OK guy's i have done the tortion key flip to get 4+" of drop on my 2nd gen X. My front upper Ball joints are at a SEVERE angle, an angle that is so severe i get scared driving my truck! Sooooo i've done a lil reaserch for extended upper control arms.

As some of you may know the 98+ Ford Ranger uses a SLA type suspention identical to the explorer Except that they use a coil spring on the 2WD, DJM offers a 4" lowering kit for the truck that has coils and extended upper control arms to eliviate the severe angle of the upper balljoint and to eliminate any severe camber problems.

I have looked at the part #'s for the 4WD explorer, 2WD Explorer, and the 2WD Ranger (98+) and it appears that they all use the SAME upper control arm/Ball joint assembly, so if this is the case then the Ranger upper control arms SHOULD work on the explorer.

Remember that ALL my reserch so far has just been with part #'s and not actual installation. I will soon be purchasing a set of these upper control arms to see if they will actuall fit on my explorer and then i will let you good guy's here know what my outcome with them are, if they don't fit i will just sell them to a ranger guy on the other boards.

The reason for this post was jsut to let you Seriously Slammed guy's that there is Possible hopes for our slammed community, hopefully by mid Jan i will have some results for you! Stay tuned and lwt me know your thoughts on this.

I have a thread started here too
http://www.rangerpowersports.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=526590#post526590

WOW Yomie,
When did you make the switch? Last time I saw your truck, it had 35s on it right? Did I completely miss it? Did you sell off your wheelin stuff?:confused:

Robb

Actually yes i sold the Body lift to Splashman, the shackles to a jeeper, the fenders to a local with an early model explorer and the wheels and tires to a jeeper. I just felt that it was time for change. My suspention had too many miles on it, with all the strain i kept having to replace various parts here and there. It was fun, i attended alot of car shows this year and it really got me wanting to do something 'radical' to the explorer and seeing all the mini-truckers kinda got to me. with all the lift the explorer really wasn't an eye catcher to the spectators, so i think if i can slam it, throw in a V8 and do other lil things, especially with it being a 2dr i think it might be a lil more of an eye catcher. I just removed the lift about a month ago and my X is now my winter project. For offroading i really didn't like the SLA setup and i'm looking for an early model X or 90's ranger with TTB to be a trail rig now. and yes it had 35's for about 2 weeks

Yomie - Hey there. Just came across this thread and this is EXACTLY what i had planned to give a try. I too have cross referenced all the ranger/ explorer a-arms.

Doesnt the complete DJM lower kit come with upper and lower control arms though??

The lower can not be used though cause you would loose your torsion bar mounts.... unless you went coil over and did away with the Torsion bars period. this is the route i am headed. trying to find the correct shocks for the coil over set-up at this time. then to the shop for custom brackets and what not. I have been investigating the RCD coil over lift kit and getting ideas from that- just lowered. I see that they have a type of strut that runs underneath for laterial support around where the original torsion bars were. Let me know if you have made any lead way on this-

Nice, lets keep each other updated on this thread.

Nice idea about the coilovers, the only thing i see that may be a problem would be the front CV might be in the way. i thought about doing the coilover, but i'm afraid of the CV being in the way, after i can try to get these upper control arms on there, then i might do a 2WD swap, the spindles and all. THen it would be much easier for a coilover to fit.

for right now i'm going to try the uppers, they are on www.stylinconcepts.com for about $140 and then i'm going to get the MOOG ball joints to put in there. i have also thought of doing the 2WD swap with the ranger springs, but i would have to weld the upper spring perches in there, i dunno yet, i need to get the uppers in there first, i'll let you know!

ANd yes the complete DJM kit comes with all that, or you can order just the uppers

i dont really have a comment, i just want to subscribe to this thread to get the updates.:D

i have mulled over the coilover idea for quite some time. now that you have found out about the ranger arms, this would indeed adress the alignment issue. so, im gonna sit back and let you do all the work, and go with mine from there. need any ideas (good or bad), hit me up.

BTW- you can get QA1 coilovers built anyway you could ever imagine for around $450 a set...

thanks for the tip.

I was looking into the edlebrock race coilover.... i am still investigating

As an alternative to the coil overs you could always bag it :D

I would love to run some coilovers and some Ranger arms to correct the camber. Any option that involves safely getting rid of the torsion bars is good.

Hartman- i agree 101% and that was the original reason i looked into it. i want one ride height only, i dont care to have it adjustable. i just want it lowered 3"-maybe 4" and still ride good, and be able to get it aligned. i want the performance/handling, not the adjustability.

For right now, I don't care too much about adjustablility either. But, if I did run this setup, I would probably end up throwing a bag on the arm and have it work with the coilover somehow. Or I could just bag instead of the coilover...

for the rear i eventually want to 4-link and with the 4-link i thought about running coilovers, but now its a toss up, i don't know if i want the coilovers or bags yeet

i just want coil overs......i would like to get about another 1" lower and a much better ride.... by loosening the torison bars the front is way to mushy and just plan sucks!!!! I was going to go with a stiffer aftermarket torsion bar but why bother.... coil overs are awesome..... I have them on all four corners of my mustang and love them

Just seeing whats up. Sounds like you guys have some good ideas, now one of you get off your ass and do it. Then tell me how hard it was and how much it ended up costing :) :)

Originally posted by psychotic
Just seeing whats up. Sounds like you guys have some good ideas, now one of you get off your ass and do it. Then tell me how hard it was and how much it ended up costing :) :)

lol, i'm working on it. My Girl is kinda getting mad at me cause of all the work and money i'm spending on the truck, but i keep telling her i need to get it done before we move in April, i have a secret stash i'm working from though, so hopefully she won't get too mad at me, lol.

Hey psychotic did you get your X perfectly aligned after you did the tortion flip, or are you riding around on madd camber also?

I had some camber adjustors put in. The camber is off slightly, but it isn't noticable. You can only tell if you look at it just right, or study it a little.

u can use the lower control arms if u modify them and r baggin it. thats what im doin to a edge, same as X.

Yeah but we're looking to make the upper control arm fit to correct the CV angle and the camber.....right?

Originally posted by Hartman
Yeah but we're looking to make the upper control arm fit to correct the CV angle and the camber.....right? thats what im in it for... although "CV angle" is not an issue on mine. :D

CV angle is not an issue for me either, yet...

Yes, the whole reason i'm doing it is to save my camber angle.

the outside tread of my tire isn't even touching the ground, it looks funny

Ok, I did some research on this today. After talking with jbhill on the Ranger boards, the upper control arms will indeed bolt on. He has done this with his newer Edge, in which he installed the 98+ Ranger arms and flipped the t-bars. He says it's corrected the camber issue, but I'm not completely sold on the issue. After looking at the pictures on the control arm, it doesn't look all that much longer than our current stock arm. But, it works.

I would love to get a set of these upper control arms, flip the adjusters, replace my 2 inch blocks with 3 inch blocks, and be set. But, I want to make sure I can get it aligned good enough.

well, they wouldnt have to be much longer than stockers at all to correct the camber. it really doesnt take much. and since im tired of waiting on Yomie:p has anyone (namely you, Hartman) priced the control arms anywere? were's the best place to get some? ive got plans coming up, and mine HAS to be atleast 1 inch lower... maybe 2" for a total of 4" all the way around.

the control arms are $140 at www.stylinconcepts.com and a set of Moog balljoints can be purchased at your local parts store

Sorry guy's this project for me will have to be put on hold for about a year or whenever i get back, I'm going to the desert boys. i'm not leaving right now, but within the next month, i'm on standby.

:shoot:

well, if i would have went back and re-read the beginning of the thread, i would have known that. but, im a dumb@ss, so thanks again Yomie. and BTW good luck in the desert.

im gonna do this mod VERY soon, so the rest of you will find out if it really works or not without trying it first. im looking for 3", maybe even 4" in front... it will ultimately depend on what ride quality (or lack thereof) i can live with.

EDIT- do you have to replace the ball joints with Ranger joints? or will the 2wd X joints "bolt on"?

You would be better off purchasing the ranger joints. You can't use the explorer joints because the Explorer joints come with the WHOLE stock control arm, where as the 2WD Ranger you can purchase the ball joint seperate.

Moog Upper Ball joint 98+ Ranger 2WD is part # K8738

Page 2 fooz

James T, lets keep in touch because I'm planning on getting the control arms and trying them at least. I want to go down another 1.5-2 inches. You can buy just a MOOG balljoint without the control arm. Ford makes you buy the whole arm, but I'm pretty sure you can buy just the balljoint from places like Car Quest. As far as I know, Explorer and Rangers both have pressed in balljoints, so I'm thinking they might be the same?

BTW I'm really looking forward to trying some of this stuff out. I'm going to be purchasing the control arms within a week.

sounds good, Hartman. im ordering mine Monday.

just to re-clarify for the incredibly dense people (me), both the Explorer balljoints AND the 2wd Ranger balljoints are pressed in. so i will either have to "un-press" the stock joints and re-use, or buy new Ranger joints and have them pressed-in. correct?

You might as well buy the ranger joints, i'm pretty sure you gotta get them pressed in though.

Lemme know how it goes if you install them after i leave

The DJM instructions for the control arms states that you can reuse the balljoints. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea just to get some new joints.

Anybody have any idea who can press in ball joints? Auto stores? Shops?

Does autozone have the tool?

Hartman, are you worried about your 4wd at all?

No I'm not worried about it. Reason being, everybody says that the shafts will bind up in the front. But do you know anyone that actually has had that problem? I haven't, so I'm not going to worry about it. If I do have problems, I'll just get some 2WD spindles and take my shafts out.

I also just wanna stay updated on this topic. Let me know when u guys try it out

Hartman i bet some people on here would be interested in your 4wd parts

I bet they would too, I plan to sell the parts on here if I need to convert to 2WD.

Like Hartman said, i had the front of my truck lowered about 4-5". My front diffy crossmember was about 2" off the ground, and i NEVER had a problem with CV bindage.

well, stage 1 is in motion, control arms were ordered this morning. i assume ill get 'em in a week or two or three. wish me luck.:D

Good luck! Dont let your 450 lb penis get in the way. :p

:eek:

LOL, different thread Yomie. :D

Yeah, different thread.

And just to clarify things... I have not seen James' penis. The weight suggested above is based on the findings of another thread on this board.

I will probably be ordering my control arms within the next few days.

Also, do you guys know what the function of the upper balljoint is? Might be a stupid question, but I was thinking about it and I can't think if anything except maybe for steering.

same thing as the lower one :p

Isnt the function of the upper ball joint the same as the lower one, just for the upper control arm instead of the lower control arm. Since both joints turn and move up and down, they need ball joints. My guess anyway...

James, are you going to install these as soon as you get them? I'm still leary about the whole thing. I need new upper balljoints, plus I have to get them pressed in somewhere, then I have to install the control arms, which I don't totally feel confident with yet. The DJM site says "use lower control arms to align properly", but others have told me on the Ranger board that you can use just the uppers and align it good.

Basically what I'm saying is, I'm too big of a wuss to order them right now and I want to make sure it'll work.

it may take me up to a week after i get them to get them on, but i promise you no longer. this wont be like my headers, which are still laying on a shelf in the garage.:p i first have to get the bronco back together, because i parked it in the middle of the garage. either way, they will be on very soon after i get them, so if you would like, just wait on me to give you the go-ahead.:D

and also, while i think adding the lower arms on the ranger would help, i dont see how it would be necessary. DJM is the only company that even has uppers, everyone's elses kit (including Bellthech) has just lowers. so i dont see needing both. but, like many other times, i may be wrong.

Well we couldn't use the lower control arms, because they are set up to accept coil springs. SCREW IT, I'm ordering...

LOL, go for it! maybe we'll have two sets of upper control arms for sale on a streeter ranger forum.:p

yeah LOL.

lol

correct- you cant use the lowers becuase there is no place for the torsion bars. that is why i wanted to go coil over. I am going to do this sometime but i just dont have the time right now. I got my new truck that i need to finish and i also need to get my mustang painted and together before spring(race season)

i have a cousin that builds street rods. he had a complete Mustang II front kit, complete with coilovers, that he would have sold me for $600. the springs were even the rate i needed (it was on its way into a 50's F100). a week later, i decide to get it. i go to his house, and too late. he had a new project car, a 40 Ford. "sorry, but i need it to go in the car now."
thats what i get for waiting. :(

sorry, just rambling now...

now how about this...... if you take a stock lower control arm and a djm ranger lower a-arm and graph them together...... cut and weld. That why we have the correct length and the torsion bar mounts... and we use the upper lowering a-arm just the way it is........

this way no bags or coil overs... just bolt on and go-

Since the DJM lower control arms are tubular, and the stock control arms are not, it would be hard to mate them together. Because of that, I think there would be a strenght issue involved.

Right now my plan is to get the upper control arms and flip my torsion key.

Originally posted by Hartman
Right now my plan is to get the upper control arms and flip my torsion key. same here. i dont think there would be any point to using the lower ranger arms over the uppers, as the uppers should do the same thing. cutting and welding the lower arms would be alot of trouble, more trouble than making some mounts strong enough for coilovers, and the ride would still be just as bad as if you used the "bolt-on" (i hope) upper ranger arms.

im only gonna do that much work if it would yeild a stock-like ride. and i dont see that happening lowered 3"-4" with torsion bars...

I was thinking about ride quality after the torsion key flip earlier today. Obviously, with that much of a drop, the ride is going to get stiffer. I have B rated torsion bars, which is the stiffest made, so if I went with a softer torsion bar, do you think that would improve the ride?

actually, Hartman, you dont want softer bars. without getting into 5 pages of torsion bar suspension theory, basically by changing the preload on the bars, you effectivly change the spring rate. in other words, by turning the bolts in, and raising the vehicle, it will be like going to a stiffer spring. by loosening them, and lowering the vehicle, you go to a softer rate. this is why the lower you go on your explorer, the rougher it rides. the spring rate is now too soft for the weight of the front end. you can offset this effect somewhat by using a stiffer sway bar (either EE or one off of a 98-up) and some of the newer collapsable bumpstops. i will be doing both of these until i can go through with the coilover project.

Oh ok I see now. I already have low profile bumpstops on all four corners. They are only about .25 inches tall.

You get those control arms yet James?

nope, not yet. i figure they'll be here any day now...

UPDATE-

'arms came in yesterday afternoon right before i left for work. opened 'em up, and first thought was "holy sh!t these are way too big." second thought was "these are the wrong thing".

they sent me the wrong arms.

they appear to be "lowered" control arms for an 88-98 chevy. no one answered the phone, so im gonna try and call Monday morning.

:mad: :fire: :mad: :fire: :mad: :fire: :mad: :fire:

You're kidding me!

ok- i called them today, and just got back from UPS a little while ago. the guy on the phone was super-nice, and extremely appologetic. nothing like some serious @ss kissing to put me in a better mood. should have them (again) in a week or 2.

evil laugh muhahahahahahah....

just came in. hopefully the blocks and bumpstops will be in tomorrow. this is all going down thursday. wish me luck!

Good luck sucka!

GOOD LUCK! Your results will dictate what I do with my truck. Yes, feel the pressure!

Well it looks like tomorrow is the big day for you James! I'm eager to find out your results.

nope. blocks and other stuff still hasnt come in. proly get it late this afternoon, which will put me doing it Tuesday. 12hr. shifts all weekend long.:(

Just get started on the fron and drive around like this
____
| \__
o o

eh i can't make a pic, you know...

Originally posted by psychotic
Just get started on the fron and drive around like this
____
| \__
o o

eh i can't make a pic, you know...

Ummmmm... I think I'm worse off after seeing that picture. I dont know what you mean. :confused:

i would assume you mean something like this... and the answer is simply "no". lol im not driving this thing to work 4 days in a row with that much rake and the front seriously out of line. but thanks for the idea.:p

ya like that :) :).. it would look like a sweet dragster *cough cough*

DONT PLAN ON DOING THIS THE SAME DAY THAT YOU GET THE CONTROL ARMS!

i took the control arms to the shop awhile ago to have the 'joints pressed in. he called back 30 mins later to tell me no one in our area has 98-up ranger upper ball joints in stock. he even called Autozone. he had to order them, and they will not be here until Monday. guess it was a good thing that i planned on Tuesday being the day.

the blocks came in a couple of hours ago. now im waiting on balljoints. this is gonna be a long freakin' weekend.:rolleyes:

Do you have a Carquest near you? I've heard they stock them...

Do you know what brand ball joints you're getting?

Carquest carries MOOG brand, they are the best.

i am getting MOOG, of course, and there is not a CarQuest anywere near here. doesnt matter, i cant do it until Tuesday, and they will hopefully be here Monday morning.

If you don't mind me asking, what was the charge for the Ranger balljoints?

i have no idea. i just walked in there, threw the arms up on the counter, and said "put Moog joints in these. they are for a 98 Ranger" and then walked out. lol

it is a very reputable shop; they do just about everyone's custom stuff around here from streetrods to lowered and lifted trucks. i know several guys there, and im sure they'll give me a good price. they always have in the past. i will give all prices when i find out.

BTW- the control arms are now $189.

The MOOG joints around here are like ~$40 a pop

Still on for tomorrow James?

as far as i know, yes. im gonna call the shop first thing in the morning. if the ball joints are in, its a go. dont worry, ill give plenty of updates.:D

m****r f****r. g** d@mn son of a b***h.






they dont work. not only do they not work, they are ten times worse than the stock control arms. i have the truck sitting with only a 3" drop, and the camber adjusted all of the way out. it will not adjust out any farther. the wheels have so much negative camber that only the inside inch of the tires is touching the ground. there's really no point in taking it to the alignment shop, cuz this is all the camber im gonna get. i would have been 300% better off just using the stock control arms. end of rant.


m****r f****r.:mad:

no!!!!! that sucks!!!!!!

jamest, we all owe ya one for trying this out and being the guinea pig for us

sorry man! back to the drawing board i guess :(

What you're saying is they fit on the truck, but they don't help with the camber? Did you already do the key flip?

If I'm understanding this right, you're saying they are not long enough? Like they dont make the top of the spindle stick out far enough? What if you had them cut and extended?

Arent the stock arms made up of 2 pieces that are bolted together? Any way of making extensions that bolt in?

Originally posted by Hartman
What you're saying is they fit on the truck, but they don't help with the camber? Did you already do the key flip? they are on the truck, and with only a 3" drop(key flip), the camber is hideous. at 4" it was so far from drivable it wasnt even funny. its almost as if they are SHORTER than the stock control arms, because i know the camber wouldnt be near this bad with the stock control arms. something isnt right. ive calmed down a bit, and am now curious. if this works on a torsion bar ranger, it HAS to work on an explorer.

on a side note, i dont like the key flip at all. the key doesnt fit in the "pocket" upside down nowhere near as secure as it does right side up. i dont mind ghetto, but d@mn. just not what i was expecting, i guess.

Originally posted by 98FordX24
If I'm understanding this right, you're saying they are not long enough? Like they dont make the top of the spindle stick out far enough? What if you had them cut and extended? you nailed it. the top of the spindle is basically too close to the truck. i could possibly cut and extend them, and that may be an option months from now when i calm down.

[/i]Arent the stock arms made up of 2 pieces that are bolted together? Any way of making extensions that bolt in? [/QUOTE] only the passenger side stocker was 2 piece. im not too big on extentions, as i helped a friend do this on an S10 years ago... we made them way more beefy than necessary, and it wouldnt hold an alignment over a month. too much trouble to do right. i would rather cut it all out and swap in a Mustang II front clip.

if this works on a torsion bar ranger, it HAS to work on an explorer.

who said this? these arms were designed to work on a 2wd ranger which IS NOT torsion bar- theu have coil springs. Maybe you know someone that has done this on a 4x4 ranger.

I am wondering... how are you using the torsion bars on these control arms???????

are you only using the bottom arms? or wait..... i think i have this backwards.... are you only using the top arms? which allows you to keep the stock lower for the torsion? these were designed to work in pairs..... im sure if you used the matching lower everything would be fine.... but you would have to switch to coil spring, coil over, or airbags.

I believe JBHIll did this on a 2WD Tortion Bar ranger, might want to get on RangerPowerSports.com and see what he says.

I know when i had the Spicer camber adjusters on my stock arms and the Tortion Flip with the adjustment all the way out, the outsides of my tires didn't touch the ground.

Originally posted by Yomie
I know when i had the Spicer camber adjusters on my stock arms and the Tortion Flip with the adjustment all the way out, the outsides of my tires didn't touch the ground. its not the outsides, its the insides. essentially, the ranger arms made the negative camber worse instead of correcting it. think of a truck with air bags aired all the way down. my camber is much worse than that.

PUR PONY- i am using the upper arms only. Yomie did some research, and the coilsprung 98-up ranger upper control arms are the same part # as the 95-up explorer's. it was supposed to work in theory, but with theory, you cant foresee everything. it was a d@mn good idea, but it doesnt seem to work. i havent given up completely, as i cant change it back until Friday. until then, i plan on doing some thinking. not that it will help.lol

any, and i mean ANY ideas guys?

JB said it would work, but I don't think he's actually done it yet. This really sucks, I was planning on doing this. You might try to totally switch to a coil sprung front suspension? :banghead:

im still having a hard time comprehending why it wont work. if the Ranger control arms are the exact same as the Explorer control arms, then it HAS TO WORK. either you have to use the lower control arm with the upper on a Ranger to get it to work, or the Ranger does not have the same upper control arm. if the stock arms interchange, then aftermarket ones would also have to interchange. this makes no sense whatsoever.

Perhaps the spindle is a different height on an Explorer?

Well, the only thing I can think of ...its that the lower control arms of the Ranger are shorter or the Ranger balljoint mounts on the spindles are in diffrent locations. I'm thinking of doing the ranger control arm swap for air bags.
Right now I have a 3" drop on my Sport. I have a really good alignment guy near buy who told me that with a Camber adjustment kit from NAPA and grinding about an 1/8" outward on the upper control arm mount would give me the pos camber I would need. The only problem I had was with "bumpstreer" that was cured buy shimming the rack up about 1/8".
What we really need are some good pics of this 2WD Ranger front suspension.

Oh by the way..does anyone know if the 4dr X has a higher spring rate on the rear leafs then the Sport??

Your sport probably has a mono leaf. 4drs have a leaf pack. Many people (off-roaders mostly) put the 4dr leaf pack in their sports.

Originally posted by Ghost99
or the Ranger balljoint mounts on the spindles are in diffrent locations. i'll be a SOB... thats what it is!!! the Ranger spindle is different!!! not that this helps me, but at least i can stop wondering why two objects with the same part # wouldnt interchange. thank you.:D

as far as opening up the upper arm mount, it would be tough to get to. not impossible, but tough non the less.

here is something else i thought of...

new idea/possible phase II
i have an aqaintance that works at a very reputable local machine shop. i am now thinking about carrying him the DJM arms, and asking him what he thinks about either lengthening them, or making new ones that are longer. just looking at the arms, there really is nothing to it. even if i had to get some made, im thinking it wouldnt cost too much. it will be Tuesday before i can get them there... what do you guys think? wouldnt hurt to ask?

Worth a shot, maybe if they are cheap enough you can sell some to other board members.

Yup, I was thinking of doing the same thing. I was hoping for an easy way out.:D Are the ball joints in the Ranger control arms removable? That's one reason I was looking for alternatives, since the X control arms/balljoints are one piece. It's a real pain when you have to mic the taper of the ball joint. Could you Imagine going to you local parts store saying that you want a balljoint with a taper of .567 to like .267 and a head of 1.783 HEHE:confused:

yes, the Ranger balljoints can be pressed out, and they are the same size as the explorer's.

PROJECT IS BACK ON!!!

i just took them to my machine shop, and the guy said there would be no problems cutting them to lengthen and then adding a sleeve over (see pic below). i know this sounds oh so ghetto, but he is confident that they will be even stronger than stock DJM arms. the sleeve will be D.O.M. tubing, which is stronger than the welded-seam that they are made of. he swears that it will not bend, flex, break, etc. and says its really no big deal at all. i trust him. i pick them up Monday afternoon, so Tuesday they go on the truck (again).

im having them lengthened 1" overall.

Glad things are back on track James, I can't wait to see how it turns out this time. Have you calculated the exact amount that the arms have to be lengthened in order to correct the camber? Is 1 inch going to be enough?

How much were the control arms? I've been welding on sub frames for the past 5 years. Welding sleeves on the control arm should be no problem for me.

Originally posted by Hartman
Have you calculated the exact amount that the arms have to be lengthened in order to correct the camber? Is 1 inch going to be enough? basically, it was a SWAG*. one inch is doesnt sound like it, but really it is alot. as long as its in the ballpark, the cams will take care of the rest. if its not, then back to the machine shop. Ghost99- from what i remember they were around $180.







*SWAG- Scientific Wild Ass Guess

James, when are you installing your newly lengthened arms?

was gonna do it yesterday, but we had ice (very rare for this area). needed it together just in case. so far, it looks like Saturday is the day. ill post pics as soon as i can.

front is done. they work great. ive got 0 degrees camber with 4" of drop right now. gonna do the rear today. ill post pics in the next couple of days... im not using my crappy webcam this time.

i dont know how long i can wait on the coilovers. the ride is (as i figured) hideous.

sweet, do you have aftermarket shocks? cant wait for the pics, and glad it worked out!

i have the lowered Edelbroc's all 4 corners.

POST CRAPPY WEBCAM PICS AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

damn, hey get pictures of before and after of the wheel gap too! you could probably go another inch lower if you wanted to right? Ill be waiting pics anxiously

Ooooooooooooo pics.....

:D :D :D

Still waiting for pics............:rolleyes:

there coming guys, i promise.

12 hr. graveyard shift every day all week. dont have a decent digi cam, so only option is to take pics and develop them so i can scan 'em. right now i go to bed, get up and eat, and go to work. repeat. trust me, you will see it soon.

:bounce:

Man you're killing me...

:(

pics man, pics

FYI- i havent had a day off in the last 12 days (12 hour shifts). thats 144 hrs in 2 weeks, or about 72hrs a week. i said no webcam pics, but i know you guys are dying so here you go.

this is the last night i work, and then im off all weekend. i PROMISE i will have pics this weekend.

-4"

OMG drool. Looks so badass James. Did you get the blocks in as well?

yup. had to cut the blocks down from 4" to about 3.5". with super tiny .25" rear bumpstops, the axle was about an inch away from them. this is what i observed on the rear-

2"-fine

3"-ok, maybe need mini-C if you wanna tow

3.5"-occasionally bottoms, not often, should get a mini-C but liveable without if bumpstops are cut down to nothing

4"-you will HAVE to have a notch. no ifs, ands, or buts about it. if you ran no bumpstops at all, the axle would be about an inch away from the frame. maybe less.

So I take it you're gonna do the mini cnotch? You can get one from Jason at suicidedoors.com for about $40.

I'm at 3.5 right now..I bought replacement cousion bump stops for all 4 corners. They work rather well.

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/dukeofsho/vwp?.dir=/My+Photo+Album&.dnm=Xwowmoebetta.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t

That's a negative

Oh well, thats yahoo for you. try this:
http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/dukeofsho/vwp?.dir=/My+Photo+Album&.dnm=Xwowmoebetta.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t

It's a bad pic of the X at the WOW.

Still not workin for me :D

Ghost, you're pics and your link do not work. however, mine do...:p

4" front, 3.25" rear with zero degrees camber

http://www.explorerforum.com/data/502/8557myx2.jpg

http://www.explorerforum.com/data/502/8557myx4.jpg

here's a few more...

http://www.explorerforum.com/data/502/8557myx3.jpg

http://www.explorerforum.com/data/502/8557myx1.jpg

Man that looks awesome. And perfect camber, that is incredible. You need 3 inch leafs, 1 inch blocks and a mini-c to bring the back down a little more though!

Great job. :cool:

that does look real sweet. those home made splash guards and rear bumper paitning really set off your exterior, (that front bumper needs the same treatment but i kno ur planning on it already...) it looks super clean. I agree with hartman the back needs to come down a little but i know you are already planning on doing that your just taking care of the coilovers first, so awesome job man, it looks great!

If i have about 2.5" of space between my front tire and the fender, how low do you think that is?

hartman, nnnnnnnnnick,- i plan on bringing the rear down a full 4", but coilovers are first. for some reason, the truck doesnt look near as "raked" in real life as it does in pics. its weird, looking at the truck up close, or from a distance, it seems only slightly raked to the rear. in the pics, it looks terrible. nnnnick- the front will be painted soon enough (now that weather is better). i am also gonna paint the :rainbow: rear bumper.

psycotic- we have no idea. we do not know how tall your tire is. space between fender lip and tire will depend on tire height. what tires/wheels are you running? also, what was the measurement stock?

for those that dont know, here is 4" drop with zero degrees camber :p :p :p :p

since i am in the giving mood... and im f@wkin drunk and have nothjng to do ......... here is Ghost99's truck.

http://www.fordtruckworld.com/gallery/Ghost99/199503.jpg

http://www.fordtruckworld.com/gallery/Ghost99/180779.jpg

stock measurement was between 6-7 inches. i'm running stock rims and the good year warnglers that come on em'. My front was higher than most other explorers stock, thats why i don't know how much i lowered it.

that front on shot really makes it look super low. man i wanna do this, it looks sweet. however i dont have the money/skill for the coilover install

Originally posted by nnnick
i dont have the money/skill for the coilover install i dont either, lol. :D

psychotic- if the measurements you gave were right, then your front came down at least 4". i dont see that happening by just removing the torsion adjuster bolts.

I flipped the torsion adujustor..... Actually one side did come down 4 incheswith just the bolt removed, the other side only 3, so i had to flip both sides and just put bolts in til they were even.

I think the reason that my front was so high in the beginning is because the dealer mentioned that in the past camber had been adjusted on it in the past cause it was off from factory. I think they just raised the front up to get correct camber, it used to look like it had rear sag reallly bad.

So with that all being said, I really don't know how low i've gone up front. In the back its 2 inch blocks + rear sag from 2 12s and a heavy ass box

ahh.... i didnt know you did the adjuster flip. sounds to me like you got about 4".

Any chance that you could get some pics of the control arms installed?

actually, i had some. the control arm pics and several others didnt develop for some reason. ill have some others soon.

james t

I have a set of 3" drop leaf springs. We put some on a Sport Track and it dropped 4.5'. The ride was very stiff though. It could be a good match for your set up.

You can contact me at info@explorerexpress.com

John V @ Explorer Express

John, thanks! ill more than likely get in touch with you as soon as i get the coilovers on. if you still have them at that time, ill take them.

Here is a picture of the leaf springs that I was telling you about.

John V @ EE

So James T can you tell me what all you ordered and what kind of machine shop can do this. I need more info on exactly what you got done i know what i want to do with the rear i just need to know what to order for the front and how many inches to extend the upper control arms thanks.Oh and did you get it alligned again after all this was done. Email me if you want

jonathaniler@yahoo.com

im going to have to advise against it. the problem is, while it corrected the camber, it had the caster way off. caster could not be brought back to a safe level, thus they came off.

if you still want to do this, and dont mind your truck hydroplaning or changing lanes on rough expansion joints on interstate, then all you need is the DJM lowered upper control arms for a 98-up Ranger. i extended mine exactly 1". most machine shops can do this.

once again, i would not recommend doing it.

so your suspension is back to the way it is. Is there anywasy of getting all the parts like upper control arms, lower control arms. spindels and coils to make it like a ranger front suspension. Even with some fab work can this come together.

It would work if you relocated the mounts for the upper control arms to match the location of the mounts on a Ranger.

I'm lost how would you go about doing that and could it be alligned later.

i could explain it, but then my post wouldnt be a post anymore it would be a book. ;) short version- the arms were long enough to make camber good, but at the wrong axis and threw caster way off.

no one knows if you can bolt on the ranger upper and lower arms AND make it work. obviously you would have to weld on some coil spring towers. will the ranger upper and lower arms line up right? i have no idea...

also, i dont think you realize just how BAD the thing rides with the torsion adjuster flip. once this is done and you have 4-5" of drop, there is basically no more preload on the torsion bars. the ride is so far beyond hideous i cant even describe it. you will drive around on it for a few days thinking "this isnt really that bad" and then after a week or 2 the cool factor wears off and you come to your senses.

So after all that work, how are you gonna continue....? How would you put coil overs on the front end? Also, would it save us a world of pain to get 3'' Drop Spindles made?

i did/am not continuing. i took them off because they fixed one issue while making another worse. the truck is back up to a 1.5" drop and will remain that way from now on.

mounting the coilovers would have been the easy part. cut off upper shock mount, and fabricate mounts for the frame and lower control arm that will support weight.

good luck on getting a drop spindle made. spindles are cast; its not like a decent fab shop can just make a set. with that said, there is a guy who SAYS he is working on a control arm kit right now. if it is produced, it will be the way to go. 3" drop with factory torsion bar settings. but...... we're still waiting and havent heard anything yet.

well damn....i wish that guy with the spindle switch n flip deal would hurry up with pictures...........

could you just extend the stock upper control arms to correct the camber? I would figure you could.

nope, they are cast aluminum. weld to them and they will be as weak as using wood. :)

Now i see that you can weld the ranger ones. Could you extend one side 1 inch and do the other side like and inch and like 1/8 or a 1/4 to bring the caster back in. My best friends dad works at a machine shop and if I can figure out a way or making them other than from a cast i might be able to mass produce :)

your guess is as good as mine. only thing is, its just a guess either way. you wont know if it will work or not until you spend the $$$ to try it, then spend the money to get it aligned. if its wrong, you have to start over. then of course you need to spend more money on some coilovers and fabbing them up to get even a livable ride quality. this is why i gave up. ;)

were your tires like this / \ or like this \ /. I'mgonna order some this week if i get enough on pay day :). I figure if i can make them work i think alot of people would be interested.

after the arms went on? they were like this | |
its not the camber that was bad, it was the caster.

I was talking about like toe in / toe out

like .......

Front
\ / or..... / \

| | ...... | |
Rear

This is a top view.

toe was fine. it was the caster.

Ok how about stock upper and lower control arms from a Ranger. Get these from a junkyard and then just get a 2" drop spindle. Then my guess would be no camber problem just 2 inches of drop. What do you guys think and yes i know this thread is dead.

noone knows if thye will even bolt up without modifications

Originally posted by boominXplorer
noone knows if thye will even bolt up without modifications

C'mon man read the thread, james bought the ranger control arms and they fit, they just had to be lengthened.

Originally posted by Hartman
C'mon man read the thread, james bought the ranger control arms and they fit, they just had to be lengthened.

No one knows if the lower control arms will fit or not

The lower arms will work but they're useless unless you're gonna bag because they are made for coil springs.

Well the lower control arm has a spot for the coil the work would just geving the coil to rest on the top. How is the coil held in for the Ranger.

you will have to weld on a coilspring tower. and that is IF the upper and lower ranger arms can be aligned. stock arms are useless however, because they dont make a lowering spindle. rangers use aftermarket control arms and coils for a front drop. you would also have to have a custom set of coils made because a ranger coil would be too soft for the weight of an explorer and you would still have a crappy ride.

Were the a-arm from the ranger side specific ? Could they be swapped from one side ? If they are side specific , it in theory would rotate the caster the other direction if sides were swapped . Of course if the joint was centered in the arm and both are the same bar side-by-side then my post is not worth the cyber-space it took up :)

they are not side specific. you can swap either to the other side.

I am a ranger guy and has been for i dont know how long. I had a bagged 00 and it just got totaled, now i have a 97 4 dr xlt X, i so the part where someone said the ball joint on the ranger mounts in a differnt spot than the explorer did, i just got underneath mine and it mounts on top just like the ranger does..........so i dont know what this means.......but with looking on my explorer the control arm looks lik it should work fine....it even looked to be the same length and stuff to so i dont know why in your case you had worse camber.......but this is my new project on baggin on 20's on the ground and stuff but ill let yall know what yall could do when i get thru wit it.....later, ill check back for replies

the only problem was the control arm wasnt long enough to correct the camber. the DJM ranger upper arms were actually a little shorter than the stock explorer arms, which made the camber worse. i had them lengthened 1" and fixed the problem. actually, 3/4" would have been better because 1" was almost too much.

Yeah i know about that, sorry i didnt mention it but you already know that now. But im not sure what the difference might be between the torsion bar rangers (edge) and the explorers uppers but i know you could use the torsion bar upper control arms on a coilover ranger to correct the camber a little bc they were longer.