I didn't want to spend a ton of money on a suspension lift so I have a 3" body lift on the way and mated with my factory 2" suspension lift I should be able to clear my 35's. I don't know if I will have anyone to help me with this so I might be going at it alone. Has anyone ever done a body lift and do you have any tips or things to watch out for that I should know before diving into this project?

 

http://www.ronbarthelt.com/Ranger1.html


Yup read that link. I lifted my ranger awhile back and I have some tips in that section.

 

Well over the weekend I finally got time to install my 3" body lift. I was worried about frame showing or it looking dorky with a body lift but I think it turned out really well. The step bars are a little bit farther from the body now but that is my only gripe, I may try to drill the holes higher in the mounting brackets to make up for it. After I got the lift installed I put on those 35" tires laying behind my house and was a little upset because the 15" wheels rubbed the brake caliper on the left side, but for some odd reason the right side is fine. Ever persistant, I took a grinder and ground down the caliper enough for the wheel to turn smoothly with no rubbing WOOOHOOOO!! Driving around town the truck does fine with no rubbing of the tires but when I am backing up full lock and running over the curb in my driveway I can hear it rub a little. Since I am just a poser and don't do any off-roading this set up will work fine for me but if you were gonna go out on the trails and hills and such you might need a couple of more inches up front. The really crazy thing is the power. When I switched from 265's to 285's there was a noticable power-loss, but now with the 35's installed it almost seems like it has a touch more power, maybe it has something to do with the 15" wheels. I figured that I might have to switch to 456 gears but the 410's seem to be doing fine, so that will save a big fight with the wife. All I need now is center caps for the wheels and I have a bumper relocating bracket on the way for the back bumper. Anyway, here are the before and after pics. Oh and thanks for the tips Zeekxxx!




And the way before pic.

 

Looks good but its hard to see lift at the angle you shot it at. Can you post up a shot of the truck from the same spot and angle of the last picture you posted.

Was your truck an automatic or a stick?

Im interested to know if you got the shift extension for the stick.

Good job its like having a whole new truck. When I lifted the ranger I could see all the way over all the cars now.lol

 

It is an automatic. They sent me an extension for the differetial and the auto trans selector rod but I didn't need either of them, I just adjusted so they were in the right spots with the different angles. See how this looks for comparison pics.

 

looks good. I would just get a 2in spacer for the front to level it out. has a real nose dive look. unless you like it like that.

 

No, it really bugs me but I can't raise the suspension anymore without getting the control arms and shocks and all that other crap because it already has 2" from the factory. I could go one more inch probably but not two. Maybe I could get a shorter block for the back and level it out that way.

 

Hey, looks good. I am thinking about doing a body lift myself. Is it worth it? I have a 2.5" leveling kit up front with 1.5" add-a-leaf in rear to level mine out. I am running 33's now and would like to get 35's under there. The 33's rub very little now. As far as the leveling kit on yours, aftermarket shocks should handle the extra lift and your control arms should be OK as long as you don't offroad much. Even though, it still would look better with a leveling kit.

 

Thanks for the extra pics. Yup your going to have to figure out how to level it out in the nose. I am impressed at how much taller it looks with just 3 inches. Man what a dif. Looks like you could even put on larger tires. Nice job so far.