Plans and questions for my ranger

[Fraser1989]

Hey guys,
So I got myself a new to me old ranger. It’s a 1996 XLT 5 2WD speed manual with a 4.0 OHV. It’s is a little rough around the edges but that’s ok with me it just needs a little TLC.

So I got this truck because I currently drive a BMW that I love. Dives real nice takes the corners so smooth has great power and is everything I want in a car. I live in northern Alberta where we get lots of snow and it is just heart breaking listing to my front lip smack the garbage roads. We don’t really have much for the city’s snow removal department.

I had a ranger in 2008 it was a 4.0 4x4 super cab. Now that I am up here I miss it a lot. With the new job and greater need for a truck I can also do the mods that I wanted to do on my old one. I debated for a while about going 4x4 or 2x4 and decided to go 2x4. I really don’t need a 4x4 I find with skill and taking an extra second to think I shouldn’t need it. If I go off roading ill have a friend who can pull me out if needed.
So this brings me to my plans for the ranger. I would like to do a 4 inch suspension lift. It seems to me rough country makes a pretty good kit at a decent price unless you guys know of something that may be a better option I think I will go with that one. Normally I would have gone with a body lift but since it is an older truck adding a few new suspension components seems like a better choice right now. I am sure I will have a fair bit of maintenance to do on this thing so adding in some replacement parts seems much better than keeping existing parts and a body lift. Do you guys know if there is any reason why 33’s won’t clear?

Since intend on putting a set of 33x10.5r15’s on the truck. From what I have read they should fit with the 4 inch lift. Something to love about living in an oil town is there are so many cheap sets of tires out there from the riggers who spent their money thoughtlessly and now sell their stuff to try and save themselves. Poor guys but everyone needs to learn somehow and gets me a decent deal.

I found out my Ranger has a 3.08 open rear diff. Now since I plan to lift and put on bigger tries that just wont do. The truck is a 96 so I am planning to just swap the axle. Will only swap in an 8.8 and if I can find one with a LSD in it.
Can I swap any year of axle under my truck? From what I have searched I should be able to.
How would you rate or say the quality or effectiveness of the LSD is? When i bought my truck I know it had the 8.8 but not the garbage gear ratio and I was going to put in the Power-Trax no slip system. How would you compare the two? I know they are two totally difrent systems but as far as the for LSD getting the power to the ground what have your experiences been?


So do can you guys think of anything else that would make a nice addition to my list so far. I got a nice shop at work that I can do all this in too and that’s always a bonus. One of the things I am planning for the future is since this has an old 4.0 OHV once the engine becomes a little too tired it would be nice to throw in a 5.0. However I don’t need it right away my old 4.0 even though it was a SOHC was plenty powerful for my little truck.

 

[matticus420]

Sounds like alot of work to me but in my opinion i would lift a 2x4 truck
i would have gotten the 4x4 just in case u never know when u might get stuck an what if ur friend
can't pull u out at the time
but its ur truck u do wat u want to it but just throwing it out there

 

[Fraser1989]

Sounds like alot of work to me but in my opinion i would lift a 2x4 truck
i would have gotten the 4x4 just in case u never know when u might get stuck an what if ur friend
can't pull u out at the time
but its ur truck u do wat u want to it but just throwing it out there

Ahh I see what your saying. As far as not having a friend to pull me out I am not worried. I am not making a dedicated off roader so I wont need someone to pull me out unless we go out on the trails for the day. So this will primarily driven in the town I live in where the roads are bad.

I don't feel I need a 4x4 I am more customizing or personalizing my truck to my likes but I need it to be functional so the fear ratios are important there.

Lifts are cheap and if I swap in a used axle with a L/S and a 4.10 that is pretty cheap too.

 

[1986fordranger]

the 4" kit from rough country should clear 33s without an issue . you'll have two options when buying the kit . the "kit" version use's lift blocks in the rear . the system version use's new leaf packs . cost's alittle more but it is a plus to go the system route especially for an older truck or a high mileage truck .


if i remember correctly any year 8.8" axle should fit . although well your swaping in a new axle . you might want to find a 1995-up 8.8 out of a explorer . the nice thing about this axle is it has the rear disk brakes and alot of them came with an LSD from the factory . also a rear mounted electric winch either mounted to a reciver hitch or mounted to the bumper . just incase you were to get stuck . just my 2 cents

 

[Fraser1989]

the 4" kit from rough country should clear 33s without an issue . you'll have two options when buying the kit . the "kit" version use's lift blocks in the rear . the system version use's new leaf packs . cost's alittle more but it is a plus to go the system route especially for an older truck or a high mileage truck .


if i remember correctly any year 8.8" axle should fit . although well your swaping in a new axle . you might want to find a 1995-up 8.8 out of a explorer . the nice thing about this axle is it has the rear disk brakes and alot of them came with an LSD from the factory . also a rear mounted electric winch either mounted to a reciver hitch or mounted to the bumper . just incase you were to get stuck . just my 2 cents

One of those Expo axles with discs would be nice but it is already hard and expensive to get a ranger one in Canada.
I found a few I think I may go after. 2003 axle with L/S and 67xxx km on it for $500 seems like a pretty decent move. It is my understanding that any year newer than my 96 will just bolt up? I did my searching and it appears that way but just want to double check.

 

[wilcox800mr]

I just finished swapping a 08 7.5 into my 94. Make sure you get all the parking brake cables and connectors, as I had to mix and match to make mine work. Everything else was the same on both axles.