92 Explorer front lift

[chetney]

I am looking for a cheap way to lift the front end of my explorer. The rear has a 6in lift and the front has 4in lift coils. I am working on a budget, but want the front to match the rear. Any ideals would be great.

Thanks

 

[tgreene92]

look into coil spacers should give you about a 2 inch bump,just watch out for the normal things such as alignment, brake lines, and drive ling angles tho. there should be alot of info regarding lifts in the modified 91-94 forum.

 

[Glen4X4]

Do you have drop brackets for the front axle and radius arms and drop pitman arm? You can only push the front axle down soo much before needing drop brackets or else a good alignment will never happen.....

 

[chetney]

Drop pitman looks to be stock.I dont know much about lifts, so im trying to learn as i go.Here is a few pictures of the front end.

 

[93 Xploder]

Best option or what id do is get a set of 6 inch coils new, under 200 if im correct from summit and put them in.

Those are 4-6in skyjacker drop brackets, move the ttb arm pivot bolt down a notch on the front to the bottom hole for 6 inch coils.

 

[chetney]

Best option or what id do is get a set of 6 inch coils new, under 200 if im correct from summit and put them in.

Those are 4-6in skyjacker drop brackets, move the ttb arm pivot bolt down a notch on the front to the bottom hole for 6 inch coils.

looks like ill have to keep my eyes open for a used set. Working on a budget right now.

Thanks for the help

 

[tweakedlogic]

You can still use the coil spacers or the F150 coil seats. It just won't give you any additional travel.

It's off topic but I would recommend if you want to keep your truck for a while you take care of that rust. put it on lifts as high as you can go. take a wire brush (several) both hand and coarse round type for the drill. Get some rust converter @ Napa, it works. Self etching primer and good black paint. I did this to a Toyota. It takes hours and works best if you get some metal prep acid before the rust converter.

 

[Glen4X4]

Those do not look like skyjacker brackets at all, more like superlift 5.5" And if you're looking for a whole kit I'm stripping down my 1st gen soon. You may want to call up superlift for the 5.5" coils and move the pivot point down like said before. And I would suggest a different pitman arm to level the steering...

 

[4x4junkie]

Yeah those are Superlift brackets, not Skyjacker.

You can get either 6" coil springs (recommended), or if you're really trying to pinch the pennies, a 2" high stack of large 1-3/8" I.D. washers welded together and a stud extender can work without being too unsafe.

You will also need the Skyjacker #FA600 ("extreme") drop pitman arm too to keep your steering linkage somewhat level afterward (this won't be the cheapest option out there either). Anything less and you'll have some serious steering and tire wear issues with that much lift.

 

[Glen4X4]

I agree about the pitman arm, I had the 400 pitman arm and it had way too much angle, went with the 600 and was fine

 

[chetney]

Yeah those are Superlift brackets, not Skyjacker.

You can get either 6" coil springs (recommended), or if you're really trying to pinch the pennies, a 2" high stack of large 1-3/8" I.D. washers welded together and a stud extender can work without being too unsafe.

You will also need the Skyjacker #FA600 ("extreme") drop pitman arm too to keep your steering linkage somewhat level afterward (this won't be the cheapest option out there either). Anything less and you'll have some serious steering and tire wear issues with that much lift.

I have been keeping an eye open for a set of 6" coils. I may just end up welding a stack of washer together.

Wheres the cheapest place to find the drop pitman arm. I only drive this 10-15 mins to work everday, all back roads 45-55. Never sees highway speeds.


Thanks for the help

 

[4x4junkie]

Cheapest I seen the pitman arm some months back was over on TRS, however I haven't compared around since then.
Right now it's $191.50 on TRS's parts store site
http://www.jamesoaksenterprises.com/products/skyjacker.htm

 

[chetney]

Anyone every used this drop pitman arm?
http://www.topguncustomz.com/Store/Gen2ProdDisplay.php?iview=210174886
Drop Pitman Arm 83-97 Ford Explorer w/3-6" Lift

 

[cloaked_chaos]

There is probably nothing wrong with the quality of that drop pitman arm. The only problem with it is that it is similar to the FA400, when for a proper 6" lift you need the FA600

 

[Glen4X4]

For 6 inch lift go with the fa600

 

[4x4junkie]

Yep, the FA600 is the only one that works acceptably at 6" lift, I don't care what claims are made about any other arms, they are much too short for that amount of lift (even the FA600 isn't quite perfect at 6", but it's far better than anything else besides a custom steering linkage swap).

See here
http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2008/steering_tech.htm

 

[Glen4X4]

Yep, the FA600 is the only one that works acceptably at 6" lift, I don't care what claims are made about any other arms, they are much too short for that amount of lift (even the FA600 isn't quite perfect at 6", but it's far better than anything else besides a custom steering linkage swap).

See here
http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/winter2008/steering_tech.htm

I agree with junkie, he suggested the 600 to me with my 6inch because I had way too much angle on the steering with th 400 which results in more bump steer and the 600 still isn't level but much better than before.

 

[chetney]

You can still use the coil spacers or the F150 coil seats. It just won't give you any additional travel.
QUOTE]

Is there a part # for the coil spacers?
I need to get some new rear shocks, could anyone suggest a good set to get?

 

[tweakedlogic]

I don't know the part number, you can get them from pull a part or similar for like $10 each I think.

I like my pro comp shocks. they ride nice on the street and work well on the dirt. @ $50 a pop it's hard to beat.

 

[chetney]

Do you happen to know the pro comp part#?

Thanks