Central NJ area - where can i get my X lifted?

[sean4385]

Does anyone know of an offroad shop in the Trenton area that can lift my Truck? So far I have been to Myers, the only auto performance place i know of in the area, and they apparently dont know too much about trucks. They said their shop couldnt replace my mono-leaf with a leaf pack, nor could they modify the 3" PA ranger kit to fit my X. I also tried asking a basic auto shop about just putting in shackles and a doing a torsoin twist. They didn't know what i was talking about and said that you can't lift a truck without a lift kit.....

Any suggestions??

BTW im trying to get the 3" PA body lift, a spring leaf pack plus the add a leaf, shackles, and a torsoin twist..... preferably all done at once for a low price.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[Muskrat]

hey, do you need to have this done at a shop, or could someone else do it? Shops won't do the work because of the whole firestone blow out thing, it's bogus, but they don't want the liability. I've done the work on Namitey's truck, and everything but your BL can be done in a few hours. The BL could be done in a day of hard work, barring any problems. Most likely take 2 days though

 

[ExplorerEB96]

Mercer Springs and Coils

nice work and a decent price.....

Karol

I couldn't do the work myself either....I didn't know enough then.....but Im sure I could do the TT and leafs now.....the BL I don't know but I'm sure with good directions I could.... I'm not even attempting the superlit by myself.

 

[2001ExpSport]

No shop will install a Ranger lift kit on an Explorer for obvious reasons. I can help you if yer willing to travel.

 

[Doug]

I've done alot of work on my truck. all the stuff you've listed and then some. I herculined the interior and put 35s on this week. I'd be willing to lend you a hand if you want. Though there is OK auto in stewartsville NJ but i doubt they would work on an explorer and if they did they'd charge you an arm and a leg. they wanted 1000 to regear one axle.

 

[ExplorerEB96]

Originally posted by 2001ExpSport
No shop will install a Ranger lift kit on an Explorer for obvious reasons. I can help you if yer willing to travel.

Mercer will they were even willing to do my SAS had I gone that way..... they were even willing to do some fab work had I the $$ then...

Karol

 

[sean4385]

I found a good thread on this board that explains how to put in the shackles...it seems pretty simple so im gonna do that and the TT on my own.

About replacing the mono-leaf with a leaf-pack... i've been researching that on this site and i hear that it wont lift the rear any. I could put on an add-a-leaf but wouldnt that make the rear higher than the front? since the add-a-leaf plus the shackles would be like 3-4'' while the TT in the front would only be 2" at most.

Any Information would help...as of now im gonna forget about the leafs and just go with the TT and shackles.
But as for the ranger lift i guess im not gonna get that done unless i find a person who's willing to help, since apparently shops arnt willing to do it.

Thanks a bunch,
Sean

 

[Muskrat]

do you 4wheel the truck at all? or do you plan to? the 4 door leaf packs provide a lot of droop when flexing out, and also stiffen the ride up a bit. I would go to a scrap yard, and pull a set of springs. The AAL don't lift the truck much, remember, the axle is sprung under, they help the arch a little bit, but I thinkyou can only use them with the leaf pack, not worth it with the monoleaf.

Namitey's truck has the AAL, shackle, and 4 door leaf pack on his truck, the rear is pitched a little, but not really enough to be noticable. Works nicely on the trail

Sean, Doug and I used the Ranger PA BL, I think it was a 98 excab, but not 100% sure. you end up with some extra blocks and need to get different bolts for a few, but he actually got the wrong kit, look around to see what kit everyone recomends, and let me know, we can give you a hand installing that.

 

[Doug]

the kit i used was the PA# 883 for the 98-02 ranger. It wasnt the right kit to use, you're better off getting the PA# 853 kit for the 93-97 ranger. while the bumper brackets wont work the bolts for the most part are the proper length and the steering extension will work with no modification. I didnt find the 4dr leaf packs to stiffen up the ride all that much, with shackles the rear end still sagged more than the front. i got the single add a leaf from summit racing and that helped balance it out a bit.

 

[Muskrat]

ok, I was wrong, but who cares, I have a Ranger

 

[sean4385]

So is it worth the trouble to get a leaf pack put in just so i can use add-a-leafs or would u recomend just the shackles and TT and leaving the mono-leafs how they are?

And about the ranger lift.... So everything should be fine on my X except for the bumper brackets? And where or how would i get the correct ones?

And yes i do offroad quite often even though my truck is stock height as of now. The only Mods i have which would help me offroad is a brushgaurd and taillight gaurds, fog lights, 31x11 BFG ATs, and dual flowmasters.
I really feel like i need my truck lifted thou because i get stuck very often and screw up other things. So far i lost the front air dam (the plastic gaurd below the bumber that encloses the stock fog lights), flooded my engine one time at the pine barrens which cost $450 to clean out and $100 to get towed back to my town, a ****load of scratches from running over bushes, the stock foglights have been knocked off and bent but i managed to fix them, and i lost a pair of Hellas that i originally had on the brushgaurd (trying to push my friends 4runner across a stream that he got stuck in(pulling him out wasnt working, we broke 2 tow-straps)).......

So anyway i need a lift lol

You guys have been a huge help so far...

Thanks much,
Sean

 

[sean4385]

BTW Currently my truck is pretty level....it looks a little saggy in the back but when i measured it came up only like 1/4" lower which i guess isnt really a big deal. I think just the way Ford made the fenders in the back makes it look saggy (the wheels seem alot farther in because the fenders come out farther in the back, and appear to cover more of the tire).

But anyway if my truck is level now it should stay level if i just do the TT and Shackles right? like 1.5" in front and back?


Sorry for asking so many questions hehe.
im just trying to get everything down before i start buying things

Thanks,
Sean

 

[Doug]

If you swap in the 4dr leaf pack, remove the rear sway bar and mount the shocks to the old swaybar mount you'll get alot more flex. I've heard you can order the brackets from the #883 lift if you get the 853 kit. here's a picture of my truck with 33s flexing out on a rock in my friends yard the suspension isn't even maxed out in this picture.

 

[hamexplorer]

I have a 94 that I want to put on Skyjacker coils and AAL. I think that it also needs a lower front ball joint and radius arm bushings. If I could get help on the coils and AAL and would be willing to exchange some $, I can get the bushings done at a shop.
My goal is get 2" off the suspension lift and then maybe a 2" BL. Have plenty of tools, hydraulic floor jack, stands etc, but no air.

 

[Muskrat]

bah, we don't need no stinking air, I have an electric inmpact gun, not great but it's gets the job done. that work is not too bad at all

 

[sean4385]

Wow thats pretty sweet!
my goal for the near future is to match yer truck Namitey hehe....well minus the 35's lol

So replacing the mono with a pack really makes a big difference??

im currently in the process of ordering the shackles from Myers and im about to order the PA ranger lift too.
I was looking at the price of the PA lift on truckperformance.com and theres a note saying the bumper brackets are for appearance only.....
what exactly do these do? and could i go without them and not modify the kit at all?


Thanks once again,
Sean

 

[Muskrat]

remember, if you use the bumper brackets, the bumper becomes weak, as it is nno longer in line with the frame. you don't need them, but if you decide not to use them (my choice personally) there will be a 3" gap between the bottom of the grill, nad the top of the bumper

 

[sean4385]

is this BL gonna effect my brushgaurd??

 

[Muskrat]

where does the guard mount, it most likely will affect the brushguard, unless you move the bumper up

 

[sean4385]

to the frame right under and behind the bumper, so yea i guess i will need the new brackets.
I guess id need them anyway if i wanted more clearance for bigger tires.