01-05 Sport Trac 4x4 Lift Options Discussion | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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01-05 Sport Trac 4x4 Lift Options Discussion

Project_Sparta

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City, State
French Lick IN
Year, Model & Trim Level
2013 PIU
Ok So I am tired of having to look at two different forums and searching 40 pages of threads for this Information so I'm asking help on compiling this.

Lift Options 4x4 ST


** TT(Torsion Twist) - up to 2", downside no travel in suspension, only for the Front *Free except you need an alignment.

** Body Lift- up to 3"?, downside body gaps. *$250+. Performance Accessories
http://www.performanceaccessories.com/catalog/ford.htm

** Shackles- up to 2"?, *$40-65. Warrior makes a good pair for the Explorers. The Warrior model # is 153.
http://www.warriorproducts.com/catalog/TBL_LeafSpringShackleKit.html

** SOA(Spring Over Axle), Up to 6"?, downside you need welding knowledge. - $32+
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46236
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=3769

** Superlift Kit- up to 4", downside its VERY expensive *$1,500+
http://www.superlift.com/Catalog.asp?V=215

** RCD(Race Car Dynamics) - up to 5", Very expensive. Built for the Ranger but can be used on the front of any 2nd Gen Explorer. RCD's coilover conversion lift is discontinued. But you never know if you might find the parts used.

** Dixon Brothers Racing Ranger/Explorer 4wd Long Travel Suspension - $3000+
This is a coil over conversion.
http://www.dixonbrosracing.com/content/view/8/2/

** Brenthel Industries - Long Travel Baja Kits - 01-05 4WD Ford Explorer Sport-Trac - $3899+
** Brenthel Industries - Chase Kits - 01-05 4WD Ford Explorer Sport-Trac - $1799+
This is a coil over conversion.
http://www.brenthelindustries.com/bajakits.asp?WPID=41


Lift Options for 2WD


** Lift Spindles - Look for Ranger lift spindles. Like Fabtech 2000-01 FORD RANGER EDGE 2WD FTS98300-7 - $495+
http://www.fabtechmotorsports.com/applications/ford/2wd98-05ranger.html

** TT(Torsion Twist) - More info above
** Body Lift - More info above
** Shackles - More info above
** SOA(Spring Over Axle) - More info above



C/O(coil over) conversion using RCD parts. RCD's kit is discontinued.
pretty straight forward. Buy the shocks and mouting parts and bolt it on. There is some welding involved as you have to gusset the shock towers. But it rides better than the torsion bars, and I no longer have the t-bars hanging down below my truck catching everything insight. The cost was about $1100 because I bought Fox coilovers.- Thanks Chad551


**Update**
We have some confirmations that you can fit 35`s with a TT/Shackels, With alot of trimming though... Thanks ADAS!




Now I know I might have left somethings out, had somethings wrong, So PLEASE Let me know and I will fix it. I would also like Prices if possible.
 



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TT- free to $3 if you buy new bolts
Shackles- $40 to $65 depending on the brand
Body lift- About $250 plus install. And you can get gap guards so you can't see the frame
Soa- free if you have a welder. Just a pita IMO
Superlift- The last one I saw was like $1500 or something rediculous like that
 






If you're getting a Superlift for $1500, that's a helluva deal. Last I looked they were going for $1800.

Racecar Dynamics, aka RCD:
Ranger 5" coil-over kit could be adapted. Costs around $2500 I think, maybe more.
http://www.racecardynamics.com/products/suspensions/ford/ford4wdranger/ford4wdrangerfull.htm

Dixon Brothers long-travel desert racing setup:
This is the real shiznit but pricey. $3000 plus install, which is significant, plus you'll need wider fiberglass front fenders, so add that plus paint.
http://www.dixonbrosracing.com/content/view/8/2/

RCD and Dixon Bros have 2wd kits also.
 






TT- free to $3 if you buy new bolts
Shackles- $40 to $65 depending on the brand
Body lift- About $250 plus install. And you can get gap guards so you can't see the frame
Soa- free if you have a welder. Just a pita IMO
Superlift- The last one I saw was like $1500 or something rediculous like that


TT - horrible ride, little suspension travel, torsion bars will wear out faster.

Shackles - Good stand alone or added to any of the other things. Down side, the bottom of the shackle is 3" lower than stock with only 1.5" of lift. No problems with mine though.

Body lift - Sport Trac's with body lifts and gap guards really do not look bad. The plastic on the sides hides the frame well. You can't hardly tell it has a body lift. Especially after modifying a receiver to fit close to the bumper. $250 is about right, but if you pay someone to install it get ready to spend atleast $500. Down side, time consuming, need to fab up receivers and/or tow hooks if you want to have them look decent.

SOA - will give you 6" of lift, not 2".

Superlift - $1500-1800. Gets the frame higher (front only), but with no gain in wheel travel, have to see the torsion bar brackets way below the frame, need new front driveshaft. Still need to lift the rear.

RCD - More expensive. Looks better, rides better. Down side, coils wear out in weeks, expensive, need new front driveshaft, need rear lift, breaks CV joints frequently, and I heard they discontinued the lift.



If I started over again on a sport trac, I'd probably wait for a used superlift kit to come up, and retro-fit it with coilovers and limit straps, sway bar quick disconnects. Either SOA the rear or have lift springs made. Or if I was loaded I would buy fiberglass, dixon brothers long travel and deaver springs with a bedcage.
 






TT does not = free. If you do one, you will need to get an alignment.
In hind sight I probably would have never done the TT also.


SOA - Yes, its way more than 2" of lift. I never did do an exact measurement of mine. I just figured it was around 5". You don't really need to do the welding yourself. I had a muffler shop do mine. I bought the spring perches for like $11. Then the muffler shop welding cost me like $45. Honestly, at the time, I had a mechanic friend try to do the welding first. He had access to two different welding machines. His welds sucked and broke. So the next day after lining up the perches and tightening the U-bolts good, I carefully drove to the nearest muffler shop who did some awesome welding on the perches.
 






isnt the RCD only for 2wd?
 






isnt the RCD only for 2wd?
No. RCD makes a 4-5" suspension lift for 4x4 Rangers. Which Rangers(98 and newer) and Sport Tracs(01 - 05) have the same front suspension. The rear is totally different. You would just want to do a SOA lift in the rear in combination with a front suspension lift like RCD, Dixon Bros, or Superlift.
 






I thought there was some suspension lift that was only available for the 2wd
 












so whats the diference between RCD and Skyjacker, or superlift?
 






k that post of mine just answered my question. Whats the price on that
 


















so whats the diference between RCD and Skyjacker, or superlift?
The choices for 4x4 front suspension lifts are: RCD, Dixon Bros, and Superlift.

Halt, stop, %%%%%%%%%%

I was just looking over the Dixon Bros kit. It's a long travel suspension kit. Well maybe it provides some lift because of the longer travel. But their website doesn't say anything about lift. And looking at the pictures I don't see that there is a drop bracket like the others have to bring the lower A-arm down a few inches. So in all fairness I don't think we can call the Dixon Bros kit a suspension lift. But it does replace the torsion bar suspension with a coil-over suspension.

Differences between the RCD and Superlift is....

RCD replaces the torsion bars with a coil-over suspension.
Superlift uses a drop bracket on the torsion bars to keep that at their stock angles. I don't like that. I prefer the way RCD does it.

The green ST in the picture below had a Superlift on it. And you can see how the torsion bar brackets really stick out begging for some rocks to hit them. :D

4107soa_and_bl_vs_superlift2.jpg
 






The choices for 4x4 front suspension lifts are: RCD, Dixon Bros, and Superlift.

Halt, stop, %%%%%%%%%%

I was just looking over the Dixon Bros kit. It's a long travel suspension kit. Well maybe it provides some lift because of the longer travel. But their website doesn't say anything about lift. And looking at the pictures I don't see that there is a drop bracket like the others have to bring the lower A-arm down a few inches. So in all fairness I don't think we can call the Dixon Bros kit a suspension lift. But it does replace the torsion bar suspension with a coil-over suspension.

Differences between the RCD and Superlift is....

RCD replaces the torsion bars with a coil-over suspension.
Superlift uses a drop bracket on the torsion bars to keep that at their stock angles. I don't like that. I prefer the way RCD does it.

The green ST in the picture below had a Superlift on it. And you can see how the torsion bar brackets really stick out begging for some rocks to hit them. :D

4107soa_and_bl_vs_superlift2.jpg


So, you SOA'ed your rear, how'd you level out the front? In that pic it is a good bit lower than the rear...
 






So, you SOA'ed your rear, how'd you level out the front? In that pic it is a good bit lower than the rear...
Nothing. At that time, I had Hannemann fiberglass fenders on the front. I think they helped make it look normal.

As for the gap you see between the bed and the frame, you won't see that on yours if you do the 3" body lift. One year at Truckhaven, my rear driver's side tire flexed and caught the gas filler and ripped it from the bed side. I fixed it there at Truckhaven by cutting the pipe and it now resides under the bed. So, in order to access it to fill up the truck with gas, I had to remove the inner fender wells. That's why you see a gap between my bed and frame.
 






plz tell me you got that fixed :)
 












yea i was talking about you having to fill your truck up under your bed/frame gap
 



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yea i was talking about you having to fill your truck up under your bed/frame gap
Nothing wrong with the way I have to do it now. :D My current tires would probably tear up the inner fender well too. They rub the frame right now. :D
 






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