03 Sport trac question

[Omen866]

Ive had my 03 sport trac xlt 2wd for a while now and love it. The only prob is that im getting the upgrade bug, bad...ive looked long and hard for a body lift for the 03, but have come up short. im thinking bout doing the TT/Shackle lift then throw some good pro comps or BFG's. anyone have any good ideas or am i a fool for lifting a 2wd. i do off road w/ my jeep, but wont do anything 2 xtreme with my sport trac

 

[1996xlt]

Its my understanding that a body lift for a Ranger should fit with little modification (someone correct me if I'm wrong.)

 

[chad551]

There are many, many, ways to lift a 2wheel drive ST. There is a body lift that is made for the ST so there is no need to buy a kit for the Ranger. You can use lifted spindles, TT/Shackles. Or buy a suspension lift kit for the ST as well.

 

[Omen866]

thx yall. ya, i know that all those are out there, but i cant seem 2 find a body lift for an 03

 

[chad551]

Sport Tracs from 01-05 are the same.

 

[sporttractuner]

I've got an 03 xlt 2x4 as well ,and I can tell you for a fact, that it is riding a ranger suspension...

 

[410Fortune]

Sport tracs from 01-05 all use the ford torsion sprung sla (short long arm) suspension it does not matter if they are rwd or 4wd.
The mounts are also in place for converting to a 4wd front differential

There are some slight changes from 01-02 to 03-05, mainly in the engine wiring and also to the front differential mounting brackets.

I just happen to have 6 sport tracs at my shop right now we are currently building up 3 of them

The explorer from 1996-2001, the sport from 96-04, the sport trac from 01-05 and the ranger from 98-11 (4wd models) all use the same front suspension

Explorer, sport and sport trac have the rear leaf springs under the axle whereas the ranger has the leaf springs over the axle

Rwd explorers and sports have lots of lift options including extended front knuckles

 

[Josh P]

Sport tracs from 01-05 all use the ford torsion sprung sla (short long arm) suspension it does not matter if they are rwd or 4wd.
The mounts are also in place for converting to a 4wd front differential

There are some slight changes from 01-02 to 03-05, mainly in the engine wiring and also to the front differential mounting brackets.

I just happen to have 6 sport tracs at my shop right now we are currently building up 3 of them

The explorer from 1996-2001, the sport from 96-04, the sport trac from 01-05 and the ranger from 98-11 (4wd models) all use the same front suspension

Explorer, sport and sport trac have the rear leaf springs under the axle whereas the ranger has the leaf springs over the axle

Rwd explorers and sports have lots of lift options including extended front knuckles

2007 was a great year

 

[oklagp1200r]

2007 was a great year

He's working to much!

 

[DintDobbs]

Wow, 16 years! Oldest necro I've seen yet!

That's good information that will help the community later. Thank Ford for all of its shared front suspensions; we can basically chew up the stock components all we like and never run out of junk yard parts to replace 'em with.

 

[parkerlansing]

Sport tracs from 01-05 all use the ford torsion sprung sla (short long arm) suspension it does not matter if they are rwd or 4wd.
The mounts are also in place for converting to a 4wd front differential

There are some slight changes from 01-02 to 03-05, mainly in the engine wiring and also to the front differential mounting brackets.

I just happen to have 6 sport tracs at my shop right now we are currently building up 3 of them

The explorer from 1996-2001, the sport from 96-04, the sport trac from 01-05 and the ranger from 98-11 (4wd models) all use the same front suspension

Explorer, sport and sport trac have the rear leaf springs under the axle whereas the ranger has the leaf springs over the axle

Rwd explorers and sports have lots of lift options including extended front knuckles

Maybe you'll have some insight on the torsion lift I just had done on my 2003 Sport Trac XLT 4WD:

I just had the Torch Off-Road torsion re-key leveling kit installed, and the shop said they were able to dial it in to exactly 2" on the passenger side and driver's side, but that the driver's side sits just a hair low for some reason. I told them not to exceed 2" because that is known to cause premature wear on the CV's, and they respected that request. But they also said that wouldn't recommend lowering the passenger side to get it perfectly balanced left-to-right because there is a bolt that is too close. For reference, I have brand new springs, new cab mount insulators, new shocks, and all new front end components.

Is that what you are referring to when you mention the "slight changes" from 02 to 03? Would it be the front differential mounting bracket that is in the way? I haven't been able to figure out exactly what the shop was talking about.

 

[410Fortune]

A Bolt should not be “too Close”
Because you are only changing your ride height.. you are not adding more suspension travel.
You can easily lower the pass side to match
Trucks should be leveled with half tank of fuel and driver in seat

The longer front diff bracket the 03+ tracs use is not going to be in your way as the diff is rigid mounted to the frame and the suspension moves around it. Nothing from the diff is in your way

How far is it off side to side? 1/4-1/2” is barely noticeable. Tires should all be at same psi and truck can easily be leveled side to side and front to back using the adjustable
Torsion bolts (this is why they are adjustable)

Ask them what bolt they are referring too

 

[parkerlansing]

I don't know if the attached photos help or not. I wonder if he meant that the nut would not travel any lower.
Does anything look wrong in any of these photos?

A Bolt should not be “too Close”
Because you are only changing your ride height.. you are not adding more suspension travel.
You can easily lower the pass side to match
Trucks should be leveled with half tank of fuel and driver in seat

The longer front diff bracket the 03+ tracs use is not going to be in your way as the diff is rigid mounted to the frame and the suspension moves around it. Nothing from the diff is in your way

How far is it off side to side? 1/4-1/2” is barely noticeable. Tires should all be at same psi and truck can easily be leveled side to side and front to back using the adjustable
Torsion bolts (this is why they are adjustable)

Ask them what bolt they are referring too

 

[410Fortune]

Everything looks fine but those torsion bar adjuster bolts are not factory and man they are sure hanging low! Is that part of the lift kit you bought? I would think they could lower the passenger side just by turning the t bar bolt out a bit more…. Very odd thing for them to say

 

[dvdswan]

You might want to address the oil leak too.

 

[parkerlansing]

Everything looks fine but those torsion bar adjuster bolts are not factory and man they are sure hanging low! Is that part of the lift kit you bought? I would think they could lower the passenger side just by turning the t bar bolt out a bit more…. Very odd thing for them to say

Yeah, those were part of the kit. I'll follow up with Torch and the shop that installed them. Thanks for the info!

 

[parkerlansing]

You might want to address the oil leak too.

Oh, there's no oil leak. I had the Krown rustproofing oil treatment done earlier this week. It's a southern vehicle that I bought last year, and I'm trying to keep it from rusting from the road salt here in Michigan.

 

[410Fortune]

Upon further inspection of your pics and the torch website it looks as if the shop Re used the factory t bar bolt on the drivers side and used the new torch longer pin and nut on passenger side
Why?

It should be the new hardware on both sides

Drivers factory adjust
Bolt (circle) passenger new torch adjusting pin and nut (arrow)

 

[parkerlansing]

Upon further inspection of your pics and the torch website it looks as if the shop Re used the factory t bar bolt on the drivers side and used the new torch longer pin and nut on passenger side
Why?

It should be the new hardware on both sides

Drivers factory adjust
Bolt (circle) passenger new torch adjusting pin and nut (arrow)

View attachment 449792

View attachment 449793

Wow, I think you're right! I'll see if I can get a measurement on those and check against the kit and stock.

 

[lincolnlocker]

Sport tracs from 01-05 all use the ford torsion sprung sla (short long arm) suspension it does not matter if they are rwd or 4wd.
The mounts are also in place for converting to a 4wd front differential

There are some slight changes from 01-02 to 03-05, mainly in the engine wiring and also to the front differential mounting brackets.

I just happen to have 6 sport tracs at my shop right now we are currently building up 3 of them

The explorer from 1996-2001, the sport from 96-04, the sport trac from 01-05 and the ranger from 98-11 (4wd models) all use the same front suspension

Explorer, sport and sport trac have the rear leaf springs under the axle whereas the ranger has the leaf springs over the axle

Rwd explorers and sports have lots of lift options including extended front knuckles Home Remodeling in Seattle

There is a pretty clean used 2003 Sport Trac near me that I am considering buying. Are there any known issues or concerns with these vehicles? Sorry if this is an old and/or oft repeated question, I'm not too familiar with Fords. Thank you