not knowing enough about suspension to know whats good or not. my question. would it be a good idea to add 2" blocks on top of the factory blocks, and crank to torsion bars for a 2" lift. does that sound like a good idea? i can get 2" blocks for $25 or 3" for $30. the only thing keeping me back from the 3" blocks, I dont beleive the torsion bars will go up that high. any views or any one done this?

 

I heard cranking your T bars too far can prematurly wear parts out. I cranked my 4 turns and I belive I gain almost an inch. Can't remember. I wouldn't stack blocks. I would buy a body lift, well worth the $250 some bucks Just my .02

 

i really doubt you will get 2" for your Tbars.

 

do a aal instead of blocks

 

First off, are you 2WD or 4WD? Nobody should give you ANY advice without knowing which year and drivetrain Ranger you have.

You should not crank ANY 4x4 Ranger. You'll stress the CV's keeping them at an angle like that.

Cranking the t-bars works on 4x2's okay -- but it seems to wear out the ball-joints faster and if you combine that with larger tires and lower backspacing that will accelerate. I go through a set a year right now. I have a 2002 4x2 with lift spindles, a torsion crank, and very large blocks. I also added an additional stock leaf to my rear spring packs. They are now 4 leaves + overload.

Blocks get a bad rap but they are manageable IF you put on traction bars. If you can control the spring wrap, most of the disadvantages of blocks go away. Blocks have the advantage of not really affecting your ride.

I hate AAL's. Way too stiff for me and your rear end will hop around on bumps like a jumping bean. SOME spring rate increase may be called for -- especially if you're carrying a fullsize 35" spare in the bed, lots of tools, and a secondary battery system in the toolbox -- but an AAL is just too much, IMO.

If you have a 4x4 IFS Ranger there is no substitute for an expensive front lift or a SAS conversion. TTB Rangers get off a lot easier, both $$$-wise and difficulty of install.

 

not with trac bars

Edit:wrong smile was used

 

I'm not talking about wheel hop due to spring wrap, oh vulgar one. I'm talking about bumps -- traction bars do NOTHING for that. Come ride Wharton with me and then tell me that.

AAL's are just too stiff for the weight of a Ranger's rear.

 

ooh sorry <---me

 

i didnt mean to offend

my truck cant match up to yours griggs

 

Very true on both points.

 

Look in his profile.

 

have my t-bars cranked some, enough to level the truck out. it is in fact a 4x4. I would like to get just a little more ground clearance. Im in college with no money so cant afford much. asked for a BL for christmas, we'll see how that goes.

ok, you say its not good to stack blocks, then why on the 4" superlift are there stacked blocks? They have drop brackets on the front suspension, and lift blocks stacked on the stock blocks in the rear.

if I would be stacking them, they would be getting welded together to prevent seperation. If anything this is more of a temporary lift until I can pay for a body lift, def. can afford no suspension lifts.

 

Superlift does it as a cheap alternative. Blocks in general are bad.

 

I wasn't offended! I was playing back -- hence the "oh vulgar one" -- that was supposed to be a clue. My turn to apologize, lol.

I was refuting your point, but I wasn't upset.

 

Stacked blocks contribute a certain instability and allow for some "flexing" that aggravates stresses on the u-bolts and leaves. There's plenty of anecdotal evidence that stacking blocks and putting large stresses on is not optimum.

That being said, I have stacked blocks BUT: mine are welded together. I have the factory stock block welded to a solid rolled steel extension. Welding a cast steel block to a rolled steel block requires special preheating and cooldown techniques, as well as a low-oxygen rod. I'm not a welder, but I work at a steel mill with some top-notch ones and they did the welding for me and they've been fine.

The advantage of this is keeping the factory bumpstop arm. The disadvantages are the standard ones of longer blocks. Since I have 4.56 gears, 35" tires, and big blocks, traction bars are a MUST. I broke the traction bars jumping the truck and the resulting "thrash" made my pinion seal start leaking. The James Duff "over the axle" traction bars I have just aren't realy strong -- so it's no surprise cracking developed after the accidental 3 to 4 feet of air I got.

The same welders who fabbed up my welded blocks also repaired my traction bars -- although they said they need to be redesigned with stronger materials for the type of driving I do. I don't expect them to hold up long term.

 

what about some chevy drop shackles??

 

Nate I noticed that your front cross member seemed a little low. I think the T-bars have sagged some (especially if you've cranked them) and you could benefit from swapping in some new bars. Look for some #1 rated bars. They are the stiffest and seem to resist fatiguing better than the lower rated ones. That plus a longer shackle in the rear would bring you up a little bit. Fit some 32"s after that and you would be good.

 

you could fit 33's with a t-bar crank and shackles....im not sure if you could do it with 15x8's but def 15x7's...

 

where can I find those new t-bars?

 

 

i know that explorer's with v8's have them, im not sure if the ones with the v6's do or not......

 

well, since I am very hard headed, I went ahead and did it. probly a dumba$$ mistake but we'll see how it does. t-bars arent leveled out with the rear, didnt crank them up much from what they already were. its about a .5" difference between front and rear. flex is outrageous, with the sways bars still in, I'll get pics, cvs arent binding, and I just got my ball-joints replaced. Im using lift kinda of a test mode, we'll see how long it takes them to wear, I checked them, they arent anymore stressed then before. I figured its one of those things If I notice it messing things up, it takes 30minutes to take everything back off. i'll get pics posted. before and after.

 

here she is...
before:


after, front not cranked yet.


it took all of about 30minutes to do everything, I checked ball-joints, they arent under much more pressure then what they were before. I just need tires now. what do ya'll think 32s or 33s?

 

oh, and almost forgot the flex pictures from that night.
sorry no flex ramp, have to use natural resources




the places I normally draged at on the trails, I didn't. Did not drag once. checked everything when we got back, the blocks were good, didnt move. I used locktite on the u-bolts to prevent the bolts from backing out, thinking it may help some.

 

Well, as you wish -- but your ball joints ARE under more stress no when flexing because they will be hitting their limits more often when you go over bumps. With the t-bars preloaded more, it takes less movement in one direction to hit the limit and so you hit it more often.

Similar situation with the CV's. Standard wisdom (probably solid) says that keeping a high angle on the CV's causes more wear. They don't have to be actually "binding" to be affected.

Once again, you will hit the extreme limits of CV angle more often with the suspension more extended.

It's a choice you can make: but don't fool yourself that your aren't shortening the life of your parts -- you are. I have my front ed knowing full well from experience that I will wear parts more quickly (as will my large tires and small backspace wheels) -- but I do it for what I can get out of it and eat the maintenance.