1996 4WD Explorer Lift

[Dennis96]

I just recently purchased a 1996 4WD Explorer. I have a question regarding the suspension. I have just noticed that the driver side of the vehicle, front to back, is 3/4 of a inch lower than the right side. Is there potentiol problems I am not aware of? What can I check? In addition, I called a well known place(Canejo Off Road) that does lifts for ALL type vehicles and asked about my Explorer. They said there is no lift available for my 96. Plus they said that doing a torsion twist and adding a leaf is not a good idea? That the suspension will start to sag over time. I would appreciate any advise you folks can give me on getting my lift done. If I can not get a lift how can I get the vehicle to sit straight?

Thanks Many,

Dennis Mulloy
Oxnard California
1996 Ford Explorer
5 Speed Standard, 4.0 Litre, Control Trak 4WD

 

[NoBoundaries]

First off, welcome to the site, it is one of the best on the net. Your Explorer sitting uneven is normal,partially the result of the fuel tank being on the driver's side of the vehicle. As far as the torsion lift goes, there are members of this site that have had their trucks lifted with this method for tens of thousands of miles, there is nothing to worry about. You just have to make sure that you do not lift the front end too high, most do it to about 1.5-1.75 inches. As far as the suspension sagging, this happens with all vehicles, over time the suspension may sag, no matter what. With a torsion bar front suspension, I would have to say that you are less likely to get sag in the front end. Your rear leaf's will eventuallt sag, but new add-a-leaf's or a re-arch will solve this problem. Hope I helped! Feel free to ask any additional questions!

 

[Dennis96]

Hey, thanks alot! It seems that maybe the buisness just did not want to take on the Explorer for me. How hard is it to do the torsion lift myself. I am of average savy when it comes to wrenches.
Thanks again,

Dennis Mulloy
Oxnard Ca.
1996 Explorer XLT 4.0L
Control Trak 4WD

[Edited by Dennis96 on 08-30-2000 at 05:46 PM]

 

[kubben]

Write up

Super easy to install.
I have a 1996 and installed the shackles and turned the bolts to the torrision bars in like an hour.
We put the shackles on backwards so we had to do it over.
There is a write up somewhere, search for it.

 

[Ray Lobato]

Hi Dennis,
Welcome to the site. Hope you like it as much as the rest of us do.
Well, Yes, there is a lift coming out very soon, for Explorers, but it's for 98-01 models. You can however modify it to fit a 95-97 year Explorer. I am in the process of having a Trailmaster 98+ Ranger lift kit put on my 97.
It is actually the same kit except for the rear end.
If you want to lift it a bit, that can be accomplished by doing a torsion bar twist and either Warrior shackles or add-a-leaf. I did the Warrior shackles for awhile until I went with the Old Man Emu 2" rear springs. Now I'm going with a 4" lift and a 2" body lift.
Now you say that your driver side front to back sags abit. You can try and torque the torsion bar on the front drivers side up a bit to see if it will even this out?
Andrew B did a very good write up on how to do a torsion bar lift that can help you out. Here's a link to it.
Torsion Bar Lift

 

[Dennis96]

Ray,
Thank You and thanks to evryone else for the tips. I am going to check it out right now.
Thanks again.

Dennis Mulloy
Oxnard Ca.
1996 Explorer XLT
4dr. Accu Trak 4WD
Cooper Discover AT's 30x9.5x15