Suspension Lift Comparison??

[Copper6297]

Hello all,

So I have a 1997 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 Super Cab. After searching through TRS a ton, I have found a lot of people that support the Skyjacker lift system. I would like to lift my truck to clear 33's and I was wondering 1st, what size lift do I need? I know that there are pages that cover this, but after looking into a lot of threads on here it seems that some people claim to clear 33's with 4" of lift and other say that you need 6".... 2nd, does anyone have any information on the James Duff lift. I know that people like Skyjacker, but from my own research (I could be wrong) James Duff seems more comprehensive and allows for dual shocks in the front.
Anyways, any info or recommendations for a lift kit to clear 33's would be great. Pics would be awesome also.

Thank you all in advance for any help.

 

[Curious Hound]

I’m not sure if a 4” lift will clear 33” tires. It should be close. There is another artucle in the tech section about tires that has a chart talking about how much lift is needed for different tire sizes. It also has pictures of various truck and tire combinations.

https://www.therangerstation.com/how-to_pages/ford_ranger_tire_fitment.shtml

i used the Skyjacker lift simply because I could not afford the James Duff kit along with all the things I was doing at the time. I believe my research found that the Duff kit would be better. I’m beginning to find the weaknesses of the Skyjacker kit. But I don’t regret my decision. Skyjacker is good. I did not have the skills and knowledge at that time to invent my own lift kit. I went with 6” lift and still had to trim front fenders to clear 35” tires.

 

[4x4junkie]

It actually depends on the model year truck in question whether you can fit 33s with a 4" lift (1993 & later have larger wheel openings than 1992 & older trucks).

The Skyjacker and James Duff extended arm kits are overall about the best you're gonna be able to do. Each has their strengths, but neither are without issues.

Skyjacker I believe to be the better way to go for a daily-driven/wheeling rig, for the simple reason it has normal-style bushings on it's radius arms (longer life, less susceptible to environmental conditions (mud, salt, etc.), less transmission of noise & vibration).
Skyjacker also appears to have some relatively nice monotube shock options available, though it's not required you use the same brand shocks as the lift itself (I have Fox brand shocks on mine, other options are Bilstein, KYB, etc.).

If your plans include additional mods (such as Jeep or early Bronco springs, coilover shocks, etc.), the JD kits may offer more flexibility due to the style coil towers they use, and the rod-end radius arms will have very slightly freer movement, allowing those springs or coilovers to reach their absolute fullest potential. Their arms also offer a small bit of inherent adjustability of the axle's fore/aft position.

Two issues with the Skyjacker kit include coil springs that often come up noticeably short of their claimed lift height (I think I mentioned on another one of your threads, the SJ 6" kit comes out around 4.5" lift on a Supercab truck). The other is axle mounting holes that are not quite positioned at the same exact height each side (though this usually doesn't present a problem because you can compensate for it using the camber/caster bushings).

One (IMO fairly serious) issue with the James Duff kit is a radius arm that can fatigue and break on the driver side with hard offroad use (I've seen two cases of this happening with their current-design arms). A simple gusset made from 1/4" or 5/16" steel plate can prevent this; if you're good with a welder and fabrication (or you know someone who is), this maybe wouldn't be much of an issue for you.

 

[Copper6297]

Awesome, thank you guys so much!!! I will look at the skyjacker lift a little closer. This will be a "mostly" daily driver with the occasional weekend warrior and of course it will be used all hunting season to get to camps. So it seems it may be best for my situation to go with the skyjacker 6". Are there any thing about this lift kit that may be "weird" to install or require modification? Or is it mostly bolt on?
I also wanted to include a small amount more info that I just thought about. This truck has stock suspension other than new shocks in the rear (now about 5 years old) and the current tires are 31x10.5x15 with the front end sagging about an inch - 1.5 inches lower than the rear with no rubbing.

I just want to thank you guys again, It is invaluable for a "newbie" like me to have a place that I can ask questions and get answers from people that have been there and done that.

 

[4x4junkie]

Are there any thing about this lift kit that may be "weird" to install or require modification? Or is it mostly bolt on?

I wrote this article quite some time ago detailing some tweaks for the Skyjacker kits:
http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/Mar04/offroad.htm
The item about the brake hose fitting was remedied not long after I wrote that, but the other items still persist.

Another issue (I probably should've mentioned this in my above post, however it affects pretty much every single lift made for our trucks) has to do with dropped pitman arms that don't completely correct the steering geometry, which is detailed here:
https://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2008/steering_tech.shtml.
At 4" lift (or 4.5" as would be in your case), this isn't too real big of an issue, but it's effects on handling are often still noticeable enough to be annoying (as well as it's impact on tire wear). I wish I could find a definitive answer as to why kits are sold like this, but sadly I still haven't found one. Fortunately there is this great resource we have today that is TRS.

 

[Curious Hound]

@4x4junkie ‘s article is great. I re-iterated some of his points and maybe added a couple details in my build thread. I’ll try to post a link for you later today in case you can’t find it.

 

[franklin2]

I also wanted to include a small amount more info that I just thought about. This truck has stock suspension other than new shocks in the rear (now about 5 years old) and the current tires are 31x10.5x15 with the front end sagging about an inch - 1.5 inches lower than the rear with no rubbing.

Just for your info, the front of your truck is not 'sagging". Most all modern pickups are higher in the rear than the front. That is because they have progressive rear springs. A unloaded pickup rides terrible on the street. So the factory uses thinner leaves that have a lot of curve to them, they are soft and give a good empty ride. When you put a load in it, the softer springs flatten out onto a thicker stiff spring below. The truck levels out when loaded, but rides high in the rearend unloaded.

There was a fad started years ago called front end "leveling" kits. People wanted their pickups level unloaded. That's ok for a street queen that is not used as a truck. But put a load on it and it will sag pretty bad in the back.

 

[Shran]

I have installed both Skyjacker and Duff lifts - I think Duff is night and day better quality. Everything is either bigger, thicker, stronger, or better designed in virtually every way and it's only $500 more than the Skyjacker kit. And their tech support actually exists...Skyjacker was very unhelpful, to the point of being rude, the couple times I had questions.

The one thing I don't like about the Duff lift is how the dual shock mount in the front is attached but that's a fairly minor detail. It will also take at least a few more hours to install.

 

[JMF661]

I installed the skyjacker 4 inch kit with radius arms on my 4x4 94 supercab. I have no complaints about it. Installation was too bad. There were a few fitment issues that required a little grinding.

My truck clears 33”s without an issue. I did end up going with some American racing tires with a little less backspacing than stock, was getting some tire rub on the radius arms at full lock.

I definitely didn’t get a full four inches of lift out of the kit, I have some spacers in it now. I’m in the market for a set of six inch coils. As the guys above said, there are a few really good tech articles on the kits.

Also the pitman arm that comes with the kits is not dropped enough, ended up purchasing the skyjacker “super duper” drop pitman arm, it has made the steering linkage geometry much better.

Anyway, the skyjacker kits seem nice and work well for my somewhat daily driving and moderate off-roading.

 

[4x4junkie]

James Duff's transmission crossmember is definitely way stouter than Skyjacker's (no reinforcement is needed at all on theirs in case you high-center onto it). However Duff's radius arm design falls well short of Skyjacker's. Where the boxed section comes together around the tube creates a weak spot in the notch right where the tapered part becomes straight.
(one of the below pics shows the needed gusset I mentioned above)

Admittedly I have not yet needed to contact either company myself for customer service, so I can't give any input there.

 

[Shadowrider6661]

I've been following your thread on Steering geometry and lift kits. Where do you get the K-Link Steering parts from ? Is there a company that sells a kit, or do you have to build one using parts from other vehicles, ie salvage yard ? This is something I've been trying to find out for a while now and figured I'd ask. Thanks.

 

[4x4junkie]

The ones shown in the above article were Superlift Superrunner steering kits that were modified. AFAIK Superlift recently stopped selling these kits, which is unfortunate (I would've rather seen them simply redo their centerlink, as it would've made the kit into something worthwhile without anyone having to chop it all up).

If you are looking for parts to build your own, I suggest Ruff Stuff Speciaties. They have quite the number of fab parts on hand to build custom steering setups (among umpteen other parts for your suspension, axles, bumpers, skids, god you name it lol). They even have DOM bushing sleeves like Superlift used on their idler arm, however I would suggest something that puts more distance between the bushings at the upper end of the idler; the Superlift idler exhibited more flex up top than I cared for, causing the bushings to not last as long as they otherwise would (Superlift used 3" wide sleeves, RuffStuff sells a 4" wide one which should be better).

 

[Shran]

James Duff's transmission crossmember is definitely way stouter than Skyjacker's (no reinforcement is needed at all on theirs in case you high-center onto it). However Duff's radius arm design falls well short of Skyjacker's. Where the boxed section comes together around the tube creates a weak spot in the notch right where the tapered part becomes straight.
(one of the below pics shows the needed gusset I mentioned above)

Admittedly I have not yet needed to contact either company myself for customer service, so I can't give any input there.

Good to know, seeing your pics really brings that issue to light. I wonder if Duff knows about that problem, would be very easy for their fab guy to fix that.

 

[Curious Hound]

On my Skyjacker lift, I recently noticed that I have bent the driver side radius arm bracket. The part that the arm mounts through is pushed back, as if from a hard frontal impact and the rest of the bracket is slightly bent or twisted. If/when it gets worse, I plan to put a heim joint on the end of the radius arm and rebuild the bracket with a double shear design. That should hold it. Not sure if anyone else has seen this issue.

 

[Copper6297]

I installed the skyjacker 4 inch kit with radius arms on my 4x4 94 supercab. I have no complaints about it. Installation was too bad. There were a few fitment issues that required a little grinding.

My truck clears 33”s without an issue. I did end up going with some American racing tires with a little less backspacing than stock, was getting some tire rub on the radius arms at full lock.

I definitely didn’t get a full four inches of lift out of the kit, I have some spacers in it now. I’m in the market for a set of six inch coils. As the guys above said, there are a few really good tech articles on the kits.

Also the pitman arm that comes with the kits is not dropped enough, ended up purchasing the skyjacker “super duper” drop pitman arm, it has made the steering linkage geometry much better.

Anyway, the skyjacker kits seem nice and work well for my somewhat daily driving and moderate off-roading.

@JMF661 This is pretty much exactly what I want out of my truck. It is a somewhat daily/ dump run/ hunting rig so it doesn't have to be crazy. Just a little more height so it can clear 33's. Did you get the kit with the radius arms and leaf springs? or just radius arms kit? Also, you say you are going to be going to a 6" coil?? Did the lift still leave the front much lower than the rear and thats what you want to fix, and do you need different shocks with the 6" coils?? Also, you got the HD drop pitman arm...

Would you suggest after knowing now what you know, that a person buy pieces to make their "own kit" on skyjacker or is it better to start with the full kit? Just wondering if it makes more sense to buy all the pieces of the kit but get the HD Pitman arm and the 6" coils to fix problems now instead of buying the whole kit and replacing parts from it later??

Is the HD pitman arm the FA600 instead of the FA400?? Not sure because the website only shows me those two and the FA400 is what the kit comes with.

Sorry if these are dumb questions, I just really want to find the best way to go about it so i'm not wasting time and money on stuff later.

Thank you in advance!!