im in vegas and i am getting a ranger...most likely this one i will see in person tomorrow that has:bigger tires, front bars(to replace bumper) and the front is higher than the rear....what would be the purpose in having a lower rear end?..ive seen people running it but i dont know what it's for..is it because the person could only afford the front "lift" at the time?...im movin from sports car to truck so its kinda new to me...thanks for any help or advice in what to look for when getting a ranger..it is a 2002 single cab, probly 2WD and 4 cyl.

 

Thats the pre-runner look. If you want it level again either crank the TB's back down but I suspect more suspension work has been done. Does the rear have blocks & what year is it?

Rick

 

Its kinda the cheap prerunner look like huckster said but I think runners look better level. Instead of lowering the front just raise the back with shackles or a block, costing very little.

 

it's a 2002..i havent seen it in person yet......here's a newb question: what does prerunner mean?........what are good sources for me to get those cheap lift options you mentioned?...i dont need anything crazy, just enough to get "started"....also, the whole tightnening the torsions thing, are there poly bushings or something i should buy for the front suspension to help against increased wear and tear caused from it?...i'll post pics of the truck tomorrow so someone can see it before i buy it...thanks guys!

 

show us pics... we will pick it apart for ya

 

Yeah if you can get us some more info about it, along with pictures, we can help you out much more!

As for picking up lift blocks or add-a-leafs, check out summit or some of those other car-parts places.

The most worn items associated with cranked t-bars are balljoints, and you can't really do anything with those except for replace them. I'd say it's likely that they could stand to be replaced soon anyways. If you've got half-decent mechanical skills you ought to be able to do that by yourself and save yourself some big bucks. The parts themselves are pretty cheap.

 

prerunning is literally the trucks that baja racers would "pre run" the course/track in before a race.... theyre built to jump dunes and other things with long travel suspension parts and take landings and impact well...

unless your going to go all out its not worth trying to build one because youll end up breaking things and it will cost a boat load in the end...

 

gotcha..... ; ) pics will come tomorrow

 

He got the pre-running part down... yes, it can get expensive to do it right, but when done RIGHT, most tend to be bullet proof.

The raised front isn't necessarily done on purpose. LT suspension up front might require the higher stance than the rear does to provide optimum performance. For most of you easterly people who prefer the more level look, that's fine. But when a truck's pulling 20"+ up front and 28"+ in the rear, it can pretty well defend its seemingly "weird" stance. I personally like the "prerunner look."

You haven't posted pics of the truck but I'm guessing it doesn't have long travel front or rear so the previous owner might have just done a spindle up front or a t-bar crank... get some pics of this baby.

What are your plans for the truck?

 

i kinda like the prerunner look too...my plans are for it to have the ability to take me down some kinda rough but premade trails so my friends and i can go hang up at the mountains: get a fire going, hang out look at the city.....i'll do the essential engine mods to help the engine reach it's n/a potential(trying to keep good gas mileage)...it'll mostly be a road queen but i'd also like to get an LSD.......will i be able to clear rocks and junk on a trial if i keep the rear low?....i just needed a more reliable car than a 1984 Rx7 and i wanted something that good do light off roading becuase i have a couple buddies getting me into it, i'll get more serious about off roading when my wallet allows.........those are my plans i guess..lol...........i'll post pics tomorrow

 

We can help ya better once we can see what you're workin' with. For the kinda stuff you wanna do though, if you throw on some 31's, say, you should be able to clear the kinda stuff you mentioned, even with the rear sitting "stock."

 

ur gonna get addicted very soon, it happened to all of us haha

welcome to R-F btw

 

thanks...my friend has a lifted turbo diesel Ram(2006) and after going out with him i started getting more interested in trucks.......anyways


i took my camera this morning but it wasnt charged for some reason.....so i looked around on it, here is what i noticed: 60,000 Miles, 2002, RWD, Single cab, leaf springs mounted on top of the axles(that's not stock right?), springs looked stock(black with blue numbered tag on them), white shocks(no name brand seen), interior is in rough shape for the year it is and outside is mostly okay except bed is scratched up.....i dont think i would pay more that 4500 for the truck with the shape it's in....what do you guys think...i just like the front gaurd/bar thing that replaces the front bumper.......i dont think the dealership will go that low and i can get a much nicer truck for the 7500 thier asking for so im checking out this one after work: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...st=4......copy and paste...lol


where can i get those prerunner style front bumpers...i tried lookin all yesterday

 

Yes, the springs are mounted on the top of the axle but I believe there should be a block as well. If not maybe thats why the fronts higher than the rear. With a good TB crank & removing the rear blocks would give it that pre-runner look but this is only a guess.


Rick

 

that's wierd...that means the dude who owned this thing did a bunch of crap to it and didnt care because i KNOW there werent blocks underneath the leaf springs...i think that truck is to jacked around with to buy......huckster, the underside of your truck looks sweet!!!....so if i get a stock truck: i can get an extra pair of blocks to add on to the rear and then do the front crank thingy...but what if i want a nice firm/lifted suspension for as cheap as possible...what would you guys recommend?....is there a truck suspension tutorial i could read so im not askin so many newb q's?...thanks a ton guys, you are being so helpful, i hope to be in a truck within a week or two.. :)

 

Thanks
I'm not sure that year 2wd has blocks, its only a guess on my part. I would think you could add the blocks to raise the rear up & maybe if needed back off on the TB to level it out. I myself like the level look.

Rick

 

that would make a sick prerunner if u did all the right stuff