Hey Pedro, I know you had mentioned when you added the traction bars on your and that you have U-Bolts custom bent. Did you take measurements when you had everything mocked up? I'm planning on ditching my blocks for an AAL and shackles and I have the JD traction bars waiting to be installed as well. I found a shop that said they can make the U-bolts, just wasn't sure the best way to go about it. thanks!

 

I just got them 2" longer than stock and cut the excess off with a grinder. I forget the specs but I just found the stock size online and added 2"

 

Perfect! Thanks a lot. I have the stock specs written down so that sounds good to me. Appreciate it!

 

No problem. I know the level 2 uses a bit wider of a bolt for the 31 spline rear end as well but since you have the measurements you should be good

 

Haven't really done many "mods" to the truck.
I bought new headlights, tail lights, corners, mirrors, fog lamps (did the mod so i can run fogs with high beams), and new 3000K HID fogs. I have the "older" stuff on the truck now, early start in winterizing the truck lol
Also working on buying all new front end suspension and steering components. Ball joints are done and I just ordered the inner and outer tie rods. Full set of bilstein shocks will be installed by mid october, doing the fronts for now because the POS 1.5 year old ranchos I had are cooked. Also plan to do a tune up right before winter along with a water pump and thermostat and possibly new OEM shackles and hangers in the rear.
New 15x10 wheels will be coming soon along with new tires in the spring because I now have OEM flares!

Somewhat recent pic







I swapped beds and front fenders with another member sometime in august because he didn't want flares and I did. Drove to NJ, swapped, drove home.

mid swap


both trucks done, mines on the right, duh.




Also got some bed light LEDs, they came with the bed (tonneau missing in picture as I had a 4 wheeler in the back earlier).


Wired up some back up lights too. they help a ton since my windows are tinted. I have a 5 switch "hidden" panel in my explorer console that I made (just drilled a few holes)
Pic of back up lights and both side rock lights on

 

Why must your truck be so sexy?

 

gotta get going with yours so you can join the lifted E4 club lol. the kid i traded with had an Edge so these flares are originally red but faded to ****. Plastidipped them black

 

Lookin damn good! Really like those bed lights! Something else to add to the list lol

I've thought about plasti dipping my flares since they're faded and the paint is cracking pretty bad, but I can't decide if I want to stick with OEM or go for the Bushwacker pocket flares. I really like that look.

Got any pics of that switch panel? I need some inspiration.

 

I really like the rock lights. What kind of lights did you use?

 

Haha I got a buddy to get LEDs in the bed of his 2004 supercrew F150 FX4 once he saw mine.

You can at least dip the flares until you get the pocket flares as if i remember correctly, they're not cheap lol. You'll definitely want 15x10s id assume after the pocket flares unless you already have 10s.

I'll post a pic of the switches later on today

they're just cheap HF halogens i got a long long time ago. they were sitting new in box since i had my first ranger (also had the back ups sitting). I sealed them up with some RTV so no water gets in and they've been good for a long time. I've only used them once when I went off roading at 1am. They'll eventually get converted to LEDs but I'm not in a rush since i never use them

 

No, the flares definitely aren't cheap lol. I'm not planning to do the lift, wheels, and tires until I enjoy the new motor for awhile, so dipping the flares now is a good idea.

I have 16x8s now and can't make up my mind what size I want with 35s. I'll cross that bridge when I get there I guess, but with those flares I know I at least need x9s or x10s since I want a little bit of poke on the sides.

 

Yeah I hear ya. I'd go with 10s just to be safe. I have like no poke now with the flares and 8s so I'm getting antsy to get the new ones but the truck needs it's 90k maintenance

 

Poke can be achieved with 8's. Just need the proper backspacing. I much prefer 8's on a 12.5 wide tire.

Pocket flares I'm assuming you mean the ones newer rangers have? Or are you talking about bushwhackers.


Nothing wrong with 10's though.

 

I can't wait to get started! Its kinda good and bad having 2 jobs. On one hand, I have the money to do stuff to the truck, but I don't really have the time But the lawncare job should slow down at the end of the month so I can get things started. Still gotta get dad's car out of the barn so I can start my project

 

I'm talking about the Bushwackers. I like the 06+ style too, but they're a lot harder to come by around here. The wheels I like most right now are 17x9 with 4.5" of BS. I'm sure they would poke some with the flares I have now considering I have 16x8s and 285 tires, but I have some doubts with the Bushwackers and 12.5" wide tires.

Not trying to hijack, Pedro. We'll go talk about poke and rim sizes in my thread.

 

my wheels have 3.313" back spacing and barely poke. How much lower do you want to go? glws

haha yeah i remember I said I'd wait till my warranty on this truck expired before modding it. That lasted a whopping 2 or so weeks
Lol no problem.

Here's the picture I promised

 

Oh yeah, I did this today. While wiring it up I dropped the iPad and wrecked the screen too. $8.99 mod turned int a $408.99 mod -___-
You can see where the switch is. bottom part of the pic on the core support.

 

I like that set of switches you've got. I was thinking of doing some either inside the console lid or in the tissue holder thing.

I'm glad you posted a pic of that cubby hole though bc mine looks like crap. The fuzzy liner is worn completely off in some places and I'm not sure of a good way to fix it. If you happen to come across one in good shape, let me know how much you want for it. I also need a temp sensor for my OHC lol

Hood light lewks gud. Sucks about the iPad though.

 

I'll take a look maybe next week when I look for a full ohc set up for Dewey. Hoping I have a bit of time to make it to the yard

 

Both FedEx AND UPS showed up today. FedEx brought my inner and outer tie rods i've been waiting for and UPS brought me the 2nd Bilstein front shock I've been looking for. Ordered it yesterday and got it today, which was awesome since the company shipped from MA.

I got Moog outer tie rod ends and Motorcraft inners, as suggested by Toreador4x4 who's a genius.

 

Atleast now you don't have a ghetto rigged shock

 

Looks good! Always nice to get new parts installed.

 

I threw in a cheap $25 Monroe when the rancho broke. It got me from A to B so it worked till the bilstein's finally showed up

yep. drives much nicer now

 

threw a 24" LED bar on last week




ordered wheels a while ago. just took em home earlier and did a quick test fit

 

You got your "poke" back!