ideas to save some money.


let me know!
God Bless
L-Cat

for sure L-cat anything i find out ill toss your way!