light off road mods

[Joes4x4Ranger]

Here is what I've done to my 91. Its a daily driver and my trail/hunting rig. It takes me anywhere I want to hunt in the rugged Arizona Desert, lots of sand washes and light rock climbing.

Skyjacker Coils 2" Lift $150
Autozone Rear shackles $20
BF Goodrich 31X10.50 $600
Powertrax NoSlip Front & Rear $900

A grand total of $1670. I did all the installs myself. IMO the Powertrax Noslip's are BY FAR the best lunchbox type lockers. I tried the Detroit EZ Lock and Lockright, both drove me crazy with thier harsh noisy operation.

 

[Four0Sport]

first off.. thanks everyone for their input and feedback. thats what i love about this site. secondly.. i prbly should have listed the few little things i have already done: poly radius arm bushings, drop in k&n, warn manual hubs, fresh rear diff fluid change thanks to a clogged vent hose, and 30x9.50 BFGs. with that being said, and like many of you have mentioned, im not going to be traversing any serious terrain, and i still want the ability to drive in pavement so a locker may not be the best thing yet.. maybe if i get more involved in off roading. but for now im just a light trail driver. my goal is to have just enough of a lift to fit something like a 31x10.50 or 32x11.50 under the vehicle giving it a good stance. im not all about some wide mudders or oversized all terrains bc i will have no use for them. would i be able to accomplish this with just aal, shackles, coil spacers, and extended coils? i will be doing most of the work myself, unless the task calls for tools i dont have. good thing about working at a parts store is you make friends with guys with garages, lifts, and the right tools. perks i guess.

 

[Dopler174]

Spring spacers, shackles, and a 2 inch BL will allow 32's depending on your wheel offset.

 

[Four0Sport]

a friend and myself were thinking this over at work yesterday.. and i was wondering, how much of a height difference would putting leaf packs off of a 4 door on my sport make? id much rather add leafs then shackles.. then i was thinking ext. front coils with coil spacers for the front. just wondering if anyone has done this and how much lift it actually got. like i said, i dont want anything major, just want the truck to sit slightly higher.

 

[IZwack]

how much of a height difference would putting leaf packs off of a 4 door on my sport make?

Hate to say this but you gotta Search a bit.

 

[Four0Sport]

three months later..

I was re-reading this thread i started and it had some good advice for anyone starting modifications to their explorer.

I have done some searching like the last post instructed me to do and im still confused about a few things... I've seen alot of lifts and mentions of ext. coils and spacers used together but read people saying that this is too much lift w/out drop brackets. Is it? this is what ive been planning in my head during the cold last couple months...

I already have AALs and adjustable rancho front shocks sitting in the back of my explorer. I have a friend who has a set of 33s with half tread that he will give me.. free. I would really like to fit these under my truck w/out a body lift and i do not have the money for a complete lift including drop brackets. Am I able to double up the front with coils and spacers and double up the rear with shackles and AALs to get roughly 3 inches of lift w/out binding the radius arms?

If nothing else I'll just go shackles and f-150 spacers and look into some 31s or 32s. i really dont want to do in debt getting a lift, but its tempting.

 

[little x]

You can either use the 2" springs or the spacers, not both. If you lift it 2" you can fit 33's if you cut the fenders. But, you don't want 33's unless your regearing it also ($1500). Have you considered a front aussie locker? they are $230 and don't effect on road handling at all, but will surprise you off road. Get one of those and 31's. Then either cut the fenders to fit the 31's, or get a 2" lift to clear them and disconnect your anti-sway bars.