questions about body lift

[Blue Steel]

okay, i know you've all heard them before, and i've done searches. now i've got questions for everyone. from what i've gathered, performance accessories makes a body lift for the ranger that can be used with the 97 explorer. so you get the kit for the 98-00 ranger, but get the steering extensions from the 95-97 ranger kit? anything else needs to be different? bumper relocation brackets? also does anybody here have trailer hitches and put a body lift on? does the hitch look compltely out of place after the body lift? i have the front and rear hidden hitch, so i know the front one is not going to line up and will probably be sitting under my bumper instead of inside of it. also, has anybody done a body lift with a brush guard and made relocation brackets for it? the only way i can think of making the brush guard work is to extend the actual rails that mount on the brackets a couple of inches to line it up with the headlights. one last question. i've heard that some people have problems with the 3" body lifts and that i should only go with the 2" due to allignment with everything in the engine compartment. since you're raising the body, the fan and all that stuff is on the body, but the engine is on the frame. is there going to be problems that i should know about in advance? sorry for the long post, i just want to get everything researched before i jump into this. thanks everyone!

 

[jasonb]

i'm in the process now of finishing mine up. i am having a guy in our metal shop at work fab up some real rear bumper brackets so i don't have to cut or drill anything. right now, the bumper looks really retarded at stock location. i saw an x at lowe's yesterday with the bumper raised and the hitch in stock location. it wasn't that bad.
my front hitch sits just below the bumper now. that is fine with me though as you still really can't see it.
there are brackets to lower the radiator and fan. that was the hardest part for me.
the lift was pretty easy, just very tedious. by far the most involved project i've done to date.

however, i can't get my x to start now that everything is done. go figure.

 

[Blue Steel]

do the brackets that lower the radiator and fan come with the body lift kit, or do you have to order them seperately/fab them up?

 

[jasonb]

they came with the kit i got. i think you can leave the radiator and lower the fan instead too. not sure. it was a pain to lower the radiator. very tight quarters.

edit: yes i meant to say lower the fan shroud. i've seen that some have done this or cut it all up rather than lower the radiator.

 

[yob_yeknom]

You can't lower the fan, it's attached to the engine. With the way the fan shroud is made, you can't really lower it either without a lot of rigging. It helps a lot to have an extra hand when lowering the radiator.

 

[Blue Steel]

so you guys are satisfied with the body lift and haven't had too many problems right? what about the ride? besides lifting it, is there any different characteristics? thanks, sorry for all the quesitons.

 

[jasonb]

i'll answer about the ride after i am running correctly. mines going to the shop tomorrow to fix my shifter assembly. i screwed it up and can't get anything but forward now. hope i don't have to back up on the way...

 

[yob_yeknom]

You'll notice a little more side to side sway when you hit big bumps. You'll feel hard winds push you around more too. Other than that, just remember to slow down a little more for turns. (I haven't had any problems with turns, but be careful anyways.)

 

[William Schumacher]

Jason :, did you do a 2",or 3" body lift on your '99 sport ?

I want to get a 2" body lift on my '99 sport as well !
just not sure what part #'s I need ?.

can anyone help with the parts #'s

thanks,

 

[jasonb]

i put on a 3" PA #883. all parts needed were in the kit. i didn't have to buy anything, not even bolts, like other people did. if you only want 2", you could take the blocks and cut them down to 2". that's what taxxman2k did. i don't know what all needs to be added to the 2" kit if anything, but i think it was made for the early model explorers. i may be wrong.

 

[Robert]

Blue Steel - It will be cheaper in the end to order PA kit # 853 for the '95-'97 Ranger and then order the bumper brackets from kit # 883 for the '98-'00 Ranger. The bumper lift brackets and shipping are cheaper than the steering extension and shipping. Everything else in the kits is exactly the same. I've had mine on for about 18 months now and am still glad I did it. No problems have ever popped up due to the body lift. Get some stiff shocks, thicker sway bars and polyurethane bushings to get around the increased swaying. Mine is more stable now than it was at its stock height. It corners very flat up to speeds higher than I should be pushing.

 

[Doug]

Heh my truck sways like you wouldnt believe going down the road but then again i dont have a rear sway bar and my fron shocks are shot. as for modifying a brushgaurd to work with your truck id depends on what kinda of brushgaurd you have. I modified the one i have to work with my body lift. I had to shorten the brackets that bolted to the frame and then i had to cut off the old mounts on the brush gaurd. I fabbed up new brackets then welded them to the brushgaurd then then welded the brushgaurd to the brackets that hold it to the frame. Its pretty strong but its a pita to remove from the truck. Here's a picture of the bracket with the new one and old one still in place

 

[Doug]

Here's a pic of the finished project. Ive since rounded off the bottom of the brushgaurd and cleaned up the brackets a bit more.

 

[Chris4x4Gill2]

Do you have to get longer shocks after doing the body lift?

 

[jasonb]

no