What is the best lift for a 2x4?

[MrQ]

I have been considering (along with other mods) a lift for my ex. It is not a 4x4 (though I wish it was ) but I would still like to have it look a little better off the ground. So here are my questions:

-Best lift for about 2-3 inches? (not interested in body lift)
-Biggest tires that will fit on a 3.08 diffy?
-Any special dif between 4x4 and 2x4 on lift?
-cost?

Thanks

 

[Anime]

BEST lift or best lift at a certain price?

You can get prerunner I-beams for the front, along with extended radius arms, and the correct lift springs and shocks, (or even go with full coilovers). Cost depends on where you get it, you can get everything from a budget kit for a few hundred that is just modified factory parts to well over a grand for completely new fabricated parts.

You can get OME (Old Man Emu) Rear leaf springs that lift the rear 2.5", and get some additional lift if needed from Warrior shackles. Price is pretty hefty, $500-600 or so, maybe more. Usually a rear budget lift is an add-a-leaf (~$25) along with the Warrior shackles, which gets you 2-3 inches, but can ride a bit rough.

You're going to have an issue putting on larger tires with 3.08 gears. Those are best with the stock 225/70R15 tire size. Even the larger 235/75R15 or 30x9.50's will make it really slow.

The first money you should probably drop is for new gears, since it's not too bad on a 2WD, you just have the rear diff. You can get stock 3.73's rather cheap from someone on here who's changed theirs out, or you can buy a new ring and pinion for ~$100. You might also just want to swap out the whole rear axle if you find an 8.8" that has a Limited Slip/Trak-Lok diff with the gears you want, too. A whole new axle can often be much less expensive than paying a shop to swap gears.

With 3.73 or 4.10 gears and the 2-3" lift, 31-32's should be fine and you'll gain a good bit of useable travel if you've used quality parts.

 

[MrQ]

BEST lift or best lift at a certain price?

You can get prerunner I-beams for the front, along with extended radius arms, and the correct lift springs and shocks, (or even go with full coilovers). Cost depends on where you get it, you can get everything from a budget kit for a few hundred that is just modified factory parts to well over a grand for completely new fabricated parts.

You can get OME (Old Man Emu) Rear leaf springs that lift the rear 2.5", and get some additional lift if needed from Warrior shackles. Price is pretty hefty, $500-600 or so, maybe more. Usually a rear budget lift is an add-a-leaf (~$25) along with the Warrior shackles, which gets you 2-3 inches, but can ride a bit rough.

You're going to have an issue putting on larger tires with 3.08 gears. Those are best with the stock 225/70R15 tire size. Even the larger 235/75R15 or 30x9.50's will make it really slow.

The first money you should probably drop is for new gears, since it's not too bad on a 2WD, you just have the rear diff. You can get stock 3.73's rather cheap from someone on here who's changed theirs out, or you can buy a new ring and pinion for ~$100. You might also just want to swap out the whole rear axle if you find an 8.8" that has a Limited Slip/Trak-Lok diff with the gears you want, too. A whole new axle can often be much less expensive than paying a shop to swap gears.

With 3.73 or 4.10 gears and the 2-3" lift, 31-32's should be fine and you'll gain a good bit of useable travel if you've used quality parts.

Just what I wanted to hear. I want to make this truck capable off road. I first thought the only way to do that was to have a 4x4, but then I remembered...ITS A FORD!! So I am gonna do what I can as I go along.

I would really prefer a rear axle swap with a SOA and possibly shackles. My leaf packs are no where near as bad as some on the old ex's.

My only consternation is over the front end lift.

BTW, I make anywhere between $300-$540 a month from my job. Sometimes more depending on my hours. So, this would be a fast budget build or a slow quality build

Also on a side note...if I ever turned this truck into a 4x4 (My holy grail if money was like leaves on the trees ) then would it be better just to run a SAS instead of trying to mess with a TTB?

 

[MrQ]

bump

 

[Anime]

A SOA in the rear would give you 5-6" of lift, so at that point you are stuck with getting the parts to make the front match that height. How expensive that gets depends on whether you just use lift springs with the stock spring buckets or going for a coilover setup.

If you get that much lift, you might as well go with 4.56 gears and 33" tires.

A solid axle is for a different kind of off-roading, so you should build your ride based on what you want to do. A 2WD prerunner with long travel suspension will do better in high-speed baja-type driving, where a 4WD with a solid axle will excel in slower stuff like rock crawling or mountain climbing. The stock TTB setup is kind of a mix of the two, and there are a few rigs that are long travel 4WD TTB's that can do both.

It'll take a good bit of change and a lot of time and a donor truck to convert a 2WD to 4WD. If you spend enough money, though, you could conceivably hand pick the good parts to do it with the first time and have a very capable rig.


You should probably decide what you're looking to do before the build, it would suck to spend a ton building up the front end and then deciding you'd rather have a 4WD.

 

[MrQ]

I would love to off road, but I think I will wait till I get a truck with 4x4. Would cost less and definitely be easier to modify...

Can you expand on this prerunner deal...like what is it?

 

[Anime]

Cost less? Easier to modify? Hardly.

You don't really need much to off-road other than what you already have, except maybe some all-terrain tires.

A "prerunner" usually refers to a truck/suv that has been modified for off-road racing, baja-style. Do some google searches for "prerunner" or check out the Ford F-150 Raptor SVO truck for an idea of what it can be like.

There are plenty of companies like Camburg and McNeil that specialize in this type of 2WD setup, although a 4WD can be made to be a prerunner too, it just has more weight. The 91-94 Explorer and the similar ranger type of Twin I-beam make for one of the best IFS setups for off-roading.

Your jumping pic shows you can already off-road it like that. Get a 4.10 rear end and 31" All-Terrains (BFG's are good) and it'll be even more of a blast.

 

[MrQ]

You're going to have an issue putting on larger tires with 3.08 gears. Those are best with the stock 225/70R15 tire size. Even the larger 235/75R15 or 30x9.50's will make it really slow.

Actually I run 235s on my 3.08. I believe those are the stock size.

 

[Maniak]

Some came with 225 and others came with 235.. But 3.08 is pretty tall gear (numerically lower). I remember running 3.27's with 235s.. I didn't know how bad it was until we changed to 4.10's with bigger tires.. It made a big difference in around town driving.. and was livable at 75mph on the freeway..

~Mark

 

[Anime]

I'm pretty sure they didn't put 235's on those with 3.08 gears from the factory.

235's and 3.27 isn't too bad with the manual tranny, it actually works pretty well with the torque of the 4.0L.

You'll notice a big difference going from 3.08 to something lower like a 3.73 or 4.10, though, especially with an automatic.

A lot of 91-94's can fit 31's without a lift, the BFG All-Terrains in particular have a slightly narrower tread width for their size which makes them ideal for upsizing.

Lower gears and bigger tires make a huge difference and should probably be your first upgrades.

 

[MrQ]

I found a D4 3.73 LS off a 91 ex in a junkyard. Unfortunately they want 250 for it and the drum brakes have been sitting on the ground.

Is this a good deal? What are your thoughts?

I also found a 2nd gen rear axle but the axle code on the door is just "D" Any idea what this means? Would this be better than the other axle?

I wonder if it would be possible to sell them my 3.08 for a discount on the new axle? Unless anyone in Houston is interested in it.

 

[Anime]

250 for a used D44 you mean? That's nice, but why do you want to put in a Dana axle thats going to take some fabbing when the stock Ford 8.8 is plenty strong and will swap right in?

An axle you'll have to get new drum plates and brakes for isn't a good deal considering you can get a Explorer rear axle for free half the time on here from someone doing a project, and maybe $100 if they're in ok shape and someone wants some dough for it.

$200-250-ish might be what you'd have to pay for a DISC brake solid axle from a later Explorer, which would be a MUCH better deal.

"D" usually means a limited slip differential, though it might just mean Disc for the disc brakes and the gearing is a different code.

You can sell your stock axle to Ranger or Jeep guys or anyone locally who's building up a 4x4, a Ford 8.8 out of an Explorer is a great upgrade for many rides that come with lighter duty rear axles and getting one from someone who took theirs out is usually a lot less hassle than picking through the salvage yard trying to find one in decent shape.

 

[Spdrcer34]

D4 is the factory code for a Limited Slip 3.73:1 rear Axle.

$250 is too much for a drum brake Explorer Rear-end. $250 is what you would pay for a Disc Brake Explorer Rear-end.

Check www.craigslist.org

Ryan

 

[nitro71]

I'd recomend selling your's and getting a 4x4. Find a 91-94 Sport with a manual tranny and you will be loving life.

 

[MrQ]

D4 is the factory code for a Limited Slip 3.73:1 rear Axle.

$250 is too much for a drum brake Explorer Rear-end. $250 is what you would pay for a Disc Brake Explorer Rear-end.

Check www.craigslist.org

Ryan

What would be a good price? I found tons of 1st gens at this lot. I may be able to haggle.

I'd recomend selling your's and getting a 4x4. Find a 91-94 Sport with a manual tranny and you will be loving life.

I am not too crazy about selling my Red Flyer. 4x4 not withstanding, it is probably one of the best maintained 1st gens I have ever seen. I will not part with it to some person who would abuse it. I have already thrown at least $500 at it in 7 months and it has been very dependable.

I may be dreamin about a 4x4 build, but I am realistic and practical. Most of the time

 

[nitro71]

Mr. Q, someone said you jumped your rig? And you're worried about who buys it? Get over it.

Check KBB and offer them what you want on a rig. I paid 1200 for mine and it needed some work out the door, blower motor, radio, shocks, rear brakes, has some rear body dmg on a side panel. I probably should have paid less. There is a Navajo 91, 160K being sold locally. Body is flawless, interior is near perfect for that year. Has a vibration at 2500-3500RPM, 4wd won't engage, AC doesn't work, steering gear is weeping. Tires are ok for a year or so. Guy want's, $950. That gives you some idea what they should be going for. A 91-94 with a good body, no obvious damage, decent tires, everything works, shocks and brakes are good. I'd expect to pay no more that 16-1800 absolute max. And don't get a auto tranny, period. Unless you want to rebuild one.

 

[MrQ]

Mr. Q, someone said you jumped your rig? And you're worried about who buys it? Get over it.

Haha, I wondered when that would come up. Also I should define abuse as not taking care of the mechanical parts of the vehicle. Jumping it was stupid, but it allowed me to test the stock form. It turned out to be very sturdy.

Understand that we have three vehicles. A Grand Voyager with two transmission rebuilds and 208,000 miles on the engine that is pinging (Which my dad uses for work), a Mustang with 130,000 miles (My bros) and mine. We are a family of 5 and to get people where they need to go is difficult enough as it is. Limiting the only other vehicle that can carry four passengers to a two door or to a less dependable vehicle that requires more money than this one to maintain is not an option right now. Also it is the only vehicle that has A/C and in this hot and humid weather this is a necessity.

Believe me I have looked at craigslist and the other explorers on the net. I do my research.

 

[nitro71]

I'd just save up your money for a project rig bro. Keep your X stock and quit abusing it! LOL! Make it your daily driver and hunt for that project rig. Start scoping the pull n save for cool upgrades and what not and plan your build when you find your rig and save up enough $$ to get into it.

 

[rngmStr]

I'd just save up your money for a project rig bro. Keep your X stock and quit abusing it! LOL! Make it your daily driver and hunt for that project rig. Start scoping the pull n save for cool upgrades and what not and plan your build when you find your rig and save up enough $$ to get into it.

x2

 

[MrQ]

OMG!! I just looked up my KBB value and I am floored!! I expected 1200 at best, but for a private party value they say over 2k!!

Wow.