So i cranked my t-bars up at least an inch in the front and have noticed toppin out. Are there any shocks that go for a 03 ranger edge 4x4 that have a larger travel range that are a normal buy?

 

You can't increase the travel by more than about 1/4~1/2" before the CV joints begin to bind while turning. It's better to just back off the t-bar crank a little bit.

 

I doubt you're topping out the shock, rather you would reaching the upper limit of the suspension travel since your bars are cranked up.

 

you will be fine with stock size shocks

 

Camburg makes a shock upgrade kit. It is new shock mounts, a longer stroke shock (Blistein 7100) and limit straps. Pretty the sure it is an increase of 1" uptravel and 1" downtravel. You will not gain the extra travle per se because you are limited by CV's ect, but you stay in the sweetspot of the shock throughout the entire travel allowed by the straps. I think it is $500, it is not on their site but you can call them to get it. I am saving my pennies now. Everyone who has installed it have said it is a huge improvement over stock, especially with a t-bar crank.

 

Shock mounts alone won't do that. The limiting factor is the ball joints. You can only get more travel by replacing the ball joints and/or arms.

You're wasting your money if the shock and mounts are all you're buying. You'll get as much increase as Bob mentioned before the ball joints begin to bind and they will wear out literally in months if you start doing that to them. I actually put spacers in my upper shock mounts to increase the travel and ended up with destroyed ball joints with only 3/4" of additional travel.

Save your money for something you will actually get something out of!

 

It is very likely that the shocks are topping out after a t-bar crank. On a 98+ Ranger, the shocks ARE the rebound suspension travel stops.

 

The Camburg 4x4 upgrade kit doesn't increase jounce travel at all because the stock jounce bumpers are retained.

As I mentioned before, you cannot increase the rebound travel much before the CV joints start to bind. A little beyond that, the upper control arms hit the frame anyway. The most you can get out of the the kit is maybe 1/2" without putting the CV's at risk.

Those who claim that it can be more than that must be checking it with the wheels straight ahead. The worst case CV angles are when simultaneously turning to the steering stops AND at the suspension extremes.

The upgrade provides better damping with the 7100's and a softer top-out because of the limit straps. The real advantage is in the the quality of the travel, not the amount.

 

So when i cranked the t-bars, i measured the top of the wheel well and got an overall 1 inch lift. im just gonna end up replacing ball joints and cv joints are gonna bind and need replacement, so why is the t-bar crank used so much? Am i forgeting to do something else? or am i just not understanding the talk?

 

Your original question was about using extended travel shocks and that could cause CV joint damage. The stock shocks do not allow more travel no matter what you do to the torsion bars, so there isn't much chance of damaging them with the stockers.

Seriously cranked t-bars cause poor ride quality and may cause t-bar sagging and ball joint or shock damage. Unless a realignment is done, it can also cause premature tire wear due to a camber change. The more you crank the bars, the more problems you may have.

Cranking them 1 inch shouldn't cause much trouble though. If you don't like the ride, you can always lower it a bit.

Why crank torsion bars? More often than not, it is done for appearance. Some people think it allows you to run larger tires without rubbing but that is a misconception.