Show's '90 Ranger James Duff 5.5" lift

[90ranajo]

We got the new coil buckets, radius arm bracket and passenger side drop bracket installed today. The coil buckets and radius arm brackets went in without much hassel. The drop bracket however had to be modified to work with my 2WD crossmember. We ended up cutting and flipping over a piece of the bracket and bending up a portion of the crossmember to make it work.

 

[Creager]

ut oh, did i see air lines/bearings in that pumpkin? haha

so wait. 5.5 duff lift? i thought they only made 2.5?

 

[90ranajo]

Yep thats and ARB. Yes, Duff now makes a 5.5" lift although its not listed on their website yet. You'll have to call them up to order either the 2WD or 4WD lift.

 

[Creager]

Yep thats and ARB. Yes, Duff now makes a 5.5" lift although its not listed on their website yet. You'll have to call them up to order either the 2WD or 4WD lift.

im curious, how much was it?

 

[90ranajo]

I payed about $2150 after S&H and sales tax for the Stage 3 kit.

 

[offroader_69_me]

wow you mean that babyis gonna wheel!!!!!!!!!!!!
it better be ready by Moab06!

good luck guys!

 

[90ranajo]

Thats the plan!

 

[snocross1985]

That is looking awesome. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see it when its done.

 

[90ranajo]

That is looking awesome. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see it when its done.

Thanks and I can't wait either!

It was a slow day on the truck today. Got the trans and clutch pulled out and thrown into the scrap pile. The flex plate is bolted up as is the AA bellhousing adapter. And I got the D35 mounted back in the arm. And started to mock up the new shifter's location. I'll try and get some pic up tomorrow after work.

 

[tdavis]

I see you bobbed the bed too.

So what's left from the Navajo? The rear axle parts, and the engine?

 

[90ranajo]

And the seats too; I think.

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

And the seats too; I think.

Nope, the seats are from my original 93 Explorer. Like you said, only Navajo parts left are the axle and engine. Actually, the Navajo axle is in my truck, the only part Show has is the Detroit locker.

 

[410Fortune]

Hahaha I don't think Duff ever intended the 4x4 conversion along with the install

You might call them up and tell them anyways, they love to hear about installation "techniques"
Nice work!

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

Hahaha I don't think Duff ever intended the 4x4 conversion along with the install

You might call them up and tell them anyways, they love to hear about installation "techniques"
Nice work!

We have already been in contact with them. We were originally going to swap the 4wd brackets for 2wd brackets, but then after further research we realized that wasn't going to work. As you can see, we modified the passenger side bracket to work, however, the drivers side is a lot different. Our current plan is to get a 4wd engine crossmember and graft it in to the exhisting crossmember, gusset the crap out of it and hoipe for the best.

 

[410Fortune]

We have had fitment issues with Duff kits before, nothing you wouldnt run into with other companies like Skyjacker or Superlift, and they were curious to hear about our findings....basically a ranger kit didnt fit a Ex Sport so easy, it took quite a bit of work to get it, but this was their old style kit so who knows about the new one.

If you are going to now grapht in the 4x4 engine cradle, it's too bad you already modified one bracket??

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

I didn't say we were going to replace the crossmember. We are going to hack up a 4wd crossmember and graft it in to the exhisting crossmember, ie, we are going to use most of the back half of the 4wd crossmember and make it one with the 2wd crossmember with lots of gusseting for strength. We decided this route as it is less work than trying to remove and replace the exhisting 2wd crossmember, plus our hybrid should end up stronger than just the single crossmember alone.

 

[410Fortune]

why not build a new pivot bracket?

I hear what you are saying though, now

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

Because we already have one. We need the back half of the 4wd crossmember to ensure we have the proper location of the bracket. The 4wd TTB arm for that side is actually shorter than a 2wd TTB arm for the same side. By using this hybrid crossmember method, we are locating the pivot bracket as well as building a steady mount for it.

 

[Bored_2wd]

Looks good, reminds me of my conversion project! One note on the front spring upper coil bucket, the 2wd and 4wd are NOT the same. We changed one side as part of the process and then had to do both because they are different heights.
Let's see, we lifted the motor, cut out the crossmember, and put the 4wd crossmember into place. Here's a tip: We cut the bottom flange of the truck frame just in front of and behind where the new crossmember was going, heated it, and bent it out. Then we slid the 4wd crossmember into place, heated the flange and bent it back and welded it into place. Because of the strength of the crossmember itself right there, there's vitually no movement of the frame at this point, so at the time we didn't think there'd be a problem with the welded-flange cracking at the weld joint. After many years of hard driving, checked it out last night and there is no sign of cracking at all. Hope this helps! As I recall things I'll let you know.
--Bob

 

[Bored_2wd]

Another thing: We needed to get different motor mounts - the 2wd ones wouldn't work.
--Bob