Hi everyone-

Wondering if can help with with a front suspension / tire issue on my '01 2wd 2.5L XLT.

Scoured the web re '31s, internet seemed to agree they'd fit on a coil-sprung Ranger, but on mine some rubbing full lock to the left (General Grabber A2). Bummer. Live in the city, lots of parallel parking. Not the worst, but would like to fix...

What's the easiest way? 1" spacer? Washers?

I do need to get some front end work done (bushings and all sorts of stuff - 3rd owner, 110K, minimal work done to it), figured have them swap in some spacers while at it, and be good to go.

Saw a Doetsch 3" coil spacer lift / rear block combo on ebay! Great! But then learned that's rough on my upper control arm, ball joints, ride quality, and, I mean, it's a 17yr old 4cyl, not looking for more headaches. Not worth spindles...

Could it be that 31s DO fit fine on a stock '01 2wd, but my 17yr old suspension is sagging? Swap in new shocks/springs?

Or, if need at least 2" or so, prob not worth it, so just deal?

Many thanks for any wisdom!

Pete

 

Welcome to the forum

WHERE is it rubbing??

If it is on the frame then yes spacers would help

If its on the fenders then you need to have a look at where it is rubbing and IF raising the fender would help
If it is rubbing right at the bottom edge of fender then raising fender above center line of the tire(widest point) will help.
If it is rubbing a few inches above bottom of fender then you would have to raise it ALOT more to get whole fender above center line of the tire.
And then you still have to deal with "bumps" in the road that lower the body momentarily.

Fender trimming is often a good solution, many many options for that, google it

 

Thanks Ron - it's rubbing on the frame.

It's minor - after all the googling before I got the 31s, everything seemed to indicate that an '01 2wd XLT can clear 31s on stock rims. Posts, youtube vids, everything. I drove it for a while until I really noticed, then one day parallel parking in some snow heard a lot of squeaking and figured out what was happening, only locked to the left. To the right is fine.

I guess one question is if it's a 17yr old truck, has the suspension sagged and THAT may be contributing? If I have to get front end work done anyway, worth trying new coils?

Or it's just the nature of the setup, and a 1" spacer can fix it.

Hoping if anyone else with an '01 2wd XLT might have had the same situation?

Pete