My lil bro has a 97 ranger xlt 4x2 4.0L, and i think the 8.8 rearend. bone stock. he likes the site and will be joining soon, but he wanted to see what yall could do with a 900 dollar spending limit. he wants enough lift to tuck 31x1050's. no body lifts, my dad is against them (i got mine cause i moved out) so how much lift does he need suspension wise. the cheaper the better, cause he still needs to buy tires. so.....go. build his suspension up. how cheap can u do it for?

 

I don't know about liftin his truck. But I would like to see pics of yours with 8.5' of lift in it.

 

should be able to get by with about 3" of lift. shouldnt be too bad on a 97.

how do those all terrains handle on-road and off?

 

what about blocks in the back and coils in the front? thats like 3 in the front and 2.5 in the back.

 

yea...blocks and add-a-leaves should give you around 5" of lift in rear, you could also do shackles for another 3" or so. longer coils, and spacers should work up front. you may also want to look into spindles.

how do those all-terrains handle? ive seen them in real life but they seem like they look more aggressive then they really are.

 

i love the ol interco's. theyre mean. tough as nails. only time i got stuck in em was drivin through some gumbo goin duck hunting. great on the beach. sand is like asphault to these things. good start, good climbing, everything u can ask in an all terrain. a friend bout them and i am in the process of getting them off the rim right now. yup the old truck will be out of the commision till i figure out what im goin to do with it. till then im drivin round the gixxer.

 

my trucks an 02 but i'v got 3 inch spindles from fabtech and a 3 inch PA BL for under $700

 

spindles dont work for our gen buck.



OKKK heres what ya do! get these blocks http://www.suspensionconnection.com/...F09101F4L.html yes you can find cheaper one's but this comes with a pre-threaded grade 10 bolt this company there GREAT! dont forget he will need a front end alignment RIGHT after this it will cost around $130 check around. OK so far our total is $230ish. NOW get these http://store.summitracing.com/defaul...=egnsearch.asp add-a-leafs for roughly $30 bucks so the total is $260ish have fun! now you have alot more $$ for tires and rims. you can get a set of Eagle alloy 15x8 off ebay for around $275ish then get some nice 31's

 

The 97 4x2's sit kind of low. James Duff makes a cheap "Stage 1" or "Level 1" lift for those trucks. I think it's in the $500 range.

You only need 2" or so to fit 31's really. Put 3" spacers in the front and 2" blocks in the back and you're home free and "level".

If you do a "budget" lift on a beam-type front suspension like the '97 has, you get a big camber change that can look funny. But with 3" I doubt it's a big deal.

 

John what i just told him will save him cash and its the same crap I have on my truck right now its not worth wasting cash with james duff