4" lift to a 6" lift? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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4" lift to a 6" lift?

Klutch

Well-Known Member
Joined
June 26, 2008
Messages
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City, State
Shohola Pennsylvania
Year, Model & Trim Level
1994 Ford Explorer
Is it possible to make a 4" lift kit into a 6" lift kit easily? I've found 4" lift kits for $400-$600 but the extra 2" for the 6" lift kit some how translates to doubling or tripling the price of the 4" lift kit. I'm just looking to have something to drive on the streets mostly and maybe beat on in the woods after i get a newer explorer. any advice would be extremely helpful.
 



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also im gonna be putting a dana 44 in the front eventually, what vehicle would be best to get the axle from and will the explorer lift kit work or will i need to use the lift kit from the vehicle i got the axle from? thanks guys
 






i dont think its possible and if it is it wont be easy at all. i believe the biggest thing would be the drop bracket in the 6'' kit is a different size than the 4'' kit, than the coil springs would need to be changed cuz they'd be to short, than bigger blocks in the rear would be needed, plus shocks all around cuz they'd be to short. it'd just be easier and probably cheaper in the end to just get the 6'' to begin with. or if you arent against body lifts get the 4'' and a 3'' body lift. and when you put a dana 44 in there isnt really a lift kit that you just swap on. if you run springs you gotta make the mounts and all that, chose coils and you gotta make shock hoops and get a bucket, weld or bolt on (most people weld on i believe) that work with the coils you run....a lot of time money and work goes into a sas....which is why i havent done it to mine yet :D lol either research research research, need i say more lol
 






I believe that the superlift kit uses the same drop brackets. 4-inch is spring under and needs new springs. 4-inch kits are typicaly more expensive. 6-inch is spring over axle under and reuses the rear spring. Sway bar drop brackests are different. Pitman arm may be the same, but the longer arm is better for the 6-inch lift. No blocks for an explorer lift.

You could do a 2inch suspension lift and a 3-inch body for the a cheap 5-inch.
 






yea i was thinking of doing that for now with the body lift cuz i already have the 2 inch suspension. im just a little scared of a body lift i geuss. and i found a 5.5 inch lift for about $800-$900 so i think ill just go with that whenever i get the money lol or should i just wait til i get the dana 44 from like a heep or something and just lift it then? sorry i have so many questions
 






Is the cost/benefit worth the $800 that you won't recycle into a SAS?

If you were looking at a year or three before SAS it might be something to ponder, but if you're clear on your long-term goals I'd start working towards that instead of something that you'll later un-do.

Just a thought.
 






I bought 6" ttb coils before deciding to go with a SAS, so theyre for sale. ttb lifts are great for light trails and obstacles, ive put mine through alot and it hasnt let me down yet. was going to put the 6" coils under it then decided to go with the SAS, rebuilding the axle as we speak.
 






would i be able to use parts of the 5.5 or 6 inch lift in my sas or would everything be fabrication and heep parts under the front end? the only vehicles i can see that i could get a front axle out of would be a heep or a early 70's bronco, and i just dont have the heart to destroy a bronco. so heep it is i geuss. unless you guys have any other suggestions?
 






EB 44s arent that hard to get, lots of guys grab them off of rotted trucks. thats where I got mine. theres also a jeep d30, wagoneer d44, and if you go full width you can use pretty much any drivers drop axle. do some research, lots of good info on here.
 






I believe you can use the 6" springs in the 4" brackets because it's still with in the 2" that you can align the front.
 






a wagoneer front axle will fit under an explorer? i cant have the tires stick out past the fenders cuz of the strict cops around here :/
 






I would probably skip the D44 IMO... Keep the D35 until you find yourself actually breaking it, then swap a D60 under there if you actually do find yourself breaking things, as it has a lot more to offer than a D44 does (the D35 & D44 are actually a lot more similar than different).

If you have a 4-door Ex, you should be able to use 6" coils with 4" lift brackets no problem (it would be closer on a 2-door though, might work, might not due to slightly lighter weight).

However like Unclemeat said, doing a 5.5-6" lift should be cheaper than a 4" from the outset, due to the SOA vs. whole new springs out back. Something that should also be considered though is corrections to your steering are a lot easier to deal with at 4" lift than on something taller, so you might want to weigh that among your options as well (can affect your handling and tire wear).
 






my dana 35 is bent from a car accident i got into so idk how strong it is anymore. where would i be able to find a dana 60? and my rear springs are bent from that car accident too actually, it leans to the left. so id have to get new springs anyway either stock or after market. how much different is the steering on the 5.5" compared to the 4"? i have a 2" right now and it seems pretty fine.
 






What is bent on your D35? (beam I'm guessing?) Parts are still quite easy to come by for these things in the wrecking yards... I guess that does open the door a lot wider for an axle swap though, however I'd probably still fix/replace whatever got bent on the D35. With 31" tires (what I see listed on your sig), a D60 (from a F-350) would be more than massively overkill (the D35 is easily good to 35" tires with a few small upgrades).


As for the steering... at 4" lift, you have either a larger drop pitman arm available (Skyjacker's pt# FA600) or you can get/modify an aftermarket linkage of some sort fairly easily and have your linkage lined up on the same plane as your axle pivots.
Once you're above 4" though, it then becomes a lot harder to get the steering lined up, which makes for more bumpsteer because everything's now out of phase (custom-built linkages are about your only option to have it correct).
(I wrote this page a little while back that goes into greater depth about TTB steering)
 






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