Poor Man's lift?
 

A buddy of mine at my school has a 98 Ranger 4x4. He added 235/85/16 Bridestone revo's, put a bigger block in the rear with an AAL and cranked his T-bars up front to level. When I park next to him the rear wheel well sits at least 4.5 inches over mine and the front is about 5.5 inches.

This is a dumb question I know, but is this possible to do safely for an extended period of time? I don't get the whole AAL thing with the bigger block. Wouldn't that just stress the other leaves more? And he had it all alligned after his tbars were cranked but will this hurt the front? If it is all good I'm going to probably jump on this because it cost him 110 bucks total. (not including tires)

The reason I'm asking is because my hours just got cut after my "promotion." So now I'm only pulling in about 80-100 bucks a week which means no chance of a true suspension lift.

Any input would be great.

It's not the back that's an issue. It's the constant high angle of the front axle shafts that I'd be more concerned with. That's why doing it is not common. Drive it in 4WD a lot like that and you'll toast the axle joints.

Bigger blocks can be countered to some extend with traction bars which save a lot of stress on the leaves and the drivetrain.

live axle you dont have to be in 4wd at all :crazy:

i bet the ride is like really crapy...I wouldnt think that leaving the t-bars like that all the time would be good for it...

just save your money. Its worth it to get it right the first time.

How are some people running full cranks or close to it on their front t-bars then?

And I've already tried going the used lift route. Even that put together with tires and all will be pushing 2 grand.

New = Not until after college, and I haven't even started yet! And Pharmacy is 6 years. :crazy:

I should probably add that the main reason I'm thinking of doing this is to try to be able to fit in 33's. (285/75/16) to be exact. If all this is a no go I'll probably just got 265/75/16...

And please don't say body lift.... I don't want the dealership to get all pissy about doing something like that nor do I want the day of agony.

body lift is nothgin compared to a suspension lift... lol u cant even compare them with warranty stuff. the suspension lift voids far more im sure.

^ So you are saying that a body lift won't void much? I thought it voids the entire fuel system because you need to extend lines or something. Plus other things. I'm tired though, time for bed.

that is what im sayin....

it will void anything you modify, the only thing you modify on the fuel system is the entering fuel line. i really dont think it is anywhere near as bad as a suspension lift as far as warranty issues.

Couldn't have put it any better myself.

I've talked to Ford Corp. about lifts a LONG time ago when I was contemplating my lift on my last truck, and although the dealers will tell you that body lifts will not void as much as suspension (keeping the Magnusson Moss Warranty Act of 1975 into account as well), it's completely the opposite.

285/75/16s fit stock.

Why don't you just get really wide tires with an aggressive tread? I've seen one on cardomain that looks freakn awesome... Its got BFG M/Ts that are 31x12.50x15R. All he has is the torsion crank.... and here it is!

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2090552

As said above leaving the T-bars cranked up all the time is bad. A little bit of crank is ok full crank is bad.

If you want some extra lift a body lift is a good way to go. $150 for the bl plus a little bit more if you get the gap gaurds and if you have a stick shift you need the shift extender.

body lift..6 hours easy > getto way of lifting.....

sure a body lift is cool at first... but then you'll take your truck offroading... eeeshh... I know from experience in my old truck that its pretty crappy... even though I shouldn't have been doing what I was doing... hehe. I broke a lot of stuff that trip.

http://www.loaded-designs.com/truck/jump2.jpg

http://www.loaded-designs.com/truck/bottomout2.jpg

...and if you do decide to go with a BL, don't get a 3inch. Get just enough to clear the tires. 1 or 2 inch kits are available too.

33's will too..

285's will rub, bad.. 265's will fit bone stock, as well as 33/10.5's like Colin said..

285/75/16s fit sarahs fine, no rubbing until full lock.

I know several people that ran 285's and they rubbed quite badly.. Tim(01Baja4x4) at ORR is one of them.. at any rate, 265's will fit and not rub anything.. but whats a little rubbing among friends, cram the biggest tire you can afford under there and be happy!

Doh! 285/75R16 is like ~33x11.5, isn't it? Yeah yah might have problems w/ that.. (Mental note: do math, then post...)

If you're hell-bent for 33's, get some 15" rims and run 33x10.5x15..

lol crazy fool

she must be lucky then?

:stupid:

The PROPER way would be a lift kit, some remove the T-bars and that's aways a plus.

*Didn't someone on site break thier BL and the cab actually slid forward?

Are you saying a body lift can be done in 6 hours ? maybe with 10 people doing it. The 2 I did took over 20 hours each.

edit: well the first one if you consider a learning curve it would have taken less time, the 2nd was also installing vent tube extensions, gap guards, t-bar crank and AAL. 6 hours provided everything goes absolutly perfect.