Hey guys im lookin for a couple of sites to get some info on offroading my ranger and a few parts sites. I did some searching google and all that but most sites are into dodge chevy or jeep :( The other site i find is offroad ranger and evertime i go to the link its a bad link so i figured you guys could help me get some info?

 

What do you want to know?

 

never done any suspension work so im new to all of it lol. 4WD is new to me so to build a decent weekend warrior what do i need to do? I want to go trailing on weekends and not have any big poblems but i dont know what i need to do to get that achived. i have a 2000 ranger xlt 4wd auto trans intake and exhaust. Im going to start with a 3" BL and 33 tires but would like to do either a double lift or switch to a suspension lift. Would gears be enough to get me by or is there other factors to look at when building a trail truck?

 

if you double lift and go to 35's. your going to wanna regear to 4.56's front nd rear and prolly lock front nd rear if you want a good trail truck. or you could sas it.

 

I'd go with 4.88's for 35's.

What would you like to know, specifically?

 

well i hear 35s are a bad choice for the ranger so i would most likely stay away from that but 3inch lift with 33's are a definate so what can i do to strengthen the truck up to perform well? Transmission work, gears? ive always built vehicles for fun and one thing i have always attempted is performance but never made an offroad vehicle so im new to it all and want to understand it all so i can make smart decisions on what to do and what not to do. I feel a suspension lift would be best for offroading over the BL but a budy said to me its more about clearing things and a BL would give me 3" of clearance and would be fine?

 

I would go with 4.56 gears for 33's. I recommend a suspension lift over a body lift. It basically boils down to what you can afford though. You are looking at around $200 for the body lift versus $2000 for a suspension lift.

 

the cost isnt big what it boils down if i go with a BL i buy it sooner then later. I dont drive the vehicle everyday i have a work truck so this is just a fun truck

 

If cost isn't an issue I'd go with a suspension lift. I wouldn't double lift with just 33's.

 

Are you looking to go fast in the desert, crawl over rocks, cruise on powerline roads.... More specifics would help us help you.

 

if you dont drive it everyday and it is just for fun, then start researching what a Straight Axle Swap (SAS).... because trail truck and IFS dont go in the same sentence, and to whoever ever said put a locker in the front of the d35 IFS w/ 35s should be kicked in the nuts! BAD IDEA

 

yeah dont double lift if you arnt going to 35's. And 35's arnt "bAd" for the rangers, but stuff will go bad quicker, ie ball joints, ujoints and wheel bearings/hub assemblies. My old ranger was a 2000 xlt 4X4, double lifted on 35's. I had 4.56 gears on it and a gibson exhaust, it had open diffs front and rear, but still went through EVERYTHING and ANYTHING i put it through..

There was only one time that i backed down and backed out and thats because the water was past the lights and was only getting deeper and i was by myself so i said F* this lol.

If you go with the suspension lift, you can do the Coilover swap which will get you alot better clearance(loose the TBars), and a better ride.

hope this helps, if you have any questions, let me know!

Oh, btw.. with a body lift, the only thing you are lifting is, well the body. EVERYTHING else stays in the same spot. now you will gain some ground clearance with the bigger tires, but not much. If you are looking for clearance, go with the Superlift and a coilover swap. You will be GTG.. Put a locker or LS in the rear and youll get through anything

 

I agree on the locker in the front... Kinda.. If youa re going to put a locker in the front go with a selectable and only use it WHEN YOU ABSOLUTLY hAVE TO.. but your still better off leaving it open and just throwing a winch on the front.

I dont agree with the IFS isnt good for a trail rig though.. I got into and out of everything that my double lifted Wrangler on 35's(locked rear) would with my IFS (open diffs) ranger. The only thing holding me back sometimes was i physically could not fit in the trails with my truck.. A SAS wont help with the size of the truck.... If you do a coilover conversion, you will be fine

 

mostly powerlines i would say around here nothing to big might like to try and rock crawl but most likly wont ever need to do it so i would gear it towards powerline trails. Im thinking suspension lift with coil over swap sounds like a good idea just how do i get info to read up on it. I saw the sas info but im still not getting what there swapping. Are they going to a solid front end vs ifs? and if so what does the solid front end mean im use to the ifs but soild is new to me.

 

any jeep wrangler has a solid axle, so use that as a comparison. And type in Coilover conversion in the search bar

 

will do thanks

 

alright did look the two up and at the moment the sas is out. I dont have the means to custom fab the parts to do the swap. The coil over with a lift sounds good but i did have a few questions. One is if i get the coilovers will that give me a bit more lift if i wanted to buy bigger coilovers or am i limited to whatever they sell? The next question is which lift should i go with? superlift seems to be best around here but how about rcd or are they the same?

 

The RCD lift has been discontinued for some time now so you only have the one choice in lifts.. The coilover swap question, well that depends on the coils you get.

just typed in 'coilover swap' into the search bar(its your friend) and there are TONS of threads on this exact thing.. here is one with a lot of info..

https://www.ranger-forums.com/f82/co...perlift-98764/

again, just type in coilover swap into the search bar and start reading up.. most, if not all of your questions will be answered.