2 Wheel Drive Ranger Front Suspension

[Slush Box]

Ok well i have thought of this and maybe it can be done. Would a 1998-2003 2 wheel drive Ranger front Suspension come close to working onlet's say a 2001 Ex Sport. I know the Explorer and Ranger are similar in alot of ways and also different. The thing i was thinking the frames would be the same since they also can come with the 4.0 Liter and would have the same mounts. I want to get a front suspension from one and make it work on mine somehow. I think this would be a great plan becuase instead of torsion bars the 2wd rangers have coils and alot of company's have drop springs and spindels for them like Eibach. Well also this would be nice to have since a 2wd Ranger sits lower factory than an Explorer it would be dropped that way and then add like a 2" Eibach Pro Kit and you would be low as hell. PLus there are bag systems for them so let me know if anyone knows this can work or can't. Thanks sorry so long.

 

[STANN]

I think James t and Hartman tried something like this a while back. Not a full suspension swap, but something similar- upper control arms, maybe? . Apparently the two were set up different enough just to make this not work... But I'm not positive, we'll have to wait for either of those two to get in here...

 

[Hartman]

The suspension is very similar, the control arms basically bolt up. The problem is, the mounts are in different places, so the control arms need to be lengthened. Even then, the geometry of the alignment is so messed up that it isn't safe.

 

[james t]

Hartman is correct. you are talking about so much work you may as well start from scratch and build your own upper and lower arms.

 

[Hartman]

And if you're going that route, using a Mustang II front suspension.

 

[Black Magic]

Just take it to a reputable suspension or chasie fabrication in your area. Tell them what you want and they should be able to build it for you. Realitivly easy.

 

[Slush Box]

Humm that sounds pretty good just i don't think there are any places around here like that.

 

[james t]

no dirt track racing in Florida? that would be the best place to ask....someone who builds circle track chassis.

 

[ncgoose]

Hey gang,
I have read the control arm post and would like to say, what you guys did does not really apply in this case. You tried mounting only the upper arm to existing X suspension. This cat is talking about swapping EVERYTHING. This actually seems like a much better option. Granted you are going to a 10" rotor from a 11", but if the lower CA bolts up, it would not be a bad option.

My only question would be how does the spring pocket mount on a ranger? Is it part of the frame like an S-10? Is it riveted or bolted on? Anyone know?

Sorry for the hijacking of the post, just would like to see this idea thought through a bit more before just being completely shot down.

 

[jimbo74]

the 4x2 suspension o nthe rangers use a coil in a bucket design with seperate shocks

they are not similar enough to jsut bolt on....

 

[jimbo74]

oh yeah, just remebered why... the fornt suspension on a explorerof that year is a torsion bar setup..... not coils and shcoks

 

[ncgoose]

I am aware of the front design for the X, just not the ranger. While you answered I found the pic I was looking for:
http://www.desertrides.com/reference/images/98ranger_hm_kit/DSC04492.jpg

this shows the spring pocket. Too bad, was a good idea though.

 

[jimbo74]

hey, i only knew becuase my dad has a 98 4x2 ranger... i thought they shared the same suspension like the first gen... like fornt tbars on the 4x2 ranger... but they dont

 

[the_tool_man]

Hi all:

Seems to me that if the Ranger suspension is even a little different from the Explorer, it wouldn't save anything to modify Ranger parts over just having the whole thing custom made. How hard would it be to make custom dropped spindles? Or, why not just relocate the mounting points for the stock arms?

Regards,
John.

 

[Hartman]

You can't "make" spindles, they are cast, which means they are made in a foundry. Unless you have a foundry in your backyard, no go on that one.

You could use DJM lowered upper and lower control arms in conjunction with 2WD Ranger spindles IF you adjusted the mounting points of the upper and/or lower control arms. The upper wouldn't be terribly difficult but the lowers would because the mounting points are tied into the crossmember I believe.

 

[the_tool_man]

Hi Hartman:

Ha ha. No, I don't have a foundry in my back yard, but I've worked with a couple of local foundries for some of our machine parts. The biggest cost is the casting patterns, typically hand-made from wood. This can cost several thousand dollars for a single pattern because of the labor involved. The few patterns I have made were quite time consuming to make, and they were probably a great deal simpler than the pattern for a spindle would be. The patterns are sent to the foundry, who can cast the parts for a couple hundred dollars apiece. The trick here is specifying the correct alloy composition to insure the parts are strong enough. Then they have to be machined, which would be several hundred dollars more each in small quantities. Figure about $15k in setup charges (patterns, fixturing, CNC programming time). A company like DJM would need to sell hundreds of sets to be worth their time.

All of the above ignores the obvious need to correctly design the new spindle to handle the loads placed upon it in service, while relocating the upper and lower ball joints, tie rod mount, brake caliper mount and spindle shaft. This would be very difficult if it weren't for the fact that the stock spindle can be used as a starting point to reverse engineer much of it.

But if some enterprizing engineer could make his own patterns, have them cast, and knew someone in a machine shop who would do the machining for free, he might be onto something. Hmm...

Oh well, this isn't answering Slush Box's question, so I'll leave this line of reasoning for another thread.

Regards,
John.

 

[deviant]

Can you use the same explorer control arms, just weld a pocket in the lower CA and one in the frame to hold some ranger coils? kind of like a bag setup?

 

[lonestar]

Just curious,

What about a X body on a Ranger chasis & drivetrain?

 

[Hartman]

Are you asking if it's bolt on? Simple answer is no.