SuperLift Long arms

[Dugan]

A friend of mine has an extra set with the drop brackets, long arm brackets, springs, and long arms, but he doesnt know which ranger they came off of. I saw on superlifts site they have the lifts by motor and by certain years.

My question is, is there any real difference in the kits depending on motor size or prior to 1988?

 

[railman]

only real difference is the spring rate for the different engines....

other difference would be 2wd-4wd...

l8r, John

 

[brinker88]

Long arms as in Radius arms? They should all be the same. No matter which engine. As long as they're 4x4 arms

 

[Dugan]

Just as a safe guard, is there any way to tell between the two?

 

[brinker88]

I believe the beams are different thicknesses.

 

[Dugan]

Got my extended radius arms last night, dont know which kit it is, but ive never seen the way the one side is dropped down. Its a plate that bolts up and the drop bolts to the plate. Is this normal? Kit is brand new was bolted on a truck once to test it I guess, but the powder coating is still fresh

 

[4x4junkie]

Looks like a Superlift kit circa '97-'02 or so.

Not the greatest kit, but with a little work can be made into something decent:

That drop plate you mentioned is known for busting holes in the front diff housing. You'll want to drop your driverside bumpstop way down to keep it from hitting your diff (better would be to get rid of that plate for a full replacement drop bracket).


The mounting tabs on the bracket for the driverside axle beam (mounts on passengerside of frame) are known to break off. Some gussets are in order on that bracket if you plan to use it much offroad.


The axle mount ears on those radius arms are very well-known for busting off. The fix is to grind & remove that stupid little diamond-shape piece and then double plate the thickness of the axle ears with another piece of 3/16" steel plate (what Superlift finally started doing themselves sometime around '06 I think).


Some pics that show what I'm referring to:

Are those red coils Skyjackers, by chance? That would be a big plus, if they are (not as stiff, less prone to sagging with age).

Do you have the drop pitman arm and extended brake hoses? You'll need those for it also.

 

[Dugan]

The springs are used and sagging a bit, he had no idea what the kit was. Yea I have the brake lines but no pitman arm drop, the stock one appears to already have a significant drop. A buddy of mine did a 4 in kit and never had to drop his, idn why. I might invest in one. This is really just a trail truck, and maybe a little mud but mostly daily driven. So I might re-inforce somethings just a bit. Is it wise to box the control arms?

 

[Dugan]

Which part of the Tech Library did that pic come from? Also, Do I have to create my own custom trans crossmember or was I just lining the bracket up wrong, it looks like it falls between the body mount and the trans cross member. I could easily make it, just dont feel like driving an hour to pick up square rod.

 

[88_Eddie]

you probably will need an x-member. usually the extended arm kits come with one.

 

[jovibuilt]

Which part of the Tech Library did that pic come from? Also, Do I have to create my own custom trans crossmember or was I just lining the bracket up wrong, it looks like it falls between the body mount and the trans cross member. I could easily make it, just dont feel like driving an hour to pick up square rod.

The old kit I have like yours didnt need a new cross member.It reused the factory one.

 

[Dugan]

The old kit I have like yours didnt need a new cross member.It reused the factory one.

Have any pics? Looks like mine fall right at the xmember

 

[4x4junkie]

The springs are used and sagging a bit, he had no idea what the kit was. Yea I have the brake lines but no pitman arm drop, the stock one appears to already have a significant drop. A buddy of mine did a 4 in kit and never had to drop his, idn why. I might invest in one. This is really just a trail truck, and maybe a little mud but mostly daily driven. So I might re-inforce somethings just a bit. Is it wise to box the control arms?

If you don't want any crazy handling and your tires lasting less than 5000 miles, I would most definitely put a dropped pitman arm on there (ideal would be to get the Skyjacker pt# FA600 dropped arm, however as long as that lift you have is not over 4", a standard dropped arm (#FA400, Superlift #1109, etc.) is often acceptable.

No need to box up the whole arms, just double up the axle ears with some steel plate.

You might take a look at the installation instructions on Superlift's site if you're not sure how something fits.

Edit:
Here's a link:
http://www.superlift.com/instructions/1180.pdf