Lifting 93 Explorer Sport

[jguffey7]

Hey anyone that can help!!

I have a 93 Explorer Sport, that I want to lift, nothing to extreme. I would like 31"-33" SS Thornbirds. How much lift is needed and what other components do I need to change. I don't do any hardcore off-roading and want to change the least as possible. Any help would be appreciated! Anyone with parts or pieces?

Thanks

 

[kurant045]

Welcome aboard!

J,
According to all the comparisons that we have done here all 90-94 explorers are different. On some you can put 31" tires without a lift. This wasn't the case for me, I went with a 2" suspension lift to fit my 31's. Now I added a 3" body lift to fit in 33's, they still rub so I'm going to trim my fenders for the fix. What I suggest if you just want the look of 31-33's and aren't going to do any off-roading is to get the body lift. You can get a 2 or 3 inch body lift and it won't be as expensive as a suspension lift.
I honestly tell you that you'll probably want more and more of a lift with time, so get the three inch lift and that way you'll probably be able to fit 32 or 33" tires. I don't know much about ss tires but I imagine they have a much bigger thread and will probably require you to trim your fenders a bit. Again you won't know until you try them on. If you want a suspension lift you'll have a lot of options, basically depending on how much lift you want and how much you want to spend.

hope this helps
Robert

 

[jguffey7]

kurant045,

I thought about the body lift, but do not like them as much as a suspension lift. Did you just lift yours, or do you need to change /modify driveshafts, diff gears, etc? At least for daily driver mods.

 

[kurant045]

Jason thus far I have only lifted the truck without changing gears. I'm sure I don't have the fastest explorer out there but it runs ok. I've heard changing gears is really expensive and difficult to do myself so it is something that will have to wait, but something that I do plan on doing in the future. To be honest I never thought that I would do a body lift because I never liked the look. I've seen chevy and Toyota trucks with a whole lot of frame showing underneath the body, But the body lift doesn't look bad on the explorer like it does on the others and are excellent to give you tire clearence.

Robert

 

[jguffey7]

Robert,


I'm leaning towards the body lift a little, but haven't made up my mind. I'm still dealing with the Firestone tire issue. But I think, I might go with a combo of both or just the 5.5 Superlift, and 33" SS Thornbirds. I'm also adding dual exhaust, so need to decide on the body lift before doing that. Ya!, Gears are expensive so I'll wait ion that too. There are not a lot of " Nice " Explorers here in Iowa that I've seen, and am tired of the same old Jeep, Toyota, or the average lifted Chevy. Need to be different I guess. Thanks for the help!

 

[RFR2212]

jguffey7,
You could do the 5.5 lift or go with the 4in for slightly less stress on the suspention components, ect. I believe with either lift ya shouldn't have a problem with tire rub except at full steering lock or when flexing...The only reason I'd guess this is because of the Thornbirds side lugs. I've got Boggers which are a 14in width and I had a problem of rubbing with a 4in suspension lift and a 3in body lift....Now I'm at 6in suspension lift and a 3in body with minor fender trimming....Just thought I'd tell ya what I thought....
Thanks, Pete