Lifting 2004 2WD ranger XL

[JFox4]

First of all, the ranger station is awesome and it has helped me out a lot with learning about my truck and making mods to it. Anyway, i have been deciding between lowering and lifting and i definitely want to lift it. I have been having some trouble finding what i need but here's what i would like to do. I want to get a large lift and possibly a suspension+body lift. I know body lifts are cheap but i would rather spend extra to get good quality. My budget is at the most around 2,000 dollars. It is 2wd, manual tranny, and i believe it has the coil front suspension, no torsion bars. So if anyone has advice on which route to go, or what products that would be great thanks

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

well a 3" body lift, some 2" factory blocks for the rear and coil spacers would give u enough space to clear 32 or 33" tires.
it all depends on the tire size u want to put there.

 

[JFox4]

thanks for replying, i would love to fit 33's that would be awesome but is my 2.3 L engine strong enough?? what lift kits should i get, i found one on performance accessories for a body lift but how about a suspension lift? also i couldnt find any coil spacers to fit my year.

 

[JFox4]

i was looking at the Fabtech 5.5 suspension lift, seems like it would work. It is made for the coil spring suspension and will allow me to clear 32's. Anyone use Fabtech or know if this will work?

 

[Christoph189]

Sounds good, do you have any pics of your truck? Keep us posted on what you do? I've got a 09' XL and just put 32" tires on, and they fit with just a little rub. I'm looking at doing the same lift as you, so also interested in what people have to say.. haha cheers.

 

[Christoph189]

Hey check this out..
http://cgi.ebay.ca/01-09-FORD-RANGE...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53e3a8854b

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

fabtech has a good rep among Ranger owners.

i think that depending on the gears your truck has u can run up to 31" with stock gearing, bigger tires will require a regearing, that depends if u feel the need of them. some people run big tires with stock gears and dont complain much.

a body lift would be cheapier and easier, mostly for the looks. now if u plan to do some off roading a susp lift woulb be the best since ull gain frame clearance and improve the articulation of your suspension.

 

[KARMAN]

i think that depending on the gears your truck has u can run up to 31" with stock gearing, bigger tires will require a regearing, that depends if u feel the need of them. some people run big tires with stock gears and dont complain much.
a body lift would be cheapier and easier, mostly for the looks. now if u plan to do some off roading a susp lift woulb be the best since ull gain frame clearance and improve the articulation of your suspension.

Personally. I would re-gear with 31" or larger tires.
The stock gears can take it, but the clutch will suffer and you will lose acceleration and torque.
If it is a show truck, a body lift will save money.
A down and dirty off-road 2WD needs a suspension lift.

 

[subydrift]

Check out suspensionmax.com and fatbobsgarage.com.

Suspension Max offers full suspension lifts from 2" to 6" for under a grand.

http://shop.suspensionmax.com/Shop/Control/fp/tcat/324327/SFV/32526/page/1/checkForLanding/true

A spindle lift will be your best bet for suspension lift and keeping your stock ride quality. They'll run you ~400. But add some 2" springs or coil spacers and you can go higher. If you use a front spring taller than 2" then you'll need some upper control arms with it also. The 5-6" kits from suspension max come with everything.

But if you just want a mild ~2" lift for cheap fatbobsgarage.com has cheap coil spacers, shocks, and add-a-leafs.

http://store.fatbobsgarage.com/23l-l4-fi-c7446.aspx

Just remember if you do a coil spacer or lift spring you'll need to replace the shocks too.

Do you know what the gearing in your rear axle is? You can find the axle code in the driver door sill and then find it in the tech section of this site. If you have the 4.10 gearing than 32's will be fine. I have 31's on mine with the stock 4.10s and auto trans and it drives fine.

 

[JFox4]

Ok well i think i know what i want to do. Since im not really doing off roading and it is primarily an audio truck, basically i want to run 31 inch all terrain tires with after market rims. I like the pro comp steelies in flat black and have the tires come out some from the body. what do i need to do to fit 31's without rubbing? I want to level out my truck and maybe do a small body lift. I want the tires to fill up the wheel wells but not too much to where they will rub. And can i put wheel spacers to have the tires stick out from the body more?

 

[Snal]

If your not going off road then a 3" body lift will be your best bet. They are cheap and will easily clear 31's. Most after market 5x4.5 bolt pattern rims have a 3.75" backspacing while stock rims are 4-4.5" so your tires will stick out a little bit naturally because of this and on top of that 31's are 10.5 wide which will contribute some more. I wouldn't recommend spacers at all. I had a set of spacers that were machined SLIGHTLY off from perfect and once I got over 40 mph it would wobble and shake the whole truck. You probably should re-gear for more of a stock ride because without it, you probably have 3.73 gears in a 7.5 axle and you will lose power. The "right" way to do it is to swap in an 8.8 axle because it's tougher and can handle bigger tires easier and put in 4.27 gears to retain power and gas mileage along with keeping your speedometer accurate. But I have a set of 30" all terrains on mine without doing anything else and I lost power, my speedometer is off a little bit but nothing worth complaining about because it's not that noticeable.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

4.10 or 4.56 would be the way to go on gears, 4.27 isnt available on Rangers.

i have 30"s on my 2.5 and it doesnt feel that bad, but thats just me. deff will need a regear with 31"s.

 

[JFox4]

ok sounds great and thanks for all of the information
Recently my stock suspension has started making noise up front. the ride is rough but i know that it is common because its a truck. the bump stops are about an inch from the frame and also every time i drive up a curb or hit a bump it sounds like my coils are creaking or groaning, idk what it is? anyone have any ideas? Can the suspension be greased?

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

the a arm setup is a bit noisy, but that sounds more like shot shocks or shot sway bar bushings. i would check the ball joints too, those tend to squeak alot when they are dry

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

u still have the factory ball joints(i assume) so those cant be greased, unless the rubber cover has a hole to inject grease in.

i would recomend u to take it to a shop and get em to inspect it, if u have to replace em get the ones that come with a greasing nipple. u can grease em every oil change, that way they last longer.